The best soundbars for Samsung TVs will really enhance an already amazing tech setup. Samsung offers some of the best TVs on the market, and while the Korean giant offers good quality audio over some other brands, the slimmer TVs get, the more the audio suffers, and so a good soundbar will be able to truly transform your auditory experience.
The soundbars we’ve selected in this round-up offer a range of features and benefits, including Dolby Atmos surround sound, Samsung Symphony Q support (which we think beats LG WOW Orchestra equivalent) and much more.
Most of the soundbars in this list, while they work brilliantly with Samsung, will also work with other makes and models too, so we also have a guide to the best soundbars in general. It's worth checking out both to get a fuller understanding of what sits where.
The best soundbars for Samsung TVs: Top 3
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The ultimate home cinema experience for Samsung TV owners right now comes from the HW-Q990C, which recreates an 11.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos surround experience, using a big soundbar, two wireless rear speakers, and a subwoofer. It supports Dolby Atmos and Q Symphony for the ultimate audio experience.
A more affordable yet still huge soundstage producer for Samsung TVs comes in the form of the HW-Q800B. This Dolby Atmos soundbar and subwoofer combo is good for TVs of 50-inches and up.
The best soundbar for smaller Samsung TVs comes courtesy of the Denon Home Sound Bar 550. If you've got a smaller panel but don't want small sound, then Denon's well-priced and smaller 'bar does a grand job.
The 2023 flagship and T3 Award Winner for Best Soundbar delivers over 600W of power from 22 different speakers, so really brings the cinema experience home. The system comprises a soundbar that's the right size for TVs of 55 inches and up, a subwoofer, and two small rear speaker units, all of which communicate wirelessly in an 11.1.4 channel configuration.
Our HW-Q990C review said: "This feature-packed and genuinely immersive soundbar powerhouse delivers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based surround with enough cinematic scale to please even the most demanding movie fan. The subwoofer digs deep and is well-integrated thanks to sophisticated room correction, while the rest of the multichannel system seamlessly puts you in the middle of the action – you won’t find a better-sounding surround sound package from a modern soundbar."
You might find cheaper ones, though, as the previous Q990B model is very similar, but available for less cash, so certainly an alternative option.
If you want something compact that still has a big sound and wide dynamic range, the Samsung HW-Q800B is what you need. This is a 5.1.2-channel soundbar, meaning that it aims to add lots of width, Dolby Atmos height, and big impact from its wireless subwoofer.
With Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, this soundbar has actual upward-firing tweeters, so you get a real wall of sound from it, with impressive positional audio – there's a strong sense of things coming from a particular point, and a kinetic feel to moving sounds. And it's capable of audio that's big and punchy but is plenty refined too.
It works with Samsung Q Symphony, so if you have a compatible TV, its audio can get even bigger and more impressive. And Samsung sells separate wireless rear speakers, so you can turn it into a genuine surround system later, if you want.
It has an HDMI input, as well as an HDMI connection to your TV, so if you have an Atmos-enabled external box – such as a Blu-ray player or Apple TV box – you can plug that straight into the soundbar and you'll get real Dolby Atmos sound even though your TV doesn't support it.
It also has an optical connection you can use instead of HDMI for older TVs, and includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth music streaming, plus it has Alexa built-in, so it acts as a smart speaker. It's just an excellent all-rounder, and does this without being ridiculously massive – it's the right size for TVs of 49 inches and up. Read our full Samsung Q800B review for more.
The Denon Home Sound Bar 550 is the ideal soundbar for Samsung TVs if you need something small (it's suitable for TVs from 32- to 55-inches) and still produces a big and cinematic sound. This uses six speaker drivers, three passive radiators and some clever processing to create sound that appears to reach right out to the sides, as well as to the ceiling. It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X to achieve this, and though it doesn't feature genuine upfiring Atmos height channels, the effect is still remarkable.
It's ideal for Samsung TVs, because its HDMI passthrough port means you can plug one of the best Blu-ray players or a streaming stick straight into it, and the soundbar will apply full Atmos effects, even without support built into your TV. For connectivity, you've also got optical, a 3.5mm jack, ethernet, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. You can stream over Apple AirPlay 2 or Denon's own multi-room system.
In our full Denon Home Sound Bar 550 review, we raved about the general sound quality here for the price – but it's worth noting that it struggles at high volumes, with the excellent sound breaking into something less pleasant. Not everyone will actually encounter this – we're talking a level about the average listening volume – so it's not a dealbreaker.
Best soundbar for Samsung TVs 2023: Best of the rest
Largely similar to the chart-topping HW-Q990C follow-up, this earlier 'B' model is now a much more affordable option and, therefore, may be the go-to purchase option if you're looking to save some cash yet still want true immersion for your Samsung TV.
