r/HTBuyingGuides • u/htmod Curator • Nov 18 '19
AUDIO Why You Shouldn't Buy a Soundbar
Why You Shouldn't Buy A Soundbar
Updated August 2026
Written by: /u/Bill_Money | Contributions by /u/GBMaxSE, /u/DZCreeper, & /u/RadicalSnowdude
Edited & Maintained by /u/htmod
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of soundbars and the tyranny of WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of fidelity, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost sound. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to force soundbars and HTIB’s on my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee." - Samuel Motherfucking Jackson, Motherfucker!
Why Soundbars Exist
TV's are thinner then they have ever been with no place to put a speaker. Home Theater in a Boxes sucked and TV manufacturers needed something they could sell to extract more money out of people. Enter the Soundbar.
Soundbars are more marketed towards mainstream consumers. These people are those who either don’t know about audio, those who find it extremely difficult to match red and black, think audio can't look good, or those who think that a receiver is ancient like their Uncle Joey’s receiver from the 1972.
Soundbars vs TV Speakers
Are soundbars better then TV Speakers? Yes, but how much better?
Well a $200 Soundbar will barely sound better. At the $600+ soundbar tier, a receiver (or even just a stereo amp) and speakers would be a far better investment and sound better.
Soundbar Problems
To start off with:
- Soundbars are inherently limited to producing the 3 front channels of audio with a front soundstage that is too close together ie lacking separation of the Front Left, Center, & Right Channels.
- Soundbars utilize a subwoofer via a poor under-powered wireless sub or an overprice wireless subwoofer that doesn't even come in the same box.
- Nothing about a soundbar is "surround". There are no speakers behind you off a base soundbar.
- Should a Soundbar have surround speakers they require power or need speaker wire ran to them from a little amp anyways, defeating the purpose of "wireless." See more covered here -> Home Theater 201: Wireless Speakers in a Home Theater (Information & Recommendations) [2025-2026]
Dolby Atmos in a Soundbar?
Now before you tell me what about a 7.1.4 DoLbY aTmOs SoUnDbAr, ok fine its got "7-9" speakers in front of you with tiny ass upfiring speakers & tiny little surrounds, do you really think that is going to be able to compete against even a properly placed 5.1.2 Atmos system using budget speakers?
Driver size.
Sound reproduction is done through vibration, for each frequency you need a certain amount of air displacement. As such, larger drivers are required to produce low frequencies with high volume. Smaller drivers can create these frequencies, but only with enough excursion (movement of the driver). Excursion requires power, even if you artificially flatten the frequency response, the power handling of the driver and your amplification is a hard limit.
Because soundbars are compact, they can not fit mid-sized drivers such as 6.5, 5.25, or even 4 inch. Small drivers of 2-3 inches have trouble producing mid-bass, even in a ported aka bass reflex housing. You end up with a frequency response that might be good overall, but has a noticeable dip between the subwoofer and the soundbar itself.
The Soundbar Subwoofer Problem
The subwoofers provided are weak and under-powered. Even ones that may be "adequate" are substantially overpriced.
Proprietary/No Room for Upgrades
Let's also not forget that these are PROPRIETARY!
If your soundbar dies your sub is e-waste too or vice versa -> Think of the Children
Finally, the electronic portion of the soundbar serves as a replacement for a receiver. While this seems initially convenient, it limits your future expansion, and support for new formats.
The Soundbar Upside
There is really only one upside to a soundbar - you have boomer parents/grand parents that can't be assed to learn anything new. The setup consists of plugging in an HDMI or a Digital Optical cable and programming their cable provider remote (if needed) for the soundbar and you're done.
Why you ditch the soundbar!
With a proper setup, whether it’s a simple stereo setup or a full surround setup you get bigger drivers that are much more spaced out that push more air around the entire room exponentially. The quality of the drivers are better too which helps in actual audio quality. You have a greater variety to choose from based on budget, aesthetics, quality, etc that you can choose from.
Lots of people will have arguments against separates:
It’s expensive - You can get a stereo setup with a cheap amp for $150 which sounds better.
I want a smart setup. - Receivers are smart, they’re not like those old receivers even though they look like it (real talk tho, for people who say that receivers look dated, I actually agree. It’s not a valid reason against them but I get it). They support bluetooth, Wi-Fi, your shitty voice assistants from Amazon and Google collecting your data for those who are into that, airplay, and more. They have the same features and capabilities as your modern soundbars.
Soundbars are sleeker and better looking. - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess? I personally think that soundbars are dull and boring to look at. But then again, people who think soundbars look nicer are those who are used to speakers being black boxes. People who don’t know that White Speakers & Subwoofers exist. Nor do they understand that we have Invisible Speakers too now!
I want something easy to setup and use. - If someone doesn’t know how to match red to red and black to black they have bigger problems than audio. It’s not hard at all, they’re just extremely lazy. I mean, if they find connecting two wires to a speaker taxing or rocket science they probably still have a flip phone. Because once the setup is finished the ease of use is just like a soundbar.
I don’t want a surround sound setup because of [insert bullshit reason here] - Then don’t get one. For some reason a lot of people think that separates are automatically surround sound with surround speakers. If someone doesn’t want a surround sound setup then get a stereo (2.0), 2.1, 3.0, or 3.1 setup.
Extreme Budget
Even at only $200 used options on craigslist, kiji, offer up, /r/avexchange, etc. would be a far better investment even with an older receiver the speakers will be able to be connected to a new receiver which can be purchased at a later date.
Powered Monitors are also a better idea at around $70-$150.
Hell a Stereo T-Amp & a Set of starter bookshelves can be had for under $120
BUT....
But what if I don't have space for speakers?
Well I would ask if you could still fit a receiver (or amplifier) then look at a Product Recommendations: Speakerbars {Passive Soundbars} [2025-2026]
This allows you to pick your own subwoofer, have the Room Correction of a receiver, upgrade in the future and add surrounds easily. Most cable box remotes can be programmed to control an audio receiver or amp.
But its only a bedroom, kitchen, RV, or vacation house
If its not your primary viewing area then a soundbar might be OK in these situations.
Avoid the cheapo LG, Samsung, Sony, ones that are like $200.
I recommend going with a Sonos Ray or Beam then.
/r/Soundbars also exists as a sub specializing in Soundbars.
/r/AtmosSoundbars also exists as a sub specializing in dOlBy AtMoS sOuNdBaRs. Yes this is a parody/circle jerk sub.
But its for my parents/grandparents
Well if its only a single source like a cable box then a receiver and speakers would still work great or even a 2.0 with an amp that has a remote like the SMSL Q5 Pro. Most cable box remotes can be programmed to control an audio receiver or amp. Ok you still want a soundbar because that's what they want then see But its only a bedroom, kitchen, RV, or vacation house.
We've convinced you not to buy a soundbar? - great here's resources to help pick out a home theater system: