Compare the Best SoundbarsApril 2021

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

In total we found 204 soundbars ranging from £17 to £1,599. The average price of a new soundbar is £310 and 80% of soundbars are priced between £68 and £653. The DELL AX510 is the cheapest soundbar at only £18, and Samsung HW-Q950A is the most expensive at £1,599.

Soundbar Brands - Price Range

The average price of Bang & Olufsen soundbars is £1,245 which is the highest average price of all soundbar brands. Bang & Olufsen soundbars start at £1,245 and their most expensive soundbar costs £1,245.

The average price of M&K soundbars is £1,000 which is the second highest average price of all soundbar brands. M&K soundbars range in price from £1,000 to £1,000.

Dali soundbars range in price from £648 to £648, and the third highest average soundbar price out of all brands is Dali soundbars with an average price of £648.

Soundbar Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 1,705 expert reviews and 7,788 user reviews for soundbars and used this data to determine the average rating for each brand of soundbar. The top rated soundbar brand is Samsung with an average rating of 84%. The second best brand is LG with 81% and the third best brand is Yamaha with 71%.

Biggest Soundbar Retailers

The biggest soundbar retailer by number of products currently for sale is Amazon UK. We found 123 current soundbar offers from Amazon UK. The second biggest retailer is eBay with 111 offers. That means Amazon UK is slightly bigger than eBay when it comes to soundbars. Quzo is the third biggest retailer with 85 current offers.

When Are Most New Soundbars Released?

The most common period for new soundbars to be released in is between March and May. That means that most of the latest soundbar technology was released in within the last 3 months, and now is good time to buy. The biggest month in 2020 for new soundbar releases was May, with 10 new soundbars released that month. In 2019 most new soundbars were released in March, with 10 new soundbars released that month. November was the biggest month in 2018 for new soundbars, with 22 new soundbars released that month.

How Fast Do Soundbar Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, soundbars drop in price by 16% on average.

That means a saving of £49 on a typical £310 new soundbar if you wait 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 popular audio channels amongst new soundbars. We found 209 soundbars that are 2.1 channels soundbars. 2 channels is the second most frequently found audio channels amongst new soundbars. We found 79 soundbars that are 2 channels soundbars.

Bluetooth

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

Of the 467 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are soundbars which support Bluetooth. 438 soundbars (94%) 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 467 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo are soundbars with a subwoofer included. 318 out of 467 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. 76 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. 68.5% of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.