Best Dolby Atmos Soundbars: Our Top 6 Picks This Year
Dolby Atmos Soundbars are getting better by the day, but, with so much choice on the market and competition only getting tougher, which one’s the best? Let’s find out!
At Smart Home Sounds, we're constantly asked, "What's the best soundbar?" and, although it's a great question - the answer is rarely as straightforward as you’d imagine.
We get it, it’s a big decision and while I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits all “best” soundbar. There is such a thing as the best soundbar for you. And that’s exactly what we’re going to find out in this article.
We’ve narrowed down the best Dolby Atmos soundbars to six top contenders and we’ll be looking at their sound quality, extra features, and value for money to help you choose the right one for your setup.
🗣 The following section provides a quick overview. For a more in-depth look, click here
1. Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9
Sony's latest flagship soundbar, the BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9, is a significant leap forward on the award-winning HT-A7000. Boasting a refreshed design, revamped acoustic architecture and more, if you’ve got a Sony TV already or DTS support is a priority of yours, this will be a no-brainer.
A significant upgrade on its already impressive predecessor, the Sonos Arc, this soundbar sets a new standard for audio performance both standalone and in a wider home cinema system. Its compatibility with Sonos' home ecosystem further enhances its appeal, making it a top choice for those seeking optimum sound performance that can be upgraded on over time.
The Dione is a luxury all-in-one soundbar that delivers exceptional sound quality without the need for additional speakers.While its premium price tag may seem steep, the unique blend of style and substance justifies the cost.
The Ambeo Soundbar Plus is Sennheiser’s more compact and affordable alternative to the flagship Ambeo Max. Combining Sennheiser’s iconic sound signature with sleek design and impressive connectivity, this is a great choice for those who want to bridge the gap between traditional soundbars and high-end audio systems.
Comprised of a soundbar, two surround speakers, and a subwoofer, the Samsung HW-Q990D offers outstanding value for money. If you're looking to maximise the bang for your buck, it's arguably the best complete soundbar package in its respective price range and a great solution for those looking for a complete home cinema system in a single box.
The most affordable option in this list, Bose’s flagship Dolby Atmos Soundbar is a great choice if you prioritise clear vocals and enjoy Bose's signature sound. Boasting a rock-solid build and stylish design, this soundbar not only sounds great but will look brilliant underneath your TV too.
Kicking off with a bang, the first soundbar on our list is the Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9. This soundbar is Sony's latest flagship option and the successor to the award-winning HT-A7000.
It's been completely redesigned from the ground up, and even with its premium price tag of £1399, it's already received high praise within the industry. With more drivers, a sleeker design, and a more user-friendly app, this 13-speaker Dolby Atmos and DTS-enabled soundbar is a significant upgrade over Sony's previous soundbar offerings.
The up-firing drivers and beam tweeters have been carried over from the previous iteration, but Sony has upgraded everything else internally, including the four front-firing woofers, which are now 1.7 times larger to help deliver better bass and midrange performance. Now, we don't think the bass is quite up there with the Arc Ultra (as we'll come onto shortly), but the spaciousness of the surround sound effects is truly impressive and is the standout feature. Vocals are also very impressive, so we've got no complaints on that front.
Along with the impressive sound performance, the Theatre Bar 9 offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to expanding your setup too. With a healthy choice of subwoofers and rear surround sound speakers to choose from, there are plenty of options to suit every setup. The fact that the Theatre Bar 9 can pair with a compatible Sony TV to enable Acoustic Center Sync, where your soundbar and TV speakers work together, is another bonus. It also supports Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi streaming via AirPlay and SpotifyConnect, as well as DolbyAtmos and DTS.
While the Bar 9 offers improvements across the board over its predecessor, there are a couple of drawbacks to be aware of. The first is that the number of 4K HDMI inputs has been reduced from two to one (not the end of the world, but a bit inconvenient for users with multiple devices).
Second, while the design has improved, it can still be be a prettylarge and boxy unit, and the design might date quicker than some of the others in this lineup—but that's just my personal opinion, and you might be a fan of the appearance.
There's also novoicecontrol on this one, and there's no longer Chromecast support either, which is a bit of a shame. Obviously, this isn't a cheap soundbar either, so if any of these drawbacks are deal-breakers for you, you might want to consider pushing your budget elsewhere.
