While the size and quality of flat screen TVs have increased drastically of the years, the same can’t be said of their audio quality. Despite what the marketing blurb says in this department, you’ll likely get stuck with the usual suspects: no bass, tinny sound and poor sound separation.
So, if you’re sick of straining to hear what people are actually saying in scenes, and even reaching for te volume then this guide is for you. We’re on a quest. A campaign to free the living room from the tinny, meek sounds of of your TV’s built in audio.
The hunt has begun for the Best Sound Bar of 2021!
In This Guide
Quick version:
- You need a soundbar if you’re going to get any decent audio out of your TV
- The best bluetooth soundbar system we’ve managed to find is the Solo 5 from BOSE (Amazon UK)
- For anyone looking for a bargain, the best affordable sound bar is the Samsung NW-N300 (Amazon UK)
A soundbar is a big upgrade from your TV’s ordinary sound.
But do you really need an audio sound bar?
Know what drives us crazy? The audio you get out of those lovely flat screen TVs. Even the best ones in the world – they just don’t have the chops when it comes to delivering heart-pounding, river crystal clear sound.
The problem is that with all these super-thin TVs, there’s just not the fraction of the depth required to produce some serious sort of sound output that could be called quality.
Enter soundbars!
…with regular TV shows is how everything kind of gets MASHED together. Especially voices and music
A small(ish) bit of tech that will sit happily under your TV screen and pump out the audio you deserve. So what’s the main benefits to splashing out extra cash on a bluetooth speaker bar, once you’ve got your TV?
- BASS – there’s just no way you can get a decent bass sound from those teeny flat speakers in modern TVs. Any speaker bar worth it’s salt will bring back the proper deep sound you should be enjoying (but might have forgotten about…)
- You can actually hear what people are saying. This gets worse from DVD to DVD or even between programs on streaming services. But it’s so frustrating when you can’t make out what’s being said. A soundbar will sort this out for you.
- Play your tunes through your soundbar! If your soundbar supports Bluetooth (I recommend you get one that does…) then you’ll never need any other speaker in that room again. Enjoy all that crisp audio goodness your home cinema has though your soundbar.
One thing that you might have encountered with regular TV shows is how everything kind of gets MASHED together. Especially voices and music. A decent soundbar will eliminate this problem and you won’t miss anything vital on your favourite shows again.
No more fiddling around with the volume, or with some weird movie / clear voice setting. A proper sound bar will totally transform your experience of movies, games and whatever else you like to use that telly box for.
But what’s the BEST SOUNDBAR?
What IS a good bluetooth speaker bar?
While everyone has their own favorite brands, makes or criteria, there’s some basics you’ll want to look out for. Check out our buyer’s guide later in this guide for the low down on the some of the things to look out for when picking the best soundbar out there.
Basically your on the right track if you find a sound bar that ticks these boxes:
- Decent upper volume – a good soundbar should be louder than your TV and capable of blowing your socks off on the louder volumes.
- DEEP (and we do mean DEEP) BASS – good, strong, deep bass. Something that will make you go ‘oof’ when you hear it.
- Design and profile – no beasts please. Something modern. Something fresh. Something sexy.
- Streaming from your device – got a new album you want to share with the neighbors? Bluetooth streaming will let you use your soundbar for a lot more than audio for your TV.
- And lots more … but those are a start
#1 Choice:
Bose Solo 5 TV Soundbar System
It’s no surprise that a Bose product is our number #1 pick for the Best Sound Bar 2021 category.
Impressive sound quality
It’s loud.
It’s clear.
It’s got great bass. We’d have expected nothing less from BOSE and this soundbar really delivery a bold sound no matter what size room you’re setting it up in.
Voices sound like they’re in the same room as you and music sounds absolutely fantastic.
Extremely versatile bluetooth speaker bar
Buying for gaming? The Solo 5 soundbar will blow you away (if someone else doesn’t do it first). Movies your thing? The BOSE soundbar has you covered. Music? Yep, this is the one. This is an ideal all-rounder and a good choice for anyone’s first soundbar.
