Compare the Best SoundbarsMay 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

In total we found 134 soundbars ranging from $15 to $2,428. A new soundbar costs on average $337 and 80% of soundbars are priced between $61 and $780. The most expensive soundbar that we found is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage at $2,427, and the cheapest is the Bose Solo 5 at only $16.

Soundbar Brands - Price Range

The highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Bang & Olufsen soundbars with an average price of $2,427. Bang & Olufsen soundbars range in price from $2,427 to $2,427.

The second highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Monitor Audio soundbars with an average price of $825. Monitor Audio soundbars start at $825 and their most expensive soundbar costs $825.

The third highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Dali soundbars with an average price of $750. Dali soundbars start at $750 and their most expensive soundbar costs $750.

Soundbar Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 1,890 expert reviews and 7,294 user reviews for soundbars and used these reviews to determine the average rating for each brand of soundbar. Samsung is the top rated soundbar brand with an average rating of 84%. LG is the second best brand with 80% and Sony is the third best brand with 73%.

Biggest Soundbar Retailers

The biggest soundbar retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 134 current soundbar offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Adorama with 25 offers. That means eBay is over 5 times bigger than Adorama when it comes to soundbars. Overstock is the third biggest retailer with 6 current offers.

When Are Most New Soundbars Released?

The most common period for new soundbars to be released in is between March and May. That means that most of the latest soundbar technology was released in within the last 3 months, and now is good time to buy. 10 new soundbars were released in May 2020 making it the biggest month that year for new soundbar releases. March was the biggest month in 2019 for new soundbars, with 10 new soundbars released that month. In November 2018, 22 new soundbars were released making it the biggest month that year for new soundbar releases.

How Fast Do Soundbar Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, soundbars drop in price by 12% on average.

A typical new soundbar costs on average $337. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $41.

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.

Amongst new soundbars, the most popular audio channels is 2.1 channels. We found 211 soundbars that are 2.1 channels soundbars. 2 channels is the second most popular audio channels amongst new soundbars. We found 79 soundbars that are 2 channels soundbars.

Bluetooth

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

The vast majority of the 470 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo are soundbars which support Bluetooth. 94% of soundbars are soundbars which support Bluetooth.

Subwoofer Included

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

Of the 470 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are soundbars with a subwoofer included. 321 out of 470 soundbars 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. 121 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. 90.3% of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.