The best Dolby Atmos soundbars for 2023

If you haven’t experienced the all-encompassing surround sound phenomenon that is ]Dolby Atmos, you’re missing out. Unlike traditional surround sound configurations that project audio toward you and from behind you, Dolby Atmos adds more height channels to the formula. The result is complete three-dimensional immersion for your favorite Atmos-ready movies, shows, and video games.

Investing in even the most basic Dolby Atmos setup can be quite expensive though. On top of two front-firing speakers, two rears, and a subwoofer, you’ll also need to consider how you’re going to integrate the height channels that Atmos requires. Are you going to buy ceiling speakers, or should you fork over the dough for those two floor-standing speakers that have up-firing drivers?

Fortunately, there are some excellent soundbars that may not deliver the same results as a dedicated Atmos surround system, but many models get pretty dang close. Here’s our favorite Dolby Atmos soundbars you can buy right now!

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Sonos Arc

Best overall Dolby Atmos soundbar

With great sound, support for Dolby Atmos, and your choice of voice assistants, Sonos is carving out more space for itself in the premium home theater category. This all-in-one soundbar is also at the higher end of the price spectrum (between $800 and $900), but since it has all the bells and whistles, that’s perhaps not surprising.

The sound quality of the Arc is outstandingly detailed, it gets plenty loud, and it’s got loads of low end, which is key for movie watching (though you can also add the separate Sonos Sub, or the excellent Sub Mini, to your kit if you need more). High tones are sharp and clear, mids and voices slice through easily when watching TV and movies, and it’s just as impressive when it comes to music, thanks to a wide soundstage.

But let’s get right to the main attraction — what does the Sonos Arc’s Atmos sound like? Our reviewers referred to it as a “stellar audio experience,” and although the results can vary depending on your room size and ceiling heights, the Arc’s upward-firing speakers do a great job at creating a sense of a bigger 3D space, with ricocheting bullet sounds and speeding cars bouncing off the walls for some great movie immersion.

The Sonos Arc soundbar is controlled via the Sonos app on your smartphone or by asking Google Assistant or Alexa. The Sonos app lets you take control of your speakers in your home and customize the sound, plus with AirPlay 2, you can stream from your iPhone and keep more of the sound quality.

Sonos Arc

Best overall Dolby Atmos soundbar

Samsung HW-Q990C

Best Dolby Atmos soundbar for large rooms

Home theater-in-a-box products are still fairly popular, especially for folks who just want to get a surround sound installed and blasting as quickly and simply as possible. With brands like Samsung still offering HTIB solutions, we thought we’d shine some light on one of our favorite all-inclusive Atmos soundbar setups — the Samsung HW-Q990C.

Billed as an 11.1.4 Atmos system, the Q Symphony-certified soundbar has 11 front-firing speakers, along with four elevation channels for height-driven sound. That’s on top of two up-firing/side-firing rear speakers and a wireless subwoofer. Do keep in mind that these extra speakers need to be wired to the included rear speaker kit, and the kit itself needs to be plugged into a wall outlet.

Whether you’re using the HW-Q990C to watch movies, play video games, or stream tunes (Dolby Atmos or otherwise) from platforms like Apple Music or Tidal (which both offer Dolby Atmos tracks), the Spacefit Sound Pro feature ensures that the Q990C delivers just the right amount of sound for the room it’s placed in. And as far as smart home automations go, the Q990C also has Alexa built in, meaning you’ll be able to control everything from smart lights to smart thermostats from the comfort of your living room couch.

Samsung HW-Q990C

Best Dolby Atmos soundbar for large rooms

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Best compact Dolby Atmos soundbar

Sonos soundbars have a penchant for delivering big, bold audio regardless of actual speaker size, and you’d be amazed how much Dolby Atmos sound the second-gen Sonos Beam can deliver from such a small chassis.

If you’re buying an audio product that has “Sonos” somewhere in the name, we’re content in saying you’re in very good hands — at least in terms of sound quality and versatility. Sonos gear is remarkably easy to install, and the Beam takes that simplicity to the next level.

Out of the box, the only connection you’ll be working with is HDMI, although Sonos does provide an HDMI-to-optical adapter for TVs without HDMI ARC capabilities (more on that in a second), and adding the Beam to your Sonos network is just a matter of launching the Sonos app and following the instructions.

