One of the best additions you can make to your home entertainment system, besides the TV itself, is to get a dedicated soundbar. Some feature satellite speakers for surround sound, others project room-filling sound with just one bar. No matter what type of audio system you need for your home, we’ve rounded up the best deals.
Before you buy, be sure to check out our guides to the best TVs, best soundbars, and best streaming devices, as well as our guide on how to buy a soundbar.
The best offers from WIRED
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Soundbar deals
Photography: Polk Audio
The Polk Audio Signa 4 (7/10, WIRED recommends) is an ideal choice if you’re looking for a basic soundbar, but don’t want to sacrifice quality. It produces excellent bass, is simple to set up, and has a low-profile design that should look good in most living rooms.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 has always been quite expensive, but this deal brings it down to a more accessible price point. It features a luxurious design, Dolby Atmos and incredibly immersive sound.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 delivers clear, expansive sound despite its relatively small size. It uses up-firing drivers for immersive overhead effects and produces punchy bass, without all the complicated setup required by many surround sound systems.
There’s something to be said for an extremely simple and very cheap solution, and this soundbar from Samsung proves it beautifully. The regular price of this soundbar is a bit overpriced, but in this sale it offers a great upgrade over your TV speakers at an almost impulse price.
Photography: Yamaha
Another excellent basic soundbar, Yamaha’s SR-C20A offers a solid alternative to built-in TV speakers. It supports Bluetooth streaming and it’s small enough that you can even move it from room to room if you want.
Klipsch has set itself apart from other soundbar manufacturers by focusing primarily on audio quality without a ton of bells and whistles. The Cinema 600 is constructed from a speaker-like MDF enclosure and paired with a massive 10-inch subwoofer driver. It delivers clear, powerful sound, ideal for music, movies and more.
Sony’s HT-A5000 is an expensive proposition at full price, but it’s a bargain at this price thanks to the engulfing expansion of surround sound and almost every feature you can fit into a bar this size. Extras include next-gen HDMI with VRR support for PS5 or Xbox Series Moreover.
Believe it or not, this is the lowest price we’ve seen on this luxury Sennheiser model, which is as much a trapeze artist as it is a soundbar thanks to its high-end virtual surround sound and Dolby Atmos tricks. It’s a hefty unit that doesn’t include a separate subwoofer, but still manages to deliver punchy grooves, smooth, mellow musicality, and very handy features like Wi-Fi streaming and analog input at a price that finally fell below the stratosphere.
Surround sound system deals
Photography: Vizio
Vizio is one of our favorite soundbar brands for their great value, and the M-Series 5.1.2 Soundbar (9/10, WIRED recommends) is a perfect example. This soundbar comes with a pair of wireless rear speakers and delivers very immersive sound, especially for its price.
It’s been a few years since we first reviewed Vizio’s original Elevate soundbar (9/10 Wired Review), but it still delivers great sound. It’s easy to set up and supports Dolby Atmos to deliver room-filling sound, and its corner speakers are simple to position for exact placement in your living room.
The multi-room JBL Bar 1300X (8/10 Wired recommends) is unique among the soundbars we’ve tested. It has a pair of removable magnetic speakers that you can place behind you for immersive surround sound. They are completely wireless so they don’t even need power cables. However, they need to be put back on the soundbar regularly to recharge, so it’s a bit of a compromise.
This 5.1.2 soundbar from Samsung offers a powerful blend of features from a two-piece system. It uses top-firing Dolby Atmos speakers and side-firing drivers to deliver immersive sound throughout your room without having to worry about separate speakers. The wireless subwoofer can be positioned independently and adds powerful bass to your home theater.
Sonos deals
Photo: Sonos
The Sonos Ray Soundbar (9/10, WIRED recommends) is one of the easiest soundbars to set up, and it’s small enough to fit in smaller spaces. Like most Sonos speakers, it can be used alone or added to others to create a larger audio system, but it’s a great place to start.
The Sonos Sub Mini (8/10, WIRED Review) may be small, but it can deliver powerful bass. It connects wirelessly to your audio system and uses the Sonos app for precise tuning. If you already own a soundbar or surround speakers, this may be the last piece you need to really make it stand out.
