Compare the Best SoundbarsFebruary 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

Soundbars range in price from £10 to £3,478 and in total we found prices for 215 soundbars. The average price of a new soundbar is £291 and 80% of soundbars are priced between £63 and £564. The cheapest soundbar that we found is the DELL AX510 at only £10, and the most expensive is the NEC SP-ASCM at £3,478.

Soundbar Brands - Price Range

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

M&K soundbars start at £750 and their most expensive soundbar costs £750. The second highest average soundbar price out of all brands is M&K soundbars with an average price of £750.

Dali soundbars start at £649 and their most expensive soundbar costs £649. The average price of Dali soundbars is £649 which is the third highest average price of all soundbar brands.

Soundbar Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1,458 expert reviews and 477 user reviews for soundbars and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of soundbar. The top three soundbar brands are LG, Yamaha and Sony. LG has an average rating of 72%, Yamaha has an average rating of 71% and Sony has an average rating of 68%.

Biggest Soundbar Retailers

We found 123 current offers for soundbars from eBay making it the biggest soundbar retailer. That is significantly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Amazon UK for whom we found 99 current offers for soundbars. The third biggest retailer is Currys with 77 current soundbar offers.

When Are Most New Soundbars Released?

Most new soundbars tend to be released between March and May. If you want the latest soundbar technology you may want to think about waiting until March 2020. Also the price of the current soundbars may drop off just before the latest models are released in March. The biggest month last year for new soundbar releases was March, with nine new soundbars released that month. In 2018 most new soundbars were released in November, with 17 new soundbars released that month. In May 2017, 42 new soundbars were released making it the biggest month that year for new soundbar releases.

How Fast Do Soundbar Prices Drop After Release?

On average soundbars drop in price by 14% in the first 6 months after release.

If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of £40 on a typical £291 new soundbar by waiting 6 months before buying.

Audio Output

'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 common audio output amongst new soundbars. We found 174 soundbars that are 2.1 channels soundbars. The second most popular audio output amongst new soundbars is 2 channels. We found 66 soundbars that are 2 channels soundbars.

Bluetooth

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

Of the 389 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are soundbars which support Bluetooth. 362 out of 389 soundbars are soundbars which support Bluetooth.

Subwoofer Included

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

Of the 389 new soundbars currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are soundbars with a subwoofer included. 260 out of 389 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. 73 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. 59.3% of their soundbar prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.