Wired and wireless connections
You get the best of both worlds here because this sound bar is rechargeable. The battery will last you an impressive 6 hours, and can be charged via any USB. But if you prefer to whack it in a wall socket, then the cable’s there for that too.
A very good looking bit of kit!
While the visual side of a soundbar isn’t normally at the top of our list of priorities, this one has a very sharp, modern design to it that looks great in any room. And lord knows, there’s some ugly sound bars floating around out there.
Verdict: At a mid-price, the Bose does a fantastic job of delivering very strong audio on all levels. The design is extremely top notch and it can work with any source you throw at it thanks to bluetooth.
- Loud, clear sound
- Deep punchy bass
- Charge it or plug into mains
- Connect easily to any device with Bluetooth
- Excellent design
- Not the cheapest audio soundbar out there
#2 Sonos Beam Compact Smart Soundbar
Best buy compact speaker bar in 2021
Connect your soundbar to your smart phone
As well as the usual Bluetooth audio, there’s a fully fledged app that will let you so all kinds of smart things with your new sound bar. Stream your tunes over Bluetooth and we think you’ll love the way this soundbar works as a smart speaker too.
The audio is extremely polished
The Sonos soundbar is one of the better sounding soundbars we’ve come across and oozes quality. It’s as happy with low volume ‘talky’ scenes as it is filling the living room with bombastic explosions and dramatic scores. Really good bass and higher range sounds here.
Easy setup with HDMI ARC
HDMI ARC does the hard work of setting the TV and remote up to work with your Sonos. Your TV will automatically recognize the new soundbar and start using it rather than it’s own speakers.
5 stars from What HiFi
The Sonos beam got a lot of love from What Hifi, grabbing their top award. They said it was “one of the best performance-per-pound products Sonos as produced, the Beam is a blinding little soundbar“. Sounds like they liked the Sonos bar as much as we did.
Easy to use
For a soundbar that does a lot of complex and fancy ‘stuff’, it’s really quick and easy to get it set up. There’s also a nice accompanying video that helps you get everything up and running.
Comes with Alexa
Although it’s disabled by default, you can enable Alexa easily and use voice commands to do a whole host of handy things with the Sonos Beam.
Verdict: This is a brilliant soundbar that sounds amazing and does a lot more than most others. It’s future-proofed like crazy and ready for your smart home too.
- Connect & control with your smart phone
- Alexa voice control
- Carefully tuned to emphasize human voice
- Automatically pairs with your TV remote
- Great cinema quality sound
- Simple to get up and running
- Slightly more expensive than some other TV soundbars
#3 Yamaha YAS105
Yamaha’s entry into the soundbar market is a really good contender for the crown of best bluetooth soundbar system 2021. It’s got a lot of innovative features and it looks really cool too. Let’s check it out.
Beautiful slim design
One of the best things about the way they’ve designed this soundbar is that it’s got a low profile and only ‘sticks up’ a couple of inches. If you’re not wall mounting, this can be super-important, as you don’t want to block any of the screen.
A lot of thought has gone into it’s appearance and it looks really good. But enough about how good looking it is, on to the…
Excellent quality sound
For a budget soundbar, that’s one of the cheapest soundbars you can buy, the Yamaha YAS105 delivers in spades.
We especially like the way this soundbar has built in sub-woofers hidden at each side. They’re concealed at the side but man, they blast out some deep bass that bring movies and music to life. They’re tucked neatly around the side of the speakers. No need for extra sub-woofers.
No more tinny buzzy TV audio!
You can use your TV’s remote
If you’re like me, you’ll wonder why you have so many buttons that don’t actually DO anything.
Well this soundbar at least learns your TV’s remote so you can slip this one in the drawer if you want to.
Easy Bluetooth streaming
Download something new. Pair your phone with your new sound bar. Lie back and appreciate the audio prowess of this soundbar.
