You may never have bought a soundbar before, but you've probably heard of the great surround sound they can provide to a TV or home theater setup. You may have even seen the first Black Friday soundbar deals. If so, we are here to help you make the best decision.
The best sound bars you can buy can complete a truly immersive viewing experience, elevating your favorite movies, shows, and games to astonishing sound quality. They can even help you capture more subtle audio details than you've ever heard.
Plus, when combined with spatial audio technology like Dolby Atmos, sound bars can deliver a room-filling level of sound quality that you will never get from your TV's built-in speaker, even on the best TVs around.
The best soundbars almost universally come at a higher price. But if you are on a budget, you should know that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great soundbar, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the best times of the year to buy a bar. The sound that adapts to you. you at a reduced price.
It all sounds good, but if it's your first time to buy a soundbar, the confusing lists of specs, audio codecs, and connection options can be really confusing. This is where we come in. Read on to find out how to shop for the best soundbar to suit your preferences this Black Friday.
Black Friday sound bars: design and size
There is no "one size fits all" soundbar. Instead, sound bars come in many different sizes, some longer and some shorter than others. Some sound bars even come with additional speakers or subwoofers, which need to be considered depending on the home setup you want to create.
Most soundbars have a long, rectangular design, while remaining (for the most part) compact enough to fit under your TV on a stand or mount on a wall.
Sound bars often contain multiple speakers or speakers hidden behind plastic or cloth grills. This allows the sound bar to "pull" sound in certain directions, depending on the orientation of the speakers, allowing some to fill entire rooms with immersive sound. More information about this in our "Specifications" section.
But what size is right for you? Smaller soundbars, like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), are ideal if you don't have a lot of space. However, keep in mind that small soundbars typically have fewer speakers and therefore may not be able to deliver the level of surround sound that larger bars can provide.
More typical are longer soundbars, and these can contain a greater number of drivers for a more robust sound profile. These can range from 40 to 60 inches on average, making them as wide as many 4K smart TVs.
This is important to keep in mind when purchasing a soundbar, as you won't want one delivered, but you will find that it is too large to fit in your living room. If you are unsure, try buying a soundbar that is roughly the same length as your TV.
It will look nice and neat as part of your setup and will allow you to place the soundbar without a problem. And if you're not sure about the size, don't worry. Most online product listings should have a specifications section that shows the dimensions of the soundbar.
Sound bars Black Friday: prices
There is no getting around the fact that sound bars are generally expensive pieces of technology. Even the best budget soundbars can cost around € 200 / € 200, so whatever your budget, be prepared to spend a decent amount of money. Fortunately, the Black Friday deals are expected to slash the prices of many of the best soundbars considerably.
As is the case with most technology, you tend to get what you pay for, and most of the best soundbars come in a higher price range. Sonos Arc, for example, is the best soundbar in its class that we recommend to anyone who can afford it. But at € 899 / € 899 / AU € 1,499, it's a great investment, although we're expecting some great Sonos Black Friday deals this year.
Fortunately, there are cheaper options out there and many of these soundbars don't skimp as much on quality. Take the Sony HT-X8500 soundbar, which will cost you € 299 / € 349 / AU € 599 a lot more. While it lacks some of the quality features found in more expensive soundbars, it offers fantastic value thanks to its great sound and built-in subwoofer.
Of course, there are also options available for serious audiophiles who want to spend their money. This includes products like the Sennheiser Ambeo 3D soundbar, which we consider one of the best for audiovisual enthusiasts. However, its excellent sound quality comes at a tempting price tag of € 2,500 / € 2,200 / AU € 3,999.
Black Friday sound bars: features
The main reason to buy a soundbar is the room-filling audio it provides. Unfortunately, not all sound bars fall into the same category, however many of them can offer different sound profiles. Some focus on crisp, rich sound, ideal for music or casual viewing. Others may be more serious, which would make them particularly suitable for movies.
