We Found The Best Budget Soundbars: Big Cinematic Sound, Small Price Tag

Although this Samsung S60D All-In-One soundbar takes our number one spot, it isn't our pick of the best based on sheer sonic performance – you'll find others on this list that will outperform it for surround sound at slightly higher prices. But, for us, the S60D absolutely delivers on the soundbar concept: a single compact device that can produce very high quality surround sound without needing any extras. Just mount this on the wall or sit it under the TV and you've got sound that will blow your TV's speakers out of the water.

Under the hood, this is a five-channel soundbar with an impressive total of seven internal speakers –including a built-in subwoofer (just don't expect it to shake the floorboards). That said, there's a respectable 200 watts of power on-hand to deliver that Dolby Atmos surround sound and other Dolby formats. If you have a Samsung TV with Q-Symphony, the S60D will work in tandem with it for even more range and volume. Design-wise, we love the simple lines and solid Samsung build here, and the useful inclusion of Alexa voice assistant for smart home control is a real bonus.

As impressed as we are by the surround capabilities of the S60D, we can't help but wish that space was found inside for a couple of up-firing speakers for overhead immersion. Our only other nitpick is that, despite the vast majority of users reporting decent enough bass levels, anyone who wants a real cinematic kick will probably want to invest in a compatible subwoofer like the Samsung SWA-W510/XU. Optional extras aside, the Samsung S60D soundbar is a quality surround sound upgrade for any movie or game fan.

As a Dolby Atmos system for a shade under £200, the Majority Sierra Plus is a rarity. On paper it's not that unique – having what amounts to 2.1 sound with two extra up-firing speakers to satisfy the demands of Atmos. However, when we tested the Sierra Plus, we found that it has the weight, build and presence of a far more costly system. That's partly down to the slightly unruly (but respectable) bass pumped out by the wireless sub. Moreover, the effect of those up-firing speakers and side-facing passive bass ports shouldn't be underestimated.

We put the Sierra Plus through its Atmos paces with Superman: Man of Steel, the aerial thrills of Top Gun: Maverick, and first-person shooter game Star Wars Battlefront II. While it's not going to compete with soundbars with more built-in speakers or extra surround satellites, it far exceeded our expectations for such a budget system. Breaking glass and even helicopters overhead were a highlight, as was panning and separation between left and right channels during action sequences. However, the bulk of the surround sound experience is typical mid-budget fare – but again, more than we bargained for at this price.

Back to that subwoofer for a moment, and we did find that it was slightly ill-defined and overloaded on occasions when the mix pushed the low range too hard. Thankfully though, there are some basic EQ settings to tweak things. A relatively uncomplicated device, it was easy to connect to via Bluetooth or the auxiliary jack. Everything we put through it was an improvement over the TV's internal speakers and it delivered more than many low-end AV amp and speaker combos we've tried. It's hard to find a better low-budget Dolby Atmos experience than this.

£500 is pushing it for a budget soundbar, but with a price tag closer to £400 this JBL Bar 500 system sneaks in. If there's one thing we need from a sound system destined for home cinema it's Dolby Atmos – but with enough speakers to do it justice. Thankfully, the Bar 500 has seven speakers integrated into the soundbar itself, and the wireless subwoofer has what is possibly the largest driver here at a thunderously impressive ten inches.

Four of those speakers are front-firing midrange drivers too, which means that the Bar 500 has a lot more power and scope than other budget options (which often have a single centre speaker with smaller ones either side). Here though, the main complement of speakers are joined by three tweeters, two side-firing to increase the spatial effect. And JBL have made best use of that vast array of cones, too. Its MultiBeam Surround Sound feature kicks in with any non-Atmos audio, delivering a slightly more immersive surround effect than other bars.

