Because all of these soundbars might be of interest to different people, we tried everything we could get our hands on. Bars that incorporate Dolby Atmos are usually labeled “5.1.2” or “5.1.4,” meaning they add two or four upward-facing Atmos speakers to bounce sound effects off the ceiling. A “5.1” bar adds surround speakers, which may be built into the ends of the soundbar or might be separate speakers. A “3.1” bar adds a center-channel speaker for better voice clarity. A “2.1” bar includes a soundbar and a subwoofer this is the most common type, and most are priced under $300. A simple “2.0” (or two-channel without subwoofer) soundbar is usually the least expensive and least complex, but generally it can’t deliver a cinematic experience. Number of channels: Soundbars can have anywhere from two to 11 channels of sound.The one downside is that the display is mounted on top so it’s harder to see the visual cues from a seated position, but our panelists didn’t mind this much. ( Optional surround speakers are available.) The HW-Q900A also has an effective and useful adaptive system that eliminates the need to change sound modes based on the type of content (like movies, music, or sports). The soundbar incorporates front speakers, upward-firing speakers, and side-firing surround speakers to produce a room-filling sound with music and movies, and the relatively compact, wireless 8-inch subwoofer offers plenty of deep bass with lots of punch and satisfying couch shake. The HW-Q900A can play back the more immersive Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio formats, and it has a wealth of connection and control features, including two HDMI inputs, an HDMI eARC connection to pass higher-quality audio from your TV, built-in Amazon Alexa voice control, and wireless audio streaming through Apple AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth. Our listening panel picked the Samsung HW-Q900A as the best-sounding system, even before they learned that it’s a simple, two-piece setup consisting of the soundbar and a subwoofer.

Cnet virtual audio cable