The Best Dolby Atmos Soundbars to Upgrade Your TV’s Sound

Soundbars are incredibly popular these days; their sales exceed the rest of the home theater surround sound category combined. That’s because they’re affordable, easy to install, take up comparatively little space and can drastically improve the sound of your TV.

In addition, more and more soundbars are also beginning to support Dolby Atmos, which is one of the most sought-after features for anybody building a home theater system.

If you don’t know, Dolby Atmos is an immersive audio technology. It creates virtual height and side channels that trick your ears into thinking that sound is coming from all around you — left, right and above — instead of just right in front of you. It makes it sound like you’re in a movie, rather than just watching it.

How We Tested

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

We’ve been writing about and reviewing audio products — including speakers, headphones, earbuds and other audio components that run the gamut from consumer to hi-fi — for nearly a decade. We also work with major brands and talk to experts within the audio industry. The below selections of Dolby Atmos soundbars are a combination of products that we’ve had hands-on experience with as well as products that are made by brands that are trusted within the audio space.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

The Best Standalone Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Sonos

Sonos Arc

Specs

Channels	5.0.2
Streaming	Wi-Fi
Voice control	Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa

Pros

• It's Sonos's best and most immersive soundbar
• Setup is a breeze
• Works as a smart speaker
• You can add other Sonos speakers and create a true surround sound system

Cons

• Only works with other Sonos speakers
• On the expensive side

• $719 at Sonos
  $899 (20% off)
• $719 at Amazon
  $899 (20% off)

Released in 2020, the Sonos Arc is the company’s flagship soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos. You can think of it as a bigger, louder, smarter and overall better version of the Playbar. It’s a full 5.0.2 sound system, with five horizontal surround channels (left, center, right, left surround and right surround) and two height channels.

With the Arc, you can build out your Sonos home theater over time. You can add two of the company’s smaller speakers (either two Era 100s or two Era 300s) and designate them as rear channel speakers. You can also add up to two of Sonos’s wireless subs for more bass.

Additionally, Arc is a smart soundbar and you can integrate it with either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant and easily use your voice to adjust volume or stream music from your preferred streaming service.

Read our full review of the Sonos Arc here.

Best High-End Standalone Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Sony

Sony HT-A7000

Specs

Channels	7.1.2
Streaming	Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
Voice control	No

Pros

• Impressive and immersive sound even as a standalone soundbar
• Support for higher-resolution audio
• Wide variety of wireless and analog connections
• System is expandable

Cons

• No built-in smart speaker functionality
• Bigger than most other soundbars

• $998.00 at Amazon
  $1,399.99 (29% off)

Released in mid-2021, the Sony HT-A7000 is a 7-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar. It comes with two HDMI 2.1 with eARC connections, meaning it works with the latest 4K and 8K televisions as well as the next-generation consoles (like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X).

Like with many of today’s wireless home theater systems, you can add more speakers to the HT-A7000 to create a more immersive surround sound experience. You can add Sony’s satellite speakers (for an extra $350) and its subwoofer (for an extra $400 or $700, depending on the model) for a more immersive surround sound system. It’s a pricey system, but it’s as new-age and future-proof as you can get right now.

The Sony HT-A7000 is great for listening to music as well. It’s able to stream high-resolution audio (such as Sony 360 Reality Audio) and supports a multitude of wireless streaming methods such as AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect.

Bose’s Best Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Bose

Bose Smart Soundbar 900

Specs

Channels	5.02
Streaming	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Voice control	Alexa or Google Assistant

Pros

• It's Bose's best and most immersive soundbar
• Easy setup and installation
• Supports Bluetooth streaming

Cons

• Only works with Bose speakers
• Audio isn't as customizable as Sonos Arc

• $799 at Bose
  $899.00 (11% off)

Released in late 2021, the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is the company’s first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos, and it’s very similar to the Sonos Arc. Both are 5.0.2-channel soundbars that cost $899 and can be integrated with either Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants, so you can summon music with just your voice.

The main difference between the two is the multi-room ecosystems they work with; the Smart Soundbar 900 is designed to work (i.e be grouped or configured in a surround sound system) with other Bose speakers.

The Smart Soundbar 900 does lack some of the smart audio technologies of the Sonos Arc (like auto-volume, which reduces loud noises at night in case other people are sleeping), but it does support Bluetooth streaming (which the Sonos Arc does not) in addition to Wi-Fi streaming options like Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2.

