Snobby audiophiles may insist on arrangements of individual speakers, but the minimalistic design of the humble soundbar has a sleek appeal. It doesn't require a jumble of speaker wires to work, it can be installed easily, and it sounds way better than the audio that came with the TV.
If you're thinking of picking up a soundbar for yourself or someone else this holiday season, Amazon has a ton on sale as part of its Cyber Monday offerings. Below are five good deals on soundbars of all price ranges.
JBL Bar 1300X: 11.1.4-Channel soundbar
I'm starting with a top-of-the-line JBL unit that straddles the line between a soundbar and a true surround system. It features two detachable wireless speakers you can put behind you for more immersive surround sound, and its "advanced drivers" support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for "an enhanced 3D surround sound experience." So it's a high-quality item with a lot of bells and whistles. Is it worth the $999 price? Depends on your value system, I guess, but no one can deny it's 41% cheaper than its usual price of $1,699.99.
JBL Bar 1300X: 11.1.4-Channel soundbar
Assistrust Sound Bar
On the other side of capitalism from the JBL bar is this Assistrust system. It doesn't support Dolby Atmos, DTS:X or much of anything else—it's just a wireless rectangle that plays sounds. But maybe a sound rectangle is all you need. Plus, you could buy like 14 of these for the price of a single JBL Bar 1300X. The Assistrust Soundbar is on sale for $69.99 for Cyber Monday—30% off the usual, already-low price.
Bose TV Speaker
Maybe you think $999 is too much to spend on speakers, but you also don't trust the audio fidelity from a company called "Assistrust." If that's the case, consider this perfectly respectable Bose TV Speaker. It's fairly bare-bones, but it's designed to clarify the dialogue from your TV, work as a bluetooth speaker, and is compatible with other Bose gear in case you want to make your sound system better in the future. In honor of Cyber Monday, Amazon has priced this one at $199.00, a savings of 29%.
LG S80QY 3.1.3ch Soundbar
This LG soundbar comes with a sub-woofer in case you're all about that bass. According to LG, the S80QY is the best match if you own an LG TV (but that's exactly what they would say!) It supports IMAX, and you can control it through Airplay2, Chromecast, Google, and Amazon Alexa. It's $396.99, which might sound like a lot, but it's less than half of the original price of $899.99—an excellent deal if you are the kind of person who wants one of these.
VIZIO V-Series 2.0 Compact Home Theater Soundbar
I've always liked VIZIO's "inexpensive, but still generally OK" equipment. Buying VIZIO-branded electronics means you're not paying anything extra for a fancy name, but you're also not getting literally the cheapest possible thing China can create. So it is with the V-Series 2.0 soundbar. It supports DTS Virtual:X like its more expensive brethren, and has an excellent review aggregation score on Amazon as well—and it's only $79.99 right now, so you won't be taking a huge hit to connect it to your TV.