Over the last decade, the demand for quality sound in entertainment went down a lot. Consumers were okay with any kind of squeaky mono speakers built into their tiny smartphones blasting poorly compressed mp3 files and only a few people nowadays go and buy dedicated entertainment systems to listen to music or for home cinema purposes.
While you can still buy surround systems with any number of speakers, amps, equalizers, and subwoofers for a kicking bass, the number of people actually investing in that kind of technology decreased clearly. However, there is a hybrid type of product that’s (somewhat) affordable and tries to combine high-quality audio entertainment with the technology of today.
Enter the Soundbar
That product would be what they call a “soundbar.” It’s a cylinder with simple design and users are meant to either attach it to the TV or mount it to the wall. While the quality of these soundbars might vary from product to product, different manufacturers and of course by price, most of them come with remote control and can also be hooked up to other devices via cable.
Many soundbars also come with a Bluetooth option for wireless connectivity. Not all of these soundbars offer active subwoofers built in, but you might get that from mid and high-end range products. If you compare the prices of such products, you should also pay attention to the features and setup of the same. Some are even already able to connect with your smart home and deliver other IoT services, such being compatible with Amazon’s Alexa assistant.
Examples from different makers
We picked you 5 of these soundbars from different makers and also two bonus options if you’re looking for a budget compromise. To me, these make the most sense for watching movies, but of course, you can also play some music on these fancy speaker boxes.
JBL Bar Studio 2.0-Channel Soundbar with Bluetooth
Yamaha YAS-107BL Sound Bar with Dual Built-In Subwoofers & Bluetooth
Samsung Electronics Sound+ Premium Soundbar (works with Alexa)
Sonos PLAYBAR TV Soundbar (works with Alexa)
Bose SoundTouch 300 Soundbar (works with Alexa)
Nice price products
I also found several items that were built for consumers who don’t want to spend a small fortune on audiophile tech. Here are the solutions from a maker that I have not heard of before as well as an AmazonBasics product. That’s the brand of Amazon products that they produce on their own usually at very competitive pricing.
TaoTronics Soundbar
AmazonBasics Soundbar
Which are your favorites? Share your most desired product with us below in the comments!
Photo credit: Bose
Source: Todd Leopold (CNN) / Products listed by Amazon
