The Best Soundbars (2026): Sonos, LG, TCL, Bose, and More Leave a comment
Loud and highly effective, the Focal Mu-So Hekla soundbar is a 34-pound behemoth you need for explosive set items in motion pictures, (suppose something with Tom Cruise flying airplanes or leaping off of buildings). There are 15 audio system inside, together with three woofers that ship highly effective bass that matches the Klipsch Flexus Core 300.
An enormous plus is the upfiring audio drivers for Dolby Atmos. It was the primary time I observed a loud clank sound up by my ceiling when the principle character in Predator: Badlands extends a spear to the sky. Solely the LG Sound Suite H7 has higher encompass sound, however the Mu-So Hekla is louder and boomier (in a great way).
I liked the Focal app as effectively—it’s simple to make use of for choosing inputs, adjusting settings and room calibration.
For music, I performed Fleetwood Mac at excessive quantity and by no means heard any distortion or hiss. A check observe by Maggie Rogers referred to as “Need Need” seems like a nightclub has come alive.
This can be a giant, heavy, premium soundbar with a premium price ticket. With such a giant upfront funding, it’s disappointing that it isn’t extra expandable—you possibly can solely add a subwoofer, not facet or rear audio system just like the Sonos, LG, and Klipsch.
Nonetheless, for sheer sonic superiority, the Focal Mu-So Hekla is certainly one of my all-time favourite soundbars.
Honorable Mentions
Sonos Beam Gen 2 for $499: The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a superb compact soundbar choices, particularly when you have different Sonos audio system in your house. It doesn’t fairly beat the Bose Sensible Soundbar when it comes to sound high quality—the Bose has upfiring audio system, which supplies it a fuller sound than the Beam. However with the lately introduced Sonos Beam Extremely, I’m anticipating the Beam Gen 2 to go on sale (or a minimum of get discounted quickly).
Sony Bravia Theatre Trio for $2,200: The Sony Theatre Trio has a number of excellent options, even when it could possibly’t fairly preserve tempo with the Sonos, Focal, or different high-end fashions. A flagship from Sony, this bundle comes with a soundbar and two audio system (plus an non-compulsory sub), and has glorious middle channel audio for clear and wealthy dialogue. The setup is simple and the room calibration truly makes a distinction when it comes to room-filling bass. Dolby Atmos was not tremendous convincing, although. The Final Home creepy sound results didn’t emanate from above or the perimeters sufficient.
Bluesound Pulse Cinema for $1,499: Bluesound is healthier recognized for its small, high-res audio audio system, however this 47-inch-long soundbar sounds gorgeous for music too. Whereas Dolby Atmos help is nice, taking part in dream-like synth rock tracks like “I Will Wait” by Phoebe Bridgers reveals a very superb spatial audio expertise. The combination appears to emulate throughout the room. On “Stroll Stroll” by Maggie Rogers, the driving bass and drums sound ultra-realistic. This can be a dear soundbar, although, and others just like the Sonos Arc Extremely sound extra real looking, particularly its upfiring drivers.
Polk Audio Signa S4 for $449: Former WIRED senior editor Parker Corridor says that, regardless of its age, the Polk Signa S4 is an excellent-sounding soundbar, particularly for the worth. It’s easy to make use of, simple to setup, has a number of modes to select from (Film, Music, and Evening), and versatile 3.1.2-channel Atmos-enables audio system. It’s a bit of dated, although, and doesn’t have Wi-Fi connectivity. You possibly can study extra in his Polk Signa S4 assessment.
