BLUETOOTH SPEAKER DEALS OF THE WEEK

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Price

In the last few years, we've seen an explosion in the number of Atmos soundbars. Even better, the prices have finally dipped below $500, making them more affordable than ever. Likely the most important consideration when choosing a Dolby Atmos soundbar is how much it costs, as those equipped with the technology often cost up to $300 more than a regular soundbar. Still, there's often an Atmos soundbar for every price point, starting at $400 on this list.

Atmos compatible vs. Atmos capable

There is a big difference between Atmos compatible and Atmos capable. Some of the soundbars can only read the standard (compatible) but not play it (capable), typically the cheaper models. While the Sonos Beam Gen 2 does a great job of simulating the height effects of Dolby Atmos, it pays to invest in a model with s dedicated height speaker system.

Wireless streaming

If you're buying a new soundbar, then music streaming is an important consideration. This can take one of two main formats: Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. Wireless streaming lets you play music from a multitude of sources, such as Spotify Connect on your phone or Apple AirPlay 2 on your computer, via your soundbar. Wi-Fi offers several upgrades over Bluetooth, including the ability to listen in multiple rooms and even control it with a Google Assistant or Alexa. Ultimately, the more choices for streaming technologies a soundbar has, the better.

Smart assistant and voice control

Many Dolby Atmos soundbars have a smart assistant onboard; these days, it's usually only Amazon Alexa. Having a smart assistant can make controlling the soundbar easier and also help set the scene by dimming lights and closing curtains with voice control. If you use Google Assistant or Siri in your house, then most of these models can be controlled by them, too. Worries about privacy? Either turn off the soundbar's microphone or get a model without one!

HDMI connections

At the bare minimum, a soundbar sold in 2026 should have at least one HDMI input and preferably more. The ability to connect multiple HDMI cables will help users with a large selection of sources (Xbox Series X, Apple TV, Nintendo Switch, Blu-ray player, etc.). There are notable exceptions to this rule. For example, the Sonos Ray only offers an optical output, but this is acceptable given that it's most suitable for older or smaller TVs.

Subwoofer and surround speakers

Single-bar systems are great for smaller TVs, as their length allows for built-in stereo sound while still being compact enough to fit under your TV screen. But a soundbar-and-subwoofer combo is better suited for a living room home theater setup to produce that booming surround sound. For that reason, I take note of the size of the system and whether it offers wireless or wired peripherals. Most soundbars with subs are wireless, for instance, while systems with surround can be wired, as in the case of the Vizio Elevate. 

At CNET I test audio equipment from compact soundbars all the way to surround sound speakers systems, but regardless of the device my methodology is largely the same. I always compare products against one or more reference devices that offer the best performance at a similar price. 

When it comes to Dolby Atmos soundbars, I want to see how well a system performs with music, movies, TV shows and games, as most people will want to use many if not all of these formats, to create an immersive 3D audio.

I watch from a handful of test scenes from 4K Blu-ray or streamed from a 4K streaming service (Vudu, for example) and evaluate aspects such as bass performance and dialogue clarity. I use several test scenes, mainly from action movies, including the opening of Mad Max: Fury Road to capture the height of the movie soundtrack. I also use the Thanator Attack scene of Avatar (26.53) to test a system's dynamics and detail retrieval on big, booming sound effects. 

When it comes to music, I use several CNET test tracks which you can find here in a Tidal or Spotify playlist. Tracks such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Red Right Hand, with its deep bass notes and tenor vocals, help determine a system's ability to track male voices in particular, without sounding congested. The song also helps with uncovering hidden details and the relative dynamics a speaker is capable of. Using both types of content -- movies and music -- I then grade the sound quality of each soundbar. I evaluate characteristics such as speech clarity, dynamics/volume, bass response and musical playback. 

CNET's dedicated audio lab in downtown New York includes a selection of recent televisions (with HDMI eARC), plus Apple TV 4K streamer and Roku Ultra streamer, a Microsoft Xbox Series X and an Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player. I also use Roon music software to stream to individual devices or the Oppo player as needed.

I have tested the following soundbars in the CNET audio lab against models of a similar price. Each of these soundbars are worthy in their own way, but aren't quite as recommendable as our main picks.

Sonos Beam Gen 2: The Beam may only offer simulated height speakers, but it's the best simulated Atmos I've heard yet. The Sonos Beam also offers a lot of features, while the Bose Soundbar 600 and Vizio M512a-H6 deliver even better Atmos performance for the same money. Read CNET's review of the Sonos Beam Gen 2.

Polk MagniFi Mini AX: An excellent soundbar for dialogue, but it does only has virtualized Dolby Atmos capability and not physical height speakers. Read CNET's review of the Polk MagniFi Mini AX.

Bose Smart Soundbar 900: This is a great Bose soundbar, and it pairs well with the company's QuietComfort headphones for late-night listening, but it's simply not as robust as the Sonos Arc. Read CNET's review of the Bose Smart Soundbar 600

Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3: An excellent soundbar with HDMI connectivity and multiroom music streaming. While music is where this soundbar shines, the system does cost more than the Arc, and its peripherals are expensive. Read our full review of the Bowers & Wilkins Panorama.

Sennheiser Ambeo Plus: A cut-down version of the $2,500 Sennheiser Ambeo Max, which offers many of the same features including Chromecast built-in and voice assistance. I found the sound was enveloping and music to be more nuanced than some of the cheaper 'bars. Yet, at its retail price it's not quite $600 better than the Sonos Arc, nor is surround sound as convincing as the Max. Read CNET's first take of the Sennheiser Ambeo Plus.