Onboard support for Alexa and Google Assistant allows you to use the Beam as a go-to smart speaker, and you can even stream and share audio from an iOS device using Apple AirPlay 2.

In terms of performance, the latest Beam delivers phenomenal soundstaging, especially when you consider the size. There’s plenty of detail in the mid- and high-range frequencies, and the bass is pretty punchy, too. But if you think you need a little more rumble, linking a Sonos Sub Mini is never a bad idea.

All in all, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) grants an impressive entrance into the world of Dolby Atmos sound, and for a relatively affordable price, too.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Best compact Dolby Atmos soundbar

Bose Smart Soundbar 900

Best Dolby Atmos soundbar for Bose fans

If there’s an Atmos soundbar on this list that we would pit against the Sonos Arc, we’d tag the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 into the ring without a second thought.

Two oval cutouts at the top of the bar house up-firing drivers underneath — a key element for any Atmos system, simulated or not. These speakers are designed to shoot sound toward the ceiling, filling out the vertical end of the Atmos virtualization. For plug-and-play options, the 900 can be connected to your TV with HDMI or digital optical, but you’ll want to use the former (with an HDMI eARC-compatible TV) to get that Atmos signal from A-to-B.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a great soundbar for HDMI switching, seeing as there’s only one port to play with (and it’s an output, not an input).

Out of the box, the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 delivers brilliant articulation across mid- and high-range frequencies, with a good amount of bass, too. However, we do recommend you download the Bose Music app (available for iOS and Android devices) for adjusting certain aspects of the EQ (we felt the 900 needed a bit more low-end push and some extra volume for its height channels).

Bose Music also allows you to use AdaptIQ to calibrate the 900 to the listening space it’s placed within, and if you plan on using AirPlay 2, Alexa, or Google Assistant, the companion app is a necessity for getting the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 connected to Wi-Fi.

The Smart Soundbar 900 is the company’s flagship soundbar, and while the price is high, and the remote control is a bit basic, basic is not the word we would use to describe the Atmos experience you’ll get with the 900. Incredible is more like it.

Bose Smart Soundbar 900

Best Dolby Atmos soundbar for Bose fans

Vizio Elevate

Best multi-speaker Dolby Atmos soundbar

As we noted, the best way to get that overhead audio effect is to have overhead speakers, but when you can’t, upward-firing speakers as part of your soundbar can go a long way toward replicating that full 3D sound.

Packed inside the Vizio Elevate are 18 high-performance speakers with four up-firing speakers in the soundbar, plus more upward-aiming speakers as part of the two rears included in this kit (a separate subwoofer is also part of the package). With this kit, you’re literally being surrounded by sound.

The bar of the soundbar actually rotates to aim the sound up and over your head to project all that Dolby Atmos goodness to your ceiling. Our Vizio Elevate review shows just what this rotating soundbar can do in more detail.

Elevate’s Adaptive Height Speakers also rotate forward to blast you with the full force of the audio that aims to create a much broader soundstage. The Elevate also boasts that you’ll hear clearer vocals and concert hall levels of power and performance. The bass to shake your space vibrates down to 30hz and the whole system gets up to 107 decibels, making Vizio Elevate a great Dolby Atmos soundbar for gaming, movie watching, and listening to music.

Vizio Elevate

Best multi-speaker Dolby Atmos soundbar

Vizio M-Series M51a-H6 5.1 Soundbar

Best mid-priced Dolby Atmos soundbar

Utilizing virtual surround instead of the up-firing speakers of some of the other soundbars on our list, the Vizio M-Series M51a-H6 fills the room with spacious sound, with support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. This soundbar set also comes with a pair of low-profile surround speakers that are volume-adjustable, plus a 6-inch wireless subwoofer for deep bass with power and boom. A backlit display remote control rounds out the offerings inside the box, making this a great get-it-all-for-a-great-price option.

A flexible setup allows you to choose two placements for your speakers. They can go traditionally at the rear or use Front Surround Mode, where they can be placed at the front of the room for a wider soundstage (also handy for smaller spaces with no room behind the sofa), or Dual Stereo Surround Mode, which sends the same audio to all the speakers at once. An HDMI eARC port is an added bonus (and a rarity at this price point), allowing high-bandwidth and lossless audio when paired with a compatible TV, and the M51a-H6 also includes Bluetooth, optical, and USB connections.

