What are the Top 5 Soundbars in 2024

When it comes to getting the most bass you can out of your soundbar, low-end roll-off is a great indicator of just how deep the bass on it can get. If a soundbar doesn’t have a roll-off that starts deep enough into the bass part of the audio spectrum, then it’ll result in quiet or even absent bass, which removes most of the punch and impact of not only music but also movies and video games. the longer it takes the bass to roll off, the better.

When it comes to most soundbars for most use cases, we recommend a roll-off that doesn’t start until at least 45 Hz, but it only gets better the further you go down. It’s worth noting that the roll-off will only get so low, so don’t expect to find soundbars hitting the teens for roll-off, but it isn’t uncommon for very bass-forward options to hit 30 Hz before roll-off starts. By aiming for at least 45 Hz, you have a much better chance of getting the deep, rumbling bass you’re looking for out of your music, movies, or games.

On the other end of the audio spectrum lives treble, and the sounds that live up here are responsible for giving music and movie soundtracks what is commonly called “airiness” or “sparkle.” High-end roll off helps identify where treble will start to lose presence and become inaudible, and cause the “sparkle” of audio to fade away. Heavy cymbal work, birds chirping, and violins all live in the treble part of the sound, and if roll-off starts too soon, these sounds get very hard to hear by either getting lost in the mix or fading into the background.

To avoid this, we recommend looking for roll-off that starts past 10,000 Hz. Past this point, sounds start to get harder and harder for the human ear to pick up, and while the sounds that live very high in the audio spectrum are responsible for creating that “airiness”, past a certain point they become almost indistinguishable. By making sure your soundbar’s roll-off starts around 10kHz, you have a much better shot at capturing most of the “useful” parts of the treble part of the spectrum, meaning that your music and movie soundtracks will have the presence and clarity that makes them sound great.

Maximum volume is the easiest aspect of a soundbar to understand: it’s just how loud the soundbar itself will actually get. What’s less clear is why a soundbar getting loud is so important. While higher max volumes give you the ability the fill rooms with sound or use a soundbar as makeshift party speakers, they’re also responsible for helping ensure that audio stays clear when listening at normal listening levels.

This is commonly referred to as “headroom”, and having enough headroom on a soundbar means that the soundbar is able to play back sounds at a high enough level (and with good enough clarity) that the volume level you’ll normally listen to music, movies or games with will sound perfectly clear and distortion-free. We recommend your soundbar have no less than 85 dB of maximum volume, but getting past 91 dB is ideal, and the higher you go, the better your soundbar is at filling larger and larger rooms.

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) measures the fidelity of soundbars by indicating the percentage of unwanted harmonics added to the original audio. A THD under 1 ensures minimal distortion, critical for preserving audio quality across music, movies, and games. This low distortion level enhances clarity, maintains detail, and ensures a high-fidelity listening experience, crucial for understanding dialogues, appreciating music nuances, and immersive in-game sounds.

We believe soundbars should have less than 1% THD because this helps confirm their ability to accurately reproduce a wide range of audio without perceptible distortion. We say “perceptible” because it’s impossible to remove all distortion, but you can reduce it to the point it’s impossible to notice. Low THD also helps improve your comfort by preventing fatigue during extended use, making it essential for anyone who marathons movies, games, or music.