The 5 Best Soundbars For Dialogue - Black Friday 2020 Reviews

The best soundbar for dialogue we’ve tested is the Sony HT-Z9F. This 3.1 setup is excellent for listening to dialogue-heavy content like TV shows and podcasts thanks to its dedicated center channel. It's well-built, it can get loud, and it has a separate subwoofer to add an extra thump to action-packed scenes.

Overall, it has a neutral sound profile, with a well-balanced mid-range that helps reproduce voices clearly and accurately. If you prefer a different sound, several EQ presets are available to help you customize your listening experience. Also, there's a dialogue enhancement feature that makes voices sound more clear and crisp, and there's an auto-volume mode to help balance the volume level between different TV shows and commercials.

Unfortunately, while it can play Atmos content, it doesn't provide the best movie-watching experience. It uses Sony's S-Force Front Surround to give you the illusion of rear satellite speakers, but it doesn't sound as immersive as other soundbars. That said, if you don't watch a lot of Atmos content and want an upgrade over your TV speakers, this is a solid choice.

The Sonos Beam is the best standalone soundbar for dialogue that we've tested. This compact 3.0 channel model packs a punch for its small size. It has a well-balanced sound profile, and its dedicated center channel helps to provide clear dialogue for your favorite TV shows or podcasts.

It has a lot of sound enhancement features that can help immerse you in your audio. Its room correction feature allows it to adapt to your room setup so that it can reproduce audio that sounds more accurate. There's also a night mode and a dialogue enhancement feature that can help make voices clearer and easier to understand at any volume. If you want to upgrade this setup down the line, it's easy as Sonos also sells wireless subwoofers or rear speakers separately.

Unfortunately, it lacks connectivity options like a full HDMI In port. You won't be able to stream podcasts from your mobile device using Bluetooth, and there's no DTS support. If an HDMI input is a necessity, the JBL Link Bar has three HDMI inputs as well as an HDMI ARC port. It can also support Bluetooth as well as Chromecast built-in, and it can play DTS files. However, it's much bigger than the Sonos, and its reproduction of voices isn't as clear.

The best soundbar for dialogue in the budget range that we've tested is the Yamaha YAS-209. It's currently priced a bit higher than this price point; however, it's recently been lower. This 2.1 speaker setup has a well-balanced sound profile that does a good job of making voices sound clear and accurate.

For a budget option, there are still a decent amount of sound enhancement features to improve your listening experience. It comes with a dialogue enhancement feature, and you can even choose between six different EQ presets to better suit your needs. Its dedicated subwoofer also provides a bit of extra bass for action-packed scenes. It may not get as loud as some of the other soundbars we've tested, but it should still satisfy most listeners.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have the best build quality, and the mesh-like fabric covering it tends to attract dust and dirt. Also, there isn't a dedicated center channel, so it doesn't reproduce center sound as clearly as some other options. However, as an upgrade over the now-discontinued Yamaha YAS-207, it comes with some new features, including Wi-Fi wireless playback capabilities that make it easy to play audio from your phone, tablet, and TV.