Whether it’s for streaming, podcasts, Alexa or more, a sophisticated sound system needn't break the bank (iStock/The Independent)
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Gone are the days when to get decent surround sound, you had to order five different speakers and an amp, and knock through one of your living room walls to fit them all in.
Granted, there’s still nothing like a proper set-up for the very best sound, but there are plenty of genuinely good alternatives to the full system that come in the guise of the soundbar.
Even at the lower end of the market, soundbars are becoming ever-more impressive in terms of audio quality, build and looks.
There are options for any home, from big furniture-replacement bars to tiny boombox strips. Even big brands have turned their focus to giving you a bit more boom for your buck, with many sophisticated soundbars offering good sound at an appealing price.
We closed the windows to test a wide range of options at multiple price points for their clarity, volume potential, ease of set-up and connectivity capabilities. Our testing took in music genres from hip-hop, to classical, to our private mid-2000s boyband playlist, and included hours of TV, from news channels to blockbuster films. After the frankly overindulgent amount of multimedia we exposed ourselves to, we’ve found the best budget soundbars on the market.
The DHT-S316 soundbar comes with its own subwoofer, giving it the edge when it comes to big, expansive bass and cinematic audio. Although this system isn’t particularly suited for home when space is at a premium, the subwoofer isn’t actually that big and will fit in most living rooms. The soundbar itself is compact enough while providing a cultured higher register that complements the bass particularly well. It’s impressive that Denon has managed to fit all this in for such a low price – if you can put up with the subwoofer in your room, then the DHT-S316 is a soundbar system with a lot going for it.
At the upper end of “budget”, the 5.0 multibeam from JBL produces a sound that fits at a much higher price point. Audio is strong throughout the registers, with a surprisingly deep and full-bodied bass. The option to switch to Dolby Atmos is a great bonus at this price point, and you can really hear the difference.
The build is solid, with an appealing, sleek look that’s perfect for setting up under your TV or on the wall, and the soundbar manages to be light without detracting from its premium appearance. All in all, this is a solid choice for most households, at an attractive price for its performance.
This might be a diminutive soundbar, but it produces a fantastic noise and would work perfectly as surround sound for any desktop gaming. Developed in collaboration with Square Enix, the team behind Final Fantasy, the SoundSlayer features three gaming-specific sound modes, pumped through a 2.1 channel speaker with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. It also fits under pretty much any gaming monitor or TV made in the last 10 years. It’s small-scale surround sound for grand-scale gaming.
The Polk react soundbar has Amazon’s Alexa built-in, offering some extra smart capability on top of an impressive sound profile suited to a more expensive product. Alexa means you can group the react with other Alexa speakers to create a multi-room system, but the partner react subwoofer is the best bet for some extra strength in the lower register if the soundbar’s bass isn’t enough (for most, it will be). The STS 5.1 virtual surround sound can go missing at times, but for £179, it’s impressive that the sound remains so consistent. The ideal beginnings of surround sound for those who are part of the Alexa ecosystem.
While the Roku streambar is a good soundbar in its own right, it’s the combination of this and Roku’s great streaming service that makes this a soundbar worthy of your attention. Alongside Dolby Audio, surprisingly powerful bass and Bluetooth streaming for your music, Roku offers TV streaming from Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, alongside services such as Apple TV and UK on-demand channels including BBC iPlayer and All 4. The voice remote is also clear and easy to use. It’s a great-value one-stop shop for a serious TV upgrade.
The Sharp HT-SB110 is a product to put firmly in the “small but mighty” camp. It’s super-slim and as light as (an admittedly heavy) feather, but looks and sounds like a premium product. This is as pure a soundbar as you’ll get: there’s no screen to indicate volume or connectivity, and it doesn’t even have an HDMI cable included, but the sound is impressive, with good volume potential, decent bass and a great ability in picking up vocals and TV – there’s even a “news” acoustic mode. You really can’t go wrong for the price.
One word of warning: make sure you keep your grubby hands off the top – the nice shine effect looks much better without paw prints all over it.
The 2.0 all-in-one might look like the young upstart sibling of the 5.0 multibeam, but is much more than just a budget version of the more expensive soundbar. This well-formed little beast produces a great sound from a condensed body – it’s amazingly clear for its size.
There’s impressive bass within the soundbar, with more than enough sophistication throughout the mids, and vocal clarity that lends itself well to TV use or podcasts. The set-up is one of the easiest on the list, with consistent Bluetooth and simple wired connections.
Bose’s clear naming policy is a handy initiative for consumers (and journalists), and the Bose TV speaker continues the trend. It’s well-suited to popping under the TV and elevating your watching experience: its sound is nicely balanced, with various options for either ramping up the bass or entering “dialogue mode”, which pushes vocals forward in the sound profile to bring more clarity to that BBC4 interview you said you’d watch for a few months and have finally got round to.
While the volume can reach much higher levels than a normal TV, the Speaker is a little on the quiet side – one solution to this is linking it with one of Bose’s compatible Bass Modules, easily paired to provide some extra meat on the bones.
Your preference will be informed heavily by the real estate you can commit. If you have a little more space for a subwoofer, the Denon DHT-S316 is a great set-up, providing quality sound at a much higher level than its mid-range budget price tag would suggest. If you have a TV stand that is crying out for a soundbar alone, then the JBL bar 5.0 multibeam is an impressive option that pretty much does the job of a soundbar and subwoofer on its own.
