5 Best Soundbars Under $500 - Options for Everyone!

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👉 Links for Products Featured in this Video:
►Buy Sonos Beam Gen2
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3mkgkHksn
On Amazon: geni.us/aGMBGuq
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3l8YNsbKS
►Buy Bose Smart Soundbar 600
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3mktAruKL
On Amazon: geni.us/ScWn
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3l9B3qiSW
►Buy Sony HT-S2000
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3mkG7pFr9
On Amazon: geni.us/CvIw6oY
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3mbWqRo78
►Buy Samsung HW-Q700C
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3mkSlsXds
On Amazon: geni.us/Mwl4Pae
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3mcdwT8rD
►Buy Vizio M-Series 5.1.2ch
On Amazon: geni.us/ncnQ
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3mcvoTXAn
👉 Optional Subwoofers and Surround Speakers:
►Buy Sonos Sub Mini
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3BSVcuFRJ
On Amazon: geni.us/H128o
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3BUigdBJF
►Buy Sonos Era 100
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3BVhLx6TC
On Amazon: geni.us/2TP2BB
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3BVICdxWa
►Buy Bose Bass Module 500
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3BWtDmJP0
On Amazon: geni.us/t4NPTT6
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3BWSXkUfd
►Buy Sony SA-SW3 Subwoofer:
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3BXKj0WJY
On Amazon: geni.us/mgEd1
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3BXXsIHdJ
►Buy Sony SA-RS3S Speakers:
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3BZpqYUb0
On Amazon: geni.us/11W1Io
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3BZDuSVtU
►Buy Samsung SWA-9500S Speakers:
On Crutchfield: howl.me/ck3B0C4OUFK
On Amazon: geni.us/mvs4XW
On Best Buy: howl.me/ck3B0S4ufFe
Purchases made through store links may provide some compensation to us.
👉 VIDEOS ON OTHER PRODUCTS:
Sonos Beam Gen2 Soundbar Review: • Sonos Beam Gen2 Review...
Sonos Sub Mini: • NEW Sonos Sub Mini - W...
Sonos Arc, x2 Subs, x2 Fives Review: • Ultimate Sonos Arc Sys...
Sony HT-A9 System Review: • BEST Home Theater Syst...
Sony HT-A7000 Soundbar Review: • Sony HT-A7000 Soundbar...
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:35 Sonos Beam Gen2 Design
02:35 Bose Smart Soundbar 600 Design
03:16 Sony HT-S2000 Design
04:04 Samsung HW-Q700C Design
05:03 Vizio M512a-H6 Design
06:38 Spatial Audio Bluetooth Speaker by Soundcore
07:50 Connections
09:59 Controls & Features for All Systems
11:19 Sonos Beam Setup Process
11:49 Bose Smart Soundbar 600 Setup Process
12:12 Sony HT-S2000 Setup Process
12:52 Samsung HW-Q700C Setup Process
13:20 Vizio M512a-H6 Setup Proc ess
14:25 Sound Performance with Movies, TV Shows, and Music
14:58 Sonos Beam - Sound Performance
16:52 Bose Smart Soundbar 600 - Sound Performance
18:12 Sony HT-S2000 - Sound Performance
20:03 Samsung HW-Q700C - Sound Performance
21:58 Vizio M512a-H6 - Sound Performance
24:12 Final Thoughts with Pros and Cons
#soundcoreSpeaker #MotionX500SpatialAudio #soundcoreMotionX500

[@dougiemac8417]

Whoa!!! A month ago!!! Great to see you still doing fresh tutorials. Up at 2:00 AM watching you do what you do with excellence. Thank you so much. 👍🏾👍🏾

[@PuthaPehlu]

Such a nice presentation and comparison is top notch

[@julezgg5974]

thanks for this great Testing! One of a few good videos about soundbars. GREAT ONE!

[@RaVAndres]

Thanks for the video! I found a Q700C 5.1.4 (comes already with the surround speakers) for $289us new and ussing some points that I have on my card I only paid $90us so I think for that price it will worth even with the few flaws it have. I hope arrives tomorrow!

[@jerryberry2002]

Great review! Mid-range soundbar reviews are usually not very helpful. They tend to just give a rundown of the specs/featues that you could read anywhere. I sub'd to your channel for sure. I'm leaning toward the Q700C, which surprises me because it's not an audio first company.

[@plumpony770]

Thanks for the breakdown! I think I'll be going with the Sonos Beam and Sub Mini. Can I ask where your green quilted shirt is from?

[@kevinvodek]

Great vid. Dropped a like and sub. Need a good mid range soundbar for my new C3

[@MindfulProgramming]

the sonos x ikea SYMFONISK speakers are also supported to work as surrounds.

[@mikedruzak3038]

Any suggestions for a van build because of its relatively small area?

[@smaerialcinematography]

Hey...Luv your vids, very informative and I highly rate your recommendations. I'm interested in the Hisense AX5125H and I'd like to know your thoughts on this sound bar, so if you can do a review would be appreciated....thanks.

[@soluv2cuthair]

I have a Samsung Smart TV CU7000B and the sound through the tv speakers seems muffled and we have to keep turning it up to 60+, it also raises the volume when you switch channels. It gets louder, but still seems like in a can. I was leaning toward the Amazon Firestick soundbar, when I saw your recommendation and demonstration of the Firestick soundbar, then that the Sony S100 F 2.0 was better. The clarity and richness is what I'm after for movies, tv shows. I'm not a gamer and don't listen to much music, so is this still your pick for a budget soundbar that works better than the tv speakers?

