Well, when thinking of a more convenient alternative for traditional home theater speaker systems that take up most of the space? Our expert team has tested products to pick out the best soundbar for small TV with the latest sound-enhancing technologies.
Do you have a TV set that sizes around just 22, 29, or 32 inches? Don’t worry, having smaller television certainly doesn’t mean you have to compromise with sound quality. Now you can use a soundbar to experience an ultimate personal theater system or just a reliable one with good sound quality.
Soundbars stands as the right antidote for those televisions, who have a minimal audio sound that is difficult to understand. Plus, it will be a great companion in watching sports with full clarity of sound. Let us move towards the list of best soundbars to briefly understand the core details for each:
Top 7 Best Soundbar for Small TV Picks: 2021 Updated
| Soundbar | Connectivity Technology | Speaker Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bose Solo 5-live Up with Stereo | Bluetooth, wireless | Soundbar | |
| TCL Alto 5+ -Soundbar | Optical/Bluetooth/IR pass-through/USB/AUX | Soundbar and Subwoofer | |
| Bose Soundbar 500 | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI | Surround Sound | |
| Sonos Beam | Wirelessly | Soundbar | |
| Roku Smart Soundbar | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, HDMI | Soundbar | |
| Polk MagniFi Mini | - | Soundbar | - |
| Yamaha YAS-108 | Bluetooth, HDMI, Auxillary | Subwoofer |
We head start with a comparative soundbar to classic stereos, yet won’t be great for a quality sound experience. Produces a neutral and fairly good audio sound but misses a heavy bass system due to the lacking feature wireless subwoofer. Base Solo 5 doesn’t support DTS and Atmos, which runs Blue-ray disks and 4K movies.
The overview of the positive aspects surpasses well-built and decent option colored all-black. Expect for the surrounding metal grid on the front and sides, the soundbar is made of solid plastic. The subwoofer is integrated with the soundbar itself, which means it doesn’t include any external subwoofer.
The Bose Solo 5 is a fairly compatible device that sizes about a bar weight of 21.7 inches (55.0cm), bar height 2.6 inches (6.7 cm), and bar depth 3.2 8 inches (8.1cm). It is most likely to fit in front of the stand of your small TV. Plus, the soundbar is not tall to stand in between the screen of your TV, unless your TV just sits at the desk table.
The soundbar connects wirelessly through Bluetooth to play content. Connect it up easily with your smartphone or tablet to enjoy a fantastic music experience. Note that Bose doesn’t support Chromecast built-in, Wi-Fi, or Apple Airplay.
Talking about the looks, the device has got two LED lights behind the grille. One indicates the working status of the soundbar, while the other lights up for Bluetooth connection. Putting a significant look at our tests, Bose Solo 5 won’t be the perfect choice for playing music genres with heavy bass, but it might turn out great for dialogue-oriented products like TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks with its fantastic treble and mid reproduction.
The soundbar even lacks the latest connectivity options like HDMI, but yes the balanced sound and small size make it the perfect combination to fit in the list. When comparing Bose Solo 5 with other sounding bars on the list, it turns out to deliver decent-sounding audio quite, especially for its size. It lacks back for intensive sound and bass as it misses out an external subwoofer.
- Sturdy design
- Offers an adequate sound performance
- Lacks advance connectivity options like DTS support, HDMI, etc.
- The device struggles with bass output due to no subwoofer.
- Renders small soundstage.
Are you a bass lover? If yes, then it’s just the right product for you that up brings a decent frequency response. TCL Alto 5+ is a perfect soundbar that offers moderate sound, neither too loud nor too low. A small wireless subwoofer and small-sized soundbar results in the small soundstage. Apart from that, the device generates a signature sound overall.
Total black and fairly plain, that’s all about the outer looks. TCL Alto 5+ has a metal grill layered on the front and two sides while covered glossy plastic on the top. The plastic might easily attract fingerprints mark. The overall soundbar is with high-quality solid plastic.
Talking about the external subwoofer, the device is made with wood except for the plastic port on the front. A speaker is built at the back of the piece along with a power jack for wire connection. The dimensions of is product include a bar width of 31.6 inches (80.2 cm), a bar height of 2.7 inches (6.8 cm), and a bar depth of 3 inches (7.6 cm).
The soundbar is fairly small when compared with other available in the market, making it just the right one you need. Looking at the dimension for a subwoofer that the sub width of 5.9 inches (15.1 cm), sub height of 12.7 inches (32.3 cm), and sub depth of 8.7 inches (22.1 cm). This small sub just looks like a small desktop PC that could be wirelessly connected from anywhere around the house.
The ultimate features include standby mode but lack HDMI port. When comparing with other soundbars in the market, TCL Alto 5+ is comparatively smaller and compact that comes along with a small sub. If you a person who loves to listen to bass-heavy music, then you might prefer this.
