It may seem like a compromise in choosing an all integrated sound bar and wireless sub woofer instead of the traditional Dolby Atmos capable AV receiver and multiple surround speakers, subwoofer and upward-firing speakers but the right sound bar with Dolby Atmos technology do deliver.
For start, they can achieve the same result with simulated 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup using clever three dimensional soundstage and directional speakers within the sound bar.
They are perfect for small to medium rooms as a space-saving option. It allows the viewers to enjoy Dolby Atmos content without the need for floor standing or wall-mount speakers around the room, thereby reducing clutter.
The sound bar and woofer combination does not come with a separate amplifier or AV receiver. This meant there is no extra console or box to that requires a shelf in the entertainment unit.
Choosing the sound bar home theatre route means a simple straight forward setup. For Dolby Atmos, a single high resolution HDMI password is all you need. You may need to go through the tune process once you have in the place but that is a pretty automated process.
True Dolby Atmos system has two surround points above the audience. In this case, there are two directional speakers that are meant to mounted on the ceiling facing down. There is no easy way to do this with conventional 7.1.2 systems unless you have a false ceiling or a way to conceal those ugly cables running to the speakers. With a cinematic sound bar with Dolby Atmos, that is taken care for you with three dimensional soundstage, including that from the ceiling.
These sound bars support wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and WiFi (on most models). This means you can connect mobile sources such as smartphone and tablets or laptops via built-in Chromecast (on some models) and stream from there.
You can place your subwoofer anywhere as it is non-directional. On a conventional home theatre system, the subwoofer needs to be near the sound bar or surround sound system as they are wired. Not for these Wireless Sound Bar. They are wireless not because you can introduce wireless sources via WiFi or Bluetooth but they have a wireless subwoofer too.
Finally, the total cost for a Dolby Atmos setup with AV receiver and speakers. The cost of a traditional Dolby Atmos ready AV receiver and speakers can go from hundreds to thousands. The cost of Dolby Atmos ready sound bar ranges from two hundred to one thousand two hundred. The best sound bars on the top of our line-up carry price tags between 500 to 700 pounds. This is probably half the price of an equivalent AV and speakers setup.
Now for our line-up of some of the best wireless sound bar that supports Dolby Atmos.
The LG SK9Y wireless sound bar with Dolby Atmos is currently available with ThinQ WK7 Voice Controlled Smart Speaker with Google Assistant built-in. The mid-range sound bar on its own is powered by 11 speakers with a wireless subwoofer. Even without the smart speaker bundle, the soundbar itself is capable of supporting Chromecast over WiFi and Bluetooth but add the Google Assistant speaker and you have yourself a smart cinema system. As with all soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos multi-channel surround, the system supports High Resolution Audio with 4K pass-through. HDMI with 4K passthrough is crucial to deliver Ultra HD quality image to the screen. At this price point we are amazed by how well the 5.1.2 wireless sound bar system performs to decode and create the Dolby Atmos cinematic experience complete with deep low range from the wireless woofer.
A mid-range entry from Sony, the Sony HT-ZF9 3.1 comes with a wireless subwoofer, soundbar and two rear surround speakers. The setup not only supports Dolby Atmos but DTS-X, High Resolution Audio (Hi-Res), WiFi, Bluetooth streaming and Chromecast built-in. It also supports Sony's Music Center App allowing you to group and stream to multiple Sony soundbars and speakers.
Enjoy sound from all directions up to a maximum of 7.1.2 channel surround. The Vertical Surround Engine on the three front speakers in the sound bar supports cinema audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. This creates virtual sound that seems to come from all around the viewer. Even if the source does not include cinematic audio format, you can upscale it to 7.1.2 with on-board advanced digital signal processing using the remote. Preset sound modes such as Cinema, Game, Sport, Music and New lets you enjoy the best sound from your screen time.