Verdict: This is another soundbar that’s currently topping the user review charts and it’s easy to see why. The Yamaha YAS105 is easily one of the better bars making the rounds and the minute and should last you a long time!
- Brilliant design
- Built in sub-woofers deliver on the bass
- Easy to setup and get started
- Works with your existing remote
- Small profile
- Bluetooth streaming works perfectly
- Control app on the iPhone is hit and miss
#4 Samsung HW-N300
Best affordable sound bar
Compact soundbar – ideal for smaller TVs
Looking to get decent audio in your bedroom, for a smaller set? This might be the one to go for. It’s equally at home in larger rooms too, with a large, high quality sound.
Excellent sound quality
There’s 4 speakers hidden away discreetly in the Samsung N300 and it has a crisp sound, with plenty of volume and bass, without the need for an additional sub-woofer.
Connects wirelessly, if your TV supports it
Sick of wires? Me too. This soundbar from Samsung won’t drive you mad with excess wiring as it’s got a wireless connection. Just check your TV supports it. If not, you’ll need an optical cable to get the job done.
Easy setup and wall fixing
With so many awesome shows on Netflix and Amazon, ain’t nobody got time for reading instructions. * Thankfully this brill little soundbar is quick and easy to get set up.
* Audio files always read the instructions.
Verdict: Good price. Good Sound. Looks Good. Just a good soundbar really!
- Really good little soundbar
- Quick ‘n’ easy setup
- Easy to wall mount
- Good rich sound quality
- Looks cool!
- No on-screen volume
- Remote range could be better
Sound bars – the FAQ bit
Do I need a separate sub-woofer?
Just to confuse things, you’ll find a lot of soundbars come with extra boxes that are designed to improve the bass sound of the audio. I mean they make sense right? And the more gear the better?
Well, it’s not that simple.
A good quality soundbar will beat the pants of a cheap one with an external sub-woofer. They’re not necessary and won’t always be a better sound than a single unit. In fact, the best one we’ve found doesn’t have one of these extra speakers.
Can you play other devices through your soundbar?
Thanks to the miracle of Bluetooth, you can easily hook your favourite audio player up to your sound bar without the TV actually having to be switched on. So you can enjoy high quality audio in your living room straight from your phone to the sound bar.
Do I need an LG soundbar for an LG TV etc?
Nope. It’s just a brand. You can mix and match until your hearts content and not have any problems connecting. All soundbars and TVs use standard connection methods like USB and Bluetooth and there’s no problem pairing a Samsung TV with say a Sony soundbar.
Soundbars 2021 Buyer’s Guide
While it’s easy to think that all soundbars are created fairly equally, there’s a few questions to get answers to before you slam down that hard-earned cash on your shiny new product. This quick guide will get you up to speed with everything you’ll need to know to “pick a gudd’un”.
Get a good brand if you can afford it
You can go cross-eyed reading up and comparing all the different soundbars out there. A lot of them are really cheap too and you might be wondering if they’re any good. While there’s some good bargains and cheap sound bars to be had from unknown / no-brand names, we recommend sticking to a tried and tested name like your Sony’s and your Bose’s.
Chargeable or wired
While it’s not something they all offer, some soundbars feature a lovely feature where you can connect them to your TV’s USB and charge them / run them from that power source. The best bit is you can move it around the house and it’s one less power cable to worry about, and a freed up plug!
Hey, it blocks my TV screen!
That awkward moment when you’ve done all the research on the best soundbar for your TV, only to find out it ‘sticks up’ and covers up part of the screen.
A quick check of the dimensions of your new soundbar could save some embarrassment later on. Unless your TV is wall mounted. But something that’s worth checking out if your using a traditional table top setup.
Show me the volume
An obvious inclusion but something that’s often missing, sadly. The ability to see the volume as you’re adjusting it on the TV screen. If this is something that sounds like it could drive you nuts, then get a soundbar with onscreen volume display.
