Pick Your Ideal Option
00. The list in brief ↴
01. Best premium
02. Best budget
03. Best for most people
04. Best last-gen discount
05. Best single-box solution
06. Best for small screens
07. Best for Sonos multi-room
08. Best for adaptability
09. How to choose
10. How we test
Pick up one of the best soundbars for Samsung TVs, and you're going to seriously enhance the setup you already have. While Samsung offers some of the best TVs on the market, which are usually fitted with decent speakers of their own, TVs are only getting slimmer – and that means the integrated audio can suffer.
The soundbars we’ve selected in this comprehensive round-up offer a range of features and benefits, including Dolby Atmos surround sound, Samsung Symphony Q support to marry with the TV's own soundsystem (which we think beats LG's WOW Orchestra), support for eARC, and plenty more.
Most of the soundbars in this list, while they work brilliantly with Samsung TVs, will also work with other makes and models, so we also have a guide to the best soundbars in general. It's worth checking out both lists to get a fuller understanding of what sits where, before you make a purchase for your Samsung TV.
I've been reviewing soundbars and curating content from industry experts for years – and it's these expert voices who can assure these are the best soundbars for Samsung TVs.
T3's Top Picks
Best premium
When you pair the top-tier Samsung Q990D soundbar with a Samsung TV this soundbar, sub and speaker combo delivers immersive audio without compromise. Not ideal if you want a single-box solution, but otherwise unbeatable.
Best budget soundbar
There are many reasons to get the Denon DHT-S316, but the primary one is the price: when you look at how much you can spend on a soundbar for your Samsung TV, this 'bar-and-sub combination really stands out in terms of value for money.
Best for most people
The Samsung HW-Q800B gives you so many features from this soundbar-and-subwoofer two-piece combo, while still remaining relatively affordable. Less immersive than the Q990 series, but still stellar and well-balanced in terms of asking price.
Best premium
The 2024 flagship and also T3 2024 Award Winner for Best Soundbar delivers over 600W of power from 22 different speakers, so really brings the cinema experience home. It's got Q Symphony compatibility, too, so pair it was a Samsung TV specifically and it can also sync with the TV speakers in perfect balanced harmony.
The Q990D 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. You'll need the space to lay this all out, of course, so it's not one for those wanting to save space.
Where this model levels up compared to its also excellent HW-Q990C predecessor is in adding HDMI 2.1 passthrough for next-gen console and compatible devices with 4K at 120fps. However, if you don't care for that then save the money and buy the older 'C' model instead.
As said in our Q990D review, though, this is a "peerless soundbar system", especially for those wanting three-dimensional audio decoding, as it "delivers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X with incredible immersion and plenty of cinematic flair". It's an impressive surround sound experience.
Best budget
As you can tell from our Denon DHT-S316 review, this is a budget soundbar with a lot to give: it's going to do the primary job of a soundbar, which is to push out audio of a significantly superior quality than your TV's built-in speakers can manage, even if it does leave out several more advanced features in order to keep the overall price down – namely there's no three-dimensional audio decoding and no eARC.
Besides very decent sound quality, however, you also know you're getting a good fit and finish from your soundbar when the Denon name is attached – and that's certainly true when it comes to the DHT-S316. Its aesthetics are very easy on the eye, with the sort of subtle and stylish looks that means it can fit comfortably under just about any Samsung TV.
What really makes this a great buy, though, is the price. Considering you get both a main soundbar and a subwoofer included in the package, you really are making sure you get the most from your money. Your bass, your mids, and your highs are all catered for in a single system, and the speakers are able to get up to a substantial level of volume as well.
Best for most people
If you want something compact that still has a big sound and wide dynamic range, the Samsung HW-Q800B is a little older, so it balances out features to price in the perfect ratio.
It's a 5.1.2-channel soundbar, meaning that it aims to add lots of width, Dolby Atmos/DTS:X three-dimensional audio height from its upward-firing tweeters, and big impact from its wireless subwoofer. It also works with Samsung's Q Symphony.
The Q800B 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's not HDMI 2.1 like the Q990D though, which next-gen gamers will want.
Read our full Samsung Q800B review for more insight, but other than slightly unruly bass at times there's very little bad to say. This is a great soundbar that's feature-packed and highly immersive. Ideal for TVs of 50-inches and up.
