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People often consider a soundbar a more convenient alternative to traditional home theatre speaker systems. Some are too tall or wide to fit comfortably within smaller living room setups or beneath your computer screen. Fortunately, many options on the market are designed with space-saving in mind. Their small and compact designs are a great way to get big sound without cluttering up your living room. Rock out to your favourite tunes or chill with a great movie; these bars can do it all.
Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the best small soundbar. This premium soundbar retains its predecessor's sleek and compact design, so it's easy to integrate into your living room. Though it measures just under 26 inches in width, this setup brings a wide and immersive sound that stretches well past the edges of the bar itself. Compared to its predecessor, it also supports Dolby Atmos content, so you can make the most of more immersive formats on both streaming platforms and Blu-rays.
This soundbar brings all the benefits of Sonos sound. Like most premium options, it offers a room correction feature designed to optimize the audio reproduction based on your room's unique acoustics. Built-in Alexa and Google Assistant give you hands-free control. Plus, you can link this soundbar with other Sonos products to spread audio throughout your home or create a surround sound setup with a subwoofer and speakers in your living room.
If you're looking for a Bluetooth-compatible soundbar with a small design, you'll want to check out the Samsung HW-S60B. This bar makes it easy to wirelessly stream music and podcasts right from your phone, and at less than 27 inches in width, it slides right into your living space without taking up much room. Built-in Alexa is available for hands-free control. You can also check out the Samsung HW-S61B if you prefer an all-white design.
This soundbar is cheaper than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), so it's also a great choice if you want a feature-packed bar for less. It has a room correction feature and a graphic EQ to customize its sound. There's support for many common audio formats like Dolby Digital, too. That said, this soundbar has to downmix Dolby Atmos content into surround sound to play it back, which doesn't sound quite as real or life-like as what you get with the more premium Sonos. If you don't watch much Atmos content, it's a better value, but the Sonos is the way to go if you're an avid movie lover.
The Bose TV Speaker is worth a look if you want a simpler upgrade over your existing TV speakers. This affordable bar comes with fewer bells and whistles than the more premium picks on our list, but it offers great sound for a wallet-friendly price. It's an even better value if you don't watch much multi-channel content like Dolby Digital or Dolby Atmos.
This bar measures under 24 inches in width. It has a premium feel, even for the price. Sound-wise, it shines with stereo content, which includes most music and TV shows. Dialogue is clearly reproduced, and voices and lead instruments are accurate in the mix. It has to downmix 5.1 formats like Dolby Digital into stereo, though, which isn't the most immersive-sounding. The bar doesn't support Dolby Atmos content, but you may not need that.
Soundbars are also a great way to get a better sound with your computer. Of course, you'll want a model small enough to fit underneath your monitor without obscuring your screen. The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is great for this use since it's less than two inches tall and 28 inches wide. You can add a separate subwoofer under your desk if you want more boom in the bass with movies and games.
This premium bar brings built-in Alexa and connects with your computer wirelessly via Bluetooth. Its default sound is quite even and balanced, so you get a clear representation of dialogue in videos and effects in different games. You can customize it with bass and treble adjustments. You don't get the same all-around feel in the soundstage as with the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), but it's still more than suitable for enhanced listening at your desk.
There are lots of small soundbars available at wallet-friendly prices. The Roku Streambar is the best of the best, and it comes with a unique feature that's great for anyone who loves to stream movies and TV shows. With the bar, you can access the Roku Media Streamer, which organizes all your streaming apps into one easy-to-use platform. Clear voice and dialogue reproduction also make it easy to keep up with the action on screen.
It's one of the smallest soundbars we've tested, too. Its width of less than fourteen inches makes it all the better for tighter living rooms or smaller televisions. That said, there are some trade-offs for its size. The bar doesn't get as loud as others on our list, and it lacks a lot of bass. It also struggles to replicate the same immersive feel as larger setups like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). Still, it's enough of an upgrade over existing TV speakers to make it easier to follow along with all your favourite movies and shows.
You don't have to sacrifice sound with a small soundbar. Many options on the market pack an impressive performance into a compact design, which is great if you're in an apartment or a smaller living area or if you want better sound at the computer. These are the best we've tested to date, and as always, your individual preferences and listening habits will shape which is right for you.
Written by Becca Fischer, RTINGS.com
Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We’ll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes. The products in this list are ranked by independent third parties. Rankings are based on both reviews and independent testing.