Best Cyber Monday Soundbar Deals

The LG SP2 is a relatively low-priced all-in-one soundbar. (CR considers it a 2.0 system because there’s no separate subwoofer, but LG calls it a 2.1 system, with the subwoofer built into the single enclosure.) The soundbar delivers acceptable overall sound for the price, but like many soundbars with no separate subwoofer, it lacks deep bass. It includes LG’s Sound Mode Share, which can use the LG TV’s processor. It’s no longer on sale at Target.

The Vizio M213AD-K8 is a budget-priced all-in-one 2.0-channel soundbar from Vizio that delivers acceptable overall sound, so casual listeners will likely find it works well for both music and TV/movie soundtracks. (Vizio claims 2.1 channels for the soundbar, with built-in subwoofers.) It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio, but lacks upfiring drivers. Other than that, it’s a fairly basic model that has Bluetooth for streaming audio from a mobile device, but not WiFi.

The LG S65Q is a fairly basic 3.1-channel soundbar, a midrange model from 2022. It doesn’t have a lot of features but nonetheless delivers very good overall sound quality, so it’s likely that even more critical listeners will find it a decent choice for both music and movie soundtrack playback. It can connect to a TV using either HDMI or optical audio connections, and if you have a compatible LG television, it can use LG’s Sound Sync feature to connect via Bluetooth. This model lacks support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound, which are found in the pricier LG S75Q model. Amazon had it for about $10 cheaper a few days ago.

The Sonos Ray is a compact 2.0-channel soundbar, and the least expensive Sonos model we’ve tested. Despite its small size, it manages to deliver very good overall sound, making it a decent choice for even more finicky listeners for both music and TV/movie soundtracks. It lacks an HDMI input--you connect it to the TV via the optical digital audio input--but it has built-in WiFi for playing music, podcasts, radio, from your favorite services.

We didn’t test this model, a 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar offered at a low price as part of Walmart’s Black Friday sale. This model comes with a wireless subwoofer, plus a pair of rear surround-sound satellite speakers. The main enclosure include upfiring drivers for a sense of height. In addition to Dolby Atmos, this system also supports DTS Virtual: X sound.

This LG speaker system is designed to match the aesthetics of the company’s OLED TVs. It’s a 3.1-channel system with a dedicated center-channel speaker that can help with dialogue, plus a separate wireless subwoofer. It supports Dolby Atmos 3D audio, though it lacks upfiring drivers. You can add an LG rear-speaker kit to create a true surround-sound system. It’s considerably cheaper at Amazon right now than elsewhere.

This 3.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar from Samsung has a very thin, space-efficient main enclosure, with upfiring drivers for height effects. Its overall sound quality is very good, so it’s a good choice for both music and movie soundtracks. The Samsung HW-S801B/ZA is also one of the first soundbars that can support Dolby Atmos wirelessly via WiFi. You can expand this system to a full surround-sound setup by purchasing an optional wireless rear-speaker kit.

The Klipsch Cinema 400 is a fairly basic 2.1-channel soundbar that comes with a wireless subwoofer and built-in Bluetooth for streaming audio from a portable device. We tested this model, and it has decent overall sound quality. It’s now back to its earlier price, about $20 cheaper.

Like its predecessor, the original Sonos Beam, this compact all-in-one model delivers very good overall sound quality, so it should appeal to even more critical listeners for both music and movie soundtrack playback. One big difference is that the updated model supports Dolby Atmos audio, though it doesn’t have upfiring drivers; instead, it uses signal processing and phased speaker arrays to create Atmos effects. Like its predecessor the new Beam is a smart speaker with Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Google Assistant digital assistants built in, and it includes support for Apple AirPlay 2.

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar is a Fire TV device in name only—it doesn’t let you access streaming services from the bar itself. It also lacks Amazon’s Alexa digital voice assistant. (In contrast, several Roku soundbars we’ve tested actually have Roku streaming players built into their enclosures.) We haven’t tested this model, Amazon’s first branded soundbar, but it’s a basic, lower-priced 2.0 device that includes DTS Virtual:X sound and both HDMI and digital optical audio inputs.

