Compare the Best SoundbarsMarch 2021

Soundbar Buying Guide

Subwoofer

While most soundbars comprise of just the bar itself, others come packaged with a separate subwoofer unit. This is a loudspeaker designed specifically for bass frequencies, meaning it will augment the standard soundbar and provide substantially more powerful bass notes. This boosts the overall sound quality of the TV, and is especially good if you watch a lot of action-heavy blockbusters, since the explosions and gunshots will have a lot more presence.

Wireless Streaming

The majority of soundbars are designed to be plugged in directly to the TV, rather than using a wireless connection. This is minimise any delay in the audio - wireless connections can generate a very slight delay while the data is sent from the TV to the soundbar, meaning that the video and audio signals the TV could drop out of sync. Wired connections have no such delay, meaning the video and audio will always be perfectly in sync.

Many soundbars do have wireless capabilities, but they are instead used for streaming audio from your phone/tablet/etc. Because there is no video signal, the small delay doesn’t really matter. This means that as well as TV audio, soundbars can also be used for music on demand, making them great for parties or just relaxing with your favourite music!

Soundbar Prices

The price range of soundbars is from $14 to $2,461 and in total we found prices for 130 soundbars. On average, a new soundbar costs $384 and 80% of soundbars are priced between $66 and $900. The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage is the most expensive soundbar that we found at $2,460, and the DELL AX510 is the cheapest at only $15.

Soundbar Brands - Price Range

The average price of Bang & Olufsen soundbars is $2,460 which is the highest average price of all soundbar brands. Bang & Olufsen soundbars start at $2,460 and their most expensive soundbar costs $2,460.

Naim soundbars range in price from $990 to $990, and the average price of Naim soundbars is $990 which is the second highest average price of all soundbar brands.

Canton soundbars range in price from $637 to $1,185, and the third highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Canton soundbars with an average price of $920.

Soundbar Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1,337 expert reviews and 3,716 user reviews for soundbars and used these reviews to evaluate the average rating for each brand of soundbar. Samsung is the top rated soundbar brand with an average rating of 86%. LG is the second best brand with 83% and Yamaha is the third best brand with 71%.

Biggest Soundbar Retailers

The biggest soundbar retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 124 current soundbar offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Walmart with 24 offers. That means eBay is over 5 times bigger than Walmart when it comes to soundbars. Adorama is the third biggest retailer with 24 current offers.

When Are Most New Soundbars Released?

Most new soundbars tend to be released between March and May. For the latest soundbar features you may want to consider waiting until March 2021. Alternatively you might be able to buy one of the current soundbars cheaper in March once the latest models have been released. In May 2020, 10 new soundbars were released making it the biggest month that year for new soundbar releases. In 2019 most new soundbars were released in March, with 10 new soundbars released that month. The biggest month in 2018 for new soundbar releases was November, with 22 new soundbars released that month.

How Fast Do Soundbar Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, soundbars drop in price by 14% on average.

That means that on a typical soundbar costing $384 you could save on average $55 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Audio Channels

'Audio Output' denotes the number of individual channels for the soundbar to use. Specific sounds and parts of the screen are assigned to individual channels, allowing the soundbar to simulate surround sound and create a deeper audio depth.

2.1 channels is the most frequently found audio channels amongst new soundbars. We found 209 soundbars that are 2.1 channels soundbars. We found 75 soundbars that are 2 channels soundbars, making this the second most common audio channels amongst new soundbars.

Bluetooth

Whether the sounder has support for wireless Bluetooth connections or not.

Of the 459 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are soundbars which support Bluetooth. 428 out of 459 soundbars are soundbars which support Bluetooth.

Subwoofer Included

Whether the soundbar includes a subwoofer, which is a loudspeaker for low frequencies (bass sounds).

The vast majority of the 459 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo are soundbars with a subwoofer included. 311 soundbars (68%) are soundbars with a subwoofer included.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Soundbars?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying soundbars. For each retailer it shows the total number of soundbars where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying soundbars. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 116 of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Soundbars for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for soundbars by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of soundbar prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's soundbar prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 93.5% of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.