Movie fans often say that sound is half of the experience. It draws you into the movie, significantly increasing the immersion and making you feel like it's all around you. While no TV can deliver a true movie-like experience without an external surround sound system or soundbar, a TV with good speakers can go a long way into drawing you into the experience. You want a TV to be loud enough to match your environment, while also delivering a clear frequency response that brings dialogue out and makes it easy to understand. Keep in mind that the vast majority of TVs offer very little deep bass; as they've gotten thinner, speakers have had to shrink too.
Below are our recommendations for the TVs with the best sound you can buy. If you're more concerned about image quality, make sure to check out recommendations for the best TVs, the best outdoor TVs, and the best smart TVs. You can also vote on which new models you want us to purchase and test. To learn more about the new TVs coming out soon, check out our 2026 TV lineup page.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
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Best Sounding TV
Mixed UsageHome TheaterBright RoomSportsGamingBrightnessBlack LevelColorMotion HandlingGame Mode ResponsivenessProcessing (In Development)Resolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:120HzScreen Finish:GlossyPanel Type:LCDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:YesSee all our test resultsSizes:65" 75" 85"The best-sounding TV we've tested is the Sony BRAVIA 9. It comes with a built-in 70W, 2.2.2 channel speaker system, which delivers one of the cleanest, most well-balanced frequency responses we've ever measured on a TV. It gets incredibly loud and stays well-balanced at max volume, so you can crank it at a party and still perfectly understand every word. It also supports Sony's Direct Connect feature, which lets you pair Sony's Rear 9 or Rear 8 surround sound speakers with Sub 7, 8, or 9 subwoofers directly to the TV.
Of course, sound is only half of the story, and good picture quality is just as important for a true cinematic experience. Thankfully, the BRAVIA 9 is no slouch in that department, either. It delivers fantastic picture quality, with excellent dark-room performance, bright, vibrant colors, and the accuracy and picture processing that Sony is known for. This TV is a few years old now, originally released in 2024, but it's still widely available. It has been replaced by the Sony BRAVIA 9 II, but we haven't tested that model yet, so we don't know how it compares.
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Best Sounding Mid-Range TV
Mixed UsageHome TheaterBright RoomSportsGamingBrightnessBlack LevelColorMotion HandlingGame Mode ResponsivenessProcessing (In Development)Resolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:120HzScreen Finish:GlossyPanel Type:LCDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:YesSee all our test resultsSizes:55" 65" 75" 85" 98"The Sony BRAVIA 5 is the best-sounding mid-range TV we've tested. It doesn't sound nearly as good as the Sony BRAVIA 9, but it has a 40W speaker system built in that actually gets pretty loud, so it does a pretty good job filling rooms with sound. There's not much bass, but the sound profile is well-balanced, making dialogue easy to understand. If you have your own soundbar or surround sound system, you can use the TV's built-in speakers as a dedicated center channel with the rest of your setup. It also passes through all DTS and Dolby audio formats, so it has great compatibility with streaming services and physical media.
The TV also has pretty good image quality. It has local dimming to deepen blacks without any severe haloing around bright highlights, colors have good vibrancy, and it's bright enough to handle glare in a bright room. However, small bright highlight details don't pop out very much in movies, shows, and games. Finally, the TV supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, 4k @ 120Hz, and VRR, so it's fully compatible with the features offered by modern gaming consoles.
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Best Sounding Budget TV
Mixed UsageHome TheaterBright RoomSportsGamingBrightnessBlack LevelColorMotion HandlingGame Mode ResponsivenessProcessing (In Development)Resolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:144HzScreen Finish:GlossyPanel Type:LCDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:YesSee all our test resultsSizes:55" 65" 75" 85" 98"The TCL QM6K is the best budget TV with decent sound quality that we've tested. It doesn't sound as good as the Sony BRAVIA 5, but the TV has a built-in 40W 2.1-channel Onkyo sound system that sounds decent, especially for a budget model. However, like most TVs, it barely produces any bass. Dialogue is easy to understand at low and moderate volume levels, but it becomes pretty unbalanced at the TV's maximum volume, which makes voices hard to hear during louder action scenes. Furthermore, the TV speakers don't get very loud, so you might find yourself using the speakers near maximum volume more often than not.
Fortunately, this is also one of, if not the best, budget TVs currently available. It has local dimming to help deepen blacks, so dark scenes don't look washed out. However, there's some blooming around subtitles and highlights in otherwise dark scenes. Colors aren't super vibrant on this model, but they look good enough that the image doesn't look dull. The TV is bright enough to handle glare in a well-lit room. The TV is loaded with modern gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, 4k @ 144Hz, 1080p @ 288Hz, and VRR, so it's a solid option for both console and PC gamers.
Notable Mentions
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Panasonic Z95B OLED:
The Panasonic Z95B is a fantastic TV that delivers better picture quality than the Sony BRAVIA 9, and its built-in soundbar produces unrivaled sound quality in the TV industry. Unfortunately, it's very hard to find, and it's not as versatile as it struggles to overcome bright glare during the day.
See our review -
TCL QM8K:
The TCL QM8K competes with the Sony BRAVIA 5. The TCL is quieter and doesn't produce as much bass, but its built-in speakers still sound alright. Although it offers worse sound than the Sony, the TCL has superior image quality, so it's a good choice for those who would rather sacrifice some sound quality for superior image quality.
See our review -
Hisense U65QF:
The Hisense U65QF is an alternative to the TCL QM6K. The Hisense produces more bass and gets a bit louder, but the TCL has a more well-balanced sound profile, especially at high volume levels, so dialogue is easier to understand. The Hisense is brighter, so it's a bit better for bright rooms, but the TCL offers better image quality and features overall.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jun 16, 2026:
We replaced the Panasonic Z95B OLED with the Sony BRAVIA 9, as the Panasonic is now very hard to find. We also refreshed our text throughout for clarity.
Mar 19, 2026:
We moved the Sony BRAVIA 9 to the Notable Mentions, and updated that section with more relevant alternatives to our recommendations.
Nov 19, 2025:
Replaced the Panasonic Z95A OLED with the Panasonic Z95B OLED in the 'Best Sounding TV' category, the Sony BRAVIA 5 with the TCL QM8K in the 'Best Sounding Mid-Range TV' category, and the Hisense U6N with the TCL QM6K in the 'Best Sounding Budget TV' category. We also updated the Notable Mentions.
Apr 30, 2025:
We made the Panasonic Z95A OLED our new top pick and moved the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED into a new 'Best Sounding Bright Room TV' category. We also moved the LG G4 OLED into Notable Mentions.
Dec 18, 2024:
We replaced the Sony X90L/X90CL with the Sony BRAVIA 7 QLED in the Notable Mentions section.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the TVs with the best sound to buy for most people with different needs. We factor in the price (a cheaper TV wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it) and availability (no TVs that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our reviews of TVs, sorted by their sound quality. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no TV is perfect, most TVs are great enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them. Keep in mind that no TV can deliver the sound quality of a dedicated sound system or a soundbar.