Top Dolby Atmos Soundbars for Ultimate Home Audio Experience in 2023

You like to buy the best product, logically. ‘Best’ is of course an opinion, in this case our opinion. As Bright stuff we base that ‘best’ on our experience and taste. This time: soundbars with Dolby Atmos. This fan is for more advanced, and therefore simpler, surround sound. You no longer need to buy a complete round set to experience the effect. You can also go a long way with the soundbars below:

JBL 1000 bar

A powerful and above all versatile soundbar for media gluttons. The JBL Bar 1000 comes after the JBL Bar 9.1 and both models have a great trick. The ends of the soundbar are magnetically attached and can be easily attached. Then you get two wireless rear speakers, which you can place on the edge of the sofa or a cupboard behind it, for example. The benefits of a surround set, without needing a living room full of speakers and cables. The downside: you have to charge those rear speakers, but you do this by simply clicking them onto the soundbar – easy enough. It is also possible to charge with USB-C, but you can just leave them behind.

The Bar 1000 supports all modern distribution standards, such as Dolby Atmos and DTS: X. The sound comes not only from the front and back, but also from above. This Bar 1000 can do that too, by bouncing the sound through the ceiling to the listener with upward facing speakers. That works surprisingly well, especially after a one-time calibration.

Thanks to the included large wireless 10″ subwoofer, the Bar 1000 has a total power of 880W. This produces an incredibly full and clear sound for movies, series and games, which can to be around the listener.listen to music, but that can be changed powerfully to be felt even further away.

The Bar 1000 can be plugged & played thanks to the eARC connection. And it’s also a good hub, with 3 built-in HDMI ports for games consoles, for example: more convenient than sitting behind the TV. The soundbar also supports all wireless standards: AirPlay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth and more. The whole thing is not cheap at 945 euros, but in our opinion the JBL Bar 1000 is more complete and is better than many competitors in the same price range.

The JBL Bar 1000 is available in black for just under 1000 euros.

Samsung HW-Q930D

This Samsung started with a price of one thousand euros, but it has now dropped to around 750 euros. And then you have a very complete package, because this soundbar comes with an 8-inch wireless subwoofer and two wireless rear speakers. Then you get a total of 540W of sound, with 9.1.4 channels.

So you have these 9 channels around you: five at the front, four at the back and then four more channels through the top. You also have two speakers at the front and back that are angled upwards, so that the sound bounces down through your ceiling. The result: a kind of sound dome around you, where the sound can come from anywhere.

If you also have a Samsung TV, this soundbar has an additional function. It supports SpaceFit Sound Pro, an AI function from Samsung that changes the entire sound in the room. That is the TV’s information calibration setting, and it is shared with this soundbar. This means that the sound is transferred in a way that suits the room best, so that the Atmos effect is even more accurate. Also very nice: you can connect this speaker set completely wirelessly to a recent Samsung TV, via WiFi: no ugly cable from your soundbar to your TV.

And another Samsung feature: Q-Symphony. On newer Samsung TVs, the soundbar can work together with the TV. Usually, your TV’s speakers won’t work when you connect a soundbar. However, with suitable Samsung TVs, the TV speakers stay on, so you have even more power, even more speakers and even more space. This works well with Atmos, as that technology does not depend on channels, but simply spreads the sound over more speakers. In addition, at 110 centimeters, it is slightly narrower than competitors, so that this soundbar also looks great under 50-inch televisions, instead of 55 inches.

The Samsung is available in black, and the price has now dropped from 1000 euros to 749 euros.

Size 600

The ideal mid-range soundbar. They are not as big as a full-size model like the JBL above – they are often 110 to 120 centimeters wide and therefore aimed at people with televisions from 55 inches. At just under 70 centimeters wide, this Bar 600 has a much smaller presence, so it’s also nice for people with smaller TVs.

Make no mistake: the Bose 600 still sounds bigger than you’d expect. With Bose TrueSpace technology, the soundbar scans the room to deliver more spacious sound. It then imagines, as it were, that there are speakers that are not there, so that the sound of 5.1 or Dolby Atmos can be heard. This Bose 600 also features overhead sound with upward-facing speakers.

The difference between built in TV speakers and this Bose 600 is night and day. Fuller, heavier and wider sound and music. It’s not as spacious as from a set as expensive as above, but Bose has created something about that. The Bar 600 can be expanded, for example with a compact subwoofer for 450 euros, and with two rear speakers for 400 euros.

This makes the Bose 600 a good choice for those who are unsure about a full set, but want a fuller TV sound. Support for AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth makes the Bar 600 completely versatile.

The Bose 600 is available in black for 549 euros.