Soundbar Reviews

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Leslie Shapiro  |  Nov 16, 2021

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $599

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Convincing DSP-based surround
Excellent sound quality
Compact footprint
Minus
Built-in Amazon Alexa
Limited front panel feedback
Requires HEOS app for best results

THE VERDICT
Denon’s soundbar scores with convincing virtual Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound, along with excellent performance on music playback.

I rarely have very much good to say about soundbars with DSP-based simulated surround. But the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 ($599) instantly impressed me by delivering convincing immersive sound. Add in the built-in HEOS multiroom platform, which lets you stream from music apps over Wi-Fi, and Denon's Sound Bar turns out to be a winning proposition.

Rob Sabin  |  Sep 07, 2022

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,400

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Stupendous bass without an external subwoofer
Outstanding timbre and dynamics
Easy to use via HDMI-CEC or Devialet app
Minus
No remote learning for optical connections
No voice integration
No DTS decoding

THE VERDICT
You'll pay for the privilege, but Devialet's Dione lives up to the full promise of an audiophile-quality, all-in-one soundbar.

From time to time I get to review an audio product that is so thoroughly engineered, so cutting-edge and so high performing that it leaves me in awe. And let's be clear, after three decades of doing this, I'm not easily impressed. But I'll tell you here that the subject of this review, the $2,400 Devialet Dione, is hands-down the best all-in-one soundbar I have ever heard, and undoubtedly one of the two best soundbars currently available. We'll get to that later, but for now, let's take a closer look.

Daniel Kumin  |  Dec 19, 2014

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,599 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Fine tonal balance with genuine deep bass
Very substantial level potential
Elegant appearance
Minus
A few operational and hookup quirks (it’s French!)
No remote-control learn/teach scheme

THE VERDICT
A 5.1-channel system in soundbar packaging that combines tonal accuracy with impressive low-frequency response and power, plus surround as effective as we’ve heard from an all-up-front affair.

As recently as a couple of years ago, anyone shopping for an “audiophile soundbar” was in danger of being laughed off the lot. The bar scene was dominated by price-driven, mass-market models sold in big-box stores, and most of these were plastic jobs from the mega-mills of the Pacific rim, with just a smattering of somewhat more upscale choices from a few more serious American and Canadian brands.

Al Griffin  |  Oct 16, 2012

Say what you want about soundbars, but the category counts as one of the more active areas of speaker design. Sure, many products pumped out over the last few years are low-end ones designed to be sold as accessories for flat-panel TVs. But plenty of serious speaker companies have also gotten into the game, and the performance of the resulting products, while not yet at a level to make audiophiles toss out their tower speakers en masse, has proven more than sufficient for casual home theater use, as well as for background music listening.

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 20, 2012

Soundbar System
Performance
Build Quality
Value
 
ForceField 3 Subwoofer
Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
Price: $2,000 At A Glance: 3D sonic-image optimization technology • Passive LCR design • Aerospace-grade extruded-aluminum cabinet

Women. They’re the problem. They’re the ones who have ruined home theater for all the manly men out there whose only vice was reclining in front of a set of towering speakers that dominated the room like a pair of long-faced Easter Island monoliths—speakers so masculine, they used testosterone instead of ferrofluid to cool the voice coils and were topped with skeleton-ugly horn tweeters so efficient Joshua could have used them to bring down the walls of Jericho the first day (before lunch!). For additional aural excitement, in a front corner of the room, openly begging for attention and not girlishly hiding behind a couch or doing double duty as a plant stand, would be a massive subwoofer with a magnet assembly so powerful that localized rooftop occurrences of the aurora borealis would happen from time to time. Techs from the local hospital would often bring patients to the house and use the subwoofer for testing when the lab’s MRI machine needed repair. But no more. The man cave has been emasculated and replaced by the female grotto, complete with bowls of potpourri and seating geometries that would make Euclid weep with grief. The coup de grâce, however, the fatal blow to any home theater’s manhood, is the now near-obligatory soundbar. Long and falsely phallic, it mocks the real men in the room as it preens itself under the flat-panel HDTV.

Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 24, 2011
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Build Quality
Price: $200 At a Glance: 2.1-channel soundbar with bottom-firing bass drivers • Dynamic Volume and other Audyssey features • No surround processing, analog input only

Home theater is the union of big-screen picture and surround sound. Flat-panel HDTVs have made the first half of the equation irresistible even for consumers of modest means. But the sound-related half has suffered in comparison. In fact, it has suffered in response: The thinner the HDTV gets, the less hospitable its pencil-thin enclosure becomes to speakers. Things have gotten to the point where an HDTV’s built-in speakers aren’t even up to the task of delivering a weather report, let alone a high-caliber movie experience or decent music playback. Ultra-flat HDTVs are like anorexic supermodels who starve their puppies because they want pets as fashionably thin as they are.

Leslie Shapiro  |  Sep 30, 2020

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Rechargeable, fully wireless surrounds
Upfiring speakers for overhead effects
Easy to use auto-calibration
HDMI with eARC and Dolby Vision pass-through
Minus
Smart Mode processing difficult to switch on/off

THE VERDICT
The JBL Bar 9.1 system combines soundbar convenience with a level of immersive performance only achievable through dedicated surround and overhead effects speakers.

The JBL Bar 9.1 soundbar system provides one of the easiest ways to get a realistic Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio experience. JBL's secret? The Bar 9.1 uses a pair of detachable wireless, battery-operated surround speakers that can be situated anyplace in the room that's convenient. In addition, the Bar 9.1 has an auto-calibration feature that will adjust the sound to compensate for speaker placement.

Mark Henninger  |  Jul 06, 2025
KEF has unveiled the XIO Soundbar ($2500), a 5.1.2-channel all-in-one system designed to bring the company’s HiFi pedigree to a living room-friendly surround-sound system. With 12 Class D amps delivering a combined 820W of power and support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Sony 360 Reality Audio, and AirPlay Spatial Audio, the XIO is engineered to turn flat-panel TV sound into full-scale immersive playback.

Tom Norton  |  Nov 19, 2025

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
An impressive one-piece home theater solution
Setup requires little space
Excellent sound
Minus
Pricey

THE VERDICT
A premium soundbar has become an intriguing option for audio enthusiasts who can't afford the space-hogging and/or budget-busting required for a complex and fully discrete home theater installation. The KEF XIO's striking performance will surprise many dedicated and hard-to-please audiophiles.

The concept of home theater began before the year 2000. While the audio components needed to make the idea work could initially be cobbled together from parts originally designed for traditional two-channel audio, the video side remained woefully behind. Yes, there were interesting developments in that direction, notably by Henry Kloss and his NovaBeam video projector.

Rob Sabin  |  Sep 22, 2021

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,899 (Editor’s note: Between the time the review was conducted and when it was posted on September 22, Klipsch increased the system price from $1,699 to $1,899.)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
All-in-one 5.1.4 Atmos system
Stupendous dynamics
Great sound quality with music and movies
Class-leading 12-inch subwoofer
Minus
Ineffective surround processing of stereo music
No mic on remote or bar for Alexa and Google Assistant
No DTS decoding

THE VERDICT
The Klipsch Cinema 1200 is among the least expensive of today's high-end soundbar solutions and over-delivers on both sound quality and value.

Klipsch's new Cinema series soundbars are the latest effort of an iconic, 75-year-old speaker maker to push new performance barriers while delivering a product that is quintessentially, well, Klipsch. There are four systems, each with the real wood cabinetry and the signature Tractrix horn- loaded tweeters that have come to define the brand. These run from the entry-level Cinema 400 ($329), a 40-inch-wide 2.1-channel bar with an 8-inch wireless subwoofer, to the Cinema 1200 ($1,899) reviewed here—a 5.1.4 system with a 54-inch-wide Atmos-enabled bar, a wireless 12-inch sub, and a pair of wireless Atmos- enabled surrounds.