It also has 600W of power from 22 different speakers, arranged through 11.1.4 channels, using four boxes - soundbar, twin rears, subwoofer - and various clever speaker positioning and reflection to present a proper surround sound package that's great paired with a Samsung Q-Symphony TV with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content.
As our Samsung HW-Q990B review says: "[this soundbar] continues Samsung’s domination of the premium home cinema soundbar market, delivering a combination of power, detail, dynamics and full surround sound cohesion with movie soundtracks that no rival we’ve seen to date can match." The newer model can, of course, but there's not much in it - which is why this soundbar still sits high up our best-of list.
This soundbar is an excellent cinematic upgrade for more compact Samsung TVs – its size makes it suitable for TVs from just 43 inches and up. But the audio feels much bigger than that, thanks to Sony's audio processing trickery. Technically it offers 3.1 channels, and that produces really strong width, and can even do a remarkable job of occasionally tricking you into feeling like something is almost coming from behind with Dolby Atmos or 5.1 content.
And while it doesn't have true height channels to make audio seem like sound is coming from above you, there's still lots of verticality to audio – things can audibly rocket upwards or crash downwards. If what you want is plenty of extra dimension to your audio for a low price, this works like a dream, as our full Sony HT-G700 review explains.
Extra meat is added by the subwoofer, which is wireless and requires no setup time at all – it just goes as soon as it's all plugged in. It can connect to your TV over HDMI or optical, and it has an HDMI input, with 4K HDR passthrough, so again it can get around the Dolby Atmos limitation of Samsung TVs for a connected device.
However, the HDMI passthrough doesn't support HDR10+, so anything connected will fall back to regular HDR10. This is a very minor concern overall, but it's something the AV nerds among you should be aware of.
The Yamaha SR-C20A sits near the bottom of Yamaha's rather expansive soundbar lineup, but that doesn't mean it's not capable of great things. Given its rather affordable price, it's a hugely impressive performer, even if it is more limited on specs, out of necessity.
There's only 100W of power available to the three drivers (two front-facing, one upward-pointing), for example. There's no spare HDMI ports whatsoever, with TV connectivity handled either by its single HDMI eARC socket or one of two digital optical inputs.
But if there's one thing Yamaha knows, it's getting superb sound out of very little. This is small but it has definite width (and even a little height). It's compact, but you get maximum detail at each end of the frequency range. It looks understated, but packs a punch when it needs to.
In our full Yamaha SR-C20A review, we say 'it looks like a scale model of a soundbar', and indeed this is ideal with small Samsung TVs, including down to 32 inches. It does what a soundbar is supposed to do: add more oomph to soundtracks while making dialogue and detail clearer, and nothing does it better for this price.
The Sonos Beam 2 looks identical to its predecessor, and the core of the soundbar hasn't changed: it's the same setup as before with a single tweeter, four mid/bass drivers and three passive radiators for low-end thump, all driven by five class D amplifiers of unspecified power. But the addition of eARC and Dolby Atmos support makes a great soundbar better.
The Beam is particularly good for smaller TVs such as 32-inch TVs, 43-inch TVs or 50-inch TVs and it comes in black or white with a new grille that's easier to dust than before. Find out more about the second-generation Sonos Beam in our in-depth Sonos Beam 2 review.
The Sonos Arc is a Dolby Atmos soundbar with eleven drivers at various angles, for projecting sound upwards as well as out to your left and right. As a single-box soundbar, it's not able to fake sound truly coming from all around you, but instead it creates a clear sense of the sound filling the space in front of you, which is just as good, in its own way.
The audio quality is just fantastic, no matter whether you're watching movies or listening to music (this is a full multi-room speaker, with streaming via the Sonos app or Apple AirPlay 2) – everything is finely balanced (including totally clear dialogue even without the Speech Enhancer option) and beautifully smooth.
However: it has only a single HDMI port, with no passthrough at all, so you'll lose an HDMI port from your TV when connecting it, and if your TV doesn't decode or passthrough Dolby Atmos itself, then you won't actually be able to make full use of what it can do anyway. This is incredibly frustrating, and feels bizarrely cheap for a premium soundbar. It's a good thing the audio quality is so good that our full Sonos Arc review review still rates it as one of the best soundbar buys, provided it's a good fit with your TV.
The Stage is an all-in-one soundbar, and one with a look all of its own: it's Bang & Olufsen's first dedicated soundbar, and one that it has clearly spent a long time perfecting. There's no subwoofer (it's loud enough without) and no all-around surround, with B&O preferring instead to produce the widest, tallest soundstage possible from a single eleven-speaker module.
