Urgent.News

What's breaking now, across thousands of outlets.

Tech

The Best Soundbars (2026): Sonos, LG, TCL, Bose, and More

I tested soundbars of all shapes and sizes—these are the best for clear dialogue, booming bass, and realistic surround sound.

The Best Soundbars (2026): Sonos, LG, TCL, Bose, and More

The Best Soundbars (2026): Sonos, LG, TCL, Bose, and More

When it comes to soundbars, there are many options to choose from, but the Sonos Arc Ultra stands out as the best overall performer. This model offers pristine sound for movies, games, and music, with convincing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound. The Sonos app also provides easy room calibration, making it a great addition to any home theater setup.

For those seeking surround sound, the LG Sound Suite H7 is the top choice, especially when paired with the optional LG W7 subwoofer and LG M7 satellite speakers. Using Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, users can place the extra speakers anywhere they want for an immersive experience. While setup takes patience, the result is worth it, with realistic sound effects in movies like Unbroken.

For those with limited space, the TCL A65K soundbar is a compact and affordable option that still delivers impressive sound quality. It includes a subwoofer for powerful bass and clear dialogue, and the included app makes adjustments and settings easy. However, it lacks Wi-Fi connectivity, relying instead on HDMI eARC and Bluetooth.

The Bose Smart Soundbar is another compact and sleek option, with a small design and central, side-firing, and up-firing drivers for convincing spatial audio. Despite its smaller size, it still provides wide connectivity and a Bose Connect app for easy setup and control. However, it lacks overall power and bass compared to other top picks.

For those who prioritize bass and dialogue, the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 soundbar is a powerful choice. Its loud and bassy performance makes it ideal for music and dialogue, with easy expansion options for additional subs and side speakers. The Klipsch app also makes it simple to adjust inputs and settings, although the Dolby Atmos surround sound isn't as convincing as other models.

Written by urgent.news from Wired's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

Read the original at wired.com →

More in Tech

We are all Product Engineers now

  • AI agents proficient at writing code but struggle with code review and deployment
  • Labor market shows decline in junior programmer jobs, robust demand for senior programmers

More from Monday 14 September →