best compact soundbar for dialogue – 2023

You can use the best compact soundbar if you don’t have enough room underneath your TV for a full-sized soundbar.

A soundbar comes in a variety of sizes and configurations, so if you don’t have the space for a big bar, you need a smaller one. In recent years, they have become increasingly popular, available in stereo configurations with additional subwoofers and with Dolby Atmos and DTS: X.

Despite this, not all small soundbars are the same, and some are better than others. We’ve reviewed plenty of soundbars at various price points, and this best list represents our favorites.

Our audio performance is judged by watching lots of TV shows and movies and listening to music. In addition to testing their features and connectivity options, we live with them for an extended period of time, using them as any owner would, and comparing them with similarly priced products.

Best compact soundbar at a glance

• Best compact soundbar: Sonos Beam 2
• Best compact lifestyle soundbar: Samsung HW-S61A
• Best small Atmos bar under £300: JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Best compact soundbar

The Beam Gen 2 has been subtly updated to match its larger and more expensive sibling, the Arc. With its eARC HDMI port, it plays full-fat lossless Atmos soundtracks. However, you’ll need a TV compatible with eARC in order to use it to its fullest. Otherwise, things remain the same, and the Beam 2nd Gen is best suited for TVs with screens up to and including 49-inch screens.

Beam, like every other Sonos product, supports Wi-Fi and the S2 app, which provides access to Tidal, Deezer, Qobuz, as well as Sonos’ own Radio service. Additionally, both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa offer voice assistance, and TruePlay (on an iOS device) can optimize Beam’s audio performance for the room in which it is placed.

During testing, we found it to produce a balanced sound across the frequency spectrum and a solid low end. As well, it handled music impressively, with no noticeable distortion, and handled the more subtle elements with finesse and nuance. 

As we watched Captain Marvel on Disney+, we noticed that the addition of Dolby Atmos wasn’t achieved through upfiring speakers, but rather through virtual processing. It offered a decent sense of dimensionality and good performance. There is an alternative Atmos bar called the Polk Signa S4, which has upfiring speakers and is cheaper but not as compact.

The support for DTS soundtracks is not complete, but there is a foot in the direction of this audio format. As an alternative, Polk Magnifi Mini AX and Denon Home Soundbar 550 are similarly compact and affordable, and both support DTS: X. In spite of this, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a great way of bringing Atmos into the home.

Samsung HW-S61A

The best lifestyle soundbar for compact spaces

If you’re looking for a soundbar that fits into the decor of a room, the Samsung HW-S61A is a great choice. It’s about the same size, shape, and appearance as the HW-S60T from 2020, and we found it to be a lovely soundbar with its Kvadrat fabric (available in gray or white).

It has been enhanced in usability by moving the buttons on top of the device and lowering the LED indicator so that they are more visible on a couch. A display would be more useful, but it’s arguably not included here as it would spoil the seamless look of the bar.

Through Samsung’s SmartThings app, the HW-S61A can be set up and connected to Wi-Fi easily, as well as controlled remotely through playback controls or Amazon Alexa voice commands. 

It is the type of control most people will enjoy with a mobile device for the type of audience the bar is aimed at.

You can also connect the bar to streaming services like Spotify and Deezer, and Apple AirPlay 2 is now available if you have an iOS device to cast audio from. Samsung Galaxy phones feature Tap Sound, which sends the audio directly to the speaker with a tap on the bar. There is no eARC, and connectivity is provided by HDMI ARC and optical out.

Samsung’s Adaptive Sound mode aims to compete with immersive audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS: X.

 Compared to its default mode, this mode offers a wider, taller performance, and we found it to be nicely extended in terms of soundstage width, firing effects out wide with greater purpose. In addition, the new center channel helped to clear up dialogue in movies and TV series, giving us a more clear picture of what people were saying.

Music was also well presented by the HW-S61A, with a spacious, crisp presentation with plenty of detail. Even so, it remains a bass-limited production, despite some improvements over its predecessor. Make your sound system bigger and more encompassing by adding the wireless subwoofer SWA-W500 and the wireless rear speakers SWA-9100S.

JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam

Smallest Atmos soundbar under $300

It’s an Atmos-inspired small bar, like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), that’s currently less expensive than the Sonos. The feature set is quite similar to HDMI eARC, which can pipe through lossless Atmos audio, Ethernet, and optical audio output. With Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, the JBL can play music from mobile devices or cast music via Chromecast or AirPlay 2 (handy for iOS users). JBL’s multiroom support for Alexa and Google allows it to be integrated with other smart devices in a home setup very easily.

This JBL speaker only comes in black, but it looks rather sleek with its black finish and transparent acoustic mesh grille. The build quality is good, and the speaker comes with a wall bracket if you want to wall mount it. 

It’s easy to read from a couch, and the included remote includes all the necessary controls for operating the device, as well as setting up the MultiBeam calibration process to adjust the soundbar’s performance according to the room’s acoustics.

Despite its small size, the sound quality was packed with energy and gusto. The size of the sound expanded well beyond its small size with the MultiBeam calibration applied. With Atmos enabled, we found that many films had a solid elevation of effects to present soundtracks with more height, although we did find that with hectic action films it wasn’t the clearest of performances, and that dialogue was not treated as well. 

If you want more bass, then Polk Magnifi Mini AX is worth checking out as a more expensive alternative. It performs best at full volume, offering more dynamism and excitement.

Conclusion

You have now converted some guesswork into analytic deductions, so take a look at the various options ob the best compact soundbars that are available. When you’ve narrowed down your choices, take the time to listen to your candidates before making a final decision. The most important thing is what sounds best.

Frequently asked questions

Is a sound bar good for a small room?

You don’t have to compromise sound quality, despite having a small TV or limited space for speakers. There are quite a few great-sounding soundbars that fit into small spaces, and they come with a surprising number of features.

Are budget soundbars worth it?

It’s possible to make your TV sound better for less than $200 if your speakers don’t sound that great and you don’t want to spend a lot of money.

Which soundbar is better than Bose?

As a standalone soundbar, the Samsung HW-Q80R is better than the Bose Smart Soundbar 700, though the Bose can easily be upgraded to include speakers and bass.

Which is better soundbar Bose or JBL?

Is the Bose 900 Smart Soundbar Better than JBL Bar 9.1 – Channel Soundbar System? It has a dedicated app for better control. Bose 900 soundbar is equipped with a voice assistant for hands-free navigation. If you are on a budget but can’t compromise on sound quality, go for Bose 900.