The 5 Best 5.1 Soundbars - Spring 2023 Reviews

The best 5.1 soundbar we've tested is the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 with Speakers + Bass Module. It's a premium Dolby Atmos soundbar that's a great choice for watching surround sound content. While it's not currently available as a package deal, you can still buy the bar, the sub, and the satellites from the manufacturer separately and pair them together for a truly immersive sound. Like most premium bars, it has a room correction feature to optimize audio reproduction based on your room's unique acoustics, which Bose calls ADAPTiQ. With it on, its sound profile is very neutral, so you don't have any trouble following the dialogue in your favorite movies or distinguishing instruments in your favorite songs. Thanks to its sub, the bass has plenty of rumble, providing a cinematic feel for action-packed scenes and intense movie scores.

This bar supports lots of different audio formats. If you watch many movies on streaming platforms, you've likely come across 5.1 surround sound formats like Dolby Digital and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos, and the bar plays back both with ease. That said, it doesn't support DTS content. This format is rare on its own, but it's often the fallback for higher quality DTS-HD MA formatted Blu-rays. If you watch a lot of Blu-rays or already have a Sonos ecosystem in your home, the Sonos Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers is a good alternative. Its soundstage performance isn't quite as good as the Bose, but it still does a good job overall. There are also some options on the market with more than five channels, including the 11.1.4 Samsung HW-Q990C and the 7.1.4 Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc that offer an even more immersive experience. However, they're a bit more expensive overall. If you're sticking with a 5.1 setup, the Bose is the best of the best.

The Vizio Elevate is the best 5.1 soundbar in the upper mid-range that we've tested. It's a premium 5.1.4 bar with a unique design, as the sides of the bar rotate upwards when you watch Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content, which helps create a wider, more immersive soundstage. You can also turn this feature on when you watch 5.1 content, like Dolby Digital or DTS. Thanks to its two discrete satellites, it offers a clear and real representation of surround sound, and the action seems like it's happening all around you, with sound effects coming from distinct locations. Unfortunately, you have to wire these satellites to the bar to get them to work, which can clutter your living space.

With its dedicated subwoofer, this soundbar has no trouble reproducing the deep thump and rumble in action-heavy scenes or powerful movie scores. There's a little extra boom in the bass though voices are still clear and present in the mix thanks to its balanced mids. You have some customization tools, but not as many as the most premium setups, like the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 with Speakers + Bass Module. Without room correction, for example, it sounds a bit different depending on the acoustics of your space. Still, it's a versatile pick that's more affordable than the top-of-the-line models.

The Vizio M Series M512a-H6 is the best 5.1 soundbar we've tested in the mid-range. It's a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar that comes with a subwoofer and satellites right out of the box, and it does a great job for its price. You enjoy a clear and real performance with Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos content, so movies on your favorite streaming platforms seem to be taking place in the space around you. Naturally, it doesn't perform as well as our top picks—since it lacks rotating sides like the Vizio Elevate, its soundstage isn't as wide, and there aren't any up-firing drivers on its satellites either to improve its Atmos performance. Still, it does a good job, especially with movies.

It's a good pick for stereo content as well. Out-of-the-box, its balanced sound means that voices and lead instruments in music are clear and present in the mix, and you don't have any trouble following the dialogue in TV shows. It has a dedicated subwoofer, so action-packed scenes in your favorite movies as well as bass-heavy music bring plenty of thump and rumble. There's no room correction feature, which isn't a surprise given its price, so it sounds a little different, depending on the room you're in. Fortunately, you can always use its bass and treble adjustments to make up for this or to switch up its sound to your liking. Overall, it's a versatile choice.

For a more affordable 5.1 soundbar, consider the Vizio M Series M51ax-J6. This setup is a great choice for everything from movies to music to TV shows, and it especially shines with surround sound. Position its two included satellites anywhere you want to ensure that sound effects are spread throughout your room. As a result, you enjoy a more immersive sound overall, as effects seem like they're coming from accurate locations in the space around you. Dialogue is clear and present in the mix, and its dedicated subwoofer brings out all the thump and rumble in more intense movie scenes. You'll have to wire the satellites to the sub to get them to work, though, which may not be ideal for your room.

That said, this soundbar offers many of the same customization tools as the manufacturer's more premium options, so you can customize the bar's bass and treble to get the sound you want. Its main difference compared to the Vizio M Series M512a-H6 is evident when you watch Dolby Atmos content. The bar's satellites only have front-firing drivers, unlike the M512a-H6, which also has up-firing drivers on its satellites. As a result, there's a little less height reproduced in the soundstage. Drones seem like they're flying past you rather than right over your head, for example. If you don't watch a lot of Atmos content or aren't too worried about the cinematic feel, you may find that it's a better deal overall—but for the best possible Atmos performance, you'll want to spend a little more.

The best budget 5.1 soundbar we've tested is the Vizio V Series V51-H6. It's one of the few 5.1 soundbars available at this price point and offers a great price-to-performance ratio overall. The included satellite speakers are a real draw compared to similarly-priced models since they greatly improve the surround sound experience. Plug them in to enjoy a more clear and real feel with sound effects so you feel like you're in the middle of the action on screen. You have to wire them into the subwoofer to get them to work, which is inconvenient, depending on your setup, but not a huge deal, given the wallet-friendly price.

Compared to the Vizio M Series M51ax-J6, this soundbar offers many of the same sound enhancement features. Its bass and treble are adjustable, so you have some control over how the bar sounds. The main difference between these two setups is Dolby Atmos support—while the M Series can playback height content, the V Series can't. Atmos is getting common on both streaming platforms and Blu-rays, so if you want to take advantage of this immersive audio format, you'll want to opt for the M Series. However, if you aren't an Atmos fan, you may find that the V Series is the better value pick overall.