The Vizio M-Series M51a-H6 kit is also smart, and you can use it with Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant devices too.

Vizio M-Series M51a-H6 5.1 Soundbar

Best mid-priced Dolby Atmos soundbar

Sennheiser Ambeo

Best ultra-premium Dolby Atmos soundbar

Under the hood, 13 high-end drivers power the Sennheiser Ambeo soundbar to deliver a 5.1.4 Dolby Atmos sound experience, with support for various other 3D audio formats. Sennheiser also brags that the Ambeo is capable of producing extremely deep 30Hz bass without the need for an extra subwoofer. Plus, outfitted with advanced room calibration, it immerses you in studio-grade sound adapted to the specifics of your space for a truly fine-tuned sound.

Engineered to produce more realistic highs and lows, more dimension, and more nuanced details than you ever imagined possible, the Sennheiser Ambeo soundbar lets you tailor your listening experience with support for MPEG-H — whether you’re watching a movie, TV show, or listening to music — with a built-in equalizer and three sound modes so you can adjust things to your own individual taste. Its auto-calibration feature makes setting it up for your unique listening quirks easy, too.

Sennheiser has billed the Ambeo as a soundbar unlike anything else on the market, and it flags two aspects in particular that set it apart: Ambeo virtualization technology, which creates what it believes to be the best 3D sound that can be reproduced by a single device, and its six proprietary 4-inch, long-throw woofers that achieve improved bass reproduction without that external subwoofer. For nearly $2,000, we’d expect no less.

Sennheiser Ambeo

Best ultra-premium Dolby Atmos soundbar

Polk Audio Signa S4

Under $500

If you’re trying to make a thrifty Atmos soundbar purchase, you’re not going to do much better than $300. But if you can stretch the budget a little bit, we urge you to take a look at the incredible Polk Audio Signa S4. This is a 3.1.2 soundbar that comes packaged with a wireless subwoofer. The bar itself is equipped with two tweeters, two midrange drivers, a one-inch center, and two elevation speakers to drive home the Dolby Atmos sound.

As far as sound quality goes, one can think of the Signa S4 as the Goldilocks of Atmos-fueled soundbars. The impressive midrange and low-end is more than we’d expect from a $400 audio device, but it doesn’t possess the same gravitas as something like the Sonos Arc. What’s nice though is that Polk Audio was thoughtful enough to include a Voice Adjust feature, which really comes in handy when you’re watching content that features soft-spoken dialogue.

Connectivity-wise, the Signa S4 has all the compatibility you’ll need to pair up with everyday devices like your smartphone, tablet, or laptop via Bluetooth or the analog 3.5mm port. As for wiring, you’ll have the choice of HDMI ARC/eARC or digital optical, although you’ll want to choose the former if you’re planning on sending Atmos signals down the pipeline.

Polk Audio Signa S4

Under $500

Sony HTX8500 2.1ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Barebones Atmos

At first glance, the Sony HTX8500 doesn’t look like it can handle much more than two-channel audio. But in fact, this is actually a 7.1.2 Atmos-certified soundbar with built-in audio upscaling for all non-7.1.2 sources. Does it deliver on the Atmos promise though? Yes it does, although this isn’t the type of soundbar that’s going to blow the roof off your house. Think of the HTX8500 as one of the most bare-bones Dolby Atmos experiences available.

When wired using the HDMI ARC/eARC connection, the HTX8500 will give you a pretty solid Atmos experience. While you’ll want to be sitting a little closer to this soundbar than with other systems, you’ll be treated to a wide soundstage with terrific surround sound effects. Sony also does a nice job at enhancing dialogue and vocals, which makes watching any movie or show more satisfying.

In lieu of a wireless subwoofer, Sony went ahead and built the subs directly into the soundbar itself. In our opinion, the bass on this system could do with a little tweaking, because without the dedicated woofer, the low end can get a little trampled from time to time. But if you’re all about getting Atmos by any means necessary, the Sony HTX8500 is the model for you.

Sony HTX8500 2.1ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Barebones Atmos

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