The soundbar is also not short of connectivity with 2 HDMI input, 1 HDMI output, LAN, USB, Analog and optical input. But the one feature that is most important is the 4K HDR 18 Gbps pass through and HDCP 2.2 support to ensure that home cinema formats including HDR10, Dolby Vision and Hybrid-Log Gamma are piped through. Check if the wireless rear speaker kit is included. This is sometimes available as optional purchase to extend your cinema sound system.
Dolby Atmos: 3D sound from sound bar and 2 wireless rear surround speakers.
This high-end unit from Samsung has the same configuration as the Sony HT-ZF9. That is to day, it comes not only with the sound bar and wireless subwoofer but two rear surround speakers to complete the cinematic setup. The sound bar is cleverly designed to product a true Dolby Atmos and dts:X experience. There are up ward firing and side firing speakers from the N950's soundbar. Designed with harman/kardon, the audio specialist, you will pick up object-based sound, such as flying helicopters or birds from above and around you.
Altogether, there are 17 individual drivers delivering 512W of powerful, crisp and clear audio. The sound bar alone contains 14 of those speakers including four side firing and two up firing. With the two rear surround driver and subwoofer, this makes it a true 7.1.4 channel sound system. The upward firing speakers bounces sound off the ceiling making sound appear from overhead. Together with the side firing speakers, this completes the immersive surround system from left to right and front to back from all angles. To top that off, two physical wireless rear speakers make the sound bar a true cinematic audio.
Samsung doesn't stop there, no matter where you sit in the room, the wide range tweeters ensures that sound coverage is sufficient to reach audiences sat near the sides. Plus, no matter what you are listening too, the on board 32bit audio processor is capable of upscaling CD's 16bit audio and Hi-Res's 24-bit audio to UHQ realistic dynamic range of 32 bit sound. The sound quality produced by the sound bar exceeds that of CD and Hi-Res quality with UHQ 32-bit upscaling. WiFi and Bluetooth streaming comes as standard and if you already have compatible Samsung QLED TV and Ultra HD Blue-ray Player, you can use Samsung's single remote to control all of them.
Sony's answer to premium sound bar and wireless sub-woofer comes in the form of Sony HT-ST5000. The award winning high-end sound bar with wireless subwoofer supports Dolby Atmos and High Resolution Audio. For connectivity, you get NFC, WiFi, Chromecast and Sony's Multiroom support. The singular sound bar is capable of firing three dimensional sound using an array of speakers. This offers a 7.1.2 channel cinematic sound system that will satisfy even the most avid movie-phile.
The wireless subwoofer is a beast of a low range booster adding a forceful dynamic realism to any film, TV show or music. Sony's own S-Force PRO Front Surround reproduces a virtual surround acoustic field for immersive experience with depth and clarity. Insider the sound bar, seven coaxial woofers and tweeters work together to pump out precisely aligned sound. Like SAMSUNG HW-N950, Sony uses two accurately positioned Dolby Atmos-optimised speakers to bounce sound off the ceiling emulating sources from above and behind the audience.
Sony adopts the LDAC technology to ensure that there is no loss of quality over a wireless connection. For audio quality Sony uses DSEE HX to upscale compressed audio formats to a maximum sample rate of 24-bit. Other features include S-Master HX digital amplifier and Clear Audio+ tech that automatically adjusts the EQ settings depending on the media content. As with all soundbars in out list, 4K HDR HDMI pass-through ensures that there is no loss of signal quality to the TV. For ports, you get three HDMI Input, one HDMI output, one analogue 3.5mm input, one optical input, one Ethernet LAN and USB on the side. Settings can be controlled from Sony's Music Center app on the smartphone or tablet including grouping it with other Sony speakers for multi-room performance..
The Samsung HW-N850 is mid-to-upper range option that supports Dolby Atmos and dts:X. It uses 13 individual drivers in the sound bar and subwoofer for a 5.1.2 channel audio output. Like its high-end counterpart, it is tuned by harmon/kardon and features upward-firing speakers to ensure that you are enveloped in the action.
