Compare the Best SoundbarsSeptember 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

We currently list 134 soundbars ranging from $20 to $1,878. A new soundbar costs on average $337 and 80% of soundbars are priced between $70 and $850. The most expensive soundbar that we found is the Sony HT-S350 at $1,878, and the cheapest is the Polk Audio Signa S1 at only $20.

Soundbar Brands - Price Range

The highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Bang & Olufsen soundbars with an average price of $1,679. Bang & Olufsen soundbars range in price from $1,679 to $1,679.

Monitor Audio soundbars start at $950 and their most expensive soundbar costs $950. The average price of Monitor Audio soundbars is $950 which is the second highest average price of all soundbar brands.

The third highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Dali soundbars with an average price of $750. Dali soundbars range in price from $750 to $750.

Soundbar Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 1,827 expert reviews and 6,431 user reviews for soundbars and used these reviews to evaluate the average rating for each brand of soundbar. The top three soundbar brands are Samsung, LG and Sony. Samsung has an average rating of 84%, LG has an average rating of 79% and Sony has an average rating of 73%.

Biggest Soundbar Retailers

We found 134 current offers for soundbars from eBay making it the biggest soundbar retailer. That is over 6 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Adorama for whom we found 22 current offers for soundbars. The third biggest retailer is Overstock with 6 current soundbar offers.

When Are Most New Soundbars Released?

Over the last 3 years we couldn't see any noticeable trend in the release month for new soundbars. The biggest month last year for new soundbar releases was August, with nine new soundbars released that month. In March 2019, nine new soundbars were released making it the biggest month that year for new soundbar releases. November was the biggest month in 2018 for new soundbars, with 20 new soundbars released that month.

How Fast Do Soundbar Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, soundbars drop in price by 11%.

A typical new soundbar costs on average $337. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $38.

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.

We found 215 soundbars that are 2.1 channels soundbars, which makes 2.1 channels the most popular audio channels amongst new soundbars. 2 channels is the second most frequently found audio channels amongst new soundbars. We found 78 soundbars that are 2 channels soundbars.

Bluetooth

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

The vast majority of the 478 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).

The vast majority of the 478 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo are soundbars with a subwoofer included. 330 out of 478 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. 122 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. 91% of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.