If you’re looking for an easy way to boost your TV audio dramatically, you’ve come to the right place. Soundbars provide much better sound quality for your favorite TV shows, movies, and video games. However, you can Bluetooth stream music with most of them, as well.
Believe it or not, most built-in speakers in recent TVs have gotten slightly worse over time. This is because thinner and larger TV screens don’t have enough room for speakers on the front. Some of them have the speakers within the screen diminishing the low frequencies.
But on the bright side, newer TVs have increased their visual quality by a large margin. To get the best of both worlds, adding a soundbar is a fantastic investment.
After extensive research, reviews, and testing; We formulated a list of the 8 best soundbars you can get for the money. Some of them come with a wireless subwoofer, as well. Depending on you’re budget and preference, you’ll indeed find the suitable soundbar for you and your family below!
In Short, Here Are The Best TV Soundbars For The Money (Every Budget)
- Sony HT-S350
- Bose SoundTouch 300
- Bose Solo 5
- JBL Bar 5.1
- Sonos Beam
- JBL Bar 3.1
- Wohome
- VIZIO SB3821-C6
1. Sony HT-S350
First up, the Sony HT-S350 soundbar dramatically reduced the price by almost $30. While we’re unsure if the discount is permanent or temporary, we believe it’s a fantastic choice either way.
This inexpensive 2.1ch soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer providing powerful bass. With a substantially better sound than the low price, we believe it’s a near-flawless bang for the buck and recommend it to anyone searching for a great deal.
Users Say: “I really love this soundbar/subwoofer. Easy setup and instructions. Once I plugged in the HDMI from the soundbar to the TV HDMI/ARC it paired immediately with the subwoofer. I am not an audiophile but I know the good sound. For the money I highly recommend it. Yes, there are high-end soundbars out there, but I just wanted to have a better sound than what I was hearing on my Samsung smart tv. I am much pleased after several weeks. And the thing I like most is that the remote features a separate volume control for the subwoofer. It has several settings on the remote for sound.”
Tech Specs & Details
- Sony 2.1 Channel Sound Bar
- S-Force Pro virtual surround sound
- 7 Sound modes
- Voice improvement capabilities
- 320 Watt
- Wireless subwoofer
2. Bose SoundTouch 300
If your primary goal is to find a soundbar currently on a massive sale, the Bose SoundTouch 300 might be the one for you. But that’s not the only reason why everyone loves it. With a supported format of Dolby digital and 4K pass, it provides fantastic sound quality.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised by its wide soundstage for its compact size. This little soundbar can fill a huge room effortlessly. In terms of its spaciousness, the adapted room audio calibration optimized its frequencies to output in various directions in accordance with your room. This makes an overall fuller sound. The human voice is crisp and easy to understand, and you won’t have any volume issues with this soundbar. It takes an HDMI cord for easy connection.
Made with robust glass and all-metal grille, it has an incredible build quality and design. You’ll also like its Bluetooth with NFC and WiFi for streaming music with your phone. Overall, the Bose SoundTouch 300 is one of the highest quality soundbars at a low price. It has fantastic sound quality, build quality, design, and added features. We highly recommend it!
Users Say: “This is an excellent soundbar. I have a Samsung 4K TV and was able to set it up in 1hr. After running the ADAPTiQ the sound turned out to be amazing. I was pretty impressed by the Bass this soundbar was able to produce when turned all the way up. The dialog mode makes speeches crisper, however, the bass goes down a bit. Wifi and Bluetooth didn’t seem to have any issue. HDMI ARC had no issue connecting. All I can say the documentation on the Universal Remote and Wifi Setup could have been a little better. It is an expensive soundbar but I feel it is worth the money. Good upgrade for me from the Cinemate Series. Thumbs up for Bose.”
Details & Tech Specs
- All-metal grille and premium glass design
- Dolby digital
- 4K pass
3. Bose Solo 5
For a good reason, the Bose Solo 5 is one of the highest-rated and customer-reviewed soundbars on the market. It’s also very affordable making it an excellent choice for the money. Better yet, they recently reduced the price for this soundbar by 20%.
With fantastic audio quality for the price, dialogue mode for understanding words more clearly, and tough build quality, there are a plethora of reasons why it’s an excellent value. It offers secure Bluetooth connectivity, as well. Overall, we highly recommend it if you only want to spend $200 on a TV soundbar!
Users Say: “I was hesitant when I first purchased this product. I didn’t know if it was going to be a knock off, or if it was going to have problems once I installed it. This is the REAL DEAL! I love the sound. It was super easy to install. It’s sleek, it’s powerful and the price was PERFECT!”
Tech Specs & Details
- Dimensions: 2.6 H x 21.6 W x 3.4 D
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- Comes with universal remote
- 3.5 mm aux input (analog)
- External power supply
4. JBL Bar 5.1
Next in line, the JBL Bar 5.1 recently had an astounding price cut of 42%. Considering the massive discount, it effortlessly made our list of best soundbars for the money. This soundbar is budget-friendly and comes with a subwoofer, as well. It provides an immense 550 Watts of power.
Not only does it provide 4K pass-through with HDR 10, but it’s also one of the cheapest soundbars on the market with Dolby Vision. The soundbar produces excellent clarity of audio without a hint of distortion. Even at max volume, the sound remains crystal clear.
One of our favorite features is the 10-inch subwoofers. It produces an enormous bass sound. You will be more than satisfied with the overall low-end at the price. It also has built-in Chromecast, WiFi, Bluetooth capabilities, and Airplay 2. The last impressive feature worth mentioning is its virtual surround sound.
I noticed a few downsides with this soundbar. For one, it’s slightly difficult to set up. That issue can be resolved by paying $76 more on expert installation on Amazon. Also, depending on what movie your watching, the sound can jump up and down on volume too quickly. In other words, words can be a bit too low in volume, while an explosion is a bit too loud. But Overall, the JBL Bar 5.1 is a great value soundbar running below $400. Be sure to check out the reviews below.