Rob Sabin  |  Jul 16, 2024

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,050 (as tested)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Exceptional value in build and sound quality
Optional wireless sub and surrounds
Thoughtful and extensive adjustments
Easy-to-use remote and app interface
Minus
Needs the add-on sub for best dynamics
No DTS decoding
No rear-height surrounds...yet

THE VERDICT
Klipsch has partnered with Onkyo to deliver an audiophile-quality soundbar that is one of the best values for the money you'll find.

Dolby Atmos, once a costly premium, is enjoying a surge of popularity across a range of new audio gear. In particular, very good Atmos soundbars from capable audio brands are becoming common and less costly. These are made even more attractive today thanks to Dolby’s support in developing an immense catalog of evergreen music for spatial audio.

Barb Gonzalez  |  Dec 19, 2025

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,199; $499; $399

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Clear dialog without sacrificing sound effects
Natural sound
Dirac Live to configure for room
Large LED display that disappears when not in use
Minus
Surround effects are only apparent in extreme action scenes
Dirac is difficult to set up
Sound bar is very big

THE VERDICT
Klipsch’s long history of speaker design shows in the Flexus Core 300. Dialog stays intelligible without flattening music and effects, and the overall balance leans warm and easy to listen to.

Introduction

Klipsch has been around since 1946, and it’s not new to soundbars. The company introduced its first Reference-branded soundbar, the R-10B, in 2014, and later released higher-end Cinema systems, including the Cinema 1200 flagship.

Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 22, 2014

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $600

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Horn-loaded tweeters
Bluetooth with aptX
Wireless sub
Minus
No HDMI
Membrane remote

THE VERDICT
The Klipsch R-10B is a great-sounding 2.1-channel bar with a good-sounding sub, legacy connectivity, and Bluetooth.

After all this time, it still amazes me, as a speaker and receiver guy, that setup of an audio-for-video product can be as painless as it was with the Klipsch R-10B soundbar. I connected one optical digital cable and two power cables. The bar established diplomatic relations with its wireless subwoofer without any intervention on my part. Bluetooth pairing was just a matter of selecting the Klipsch as playback device in iTunes. This is the setup routine for people who hate setup routines.

Al Griffin  |  Aug 27, 2019

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $600

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Good sound quality with movies and music
3.1.2 Atmos playback
Chromecast built-in for music streaming
Minus
Wireless surround speakers not included
Center channel lacks some clarity on dynamic scenes

THE VERDICT
LG’s 3.1.2 soundbar offers a solid, relatively affordable option for those seeking a dose of immersion minus the heavy hardware investment.

LG has been in the soundbar game for many years, churning out mainly lower-priced bars designed to mate with the company's TVs. The focus on affordable product has likely been a strategic one for LG—the average consumer reeling from the sticker-shock of an OLED TV purchase isn't likely to shell out another grand for a soundbar system, no matter how good it performs. For 2019, however, LG opted to go high-end, releasing a feature-packed trio of soundbars with commensurate price tags.

Al Griffin  |  Aug 12, 2020

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $799

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Good sound quality with movies and music
AI Room Calibration feature
HDMI eARC connectivity
Chromecast built-in and Google Assistant
Minus
Could use an extra HDMI input

THE VERDICT
The Verdict: LG's affordable 3.1.2 soundbar performs well with movies and music and features new room correction processing.

It was around this time last year that I reviewed LG's SL8YG, a 3.1.2 soundbar equipped with upfiring 2.5-inch drivers and both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X processing. What was notable about that model, as well as other soundbars to arrive from LG in 2019, was the company's effort to go upscale via a sleek new design and custom audio processing from England's Meridian Technologies. The new SN8YG reviewed here continues that upward trajectory, mostly through the addition of a few key features.

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