A soundbar's built-in speakers are also designed to "pull" sound in a certain direction. Trigger speakers, for example, project sound into the overhead space and enable pitch-based sound formats like Dolby Atmos. They are ideal for rooms with flat, smooth ceilings that will allow sound to bounce accurately.
We have mentioned Dolby Atmos several times, but what exactly is it? Simply put, Dolby Atmos is a surround sound audio format that through many channels adds height and depth to the sound coming from your speaker. It creates a bubble of surround sound by bouncing the audio beams off the ceiling and then into the ears, making it seem like the sound is coming from all angles, which is extremely attractive if you're watching movies.
There are two main ways that sound bars connect to your TV: optical and HDMI. If you're looking for a soundbar on the market, you probably already have an HDMI-capable TV, but if not, make sure the soundbar of your choice offers at least optical connectivity.
However, we recommend HDMI connectivity. There is no real gain when using an optical connection, and HDMI will generally provide much better sound quality. Thanks to HDMI, formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS: X are available. Even better if your setup supports HDMI eARC connectivity, which offers higher bandwidth to allow for better sound quality.
Most modern soundbars also support Bluetooth connectivity, which is a boon if you want to quickly connect a portable device like your phone or tablet to the soundbar (a fantastic feature for avid Spotify or Apple Music listeners). .
As mentioned, many soundbars also come with external subwoofers and / or rear speakers. These can help complement your soundbar with an additional level of immersion and detail. Subwoofers, for example, do a great job of adding a deep, crisp bass profile, similar to what you would experience in a movie theater.
Black Friday sound bars: cheap for expensive
Budget soundbars naturally don't offer the most premium experience possible compared to their more expensive counterparts. They might be worth considering though, especially if you're on a budget, as some surprising high-end features can tend to sneak up on you.
Take the Sony HT-X8500. As we mentioned, it's at the bottom of the soundbar's price scale. It still supports the Dolby Atmos and DTS: X spatial audio formats and has a built-in subwoofer. Its relatively slim form factor also makes the HT-X8500 one of the most space-friendly soundbars in your room.
It's a great value soundbar, but its relatively low price comes with a few caveats. More importantly, the HT-X8500 has no boot controllers. This means that the Dolby Atmos sound it produces may not be as effective as it would be on a higher-end soundbar, relying on digital signal processing to give that immersive effect. That said, the HT-X8500 is probably the best soundbar for its price and proof that cheap soundbars don't have to sound sub-par.
Then we have the upper end of the price spectrum. This is where only the most avid audiophiles will want to shop, and they will look to sound bars like the Sennheiser Ambeo 3D, which offers exceptional audio quality, and an HDMI eARC port to further enhance that quality. It's insanely expensive though, and it's a soundbar that we can only recommend to serious enthusiasts who have money to spend, despite everything we love.
Black Friday sound bars: frequently asked questions
Does my soundbar need Dolby Atmos or other spatial sound?
If you want objectively more immersive audio quality when watching movies and shows, or playing your favorite games, Dolby Atmos and similar spatial audio formats like DTS: X are a must.
Consider whether you want to reproduce a cinematic viewing experience as closely as possible. If this is one of your goals when buying a soundbar, then you'll want to buy a Dolby Atmos compatible soundbar like the Sonos Arc or Samsung HW-Q950T.
You will also need a television or game console that supports Dolby Atmos, such as the Xbox Series X.
Ultimately, your soundbar doesn't necessarily need Dolby Atmos, but it certainly helps bring out the best in your movie and game soundtracks.
What brands of soundbars should I look for on Black Friday?
Some of the brands we've mentioned before, like Sonos, Samsung, and Sony, have some of the best soundbars on the market in a price range. During Black Friday, these are also the brands most likely to offer the biggest discounts on their technology, especially as models age.
Other brands to consider include LG and Vizio, which offer stellar soundbars like the LG SK8 and Vizio SB362An-F6. These two...