As a mid-range offering, it is actually costlier to buy compared to SONY HT-ZF9 or LG SK9Y. But it makes up for this with a complex speaker system. There are three front facing group of drivers left, right and middle. Each group has three speakers, these are sandwiched between two side firing speakers, one on either end of the sound bar. Finally, to complete the system, there are two up-firing speakers.
When comparing with the HW-N950, the HW-N850 is a less powerful system pumping 372 Watt of power output compared to 512 Watt output. It is short of the two powered and wireless rear surround speakers, reducing it to 5.1.2 channel from 7.1.4 and the fewer number of speakers in the array within the sound bar. Other features include support for 4K HDR pass-through, UHQ 32-bit Up-scaling to boost CD 16-bit quality and Hi-Res 24-bit audio, High-Resolution Audio, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, wireless subwoofer and multi-room support via SmartThings.
Sony's budget offering, the Sony HT-XF9000 is your low cost sound bar with wireless subwoofer that supports Dolby Atmos and dts:X. It uses Vertical Surround Engine and S-Force Pro Front Surround to achieve this. It may be a simple 2.1 channel sound system, but the Vertical Surround Engine use the two front speakers to generate vertical audio for a virtual 7.1.2 surround making it sound like it is coming from all around. This also applies to upscaled virtual surround using digital signal processing to convert any audio signal to immersive surround.
Using the remote, select from five different sound modes to enhance the entertainment experience based on the content. There is Cinema mode, Game studio mode, Sport mode, News mode and Music mode to choose from. As standard, there is a 4K HDR 18Gbps pass through and HDCP 2.2 support to ensure that video signal and formats such as Dolby Vision, HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma are supported. Finally, connectivity options come in the form of HDMI, Analogue in, Optical in, Bluetooth and USB. There is no WiFi or NFC support.
The SK10Y is on the same level as the SAMSUNG HW-N850, mid-to-upper level system. In LG's book, it is at the top of the SK series sitting on top of SK9Y featured in our list, SK8Y being the two other SK sound bars that support Dolby Atmos.This high performance sound bar supports Dolby Atmos with front firing and upward firing speakers using 5.1.2 channel surround. These are three front firing speakers; left, right and center, two side firing speakers; one for each side, two upward firing and one subwoofer. You can also control the sound bar via a Google Assistant enabled speaker, making it a smart device.
The sound bar offers expansive and immersive sound with clear dialogue and good mid to high range. The bass however is a little lacking but. The system uses LG's Meridian technology, partnering with experts at Merian Audio to combine advanced signal processing and hardware design to expand the height and width of the sound field. You also get custom Clear Vocal and Enhanced Bass presets should those areas of the audio needs a boost.
The sound bar supports High Resolution Audio for a lossless stereo audio at up to 24bit/192 kHz quality. Lower resolution audio will also be resampled or upsampled up to 24-bit for better listening experience. Elsewhere, there is support Chromecast for direct wireless streaming controlled via smartphone, tablet or laptop using Cast-enabled app. Like Samsung's premium sound bar, if you have a Google Assistant built-in speaker like the LG ThinQ speaker, you can also control the SoundBar via voice command.
Connectivity comes in the form of 2 HDMI inputs, one HDMI output, one optical and one analogue (mini stereo) input, LAN and USB port. To extend the sound bar, get the optional SPK8-S wireless surround speakers for the rear channels.
The last sound bar in our list is the ultra budget JVC TH-D688B. If you are on a budget, this is the sound bar for you. The sound bar delivers cinematic Dolby Atmos 3D sound using 10 different speakers for a total of 380W RMS output. Use the preset EQ for movies, news and more (music, sport, night, custom) to keep up with your content. For wireless source support, there is no WiFi connectivity, just Bluetooth. The sub is connected wirelessly to the sound bar.
Cable connectivity comes in the form of HDMI 4K pass through connections (2 inputs), optical input, coaxial and 3.5mm analogue inputs. There is also a USB port for to connect a flash drive with media content.