Reasons To Consider:
✓ You’re within the Sony ecosystem with a compatible Sony TV
✓ You’re looking to upgrade with options to add rear surrounds and a subwoofer
The Sonos Arc Ultra is the latest addition to Sonos' soundbar lineup. Replacing the multi-award-winning Sonos Arc, this new flagship model boasts a totally revamped 14-driver array that delivers immersive 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos surround sound, all-new SoundMotion™ technology, and it comes with a price tag of £999.
If you've watched our full Sonos Arc Ultra Review on YouTube already, you'll know we think it's a pretty significant upgrade over the previous Sonos Arc—around30% better overall, which is pretty impressive considering how good the previous version was already.
The soundbar places sound around the room WAY more effectively and delivers great center channel clarity. One of the negatives for the Sonos Arc was that we felt it could do with a bump in bass, and Sonos has definitely delivered with the Arc Ultra.
The new SoundMotion™ technology in the bass woofer helps this soundbar deliver double the bass output of the original Sonos Arc and is super impressive, especially considering the size of the soundbar.
We've been really impressed by the Arc Ultra's overall sound performance for both movies and music in testing, and as with all of Sonos' soundbars, that is only improved when you add some of their other components into the mix too, like a pair of Sonos Era 300s or a Sonos Sub 4.
If you're looking for an ecosystem you can add to over time, this is definitely one to consider. You could opt to build a full home cinema system over time that suits your living space or expand further into your home as Sonos offers a comprehensive wireless multiroom solution for a whole home ecosystem.
Sonos' Trueplay tuning room optimisation software has also been updated, now supporting both iOS and Android users, which is a big plus. The Arc Ultra is also now compatible with Bluetooth along with Wi-Fi,AirPlay2, SpotifyConnect, as well as having built-invoicecontrol with both Alexa and SonosVoice. A few downsides include no support for Google Assistant, no 4K passthrough, or support for DTS:X though which is worth bearing in mind.
Reasons To Consider:
✓ You’re after impressive bass and stand out vocals
✓You’d like to add a sub and / or rears over time
✓You’re looking to build a home ecosystem where all your speakers work together
✓ If DTS:X and HDMI pass through aren’t a priority for you
For those looking to stick within the Sonos ecosystem but haven't quite got the budget for the Arc Ultra, the more compact Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a great alternative. Since its launch in 2021, it's won plenty of awards and is still a market leader in the compact soundbar category.
Capable of delivering immersive Dolby Atmos surround sound and brilliant when combined with a pair of Sonos Era 100s and a Sonos Sub Mini, this is the ultimate home cinema choice for small to medium-sized rooms. Plus, it offers all of the extensive connectivity and multi-room functionality as the Arc Ultra, making it a no-brainer for those looking to delve deeper into a wider Sonos multi-room system.
The Devialet Dione isn't your average Dolby Atmos soundbar. It’s a luxury pieceof tech, both in sound and style, and with a price tag of £1,800, it's definitely sitting in that high-end category.
Now, unlike a lot of the other soundbars on this list, the Dione is designed as an all-in-one soundbarsolution, which means you can't add a pair of rears or a subwoofer, even if you wanted to (sorry, there's no chance of those Devialet Phantom IIs being used as rears anytime soon).
But with 17 drivers and 950W ofpower, it's capable of delivering immersive 5.1.2 Dolby Atmossound with arguably the best bass performance we've heard from a single soundbar.
The Dione’s pièce de résistance though is the fully rotable center channel orb, found at the heart of the soundbar. This versatile solution ensures this soundbar can be either wall-mounted vertically or sat on top of a TV stand.
Last year, the Dione really impressed us with its incredible sound performance, and this year, it's still holding its own. Soundbars like the Arc Ultra are closing the gap (especially with the step up in bass), but the centre channel on the Dione is still crystal-clear, the Atmos effects are super immersive, and the bass? Still up there with the very best from a single unit.
It's also a great soundbar for music playback too. I've said it before, but it's hard to believe such a rich and immersive soundstage can come from one box, so I think it's fair to say Devialet has definitely delivered on their brief with this one.
While the Dione is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to sound, it does have a few slight drawbacks when you look at its feature set.
