Best Soundbars Thrifter 2021
Chances are, you have upgraded your TV in recent times and are now enjoying glorious HD or even 4K content. But have you spared a thought for your TV audio? As TVs have gotten thinner with ever-slimmer bezels, the physical space for built-in speakers has gotten smaller which means the audio quality might now be the weakest part of your TV viewing experience. If that sounds like you, then you need a soundbar. Luckily, we've already identified the best ones for you to choose from.
- Best overall: TCL Alto 6
- Popular choice: Sonos Beam
- Affordable option: SAKOBS Soundbar
- Built-in Fire TV: Anker Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition
- Built-in sub: Yamaha YAS-109
- Portable option: Avantree Torpedo Plus
- Roku streaming: Roku Smart Soundbar

Best overall: TCL Alto 6
Staff PickTCL is well-known for its affordable TV sets that outperform most others in their price bracket and the Alto 6 soundbar continues that trend. It's one of the more affordable options on the market and still provides well-balanced sound for your TV and movies. It's also got Bluetooth for wireless music playback.

Popular choice: Sonos Beam
Sonos speakers are super popular for a reason and the Beam is an excellent soundbar in its own right. It offers a compact design, Alexa smarts, HDMI ARC, and Sonos-quality sound. It can also be hooked up with Sonos One speakers as a surround sound system.

Affordable option: SAKOBS Soundbar
If you want better audio quality for your TV and movies but don't want to spend a fortune, this SAKOBS soundbar is worth checking out. It features two powerful full-range speakers for impressive sound from a device that is only 16 inches wide. You can stream your music to it via Bluetooth, too.

Built-in Fire TV: Anker Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition
This soundbar brings cinematic sound and powerful streaming to any TV by combining a 2.1 channel soundbar with a Fire TV 4K streaming media player built-in. It also comes with an Alexa Voice Remote for searching for content and controlling your smart home.

Built-in sub: Yamaha YAS-109
If your living room is on the smaller side or you live in a pokey apartment, you might not be able to set up a soundbar and a separate subwoofer. With the YAS-109, you don't need to as it has a sub built-in for deeper bass. It's also got Alexa and Bluetooth support.

Portable option: Avantree Torpedo Plus
With a built-in battery, this Avantree soundbar option offers something you won't find in other options: portability. That obviously comes with some trade-offs when it comes to sound quality but if you need a solution that can be moved from one place to another easily, this is a good choice.

Roku streaming: Roku Smart Soundbar
The Roku Smart Soundbar features four large full-range drivers that produce a richer sound than its smaller Roku Streambar counterpart. It also has a built-in Roku Streaming Stick+, support for 4K HDR and Dolby Audio, and Alexa and Google Assistant support.
Movie night
Most people searching for a soundbar just want an audio upgrade. With a simple setup process and audio quality well above its price would suggest, we recommend the TCL Alto 6 for most people.
If you want truly top-tier audio, it's hard to beat the Sonos Beam if you're happy to spend big bucks on one. Other top picks including built-in Fire TV and Roku streaming hardware as well as Alexa support, adding more to your living room setup than just improved audio.
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