To the overall context, this might be a good option for dialogue-oriented and most music genres. Yet, if you are a fan of bass-heavy music and action movies, then it is the perfect option in such a small size. The bar is significantly built with an epic performance, which would work perfectly fine for casual listening sessions. With such great benefits comes a downfall, the TCL Alto 5+ does not support Atmos or height channels.
- Good build quality.
- Small and fits between legs of TV stands.
- No DTS support.
- Doesn’t get very loud.
- Bass-heavy sound profile.
3. Bose Soundbar 500 – A Full Side Assistance with Alexa
Bose is the one that grants the price it asks for. This bar offers a smart feature to render voice assistants with no compromise in ease and quality of sound. The user can add voice assistance according to their choice between Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
The Bose Soundbar 500 serves an output with power and fullness of sound much greater for its size. The dimensions are noticed about the bar width of 31.5 inches, bar height of 4 inches, and bar depth of 1.8 inches. The unit is featured with only one HDMI input but doesn’t support HDMI ARC and optical digital audio input.
The wireless connections can be made via Bluetooth, Apple Airplay 2, and Wi-Fi. The soundbar has got two integrated buttons on its body to mute a microphone or activate voice assistance. The free music app by Bose offers numerous more options. If you think that the sound is enough, go add some speakers through wireless satellites and subwoofers.
Bose soundbar 500 produces a vivid quality sound despite its small footprint. You can listen to clear dialogues and impressive bass for such a small unit. Our tests concluded cymbals and snare are much sharper when compared with bass and vocal. The sound just fills up the whole medium-sized room at 50 only while a measured count was 90 decibels on the max.
For a better sound profile, you can even set up the bass and treble levels with the application. It holds a Dialogue mode even to make voices more clear when you are watching a movie or talk show. Turn this mini gadget into a robust home theater by just adding a few subwoofer and satellites to it. If you look at a comparative analysis with its rival Sonos beams, you would figure out it misses Dolby Atmos support and HDMI inputs that usually get for this price.
- Slim and sleek
- Clear dialogue
- Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa inside
- Expensive
- Lacks HDMI inputs
- No Atmos support
4. Sonos Beam – Simplicity and Sound at the Top
The new launch of Sonos Beam has broken all the bounders that offer a bunch of functions, which include Alexa voice assistance and HDMI input. Putting a glance at its rivals Bose Soundbar 500, Sonos Beam is one of the best soundbars in terms of functionality, though it comprises on sound quality.
Moving towards the appearance, we see that the unit is flat and looks just like an elongated pill sizing around the bar width of 25.6 inches, bar height of 3.9, and bar depth of 2.7 inches. The specification itself notifies how small the device is as compared to the other soundbars available in the list.
Don’t go on its size because it holds four woofers and one tweeter inside its mini body that caters to producing room-filling sound. What’s more, the Beam displays a touch-sensitive top letting pause the songs, skip tracks, adjust the volume, and more. The LED on the surface shows the running status of the soundbar.
Considering the overall performance of beam, we get know that it delivers a balance bass, midrange, and treble. You can even spend some more money to get a sub along the Beam which will produce enough bass for lighting up any of your events. Keeping just the beam in mind our resulted tested loud enough for a medium-sized room.
A mix max combination of advanced features like Alexa smart assistance with brings ultimate functions into the room. Count the size a bonus with so many features integrated inside this unit. Connect to the device by using HDMI or digital optical audio. Plus, use a wired Ethernet cable for accessing the net.
- Easy set up
- Alexa inside
- Wide soundstage
- Bass lacks detail
- No Bluetooth audio
5. Roku Smart Soundbar - Ultimate Robust Streaming
Known for its service for years, Roku provides its customers with an ultimate robust streaming experience by launching the all new Roku Smart Soundbar. Looking at the downsides, the sound doesn’t offer enough treble performance that the others in our list do.
Moving on towards the looks, the unit has colored all grey and measures around the bar width of 32.2 inches, bar height of 3.9, and bar depth of 2.8 inches. We couldn’t figure out any faults in the design apart from its height. The top surface shows a LED light that blinks every time to respond to remote-control demands.
A wide collection of ports are available at the back of the device, including an HDMI port, an optical audio port (useful for older TVs), a power port, and two holes in case you want to mount brackets. Talking on an overall basis the device looks solid and sturdy.
Comparative to the others, the Roku Smart soundbar offers a balanced blend of bass and sound. This smart soundbar has a lot more to offer, like Volume Leveling, Night Mode, and Speech Clarity. Volume leveling could be used to manage a high and low range of sounds. Night mode emphasizes the clarity of dialogues and quieter sound effects to create less disturbance. The speech clarity makes sure to keep the dialogue orientation on the top of all.