You've got all the basics covered, like HDMI eARC, optical, and Ethernet connections. It also supports a range of audio formats, including LPCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and Dolby Atmos. For wireless streaming, you've got Bluetooth5.0 and Wi-Fi with support including AirPlay and Spotify Connect. But, despite there being four built-in mics for Devialet's room calibration feature, there's actually no voice assistant integration with this one. There's also no HDMI passthrough either, and only basic EQ settings with a few presets.
It does have a pretty good spatial processing mode to upmix non-Atmos content, but overall, you're pretty limited to what you can play around with once this is out of the box. That said, the Dione doesn't need much tweaking, but if customisation is important to you, it's worth bearing in mind.
Don't get us wrong, based purely on price alone, this one won't be right for everybody. But if you're an audiophile looking for a statement piece of tech that excels with both movies and music, the Dione is definitely worth considering—assuming your budget can stretch far enough, that is.
Reasons To Consider:
✓ You value uniqueness and are looking for a statement piece in your home
✓ You like bold bass performance
✓ You're not looking to expand your system over time
✓ You have a bigger budget and enough space to accommodate the larger form factor
Next up, we have the Sennheiser AMBEO Plus. A more compact and affordable version of Sennheiser’s flagship AMBEO Max, this soundbar was our “Audiophile Atmos Champion” last year. While newer models like the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9 are hot on its heels, the AMBEO Plus is still holding up well.
Originally priced at a hefty £1299, the AMBEO Plus can now be found closer to the £1000 mark, making it a more accessible option for audiophiles.
So, what are you getting for your money? Well, the AMBEO Plus delivers impressive 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos surround sound, making it a great option for those who want Sennheiser's signature audio quality in a more manageable package.
The AMBEO Plus packs 9 speakers into its sleek design with three front-facing drivers, two side-firing drivers, and two upward-firing drivers for immersive Dolby Atmos surround sound.
It's also got Sennheiser's impressive virtualization technology, which helps deliver an optimal Atmos experience, making it one of the leading standalone soundbars in its price range when it comes to complete immersion.
It's pretty well-stocked in terms of features too. There's support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Sony 360 Reality Audio, plus Bluetooth 5.0, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect,Tidal Connect, and Chromecast. It's also got voicecontrol with Alexa and GoogleAssistant, and it's got Sennheiser's automatic equalization software too that uses the four built-in microphones to tune your soundbar to your listening environment.
The AMBEO Plus also offers a variety of connectivity options, including HDMIeARC, 2xHDMIinputs, optical, Ethernet, USB, and RCA. It's worth mentioning though, while the dual HDMI inputs are a plus, they don't support 4K/120Hz passthrough—not the end of the world for casual gamers but something to note for you more hardcore gaming fans. That aside, Sennheiser's AMBEO Mode is another nice addition, and it was good fun to play around with during testing.
As you can probably guess, what really sets this soundbar apart is the level of detail and precision in its surround sound effects. Whether it's the sound of a bullet whizzing past or the wind rustling through a tree, it makes it feel like the action is happening right in your living room, which is pretty impressive from a standalone unit.
Now, like all of these soundbars, it's not perfect. Yes, the surround sound is good as it is, but it won't beat a complete multi-speaker setup. And one of the biggest drawbacks with Sennheiser is their lack of surround sound rear speakers for those who want to expand their setup.
Unfortunately, we've had no movement on that topic. So, while you can still add up to 4 Sennheiser AMBEO Subs (budget providing, of course), the AMBEO Plus does lack that extra bit of upgradeability that some of the other options in this list have to offer.
Reasons To Consider:
✓ If you’re seeking more refined audiophile-like sound profile
✓ You’re after solid build quality
✓ You’re not looking to add rears to your soundbar
While we haven’t gone into detail about it here, the Sennheiser AMBEO Max is another fantastic option for audiophiles and a strong contender for top spot. It offers an incredible soundstage and immersive audio experience. However, its larger size and higher price point might not be suitable for everyone.
That said, if you have the space and budget, it’s definitely worth considering, especially now its price has dropped significantly since its initial launch.
Next on our list is the Samsung HW-Q990D. This isn’t just a soundbar; it’s a complete 11.1.4-channel home cinema system, including a soundbar, upward-firing rear speakers, and a powerful wireless subwoofer.
