The 7 Best Dolby Atmos Soundbars - Winter 2022 Reviews

The Samsung HW-Q950A is the best Dolby Atmos soundbar we've tested. This premium 11.1.4 setup comes with a dedicated sub and two satellite speakers to help immerse you in Dolby Atmos content. Up-firing drivers built into the bar, and the satellites bounce sound off the ceiling and back down towards you to create the illusion of height.

This bar is the next generation of the Samsung HW-Q950T. It comes with some new features, including an Auto EQ room correction feature that automatically calibrates the bar's sound based on your room's acoustics. With this feature on, it has a pretty neutral sound profile suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content. There are many sound enhancement features available, including a graphic EQ and a virtual surround mode.

Unfortunately, compared to its predecessor, this bar doesn't reproduce as much bass out-of-the-box. That said, you can easily get more thump and rumble in your audio using its many sound enhancement features.

The best Dolby Atmos soundbar with a 5.1 setup we've tested is the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 with Speakers + Bass Module. Bose's PhaseGuide technology beams sound throughout your room, resulting in a very wide and immersive-sounding soundstage. It also offers an impressive performance with Dolby Atmos content, and sound seems to come from all around you.

This soundbar has a room correction feature called ADAPTiQ that automatically calibrates audio reproduction based on your room's unique acoustics. With this feature turned on, it has a pretty neutral sound profile with a little extra boom in the bass suitable for many different types of audio content. Its discrete surround speakers help improve the focus with surround and Atmos content.

Unfortunately, without a Full HDMI In port, you can't use this bar as a hub between different devices. It doesn't have an EQ, either. However, there are still bass and treble adjustments to help you customize its sound.

The most immersive Dolby Atmos soundbar we've tested is the Sony HT-A9 with Bass Module. This 4.1.4 setup has a unique design with a small control box and four discrete surround speakers. It uses Sony's 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology to create a wide and immersive soundstage that makes it seem like audio is coming from all around you.

With up-firing drivers built into the control box and the satellites, this setup bounces sound off the ceiling and back down towards you to create the illusion of height when listening to Atmos content. Compared to other premium setups, the sound seems to fill the room around you. It also has a Sound Field Optimization room correction feature, and its sound profile is pretty neutral, though slightly muddy.

Unfortunately, this soundbar doesn't come with a discrete center channel, so voices aren't as clearly anchored to a pinpoint location in the soundstage. You may even notice some holes in the soundstage when watching Atmos content. You can connect the bar to a compatible BRAVIA TV for Acoustic Center Sync, which uses your TV speakers as a discrete center, but this can reduce the overall sound quality.

The best Dolby Atmos soundbar with a standalone design we've tested is the Bose Smart Soundbar 900. This premium 5.0.2 setup is the upgraded version of the Bose Smart Soundbar 700, and it adds two up-firing drivers in the bar for Dolby Atmos support. Thanks to the manufacturer's PhaseGuide technology, the sound is beamed throughout your room, resulting in an immersive sound without the need for extra satellite speakers.

This soundbar comes with an ADAPTiQ room correction feature. With this on, it has a pretty neutral sound profile suitable for listening to many different types of audio content. It lacks an EQ, but there are still bass and treble adjustments to help you customize its sound.

Unfortunately, this setup struggles to reproduce the deep, rumbling low-bass in bass-heavy music and action-packed movies. There's no Full HDMI In port, so you can't use it for HDR or 4k passthrough. That said, it still offers impressive performance for a standalone bar.

The best budget Atmos soundbar that we've tested is the TCL Alto 8i. This standalone 2.1 setup has a unique design with two front-firing drivers in the bar that ricochet sound off the ceiling to create the sensation of height. Its Atmos performance isn't as impressive as some of the more premium setups we've tested, but it's still a versatile pick for this price range.

Out-of-the-box, this soundbar has a fairly dark and boomy sound profile due to the extra bass and recessed treble. Vocals and lead instruments are still reproduced pretty clearly, so it's suitable for dialogue-centric content like TV shows. You can also use its bass and treble adjustments to create a more neutral sound if you prefer.

Unfortunately, there's no dedicated subwoofer included, and this bar struggles to reproduce the deep rumble in action-packed movies on its own. Its soundstage performance isn't as impressive as other setups we've tested, and there aren't as many sound enhancement features available. However, if you're looking for the best budget Atmos soundbars, it's a solid choice.