The Best Dolby Atmos Soundbar for Small Rooms

Sonos

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Specs

Channels	5.0
Streaming	Wi-Fi
Voice control	Google Assistant or Alexa

Pros

• Easy setup and installation
• Works as a smart speaker
• Way more affordable than the Arc

Cons

• No upward-firing drivers
• Only works in a Sonos system

• $399 at Sonos
  $499 (20% off)
• $399 at Amazon
  $499 (20% off)

Released in fall 2021, the second-generation Beam looks almost identical to its 2018-released predecessor (save for an updated grille). But Sonos upgraded the internals — with a 40-percent faster CPU and an eARC connection — so that the new Beam now supports Dolby Atmos.

Like its predecessor, the Beam (Gen 2) lacks the dedicated upward-firing drivers of the Arc, Sonos’s flagship soundbar, but Dolby Atmos content on the Beam still sounds immersive. Plus, it has all the benefits of being a Sonos soundbar, such as support for voice assistants (either Alexa or Google Assistant), AirPlay 2 and easy integration with other Sonos speakers.

The Beam (Gen 2) is essentially a more affordable alternative to the Arc. It’s considerably smaller and thus a better fit for smaller TVs (55 inches and under) and smaller-to-medium-sized rooms.

Read our full review of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) here.

The Best Dolby Atmos Soundbar for Samsung TVs

Amazon

Samsung HW-Q900C

Specs

Channels	7.1.2
Streaming	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Voice control	Alexa

Pros

• Delivers incredibly immersive sound
• System is expandable
• Comes with a wireless subwoofer
• Supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth streaming for music

Cons

• Wireless subwoofer takes up more space
• One of the more expensive Dolby Atmos soundbars

• $997.99 at Amazon
  $1,397.99 (29% off)

The Samsung HW-Q900C is a soundbar-and-subwoofer combo that’s best when paired with Samsung Q-Series TVs. The soundbar has dedicated upward-firing drivers and can deliver immersive Dolby Atmos all on its own, but when it can use the speakers of a compatible Samsung TV, it can create an even more immersive sound.

Like Samsung’s other soundbars, the HW-Q900C is also compatible with Samsung’s SWA-9500S wireless surround speakers, so you have the option of building out your system later on down the road.

Bose’s Mid-Range Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Bose

Bose Smart Soundbar 600

Specs

Channels	3.0.2
Streaming	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Voice control	Alexa or Google Assistant

Pros

• More affordable than Bose's Smart Soundbar 900
• Easy setup and installation
• Supports Bluetooth streaming

Cons

• Only expandable with Bose speakers
• $50 more expensive than the Beam (Gen 2)

• $399.00 at Amazon
  $499.00 (20% off)

This is Bose’s midrange soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos and it’s effectively a more affordable and more compact version of the company’s Smart Soundbar 900 (above). It’s also a direct rival to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) as they similarly priced.

The main difference between the Bose’s Smart Soundbar 600 and the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is that Bose’s option does have upward-firing drivers so it’s able to deliver more height (although the Beam 2 still beats the 600 in delivering a wider stereo sound).

Just like Bose’s higher-end soundbar, you can buy Bose’s satellite speakers and wireless subwoofer to turn the Smart Soundbar 600 into a bonafide surround sound system. It also supports the same Wi-Fi and Bluetooth streaming abilities.

Most Lavish Standalone Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Sennheiser

Sennheiser Ambeo Max

Specs

Channels	5.1.4
Streaming	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Voice control	No

Pros

• Delivers the best Dolby Atmos experience of any soundbar
• Easy streaming

Cons

• One of the most expensive soundbars you can buy
• Much larger and heavier than your average soundbar
• Been around for several years

• $2,499.95 at B&H Photo

The Sennheiser Ambeo “Max” is the company’s flagship soundbar — it’s the same Ambeo soundbar that was released in 2019, only it’s been renamed as the “Max” now that Sennheiser has released a more affordable alternative in the “Plus” (below) — and it’s a beast.

The Ambeo Max is a standalone 5.1.4 soundbar with 13 dedicated drivers, making it a true high-end surround sound system that’s packed all in one enclosure.