It's also a good choice for anyone who might be concerned with vocal clarity, as it has PureVoice Dialogue Enhancement Technology. HDMI eARC is onboard of course, and the other HDMI input is rated for 4K Dolby Vision passthrough – so if you're thinking of hooking up a high-end media player, you absolutely can. There are even multiple voice assistants to choose from, so your smart home will be well catered for. If we had to pick fault with this, we wish it had a couple of up-firing speakers to literally top-up the Atmos offering here. As it is, the JBL Bar 500 will perform less well in this area despite the Atmos support. And, unlike some others on our list, there are no options to add more external satellite speakers. Nevertheless, it's a solid performer right out of the box.

Ultimea are a Seattle-based company which has been going since 2015 and has gained awards all over the world for its audio products. You're already spoiled for choice when it comes to Dolby Atmos soundbars in our rundown, but this Poseidon D60 manages to do what many budget systems can't: provide a wireless subwoofer and two wired surround speakers as standard.

It's still only a 5.1 channel system though, as the soundbar itself only houses three speakers rather than the five we see elsewhere. As good as Atmos is when projected sideways or upwards from a single soundbar, those two sizeable satellites will do a better job with spatial audio. We'd much rather be able to place these two surround speakers to the side or behind us where they belong, instead of confining them to the bar. And don't forget that subwoofer, which comes with Ultimea's BASSMX technology for resonant low frequencies – although only down to 40Hz, making it a little less capable than others here.

The only real negative about a budget soundbar system like this is the lack of support for DTS sound. If you're all about Atmos, great. But if you're not happy with downmixing DTS audio to stereo you'll need to spend a little more on a different system. There's also no extra passthrough HDMI ports for external players. But, as the Ultimea Poseidon D60 is here for its budget Atmos offering, we'll let those shortcomings slide. As it is, it's one of the most affordable and capable Dolby Atmos systems you can buy to get you started with cinematic spatial sound.

This Hisense AX5125H takes our top spot for a budget soundbar under £400, but it actually comes in well under the £400 mark. Yes, you could spend more, but why bother when this Hisense setup has everything we're looking for from a system at the higher end of the budget bracket?

For a start, it has more power than most, sporting a combined 500 watts – with a mighty 200 of them making their way into the 6.5-inch subwoofer. And then there's the much sought-after pair of wireless satellite speakers for creating a fuller 3D soundscape for your shows and movies.

We're also relieved to see that this is one budget system that doesn't cut corners with audio format support. Here we have Dolby Atmos, but it's joined by the often omitted DTS audio decoder too. So, this is probably one of the most capable budget systems here for those with a broad library of content in various sound formats. We do find the design a little no-frills with a more boxy look than others. But, if cosmetic corner-cutting is how Hisense is able to offer so much at such a low price, we'll happily take it.

Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room: just how much cinematic sound can you get for less than £100? Not that much. But, if you're looking to ditch your tinny TV speakers and ramp up the volume and bass, this Majority Teton Plus is a surprisingly good upgrade. We fully tested this system, using it as a daily driver for casual TV watching as well as for streaming shows and blockbusters.

Unlike the Majority Sierra Plus, you won't find any Dolby Atmos or DTS here. The Teton isn't a replacement for even a budget home cinema amp and speaker setup. It does one thing really well, and that's solid 2.1 sound. The soundbar itself is quite capable, but we're amazed by the addition of a wireless subwoofer at this price point. We did, though, find that the bass could become very unruly at moments, leading to unpleasant resonance at higher volumes. Clearly this isn't quite capable enough to handle those more aggressively-mixed soundtracks aimed at surround sound systems. The build is also a little basic in some areas and you'll need to avoid denting that curved front grille with your thumb when moving it around.

So, who is this really for? If you think of the Majority Teton Plus as a seriously good upgrade to your TV speakers, you won't be disappointed. Casual watchers who want more volume and clarity, not to mention better bass for the occasional movie, will love it. All in all, the sound profile is well-balanced and it's very easy to fine-tune via the remote control and its handy EQ settings. We can think of much worse ways to spend less than £100 on audio kit.