With a total of 22 speakers, the Q990D delivers immersive, cinematic audio. While it might have a premium price tag of £1699, it’s actually excellent value considering the fact you’re getting a complete system for your money. A comparable setup from Sonos, for example, could easily cost over £2000. And, with the Q990D often being on offer quite often, you might be able to snag it for even less.
Despite being the successor to the very impressive Samsung Q990C, not a lot has changed with this new model, we’ve still got the same appearance and internal drive unit, it still supports Dolby Atmos & DTS:X, there’s WiFi and Bluetooth, Alexabuilt-in, Airplay2, SpotifyConnect and more. Plus it still uses SpaceFitSoundPro to automatically optimise the audio for your room and Q-Symphony with a compatible Samsung TV too.
The headline upgrade for the Q990D is found in the HDMIs. There’s still 2 inputs and a HDMI eARC output but all of these have been upgraded to 2.1-spec, with full support for advanced gaming features like 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM. You can also now use the rear speakers as front left and right channels for music to improve the stereo imaging which is a pretty neat addition and they’ve also added some new voice enhancement modes too.
As far as performance goes, this is still an absolute beast of a system - it's already winning awards from the likes of What Hi-Fi and rightly so. As expected, the Dolby Atmos handling is very impressive thanks to those dedicated rears and the addition of a separate subwoofer, delivers deep bass which significantly adds to the overall immersion. You’ve also got all of Samsung’s sound modes to play around with too.
Our only real fault is that it's not the best looking home cinema system out there. So, if you’re after something discreet, this won't be the best option. It’s pretty big and bulky, so might not tick the box of blending into your space if that’s something you prioritise.
However, if you're looking for a full-blown cinematic experience that maximises your budget, the Q990D is one of the best pound for pound purchases you can make. Plus, if you have a Samsung TV already, then it’s a no-brainer.
We know a lot of you will probably be wondering how this stacks up against a full Sonos setup with the Sonos Arc Ultra, 2x Era 300s, and Sub 4. Honestly, in a straight head to head, the Sonos is the better sounding system but if we’re talking value for money, it's hard to look past the Q990D.
Reasons To Consider:
✓ If you’re after a comprehensive, complete setup at a decent price point
✓ If you want a complete home cinema setup in one box
✓ You’re already part of the Samsung ecosystem with a compatible Samsung TV
The final contender on this list and the most affordable soundbar in this lineup is the Bose Smart Ultra, coming with an RRP of £899.
There’s a total of 9 speakers inside this soundbar including 2 upwards-firing speakers for immersive height effects. It doesn’t have dedicated side-firing drivers but from testing, it still manages to project sound pretty well around the room, delivering immersive Atmos effects with a nice and wide soundstage.
We highlighted its solid build quality and slim design in our Soundbar Showdown 2023 and our opinion on that hasn’t changed - It’s still a good looking piece of kit that will look great underneath a TV.
It also offers a good range of connectivity with Bluetooth5.0, WiFi, Airplay2, SpotifyConnect and Chromecast as well as built-in Alexa and it supportsGoogleAssistant too. Just remember there’s no 4K pass through, DTS or DTS:X. The Bose app is also solid and the Bose AdaptIQ tuning process still holds up really well amongst the competition.
Now previously, we had this soundbar down as one of the best soundbars for vocals. Of course, the performance hasn’t changed BUT the competition has stepped up. The Arc Ultra, with its improved center channel, has arguably taken the crown for best vocals, so although the Bose still excels in vocal clarity, it's no longer the top dog in our opinion.
Bose’s range of rears are still a little outdated too, and I also think bass performance of the soundbar itself lacks a little in certain areas. That’s not a problem if you’ve got one of the separate Bose bass modules but it's another cost to factor in if you want performance that can match some of the other options in this list.
Overall, the Bose Smart Ultra is still a solid performer that will be right for someone - especially those looking for a slightly cheaper alternative or those already deep in the Bose ecosystem. It's just not quite as competitive now it’s facing stiffer competition from newer, more advanced models.
Reasons To Consider:
✓ You’re after a soundbar with solid vocal performance
✓ You like Bose speakers and their signature sound profile
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