Soundbars: What to know before you buy
Soundbars: What to know before you buy
A soundbar is one of the best upgrades you can make to your TV, but there are so many to choose from. Here’s what you should know and a selection of excellent soundbars hand-picked by CNET editors.
You can see the products featured in this video here 👇
Sennheiser Ambeo https://bit.ly/31pTSua
Sonos Arc https://bit.ly/2ZP5W87
Vizio V21 https://bit.ly/3DjUYoO
Roku Streambar https://bit.ly/3ry4aDI
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Read about all the best soundbars here:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/best-soundbar/
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Klipsch Cinema 600 5.1
Its been a decade just to get clarity
If the soundbar doesn’t have up-firing speakers, or isn’t at least an exceptional true 3.1ch, you’re better off getting a pair of HiFi 2-way bookshelf speakers with sub for the same money, connect to your TV’s headphone jack and use the virtual surround already built into the TV. Why spend extra money for virtual surround you already have or streaming features you already have on your mobile phone? And you’ll end up with much more proficient drivers and save a precious HDMI port too. Soundbars hardly save space if you really think about it.
This is one of the most terrible sounds videos I have seen. Not only did you get things wrong about the specs of ARC, you also failed to recommend actually good soundbars like the Q950A and HT-A9. Disliked.
HDMI ARC does not support Dolby Atmos, HDMI eARC does though.
Google cast lets you send audio to other Google speakers.
(me, surrounded by filing cabinet-sized speakers)
Where were you when I was young and naive?!
Want to get a sound bar? Scrap that get two solid bookshelf speakers instead
Always wondered what ARC was on the HDMI – thanks! Last time I looked at sound bars there was so much variance in price and functions that I bought a milky bar instead – saved me a few hundred quid! Makes a lot of sense that streaming and speaker tech converges: makes things more invisible; less gadgets to plug in and power, less remotes etc. Might have another look!
Im just scared of adding extra input lag or limit the capability’s of my LG CX
What about bose 900 @cnet?
Bluesound pulse?
You read my mind every time. Thanks for this one epic video 📸☺️
Just the soundbar information I want to know! 😭
Thank you for the wonderful video!
Oops I just bought a couple of cheap Sony Soundbars…. And their sound is great. They just work, have ARC and heaps of bass.
I needed thia video a month ago 😂
If you have a new Samsung QLED, I suggest going with a Samsung Q series soundbar to get extra features such as Q symphony (adds the use of TV speakers to your sound bar at the same time), acoustic beam (object tracking on screen), and a room scanner (to adjust sound to your room’s layout and furniture placement).
Soundbars from Bose, Samsung, LG etc were missing. Can they be reviewed by CNET?
Another option for folks with an Apple TV 4K is a pair of HomePod Minis. When they are on sell you can get them for under $200 total.
I mean do you need them? Have you checked the audio specs of your Flat screen? If you selected a Flat screen with the same or higher audio specs, you don’t need to spend $$$$ extra. Invest in a display for less then and use the sound bar audio. If you select one of these cheap Flat screens? I read both specs… Video/Audio and outputs..
Bose soundbars are a lot better than Sonos. Specially the 900 is leaves ahead of the arc.
Explains the soundbar concept by introducing Sony and its videos then skips the brand entirely afterwards when looking at models across segments… You could easily have put in the Sony A5000 or A7000 in. They perform much better than the Sonos Arc and actually has a HDMI 2.1 switch.
If Apple ever makes a TV, you can bet that their speakers will probably blow us away. But an actual TV from Apple is just wishful thinking, especially when we got faked out and they gave us a streaming box 😂
For the "best" soundbar, I would certainly go for the Lyravox Stereomaster II 200. And it is quite affordable with its 22k price tag. Anyway, all and all this was an informative video with interesting products. However, the sound of your voice on the video itself is not good at all. It is very flat and "thin" I am sure you do not really sound like that in real life. If you are going to make a video about the sound quality of a product should you not make an effort to sound great on the video? The reason I ask is because everyone listens or perceives sound differently. And maybe the sound on the video is what you consider good sound quality. And if that was the case maybe the products you are suggesting do not sound as good as some of us may be led to believe they do? Anyway. This is just a point of view. Great stuff. Keep it up.
Music doesn’t sound great on the Ambeo…? I’d check your Ambeo settings… or something is definitely wrong…
Amazing channel
🤔..
Utter rubbish just tosh. I recommend a dedicated audio channel for people looking to make a decision on a sound bar or speakers not this drivel I just watched.
Just connect your stereo speakers like I do JBL to your TV
I hate my Klipsch sound bar the Bluetooth subwoofer is always coming disconnected and making terrible noises.
Vizio V51 was an amazing deal from Costco … It was like $180 and includes the subwoofer and rear surrounds… Based on what I’ve seen the Dolby Atmos from most sound bars is ineffective compared to actual speakers so why spend the extra money
what about the sonos beam gen 2 ?
get the best one to avoid any regret, I went all the way for q950a and it blew my mind away how top end bluetooth soundbar sound just as good as wired one!
Where is the link to buy the Vizio M512A-H6? how are you gunna advertise it and put a link with the rest of the products?
Don’t buy Vizio. You have been warned. Their soundars are plagued with firmware issues.
Just avoid any devices that come with an integrated voice assistant…
I much prefer my AV receiver and 5.1 speakers.
Could gad dropped this pre black friday
Jesus… got my place bugged…
Sonos ftw!
JBL9.1 😎 never got any issues since I got it last year with my LG CX, connected to Apple TV 4K, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and works with airplay 2.
hdmi plugged in to my sony sound bar and now cant controll audio with tv remote LAME!
Almost everytime there is a video like this always the purists appear with the don’t buy a soundbar just get a bookshelf speakers or get a proper home theater but that’s not good for everyone. First a proper home theater with atmos support will more than likely cost you like 2 or 3 times more than a top of the line soundbar, if you don’t have the technical knowledge you’ll had to pay for the installation and that’s more money on top of that you need to wire everything and that can be a nightmare for a first install. Now you can easily get good sound for less than 1000 and awesome sound for less than 2000 in the soundbar category. If you feel you need more and are ready to pay get a proper home theater it would be the best.