Although it's not the only brand to have this trick up its sleeve, we love Samsung's joined-up thinking when it comes to linking its TV and soundbar products. As the name suggests, this Q600C Q Series soundbar is part of Samsung's range of Q-Symphony-enabled devices. So, if your TV is also Q-Symphony compatible, this soundbar can team up with its internal speakers. And that's no mean feat – we know how tricky it can be to even get the audio delay between on-screen dialogue and the actual words synced-up, let alone make an external sound system work in tandem with TV speakers.

As good as Q-Symphony is for Samsung owners, let's not overlook the rest of the system. In many ways this Q600C also qualifies as our best budget soundbar with subwoofer option, as the sub is packing 160 watts of power. The frequency range goes as low as 20Hz too, so the bass from this setup is going to rattle the furniture at higher volumes. A quick note on Bluetooth connectivity: if you're thinking about streaming your music to the Q600C, it only has Bluetooth version 4.2 which won't support lossless formats.

When it comes to Atmos support, the Q600C pretty much does it all (including DTS and all of the major Dolby formats). We're less pleased with its angular corner design. However, we do think that it ticks all of the boxes when it comes to expandability as (alongside Q-Symphony) you can extend it further by pairing it with the Samsung SWA-9200S Wireless Rear Speaker Kit for brilliant 360-degree audio.

As the best small budget soundbars go, we think the Sharp HT-SB700 soundbar offers a more premium look and feel than many of a similar size. Given it's only 52 centimetres long, we were a little surprised to find that it supports Dolby Atmos – especially considering its limited complement of internal speakers which does not include an internal subwoofer. That said, it does have two upfiring speakers that deliver a bit more headroom.

We tested this compact soundbar by hooking it up via the HDMI eARC port and using it for general TV watching and gaming on a PS4. We were impressed with the range and clarity the HT-SB700 was capable of. The design and build is impressively solid too, suggestive of a more premium price tag. Given how variable TV and movie soundtracks mixes can be, we were happy to be able to use the remote to tweak bass and treble on the fly to suit whatever we were watching, as well as select EQ presets like Movie, Voice, Music, and Night.

All in all, despite its size, we found that this system delivered robust sound with a noticeable clarity boost for both games and TV shows. One slight bugbear is the LED indicators behind the grille which can be cryptic and left us reaching for the manual a little too often. It also lacks Wi-Fi or ethernet, and its USB port is for firmware updates only, but we can accept that given the price tag and general feature-set. We also found a minor issue with volume control, which lacks granularity, jumping up or down in larger steps than we'd have liked. Despite these drawbacks, we still found the HT-SB700 to be a capable performer.

If you've ever shopped for a speaker chances are you'll be familiar with Bose. But if you're wondering what a prestige brand is doing on a budget soundbar list, let us explain. While this Smart Soundbar isn't exactly cheap, it's not expensive in Bose terms either. In fact, it's probably one of the most cost-effective ways of getting onto the audiophile ladder. After all, Bose is synonymous with class-leading audio and high-end build quality.

Thankfully, if you do decide that the Bose Smart Dolby Atmos Soundbar is going to be your first foray into superior audio kit, your journey won't end there. There are optional wireless surround speakers and a subwoofer to complement the soundbar's five internal speakers. The latter, the Bose Bass Module 500, will bring even more bass – arguably a better sub than any on our list. Elsewhere, Bose's AI processor enhances audio for clearer dialogue and Alexa is thrown in for those who want it.

There are a handful of downsides. Firstly, there are no extra HDMI inputs for passthrough from media players – but we think that's (just about) acceptable for a budget Bose that's designed to appeal to those wanting a minimal setup. Secondly, as good as it is that this is a very comprehensive Dolby-centric system, there's no support for any DTS formats. However, the main selling point remains – this is a Bose soundbar with Atmos and with that comes audio quality, range and power.