Users Say: “This JBL soundbar has extreme power and great sound. IF you are looking for Strong, Loud, quality sound with great bass, this soundbar is worth every penny. It costs a bit more than other soundbars, but you cant measure the sound quality and power of this soundbar with the others. With a max range of +50, you can’t get over +25 and it’s shaking the house. I highly recommend this soundbar over all the others as it’s worth the extra money.”
Details & Tech Specs
- 550 Watts
- 10″ wireless subwoofer
- 4K pass-through with HDR 10
- Dolby Vision
- Built-in Chromecast, WiFi, Bluetooth capabilities, and Airplay 2
- Virtual 5.1 surround sound
5. Sonos Beam
The Sonos Beam is another highly rated soundbar that significantly outperforms its price. Running under $400, this TV soundbar has many added features. For one, it has Alexa built-in, allowing you to make voice commands. It provides fantastic sound quality, as well.
Optimized by Oscar-winning sound engineers, it enhances the human voice. Many people love how easy it is to understand the words in their tv shows and movies without background music becoming too overwhelming.
Another unique feature you will enjoy is its Sonos speakers integration capabilities. Using WiFi, you can connect Sonos speakers throughout the house that plays whatever’s on the soundbar. You’ll also appreciate its ability to be wall-mounted. Overall, the Sonos Beam is an excellent soundbar running at an affordable price. It’s also one of the few with built-in Alexa and Apple Airplay 2. We highly recommend it. Be sure to check out the reviews below!
Users Say: “I was expecting mediocre sound given its size and price point but the Beam has a full rich sound that punches way above its weight even without a subwoofer. What is amazing is how seamlessly it operates and fits in…as long as you have ARC on your TV it will always output sound from your TV and when you want to play music from your computer, phone, or voice command it switches over. It’s always just another Sonos in your house you can output music, radio, podcasts too. Compared to the LG soundbar it replaced with its finicky Bluetooth connection and endless fiddling to make it work for TV and then switch over for audio it’s a dream come true.”
Details & Tech Specs
- Alexa Built-in
- Google Airplay 2
- Excellent form factor
- Tuned to enhance the human voice
- Wall mountable
- Able to add extra Sonos speakers
6. JBL Bar 3.1
Next up, the JBL Bar 3.1 is a low-budget soundbar with an added 10-inch wireless subwoofer. JBL is one of the leaders in the sound engineering department. That being said, it’s no surprise that this soundbar produces fantastic sound quality.
It’s also very loud with its 450 Watts of power. With its True 4K connectivity with 3 HDMI, the sound is evenly balanced, crisp, and crystal clear. You’ll also enjoy the full frequency range of 35Hz-20KHz.
Both the soundbar and the wireless subwoofer are built very tough for their low-price. Overall, the JBL Bar 3.1 is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a cheap soundbar and subwoofer for your TV with excellent sound quality. It’s relatively easy to set and conveniently compact. Not only do we recommend it, but it’s highly rated and customer-reviewed, as well.
Users Say: “I originally ordered a new Bose system but my poor internet connection prevented me from adequately setting up the system. BUT, this JBL system hits all the marks – but in volume and remote… Still, the best for the money and I just LOVE the bass response!”
Details & Tech Specs
- True 4K connectivity with 3 HDMI
- Wireless 10-inch subwoofer
- 450 Watts
- Frequency response: 35Hz-20KHz.
7. Wohome
Here is yet another affordable soundbar with a sound quality that significantly outperforms its price. Running around $100, the Wohome is an exceptional choice. It has 6 drivers that offer 105 dB of crisp but loud audio.
Not only that but the DSP technology gives you a nice surround sound effect, as well. Overall, it’s a remarkable bang for the buck and we highly recommend it!
Users Say: “Great for the price! I just wanted it for my bedroom tv, so I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg! I do wish I could use on the controller for the tv and bar, but I used the optical connection (best for best sound) and you have to use the remote separately. So, it has a nice base and the dialogue option is good if you need to isolate sound and have difficulty hearing what is said on the tv.”
8. VIZIO SB3821-C6
We decided to end with the most affordable soundbar with a subwoofer on this list. But don’t let the low price fool you! The VIZIO SB3821-C6 sound quality dramatically outperforms its meager price. It has a pretty good bass and clear sound. Whether you’re watching TV, playing video games, or listening to music; this soundbar is a perfect choice if you don’t want to break the bank.
Users Say: “For the price and the quality of sound, this is a great deal. You will undoubtedly get a better surround sound from the 5.1 and 7.1 systems, but this more than meets our needs. We purchased this to replaced two self-powered speakers and a small sound mixer for the wall-mounted TV/display in our staff meeting room at church. I was apprehensive about the quality of sound because our pastor is a musician and has been deeply involved in the professionally designed and installed sound system in our auditorium. To my pleasant surprise, he was quite happy with this soundbar. The sound is crisp and clear. The soundbar has several helpful inputs, came with a couple of different cables for making connections, and is wall mountable. We used the fiber optic cable to connect the soundbar to the TV. We have not tested the BlueTooth sound input interface.”
Tech Specs & Details
- 100dB sound pressure level
- Bluetooth
- Frequency response: 50Hz-19kHz
- Wireless subwoofer
- 2.1 Sound Bar System
- DTS TruSurround virtual surround sound
Quick Recap
Here Are TheBest TV Soundbars For The Price
- Sony HT-S350
- Bose SoundTouch 300
- Bose Solo 5
- JBL Bar 5.1
- Sonos Beam
- JBL Bar 3.1
- Wohome
- VIZIO SB3821-C6
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