The 4 Best Sounding TVs - Fall 2024

The best-sounding TV we've tested is the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, an amazing TV loaded with modern features. It uses a 70W 2.2.2 channel speaker system with two midrange drivers, two tweeters, two beam tweeters, and two subwoofers. Its well-balanced sound profile makes dialogue clear and easy to understand. It gets very loud, with little compression and very little distortion at high volume levels. It supports eARC and a wide range of audio formats, including DTS:X via DTS-HD MA, which is great as it's the most commonly supported format on UHD Blu-ray movies. The TV also has Sony's S-Center speaker input, which allows you to use the TV's built-in speakers as a center channel when paired with certain Sony soundbars and receivers.

Additionally, the TV has excellent picture quality. It delivers deep blacks that are as close to OLEDs as you can currently get, with minimal blooming thanks to its incredible local dimming control. The BRAVIA 9 is also one of the brightest TVs on the market, so it easily overcomes glare in well-lit rooms, and highlights in HDR content really stand out. The TV also delivers vibrant and lifelike colors thanks to its wide color gamut, so you get an impressive HDR experience whether you're gaming or watching movies.

The best-sounding OLED TV we've tested is the LG G4 OLED. It's an impressive TV that delivers fantastic visuals with good sound quality. It has 60W 4.2 channel speakers built-in that can be virtually upmixed to 11.1.2 using the new α11 AI Sound Pro feature. It has a very good frequency response, but like most TVs, it doesn't have much bass. It does get very loud, however, and it sounds good all the way to its maximum volume, although it has more distortion at high volume levels than the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED. Still, it sounds very clear at moderate listening levels due to its balanced sound profile, making dialogue clear and easy to understand. It also supports DTS and Dolby audio formats through eARC, so you don't have to worry about compatibility if you plug in a soundbar. 

Of course, it also delivers fantastic picture quality thanks to its OLED panel. Blacks are perfectly deep and uniform in a dark room, which is great for watching movies as there's no distracting blooming or haloing around bright objects or subtitles. It can display a wide color gamut with HDR content, making colors look incredibly vibrant and lifelike. The TV's MLA technology makes it one of the brightest OLEDs on the market, so it looks great even in very bright rooms.

The Hisense U8/U8N is the best-sounding mid-range TV we've tested. It's a great TV overall, available in a few different sizes, from 55 to 100 inches, and it combines its great picture quality with satisfactory sound quality. It features a 50W 2.1.2 channel speaker setup, has a decent frequency response with a well-balanced sound profile that delivers clear dialogue, and it even outputs some bass. It also gets quite loud, although at the cost of some distortion and pumping artifacts at max volume. That said, not everyone is sensitive to this. If you plan on using an external soundbar or home theater system, it supports eARC audio passthrough with all major formats.

It delivers worse sound quality than the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED but still has excellent overall picture quality. It's almost as bright as the Sony, and although its contrast isn't as good, it still provides very deep blacks in a dark room. It has worse accuracy and image processing than the BRAVIA 9, but it's certainly not bad in those aspects. It uses the user-friendly Google TV smart platform, which is easy to use and has a huge selection of streaming apps, so you can easily find your favorite streaming content.

The Hisense U6/U6N is the best budget TV with decent sound quality that we've tested. It's a simple TV with satisfactory overall performance and offers great value for its price. It features a 20W 2.0 channel speaker setup, and surprisingly, it has alright sound quality for a budget-friendly TV, as most other low-cost options have bad sound. The speakers don't get very loud, but the sound profile is well-balanced enough that dialogue is clear at moderate volume levels. Unfortunately, it loses its balance at maximum volume, making dialogue hard to hear. On the other hand, it has very minimal distortion at all volume levels. If you're using a soundbar, the TV supports passthrough for Dolby and DTS audio formats over eARC, so there's no need to worry about compatibility. 

Like the Hisense U8/U8N, it uses the user-friendly Google TV platform. It has a bunch of apps you can download, and the mic built into the remote gives you access to the Google Assistant and Alexa voice assistant features. It also has good overall picture quality with deep blacks, helped by a very good local dimming feature, so it looks great in a dark room. It has okay peak brightness in HDR and good peak brightness in SDR, with decent reflection handling, so it's capable enough for bright rooms.