That means you get four bass drivers in stereo, two mid-rangers, a central tweeter, and a squawker and tweeter on either edge, each working from their own 50W amp module, and while B&O says this is a 3.0 system that's a technicality more than anything. It sounds huge, with Dolby Atmos support (though not necessarily the full 3D effect of it) and plenty of EQ options and DSP extras.
You can wall-mount it, with the speakers facing forward, or lay it flat, with the grille facing up, and it sounds great either way, with a very active and musical sound to it, and plenty of poise when things are a little quieter.
There's only one HDMI input, and we'd like two at least for this money, but it still means it can take Dolby Atmos from an external source. It also supports Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast Built-in, along with Wi-fi and Bluetooth 4.2, making this an excellent choice for general music playback. Check out our full review of the B&O Beosound Stage to find out more.
This is actually a newer Samsung entry than the Q800A that features further up in this list. So why not a higher place, surely 'newer is better'? Well, it is, thanks to a new wide-band tweeter. However, as we pointed out in our HW-Q700B review: "if you can find yesteryear's Q800A for much less cash then that bar-and-sub combo is mighty similar." That's the rub of it really: the older model is just better value.
But that's not to dumb down the Q700B's impressiveness: Samsung has piled the features high on this upper-budget Dolby Atmos soundbar, and boosted audio clarity. Sold with a punchy, compact subwoofer, we reckon this 3.1.2 system is difficult to resist, particularly for Samsung TV owners as it also features Q Symphony directional sound.
How to choose the best soundbar for your Samsung TV
There are a few things that are worth considering when it comes to picking a soundbar to go with your Samsung TV.
First and foremost, you should think about how much money you’d ideally like to spend on your new soundbar. These days, soundbars can be bought for under £100, but the really high-end models can cost well over £1,000 – we’ve included a range of prices in this guide, but if you’ve got your eye on a pricier soundbar than your budget allows for, don’t forget that cheap soundbar deals pop up all the time, particularly between November and January.
Something else to consider is the design of your new soundbar. Samsung TVs are known for their sleek builds, so it’s worth looking for a soundbar that complements your TV. Samsung's own bars are made for this, of course, and more soundbars are designed to disappear anyway. Most can be wall-mounted, if that's where your TV will go.
If you choose to place your soundbar in front of your TV, make sure it isn’t so tall that it obscures the infrared light from your remote control, or even that it edges into the picture – some TVs stand higher from the surface than others!
Consider the size of your set and the size of the soundbar – you don't want a bar that's sticking out beyond the edges of your TV (or your TV table). And think about whether you're happy with a soundbar alone (the most compact option), or whether you want one with a subwoofer for extra impact (but that takes up more space).
Be sure to look into the type of wired connections your soundbar offers, too. HDMI is the easiest way to hook your soundbar up to your Samsung TV, and can handle Hi-Res Audio formats; for this, your TV needs to support HDMI-ARC, which means the audio can travel in both directions along the cable. Pretty much all modern TVs have had this for several years – though they usually only have one HDMI port that supports it.
On some older TVs it's a pain to lose an HDMI port, because it might be one of your only 4K-capable ports. However, many soundbars will have HDMI passthrough inputs themselves, meaning you can plug something into your soundbar, connect the soundbar to your TV, and the video will still make it to your TV, so you don't lose any connectivity.
This is also where Dolby Atmos support comes in. Samsung TVs don't include support for this next-generation, 3D audio format. If you're watching something Atmos-capable on your TV's built-in streaming apps, the TV will send the audio out over HDMI to a soundbar, but this isn't the case for anything else connected over HDMI, such as a Blu-ray player. However, if your soundbar has one or more HDMI inputs and is Atmos-capable, then you can plug things into the soundbar instead of the TV, and you'll get the full benefit of the Atmos audio still.
Another benefit of HDMI-ARC connections is that you can use your regular Samsung TV remote to control the soundbar, instead of adding yet another control to your collection, because all control is passed over the HDMI cable.
If you can't or don't want to use HDMI-ARC, you can connect it to your Samsung TV using an optical digital cable or coaxial cable – again, check the back of your TV to see which is supported. Optical is the most common.
Another connectivity feature to consider is whether your new soundbar supports Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for wireless music streaming from your phone or tablet, and whether you’re interested in having that anyway.
Finally, there's Q Symphony support. When you connect certain Samsung TVs (from the top-end of the 2020 range onwards) to compatible Samsung soundbars, the two devices will work together to create on big seamless speaker system, using the TV's higher and central speakers to add useful positional sound, and allowing the soundbar to add the extra meat it's designed for.