We're huge fans of keeping our home cinema setups as neat as possible using smart cable management – but there's nothing better than eliminating wires (almost) altogether. If you're also looking to keep things simple, but still want to be able to expand the audio capabilities of your soundbar without introducing cable-related chaos, this Denon Home 550 Compact Sound Bar is our top pick for wireless connectivity.

Apart from supporting Dolby Atmos and DTS (with passthrough for Dolby Vision support if you want to connect a media player to it), it also has Airplay 2, Bluetooth and Alexa for a tonne of wireless control and flexibility for music and more. Plus, If you're already in the Denon (or Marantz) ecosystem for your home entertainment, you might be able to make use of the soundbar's HEOS (Home Entertainment Operating System) feature. It's basically Denon's version of multi-room connectivity, allowing you to stream audio to one or more devices at once.

We think of the Denon Home 550 as a first step to a much more capable home cinema setup – and so does Denon. It has designed this soundbar to be expanded wirelessly, using the Denon DSW-1H subwoofer and Denon Home 150 twin surround smart speakers. That said, the soundbar is less capable in terms of bass when used on its own, but we also think that's to be expected with most compact bars. Used as part of a wider wireless setup however, and this bar becomes the centrepiece of a sleek, cable-free surround system.

Renowned for its gamer-oriented design and build, Razer's range of peripherals never fail to impress in both looks and functionality. Not all gamers can afford or want a monstrous multi-speaker setup to bring their game audio up a level – that's where this Razer Leviathan V2 kit comes in.

Razer Chroma RGB gives you control over an impressive 18 zones, meaning you can tailor this to fit any lighting scheme your current gaming rig might be wearing. We're not huge fans of distracting multicoloured patterns, but this Leviathan V2 can be used for dynamic in-game lighting effects which can increase immersion.

In terms of sound, while you won't find any of the home cinema audio formats mentioned in our other recommendations, there is THX Spatial Audio. This aims to be the gaming equivalent of virtual Dolby Atmos (virtual meaning it's not reliant on an array of separate surround speakers, instead projecting sound into your room with precision). Users are divided on how effective this is from a small bar, but we think that's a natural limitation of going for a compact soundbar and sub setup over a more expensive multi-speaker option. The same goes for the limited number of audio inputs, lacking both 3.5mm auxiliary and optical inputs. That said, on brand and spec alone, we think the Leviathan V2 packs a punch for a small bar – explaining why the whole system costs closer to the £200 mark. We'd take this over a standard low-price gaming soundbar every day of the week.

Sonos is a favourite of ours when it comes to high quality music streaming devices, so its no surprise that the company also crops up in the soundbar market. And it's exactly that reputation for musicality and range that draws us to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). For those of us who enjoy watching Atmos-encoded concerts on the TV as well as streaming lossless Atmos-mixed music, the Beam (Gen 2) is a true multipurpose budget soundbar choice. Yes, you'll find cheaper options but, in our opinion, none are quite as well crafted for music fans as this one. There's Apple Airplay as well as Wi-Fi to let you stream your go-to playlists and movie soundtracks.

The companion app also gives you features like Speech Enhancement, which better separates dialogue for maximum clarity, and EQ control. However, it's not all about cranking the volume up to eleven. Night Sound mode is brilliant for retaining the range and clarity of your sound at lower volumes.

While we like it's compact size, it does naturally limit the bass output, with some users saying that it needs an external subwoofer for the best music experience. As such, we'd recommend investing in a Sonos Sub Mini if you want the Beam (Gen 2) to compete well with dedicated music systems. Unfortunately, connectivity is minimal, with only HDMI ARC and an ethernet port alongside Wi-Fi. Perhaps the most glaring omission though is Bluetooth – other than a lightweight Bluetooth-based connection to let you set it up via the app, there is no BT audio or device connectivity here. That said, it's primarily a Wi-Fi device, so you'll be able to stream to it that way. It will also integrate with your Sonos multi-room setup if you have one. If you're already in the Sonos camp for your music streaming, the Beam (Gen 2) is a great addition.