The 5 Best Small Soundbars - Summer 2024 Reviews

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the best soundbar with a small design we've tested. This premium model has the same compact footprint as the original Sonos Beam, measuring less than 26 inches in width. Thanks to its small size, it'll fit easily beneath your computer monitor or TV stand without crowding the space. Also, unlike the first-gen model, this soundbar has Dolby Atmos support, meaning you can enjoy object-based formats on Blu-ray discs and streaming services. If you move to a bigger space, you can upgrade it with a subwoofer and satellites.

Despite its small size, this premium 5.0 bar uses psychoacoustics principles to widen its soundstage past its edges, providing a wide and cinematic feel that makes it seem like you're right in the middle of the action. This feature helps it stand out from other high-end small soundbars like the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini. The Sennheiser is slightly more customizable since it comes with a graphic EQ instead of more traditional bass and treble adjustments, which you may find worth the extra cost. Both bars have built-in voice assistant capabilities, too.

If you want a more affordable option, consider the Samsung HW-S60B/S61B. This standalone 5.0 soundbar offers a pretty versatile performance for the price, along with Dolby Atmos support for users who watch a lot of content on streaming platforms and Blu-rays. It has a sleek design that's easy to integrate into your home decor and built-in Alexa support for hands-free control. At less than 27 inches in width, the bar also doesn't take up much space in your setup. You can often find it on sale, making it a promising purchase if you want to save money without compromising much on performance.

This soundbar has many customization tools to maximize your listening experience. As with most premium soundbars, it has a room correction feature to optimize its sound and a 7-band graphic EQ if you prefer to customize its sound manually. Unlike the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), it supports Bluetooth connectivity. That said, its stereo soundstage isn't quite as impressive as the Sonos, meaning you don't get the same immersive feel in the space around you. It's especially noticeable with audio formats like Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos, as sound effects don't stretch into the area around your couch in the same clear and real way. That said, for the price, it's a great bar and worth checking out if you're on a tighter budget.

The Bose TV Speaker is another more affordable option if you're looking for a small soundbar. This well-built 2.0 setup offers a fairly balanced sound out-of-the-box, especially in the mids, where most voices and lead instruments reproduce. As a result, dialogue in your favorite shows is clear and easy to understand, and you can enjoy detailed vocals and instruments when you listen to music. It's best suited for stereo content, which includes most music and dialogue-focused TV shows.

The bar is less impressive than our top picks with surround sound. There's no Dolby Atmos support that would let you use more immersive object-based formats, either. However, this won't make much difference if you aren't a movie fan. If you already own products in the Sonos ecosystem and want a small bar with a similar performance, you can also check out the Sonos Ray, which is available for roughly the same price. However, the Ray lacks a little thumpy low bass compared to the Bose, so it's not ideal for everyone.

The Roku Streambar is a great, budget-friendly alternative to our top picks. It's a 2.0 setup with many great features and functions to improve your existing home theater. For example, it gives you access to Roku's media streamer, which organizes all your streaming services, like Netflix and Disney+, into one easy-to-use interface. Easily navigate to your favorite shows and movies, and you enjoy a clear and clean sound right out of the box. Dialogue reproduces clearly and accurately, so it's easy to follow along with conversations on screen.

This well-built soundbar measures slightly less than 14 inches wide, easily fitting into your living room without crowding up the space. Apple users can stream to the bar via AirPlay 2, and it also supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless playback. Given that it's a 2.0 bar, it's ideal for listening to vocal-centric content like podcasts, sitcoms, and documentaries. It brings less rumble in the low bass than the Bose TV Speaker, though, so it's less suitable for bass-heavy music like EDM and hip-hop. Still, it's worth a look if you're on a tight budget.

While many people opt for a soundbar to enhance their TV's sound, you can also connect to your computer for a noticeable improvement over built-in speakers. The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is the best we've tested for this use. With a width of less than 28 inches, it's easy to slide beneath your monitor. Since it's only around two inches tall, it's not likely to obscure your screen in any way. This bar's price is comparable to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). However, it adds Bluetooth connectivity for easier wireless connectivity with your computer to help reduce the wires in your setup.

This soundbar doesn't bring the same wide and immersive soundstage as the Sonos. Still, it offers great sound. Dialogue is clear and accurate, and bass lovers can always add a sub to get more rumble in the mix. Bass and treble adjustments are also available to customize its output. Plus, built-in Amazon Alexa lets you control the bar with only your voice. The bar also supports Dolby Atmos content, though you'll need to ensure the other components in your setup are compatible to stream this content from your PC. Overall, it's great for computer users, but if you want something more suited for surround sound, you'll want to look at some of the most premium picks on our list.