Compare the Best SoundbarsAugust 2020

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 $26 to $1,851 and in total we found prices for 123 soundbars. The average price of a new soundbar is $375 and the 80% of soundbars are priced between $75 and $797. The most expensive soundbar that we found is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage at $1,851, and the cheapest is the Logik L32SBT17 at only $26.

Soundbar Brands - Price Range

The highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Bang & Olufsen soundbars with an average price of $1,851. Bang & Olufsen soundbars range in price from $1,851 to $1,851.

The average price of Canton soundbars is $670 which is the second highest average price of all soundbar brands. Canton soundbars range in price from $617 to $723.

The average price of Harman Kardon soundbars is $659 which is the third highest average price of all soundbar brands. Harman Kardon soundbars range in price from $350 to $839.

Soundbar Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1,171 expert reviews and 429 user reviews for soundbars and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of soundbar. Samsung is the top rated soundbar brand with an average rating of 96%. LG is the second best brand with 71% and Yamaha is the third best brand with 70%.

Biggest Soundbar Retailers

The biggest soundbar retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 107 current soundbar offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Adorama with 23 offers. That means eBay is over 4 times bigger than Adorama when it comes to soundbars. Walmart is the third biggest retailer with 19 current offers.

When Are Most New Soundbars Released?

The most common period for new soundbars to be released in is between March and May. The biggest month in 2019 for new soundbar releases was March, with eight new soundbars released that month. November was the biggest month in 2018 for new soundbars, with 24 new soundbars released that month. 41 new soundbars were released in May 2017 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 14% on average.

If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $54 on a typical $375 new soundbar 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.

We found 192 soundbars that are 2.1 channels soundbars, which makes 2.1 channels the most common audio channels amongst new soundbars. We found 71 soundbars that are 2 channels soundbars, making 2 channels the second most common audio channels amongst new soundbars.

Bluetooth

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

The vast majority of the 433 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo are soundbars which support Bluetooth. 404 soundbars (93%) 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 433 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo are soundbars with a subwoofer included. 292 soundbars (67%) 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. 92 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. 86% of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.