This is about as inexpensive a soundbar as you’ll find, though it was under $30 a few days ago. You shouldn’t expect all that much from a soundbar at this price, and we haven’t tested it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth considering, provided you can return it if you’re not happy. It’s a 2.0-channel all-in-one unit with three sound modes (music, movie, and news), and built-in Bluetooth. It lacks an HDMI input, so you connect it to your TV via the digital optical input.

This is low-priced, 2.0-channel all-in-one soundbar from Vizio, which we haven’t tested. It’s about $20 cheaper at Walmart’s Cyber Monday sale than elsewhere. It’s a fairly basic model with Bluetooth and DTS Virtual:X sound.

Here’s another low-priced model—a 2.1-channel model from TCL—we haven’t tested. We have tested a few other TCL soundbars—and they’ve delivered okay if unexceptional sound quality—but none have been this cheap. It has a wireless subwoofer, plus built-in Bluetooth for streaming from a mobile device, and it has both HDMI and digital optical audio inputs. It’s a "Roku Ready" model, so it should connect easily if you own a Roku TV.

This 2.1-channel model appears to be a Best Buy exclusive. It’s a fairly low-priced, basic model that comes with a wireless subwoofer and built-in Bluetooth for streaming from a smartphone or tablet. We didn’t test this model, so we can’t comment on sound quality.

We haven’t tested this 2.1-channel soundbar from JBL, which comes with a wireless subwoofer. It’s a relatively basic model that doesn’t support Dolby Atmos or DTS:X 3D audio, but it does have built-in Bluetooth and HDMI ARC input for a one-cable connection to your TV. (An HDMI cable is included.) However, this model was $20 cheaper earlier this week, so you might want to wait a bit to see whether the price drops again.

The Sonos Arc is a full-featured Dolby Atmos soundbar speaker from Sonos, an all-in-one model that doesn’t require a separate subwoofer, is among the top models in our ratings, with very good overall sound quality. It should provide satisfying sound even for more critical listeners for both music and movie and TV soundtracks. The soundbar has a total of 11 drivers, including one on each end, as well as two upfiring drivers on top for Dolby Atmos audio. Like other Sonos soundbars, it can be configured as part of a full surround-sound system when paired with a Sonos subwoofer and rear Sonos speakers, and/or as part of a multiroom system.

The Samsung HW-B650 is a 3.1-channel system, so it has both a center-channel speaker in the main enclosure that can help enhance dialogue from the TV and a wireless subwoofer. It can be expanded to true surround sound by purchasing an optional rear-speaker kit. We didn’t test this model, but we did test the Samsung HW-B550 soundbar—a model below it that lacks the center-channel speaker—and it has decent overall sound quality. This soundbar supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Virtual:X sound, and you can connect up to two devices via Bluetooth at the same time.

This Q-series 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar appears to be a Best Buy exclusive. It comes with a wireless subwoofer and a rear-speaker kit for true surround sound. It has Samsung’s Q-Symphony feature that lets you use both the TV and soundbar speakers together. We didn’t test this model, but the pricier Samsung HW-Q800C has very good sound.

The Vizio Elevate P514a-H6 is a pricier 5.1.4-channel sound bar system from Vizio—which comes with rear satellite speakers and a large wireless subwoofer—offers very good overall sound, among the better models in our tests. It also has some unique features, most notably motorized speakers at either end of the enclosure that rotate upwards as height channels when the system detects a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X signal. (The speakers return to a front-firing configuration for all other types of content.) The Elevate connects to your network via WiFi, and has Bluetooth, Spotify Connect and Chromecast built in. Right now, it’s $100 cheaper than last week at these two retailers; Walmart just hiked the price by nearly $300.

The Samsung HW-Q930C is a premium 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos/DTS:X soundbar that’s available only at Best Buy. A Q-series 2023 model, it has a wireless subwoofer, plus a pair of rear satellite speakers that, like the main enclosure, have upfiring drivers to produce an enveloping sense of height. The model is loaded with features, including wireless Dolby Atmos, the Q-Symphony feature that lets you use both a Samsung TV and soundbar speakers together. The price is $100 cheaper today than Black Friday.