The Arc (9/10, WIRED recommends) is our favorite soundbar for large home theaters. It has three tweeters, eight midranges, and full Dolby Atmos support, allowing it to deliver sound that bounces off your walls in a way that feels like a full surround sound setup, without all the additional speakers. That’s the same price we saw it at last year’s Black Friday, but it’s still the lowest price we’ve seen.
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is our best Sonos soundbar for most people. It features a sleek design, Dolby Atmos support, and a faster processor than the previous Beam, making it ideal for very high-quality sound. It also includes support for Alexa, Google Assistant, and AirPlay 2, making it an essential part of any smart home.
Sonos gen 3 sub-speakerPhoto: Sonos
We recommend the Sonos Sub (Gen 3) if your giftee wants to improve their bass. The third generation model offers better processing power and more memory. It’s also intended to pair with Sonos’ non-portable options, such as soundbars, speakers, and amplifiers (it won’t pair with the Move, Roam, Port, or Connect). It’s expensive, but great. This is also the lowest price we have tracked so far.
The amp is a great option for those looking for an amplifier to power their turntable, TV, outdoor speakers and more at higher volumes. The front control panel is touch-sensitive, so you can tap or swipe for things like pausing music and adjusting the volume. The Amp also connects through the Sonos app and supports AirPlay 2. It doesn’t come with built-in mics, but you will have voice control if you pair it with another voice-activated Sonos speaker like the Sonos One or Sonos moves.
While the amp powers the speakers, the port broadcasts to an amp which then sends a signal to the speakers. Unlike the Amp, it doesn’t come with a control panel, but you can use the Sonos app to adjust the treble, bass, and volume. It also supports AirPlay 2. Like the Amp, you can also pair it with other Sonos speakers for voice control.
The Era 100 (9/10, WIRED recommends) holds the title of best overall Sonos speaker in our guide for its improved sound and features over the Sonos One (Gen 2). It features large woofers and angled tweeters for true stereo sound, punchier bass and crisp definition. With a faster processor, the speaker also receives software updates longer. There’s also now a volume slider, a play-pause button (so you don’t need to take out your phone to control it), a USB-C input, and a switch on the back to manually mute the mic.
Headphone deals
Photography: Beats
We thought the Beats Studio Pro headphones (7/10, WIRED Review) were good, not great, but that was before they dropped to less than half their normal price. These headphones offer excellent noise cancellation, solid sound quality, and a USB-C jack for high-resolution audio. They pair easily with Apple and Android devices and even have head tracking for spatial audio.
The Apple AirPods Max (8/10, WIRED recommends) have stood the test of time and, as a result, have retained their relatively high price. This discount isn’t big but it’s still the lowest price we’ve seen for these headphones. They have exceptional build quality, pair and work seamlessly with iOS devices, and last up to 20 hours on a single charge.
Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro (9/10, WIRED recommends) are a near-perfect companion for your Apple device(s) thanks to exceptional noise cancellation, great sound, a comfortable design, and a host of convenient features that make life more pleasant. iOS life just got easier. Although their price has dropped in recent months, it’s as low as we’ve seen it, making now the perfect time to pull the trigger.
Sony’s WH-1000XM4 earbuds (9/10, WIRED recommends) have been a solid pair of wireless earbuds for years now, and there’s no secret to their success. Offering excellent noise cancellation, warm, detailed sound, and a ton of modern features in a comfortable design, these are some of the best travel headphones you can buy.
As Sony’s most expensive wireless earphone, the WH-1000XM5 had a lot to live up to after the remarkably popular WH-1000XM4. Fortunately, they deliver the goods with improved noise cancellation, a chic new design, and a more refined sound signature that add up to a great overall package, especially on sale.
Bose’s aptly named QuietComfort Ultra (9/10, WIRED recommends) arrived in October with just one notable problem: They’re very expensive. Luckily, they’ve already been discounted, making it easier to get their industry-leading noise cancellation, great sound, and luxuriously comfortable design packed with modern features.
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