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The compact Roku Streambar offers a lot for its low price tag. This is a fully-fledged 4K HDR streamer with hundreds of supported services, plus the ability to connect via Bluetooth. It's an instant upgrade on your TV speaker too, with excellent vocal clarity.
If you're after a compact soundbar that offers Bluetooth, HDMI and really clean dialogue, the Yamaha SR-C20A has you covered. It also includes DTS Virtual:X for excellent simulated surround from a single box.
Soundbars are able to make a lot of noise from a tiny box, but nothing can compare with the bass that a dedicated subwoofer can bring. The Creative Stage offers a lot for just $90, including HDMI cable connectivity, but it's the wired subwoofer that makes the system really sing. This soundbar also offers Bluetooth connectivity and a USB port for playing MP3s from an external drive. Though the Stage V2 now exists -- which adds USB audio, digital coaxial and a clear sound mode for $109 -- the original is still current.
TV speakers traditionally perform very poorly, so spending even just a little can improve your shows immeasurably. For around $100 you can buy something that doubles as a Bluetooth music streamer and a TV sound system. The quality of cheap soundbars has increased significantly in the past few years, and the addition of subwoofers at this level has also helped boost performance. Bass is something that no onboard TV speaker can offer.
All of the above soundbars will sound great and do so for a minimal amount of money, but there are advantages to increasing your budget. At $280, for example, the Sonos Ray will not only offer you a better experience and sound, but improved features, including multiroom music. While the sky's the limit to how much you can spend on upgrading your sound, the real sweet spot is between $300 and $400. See our list of best soundbars here, which includes models that offer state of the art Dolby Atmos audio effects.
Source: cnet.com