The 6 Best Soundbars Under $500 - Summer 2021 Reviews

The Vizio M Series M51a-H6 is the best soundbar under $500 that we've tested. This 5.1 setup comes with a dedicated subwoofer for two satellite speakers, and it offers a very versatile overall performance. It has a good surrounds performance, and it also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content, so it's a great choice for movie fans.

Out-of-the-box, it has a very neutral, balanced sound profile suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content, and its sub adds a little extra punch in the bass range that can please fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM. It even comes with bass and treble adjustments, as well as a few EQ presets to help you customize its sound more to your liking. It gets loud enough to use in large rooms or at crowded parties, too.

Unfortunately, it lacks some more premium sound enhancement features like a graphic EQ for greater sound customization or a room correction feature to help adjust its audio reproduction based on the room you're listening in. It also has a mediocre selection of wireless playback options, so you can't stream audio to the bar wirelessly over Wi-Fi, Apple AirPlay, or Chromecast built-in. That said, it's Bluetooth-compatible, so you can pair Bluetooth devices like your smartphone or tablet to the bar wirelessly to play your music.

The Klipsch Cinema 600 is the best soundbar under $500 for dialogue that we've tested. Thanks to its dedicated center channel, this 3.1 setup helps to more clearly and accurately reproduce voices in dialogue-centric content like TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks. You can also use its dialogue enhancement feature to help voices sound more crisp and clear or its auto-volume mode to help balance the volume level between different programs.

Out-of-the-box, it has a very neutral, though slightly bright sound profile that's suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content. There's also a subwoofer level adjustment to help you customize its sound more to your liking. It's Bluetooth-compatible, so you can wirelessly stream podcasts and audiobooks from your smartphone or tablet to the bar.

Unfortunately, while it supports surround content, it has to downmix it into stereo to play it, which doesn't sound as immersive. It also doesn't support Dolby Atmos content, and it doesn't have a Full HDMI In port, so you can't really use it as a hub between different devices. However, if you're looking for a more simple setup for listening to vocal-centric content, it's a solid choice.

The Sonos Beam is the best small soundbar under $500 that we've tested. This premium-looking 3.0 model has a very compact design, so it shouldn't take up too much space in your existing setup. Thanks to its dedicated center channel, it can reproduce dialogue in movies clearly and accurately.

Out-of-the-box, it has a pretty neutral sound profile that makes it suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content. You can customize its sound more to your liking using its bass and treble adjustments, and there's even a room correction feature that can automatically optimize audio reproduction based on the unique acoustic characteristics of the room you're listening in. While it doesn't support Bluetooth, it's still compatible with Wi-Fi and Apple AirPlay, making it easy to wirelessly stream content from your phone to the bar.

Unfortunately, it doesn't support Dolby Atmos content, and it has to downmix surround content into stereo to play it, which isn't very immersive-sounding. Also, like many small soundbars, it struggles to reproduce a thumpy low-bass, which can be disappointing if you like to feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed scenes. You can purchase a subwoofer separately, but we haven't tested it in this configuration.

If you're looking for a 2.1 setup, the best soundbar under $500 that we've tested is the Samsung HW-A550. This setup is well-built, and it comes with lots of sound customization features, including a graphic EQ and preset modes like 'Bass Boost' and 'Adaptive Sound'. In fact, the 'Adaptive Sound' mode doubles as a dialogue enhancement feature, so you can make voices in your audio more clear and crisp.

Out-of-the-box, this soundbar has a pretty neutral, balanced sound profile that's suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content, though it lacks a bit of low-bass. It also gets pretty loud, which is handy if you like to crank up the volume to fill up large rooms and crowded parties. It's even Bluetooth-compatible, so you can wirelessly stream audio from your mobile devices to the bar.

Unfortunately, this 2.1 soundbar doesn't support Dolby Atmos content, which can be disappointing for some movie fans. Also, unlike some of Samsung's more premium models like the Samsung HW-Q600A, it lacks Acoustic Beam technology and Q-Symphony, which are features that are advertised to help create a more immersive sound. That said, we don't test for those features, and this bar still offers a pretty versatile overall performance.