Best last-gen model for discount
Largely similar to the chart-topping HW-Q990D follow-up, this earlier 'C' 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 lacks HDMI 2.1, with HDMI 2.0 instead, but if that doesn't matter to your kit – no next-gen console, for example – then it's no bother.
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-Q990C review says: this soundbar shows "Samsung’s domination of the premium home cinema soundbar market", continuing that the four-box solution "delivers a combination of power, detail, dynamics and full surround sound cohesion with movie soundtracks that no rival can match." It's a great fully immersive soundbar system.
Best single-box solution
The Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 is only a single unit, but it's able to produce a sensational sound nevertheless: the name is a nod to the 11 separate drivers fitted inside this unit, which all combine in an intelligent way to produce a soundscape that's genuinely powerful. What's more, the mid-range price of the system isn't prohibitively expensive.
it's a good enough soundbar for Samsung televisions that we can forgive the rather clumsy name that's been used here. In our time testing the soundbar, we found it was extremely capable across all different styles of audio and all different volume levels. It's particularly good when it comes to music, but it also does great with all the other tasks you give it too.
Sure, you make some sacrifices to get to that mid-range price – you can't loop consoles through the bar with 120Hz, 4K, and HDR all enabled, for example – but really there's very little to put in the negatives column here. You even get comprehensive wireless streaming support too, which includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay, and Google Chromecast.
Best for small screens
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.
Best for Sonos multi-room
The Sonos Arc is a Dolby Atmos soundbar with eleven drivers for projecting sound upwards as well as out for three-dimensional quality. 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.
The sound quality is simply fantastic, though, no matter whether you're watching movies or listening to music (it's also compatible with Sonos' multi-room system, with streaming using the Sonos app or via Apple AirPlay 2) – everything is finely balanced and beautifully smooth.
However: it has only one HDMI port, with no passthrough offered, so you'll lose an HDMI port from your TV when connecting it. If your TV does not decode or pass through Atmos then you won't be able to make use of what it can do anyhow. This is rather frustrating, and feels oddly 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.
Best for adaptability
While most soundbars on this list are either a single box, a soundbar and subwoofer duo, or a more considerable surround sound system with rear speakers, the JBL Bar 1300 takes a different path: that's because the ends of this soundbar remove to act as rear speakers, as and when you want them, so they needn't always be set up.
That's brilliant for adaptability, of course, but there's plenty more on the Bar 1300's feature set that appeals too. A trio of HDMI inputs, plus an HDMI eARC port mean that you're widely covered for connections. Sadly, however, you can't passthrough 4K/120 content or variable refresh rate, so gamers will prefer Samsung's Q990D option.
As said in our JBL Bar 1300 review: this feature-packed soundbar "delivers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based sound with cinematic scale and plenty of bass," so if you're into three-dimensional audio decoding this is a great option – which you can make more dynamic by moving those detachable speakers. However, without the proprietary Q Symphony feature here, this JBL is less tuned specifically for Samsung TVs.
How to choose
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.
Something else to consider is the design of your new soundbar. Samsung TVs are known for their sleek builds, so it's definitely worth looking for a soundbar that complements your TV's looks.
In addition, can the TV match with a Samsung soundbar specifically to utilise Q Symphony technology? That's when the soundbar uses the TV's speakers too, tuned specifically for output, for even more height.
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 with the bass sounds (but that also takes up more physical space), or one with extra speakers for full immersion.
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. eARC, meanwhile, does the same but isn't compressed, so is better quality.
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.
Another want is for three-dimensional audio decoding. Many soundbars can cater for Dolby Atmos or DTS:X decoding, which means relevant source material will deliver more width, height and surround channels for enhanced immersion.
How we test
Our dedicated How We Test page tells you everything you need to know about how we weigh up the products that we come across. We're comprehensive in everything that we do: whether it's noting down physical dimensions or studying brightness levels.
When it comes to soundbars, there's a lot to cover, from the audio performance to the available port connections. As you'll see in the reviews and summaries higher up on this page, everything you might need to know is included, helping you make the most informed decision possible.
We also put these soundbars into a wider context, such as in this round-up, so you can see how pricing or features vary compared to other models. That can really make the difference in certain categories, where there are lots of similar products available.
