Compare the Best SoundbarsAugust 2020

Soundbar Buying Guide

Subwoofer

While most soundbars comprise of just the bar itself, others come packaged with a separate subwoofer unit. This is a loudspeaker designed specifically for bass frequencies, meaning it will augment the standard soundbar and provide substantially more powerful bass notes. This boosts the overall sound quality of the TV, and is especially good if you watch a lot of action-heavy blockbusters, since the explosions and gunshots will have a lot more presence.

Wireless Streaming

The majority of soundbars are designed to be plugged in directly to the TV, rather than using a wireless connection. This is minimise any delay in the audio - wireless connections can generate a very slight delay while the data is sent from the TV to the soundbar, meaning that the video and audio signals the TV could drop out of sync. Wired connections have no such delay, meaning the video and audio will always be perfectly in sync.

Many soundbars do have wireless capabilities, but they are instead used for streaming audio from your phone/tablet/etc. Because there is no video signal, the small delay doesn’t really matter. This means that as well as TV audio, soundbars can also be used for music on demand, making them great for parties or just relaxing with your favourite music!

Soundbar Prices

The price range of soundbars is from £14 to £3,478 and in total we found prices for 221 soundbars. A new soundbar costs on average £321 and 80% of soundbars are priced between £66 and £649. The cheapest soundbar that we found is the DELL AX510 at only £14, and the most expensive is the NEC SP-ASCM at £3,478.

Soundbar Brands - Price Range

NEC soundbars range in price from £614 to £3,478, and the average price of NEC soundbars is £1,583 which is the highest average price of all soundbar brands.

Bang & Olufsen soundbars start at £1,356 and their most expensive soundbar costs £1,356. The second highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Bang & Olufsen soundbars with an average price of £1,356.

M&K soundbars range in price from £750 to £750, and the third highest average soundbar price out of all brands is M&K soundbars with an average price of £750.

Soundbar Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1,170 expert reviews and 429 user reviews for soundbars and used this data to calculate the average rating for each brand of soundbar. The top rated soundbar brand is Samsung with an average rating of 96%. The second best brand is LG with 72% and the third best brand is Yamaha with 70%.

Biggest Soundbar Retailers

We found 128 current offers for soundbars from eBay making it the biggest soundbar retailer. That is slightly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Currys for whom we found 109 current offers for soundbars. The third biggest retailer is Amazon UK with 102 current soundbar offers.

When Are Most New Soundbars Released?

The most common period for new soundbars to be released in is between March and May. The biggest month in 2019 for new soundbar releases was March, with eight new soundbars released that month. In 2018 most new soundbars were released in November, with 24 new soundbars released that month. In May 2017, 41 new soundbars were released making it the biggest month that year for new soundbar releases.

How Fast Do Soundbar Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, soundbars drop in price by 12% on average.

That means that on a typical soundbar costing £321 you could save on average £37 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Audio Channels

'Audio Output' denotes the number of individual channels for the soundbar to use. Specific sounds and parts of the screen are assigned to individual channels, allowing the soundbar to simulate surround sound and create a deeper audio depth.

2.1 channels is the most frequently found audio channels amongst new soundbars. We found 192 soundbars that are 2.1 channels soundbars. We found 71 soundbars that are 2 channels soundbars, making 2 channels the second most popular audio channels amongst new soundbars.

Bluetooth

Whether the sounder has support for wireless Bluetooth connections or not.

Of the 433 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are soundbars which support Bluetooth. 402 out of 433 are soundbars which support Bluetooth.

Subwoofer Included

Whether the soundbar includes a subwoofer, which is a loudspeaker for low frequencies (bass sounds).

The vast majority of the 433 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo are soundbars with a subwoofer included. 289 out of 433 soundbars are soundbars with a subwoofer included.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Soundbars?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying soundbars. For each retailer it shows the total number of soundbars where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying soundbars. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 83 of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Soundbars for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for soundbars by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of soundbar prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's soundbar prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 64.8% of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.