Although the performance isn’t mind-blowing enough for the price, it retails on. What’s more, you get a 4K HDR streaming device that has to offer thousands of channels rendering better bass and treble than the original TV set.
- Good sound quality
- Full Roku built in
- Easy setup
- Treble isn’t a big step up
- Slow navigation
- Hard to gauge volume on non-Roku systems
6. Polk MagniFi Mini – Too Small for its Sound
This small blaster reminds me of the fact that size doesn’t matter at all. The sound quality of this miniature soundbar can be compared with a 42-inch soundbar with a full-sized subwoofer. Polk MagniFi Mini has impressed us in both music and movies.
The dimensions for this unit include a bar length of 13.4 inches, a bar height of 4.3 inches, and a bar depth of 3.1 inches. Moreover, the MagniFi Mini offers multiple options for connecting both wired and wireless appliances. An HDMI ARC (audio return channel) connection and a digital optical audio input provide a wired connection through Ethernet cable while wireless options include Google Cast, WiFi, and Bluetooth audio.
The only flaw that our team came with while experimenting with the product was harsh treble. The sounding results show casts 90 decibels at a distance of 10 feet from the device. Our demanding picks for small soundbars make it an ideal collection for the home theater system.
Living in an apartment with a small space, Polk MagniFi Mini can serve out as a soundbar side by side to the music speakers in many situations. Speaking frankly, I have no doubts about the device’s flexibility with a variety of options for connectivity.
- Powerful bass and clear vocals
- Wireless subwoofer
- Google Cast audio integration
- No onscreen display or mobile app
- Harsh treble
7. Yamaha YAS-108 – Amount of Integrated Excellence
Yamaha produces soundbars with extreme features and less demanding pricing. The appearance of the Yamaha seems more unique than the other due to the rounded edges on the sides. The device measures around the bar length of 35 inches, bar height of 5.1 inches, and bar depth of 2.1 inches. If you have a small TV in our living space then this soundbar can be adjusted to an extra shelf right below the television.
Going about the size, the bar could fill up an entire medium-sized room with integrated woofers and tweeters, creating just enough base to fulfill the demand for the dialogue. Yet, if want it to be louder then you can opt for a wireless subwoofer.
The cost and size generate an impressive sound quality with crisp treble and a wide sound field. One of the epic features of Yamaha YAS-108 provides a dual connection for Bluetooth, which means it coordinate well it a music stream connected with phone and voice assistance side by side.
Furthermore, it provides numerous sound modes such as Clear Voice, Surrounds, and 3D Surround. While enjoying a movie on the couch, it is difficult to see on which mode the device is working due to the soundbar’s indicator lights are built on the top.
To sum up, Yamaha YAS-108 offers a ton of smart features that helps to adjust the sound according to your preference. The units decent bass and sharp treble will stand up to the category mark for most of the customers.
- Full sound from a compact form
- Sharp treble and good bass
- HDMI and 4K passthrough
- No app support yet
How to Choose Best Soundbar for Small TV - Buying Guide
They’re definitely a few factors that should be observed when searching the market for the best option.
Size of the soundbar:
The size will likely be the most crucial initiative for most customers according to what suits your TV environment, and space is available on your console.
Style:
For some appearance is what matters because the soundbar is the central unit of attraction when setting up a theater environment. Therefore, it’s necessary that the looks and fits according to the environment.
Size of the room:
Another feature that is necessary when selecting the soundbar is the size of the room it is required for, and the space between the viewers and the Television puts an important mark on whether you need a subwoofer or not.
Ports and connectivity:
Some of the crucial points include a number of ports available on the soundbar. Some of the bars don’t come with HDMI, which means that you can finely use from TV through the optical audio but if having more options like game consoles, streaming boxes then it might be a difficult job to manage.
Final Verdict:
Our tests were carried out by performing a range of media series, including movies, music, and games, and even set up an environment to observe results on each device. The main features we looked out while making the look included the size of soundbar on the top of all.
So if you are a fan of heavy bass music, then TCL Alto 5 plus will turn out to the best option for you because it comes along with a wireless subwoofer that enhancing bass quality. Or else if you are talking about the overall view of our list, then I would suggest the Sonos Beam in terms of size and function.
FAQ
Many soundbars ship along with wireless subwoofer itself, but if you haven’t got one and your bar renown’s a wireless capability to connect the external one then go for it.
This feature depends upon the type of model you are willing to use. Some passive bars can be as central speaker although they aren’t made to fulfill that demand.
Newer models come with variety of options for connecting peripheral devices both wired and wireless. Below are some of the connection that you might look when treating yourself with a router:
- Optical Port
- USB Inputs
- Wireless Connectivity (Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth)
- HDMI ARC
