The 6 Best All-In-One Soundbars - Fall 2024

The best all-in-one soundbar we've tested is the Sonos Arc Ultra. It's a premium soundbar that sounds balanced out of the box with a wide soundstage that elevates your at-home cinema experience. With support for most audio formats like Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital, alongside DTS, you can reliably expect your audio to play nice with streaming platforms and Blu-rays. Its discrete center channel ensures dialogue comes through as clearly and as intended by the filmmakers. If you have trouble making out speech, there's an adjustable 'Voice Enhancement' tool, in addition to room correction ('TruePlay'), and a handful of other digital-signal-processor (DSP) effects, height adjustments, and Bass and Treble sliders.

If you already have other Sonos products, you can integrate them via their app, including the Sonos Ace Wireless and their speakers, such as the Sonos Era 300, or select older subwoofer models. That said, the soundbar, on its own, has an integrated sub, which helps to add a bit more boom to explosions. It doesn't include a remote, so you'll need to use your device's app (for iOS and Android) or set it up to work with your TV's remote, and some features, like the 'advanced' room correction, require an iOS device to configure. If you want the same access to features regardless of whether your device runs on iOS or Android, such as room correction, check out the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. It's another premium standalone bar with a wide and immersive soundstage, though its surround performance isn't quite as impressive as what you get with the Sonos, and it doesn't support DTS content.

Want a more affordable all-in-one soundbar? Check out the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). At less than 26 inches in width, this soundbar is a great choice for those who don't have space for a larger standalone bar. Despite its small size, the bar can still bring a wide and immersive sound, thanks to its side-firing speakers that beam sound throughout your room. Compared to the first-generation model, this version adds support for Dolby Atmos content commonly found on streaming services and Blu-rays. As a result, you enjoy a clear and life-like feel with all your favorite movies and TV shows.

You'll find a selection of sound enhancement features similar to the Sonos Arc Ultra. Like most premium bars, there's a room correction feature, 'TruePlay,' accessed via the app on compatible iOS devices. With it on, vocals and lead instruments reproduce pretty clearly, and there's a touch of extra boom in the bass to bring action-packed scenes to life. If you want to customize it, bass and treble adjustments are available. That said, since this setup is smaller than the Arc Ultra, it doesn't get as loud. It brings an immersive feel with Atmos content, but it's not as life-like as what you get with the Arc Ultra. Still, it's a solid pick for those without a lot of space who want a premium bar.

For more recommendations that work well for speech-heavy viewing, like reality TV and dramas, check out the best soundbars for dialogue.

The Samsung HW-S60D is a solid mid-range standalone soundbar. It's a well-made 5.0 soundbar on the smaller side, like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), and stylishly blends in with your decor without drawing too much attention to itself. That said, its stereo soundstage isn't quite as wide, and the Dolby Atmos height is lacking compared to the Beam (Gen 2), though the Samsung gets a bit louder at max volume and offers more user manual control over the sound settings. You can use the room correction tool, which automatically adjusts the sound to suit your space's unique acoustics. Plus, a plethora of tools like graphic EQ and EQ presets, as well as dialogue and night modes, alongside additional height adjustments, let you tweak the sound further.

With its expansive wireless connectivity, you can easily connect via Bluetooth and Chromecast, alongside Wi-Fi and more, so you can hit play on our tunes at a moment's notice without the fuss of setup. There's support for Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, and DTS, which works for most media, though it has to downmix Atmos content to stereo, which makes it sound a bit more artificial than dedicated up-firing drivers found on the Sonos Arc Ultra. Still, for TV shows and music, it's a nice choice that offers you a lot of control over the sound.

The TCL S45H is the best budget all-in-one soundbar that we've tested. It represents an upgrade to your TV's built-in speakers at a price that's easy on your wallet. While it's a 2.0 soundbar, so it doesn't have a dedicated center channel like the Samsung HW-S60D, it's decently built and is compatible with Dolby Atmos content. The soundbar includes a surprising array of features for an affordable price, such as room correction, dialogue and night modes, alongside EQ presets and bass and treble sliders, so you can sculpt the sound to your tastes and space.

It gets louder with less compression at max volume than most TV built-in speakers, and it supports Dolby Digital and DTS, too. Unlike the Samsung, however, it doesn't offer as much wireless playback compatibility, and the TCL is limited to Bluetooth. While it lacks a discrete center channel for greater speech clarity, you get a few tools to enhance the dialogue, and it's a reasonable choice for watching TV shows and listening to music. For tight spaces and tight budgets, it's a great option that includes features you won't find on many soundbars under $100.

Are you a bass lover? If so, you'll want to check out the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar MAX. It comes with an integrated subwoofer, and it's one of the only bars we've tested that can reproduce a deep and extended low bass without needing a dedicated sub. As a result, it's a great choice for smaller spaces or anyone who doesn't have floor space for a bulky subwoofer. The bar is quite large—tall enough to block a portion of your screen if you don't mount the bar or add some height to the TV—and heavy, so it's not ideal for everyone, but it packs a punch, especially in the overall sound quality.

This soundbar is great for listening to everything from music to movies to TV shows—and its virtual surround feature called AMBEO 3D is a handy way to enhance your listening experience. It offers a wide, immersive sound, with plenty of rumble in the bass during action-packed scenes. There's even a room correction mode, like the other premium bars on our list, and a graphic EQ to manually customize its sound across the range. It's a unique bar with a powerful performance overall. That said, given its size and price, if you're a bass lover and can spare the floor space, you might find it's a better value to add on a separate sub to the Bose or the Sonos instead or consider choosing one of the best soundbars with subwoofers.

The Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 is the best all-in-one design for taking advantage of HDMI 2.1's high bandwidth. While its Dolby Atmos height isn't quite as tall, and the stereo soundstage and surround 5.1 performance aren't quite as immersive as the Sonos Arc Ultra, the Sony has greater HDMI connectivity. Next-gen consoles and sports fans can take advantage of the 4k at 120Hz and G-SYNC variable refresh rate for a clear image with uncompressed audio.

Besides its expansive connectivity, the soundbar also works with most surround sound formats, such as DTS:X, which is used on most streaming platforms and Blu-ray, as well as object-based surround sound, Dolby Atmos. It includes room correction and a few limited listening modes like 'Voice' and 'Sound Field' to shape the sound but lacks a full EQ. For a standalone bar, it outputs a good amount of low-end, though it's not as rumbly as the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar MAX. It lacks support for a voice assistant.