What makes this 49-inch wide soundbar stand out is the sheer scale of its presentation. It plays cleanly down to 35Hz without a subwoofer, delivers a warm and detailed midrange that excels with both movies and music, and reproduces Atmos-encoded films with a level of immersion that will convince you that there are height and surround channels in your room.

It’s expensive, for sure, but nothing else sounds like it.

Sennheiser’s Mid-Range Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Amazon

Sennheiser Ambeo Plus

Specs

Channels	7.1.4
Streaming	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Voice control	No

Pros

• Delivers one of the best and most immersive Dolby Atmos experiences of any standalone soundbar
• Significantly smaller than the company's Ambeo Max
• Easy streaming

Cons

• It's still more expensive than more Dolby Atmos soundbars
• Lacks support for HDMI 2.1

• $1,199.95 at Amazon
  $1,499.95 (20% off)

Released in late 2022, the Sennheiser Ambeo Plus is essentially a more compact and affordable alternative to the company’s Ambeo Max. It packs nine total drivers (two are up-firing to create a truly immersive experience) instead of the Max’s 13, but still manages to be a complete 7.1.4 system because, according to the company, it uses beam-forming technology to create extra virtual high speakers.

The Ambeo Plus has all the other features as the larger Max, including streaming ability over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It has a total of three HDMI inputs, but none are HDMI 2.1 (so no 4K 120Hz passthrough) meaning this isn’t the best option for serious console gamers.

All in all, the Ambeo Plus delivers a similar immersive experience as the Ambeo Max, but comes in at around $1,000 cheaper.

Bowers & Wilkins’ Standalone Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Bowers & Wilkins

Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3

Specs

Channels	3.1.2
Streaming	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Voice control	Alexa

Pros

• An impressively powerful soundbar
• Supports high-end audio and creates an immersive Dolby Atmos experience
• Better looking than most other soundbars

Cons

• Can't add additional speakers or subwoofer for more immersive
• Similar price to Sonos's and Bose's flagship soundbars

• $799.00 at Amazon
  $999.00 (20% off)

Released in early 2022, the Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3 is the company’s first Dolby Atmos soundbar. It’s a direct competitor to Sonos’s and Bose’s flagships as it has pretty much all the same features, including a single HDMI eARC connection, Wi-Fi streaming and you integrate it with Alexa (but not Google Assistant). It supports Bluetooth streaming, too, which the Sonos Arc does not.

The 3.1.2 soundbar packs 13 total drivers, including two upward-firing, and can deliver 400 watts of total power. It also packs enough bass that B&W doesn’t think you need an external subwoofer (and you can’t sync it with one).

Samsung’s Affordable Standalone Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Amazon

Samsung HW-S60B

Specs

Channels	3.1
Streaming	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Voice control	Alexa

Pros

• Very affordable
• Not big enough for TVs larger than 55 inches

Cons

• Requires a Samsung TV for best possible Dolby Atmos experience
• Supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for music streaming

• $348 at Amazon

The Samsung HW-S60B is a compact soundbar that’s best for smaller rooms. If you’re looking to experience Dolby Atmos, however, there’s a bit of a catch: you need to have a Samsung TV.

The reason is that the S60B takes advanced of Samsung’s proprietary technology (called Q-Symphony) that allows it to work with the TV speakers to create a more immersive 5.0-channel system.

As for other features, the HW-S60B can function as a smart soundbar with Alexa. And it supports AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth, which makes streaming music from your smartphone quite easy, too.

The Most Innovative Dolby Atmos Soundbar System

Vizio

Vizio Elevate

Specs

Channels	5.1.4
Streaming	Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
Voice control	No

Pros

• Cool and innovative design
• Impressive and immersive Dolby Atmos experience

Cons

• Setup is a bit more complicated than a standalone soundbar
• No smart speaker functionality

• $801.10 at Amazon

The Elevate is one of the most innovative soundbar systems because its side-channel speakers actually rotate up when it’s playing Dolby Atmos content and then rotate back down (to face you) when playing audio that’s not approved for Atmos — it’s freaking cool.

Additionally, the Elevate is just a beast of a soundbar. It houses 18 total speakers and comes with a wireless subwoofer. It’s a complete 5.1.4 system. Vizio designed it to work perfectly with Vizio’s new OLED TVs, but it can be paired with any new-age TV.

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