[@WildHorsesOfCourse]

I just picked up the Hisense AX5120G 5.1.2 and it’s a fantastic soundbar at $250 msrp but I caught it on sale for $120. The sub is the only thing lacking and honestly for a sub $500 soundbar it’s still good. I’d encourage anyone looking under $500 to check it out. My main system is Definitive Technology DN10 sub with DT pro-cinema 1000 surrounds… while that blows this out of the water it’s close enough at normal everyday volumes my wife can’t tell a difference. (She’s not an audiophile but I’d say she represents the average public). That system was well over $2000 for what I have with the receiver. apples and oranges yes but I’m stunned at how good the Hisense is especially at the price. I’m running an AppleTV 4k Gen 3 through hdmi to the soundbar and hdmi arc to the S90C Samsung Oled.

[@281AB281]

any sound bar with ATmos has head phone jack?

[@hossman7432]

There is no link for your hdmi digital optical vs earc when you mention it. I can search it up but it'd be better if you had a link pop up when you mention it

[@heffnermatt]

Regarding the Vizio, I've had two now and each one doesn't work well with an LG TV, My 512a-H6 will randomly drop the TV connection and won't recognize the TV. Very frustrating. 9 months in, and now it won't work at all. I'd recommend going with a better/more reliable brand.

[@JG14HD]

Hello, great video! In my country there is an offer for the Samsung Q700C plus the SWA speakers for 275 USD. What do you think?

[@JonahMatthes]

Not sure what the currency conversion is for your country, but this would be an absolutely amazing deal in the US!

[@abdullahahmad79]

Great video!!! I have a question. I have a Hisense U8H TV and a Vizio M51-H6 soundbar that I recently got from Samsclub. On my TV should I select Passthrough or leave it on AUTO? To my understanding passthrough means that TV will receive the audio from the sources (streaming apps, game consoles, or DVD players) and then send it directly to the soundbar, then soundbar will decode and play that audio, please correct me if I am wrong. ON my TV when I leave the Digital audio out to "Auto" the volume sounds low especially for streaming and when I press info on my soundbar it tells me DOLBY Audio or Dolby Atmos - "Dolby MAT" even when I am playing a song on youtube which is only 2 channel. Now if I select Passthrough and play a song in youtube my soundbar tells me Linear PCM or when I am streaming it tells me Dolby Audio - Dolby Digital Plus. So my understanding at this point is to select Passthrough because it sounds louder and better and also it plays in the right format. Because I don't think netflix supports DOLBY MAT, it supports Dolby digital plus. Thank you for your help!!!!

[@JonahMatthes]

You are absolutely correct. Passthrough is the setting to use here. The TV should autodetect it and pass through when set to AUTO, but it doesn’t always communicate properly.

[@abdullahahmad79]

@JonahMatthes Awesome thank very much for confirming!!! I guess the Auto setting on my TV decodes the audio and then sends to the soundbar or it packages it in a way where the movies sound good, but not great like when I select Pass Through on my tv. I feel i get the full potential of my soundbar when I select passthrough. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!! Thank you once again for your help!!!

[@ZaynBorg]

I have LG C2 Evo 55" . I need to buy a sound system for it. Can you please suggest me a particular model?

[@karuneshmishra]

You should go for LG SP8A

[@GOLFADDICT65]

hi I have a question people...first the EDIFIER S3000Pro's are on sale for 850 ( canadian ) 630 ( USD ) so a nice price....i currently have a Bose 600 soundbar and a 500 module connected via HDMI Arc....CAN I ALSO HOOK THESE EDIFIER SPEAKERS VIA OPTICAL AND USE ALL OF THE SPEAKERS FOR MY TV ?...I really hope so...cheers all

[@luisarsuaga7637]

Does the Samsung Soundbar and the Sonos beam, truly support chromecast? I know Samsung soundbars support chromecast in some countries outside of the US. But Sonos supporting chromecast seems strange to me. It would be cool, but I'm not entirely sure if they do.

[@MindfulProgramming]

sonos does not support chromecast, IIRC.

[@leitmotiph]

As a Honda S2000 owner, this Sony has managed to confuse me greatly. -- Great video though : )

[@utilitymaximizer9026]

What's the movie at 15:30?

[@dat868]

I have the Bose 600 and while it does sound great it hardly has any bass. I think Bose focused on great dialogue, mids and highs at the expense of bass. Definitely need the subwoofer with the 600.

[@JonahMatthes]

100% Agree with you.

[@tedi6032]

this is a really great review Sir

[@robertb6926]

I find the same is true for the 300 and 900, all are really underpowered without a subwoofer.

[@dat868]

@@robertb6926 Actually the 300 has respectable base. Not deep base but it's definitely present. Not so with the 600. I felt the 900 had really good base without the subwoofer and with the 700 sub it hits surprisingly deep and it also taut and defined.

[@stevenrapp2714]

Jonah knows his stuff. Delivery is almost too fast to absorb. That said, I’m going to check out his reviews of 5.1 with sub & external speakers.

[@Nevarnost]

Is there a Sonos Atmos soundbar compatible with IKEA hidden speakers made by sonos?

[@JonahMatthes]

Yes! I’m pretty certain all of the Sonos soundbars are compatible with the IKEA SYMFONISK speakers!

[@anthonykougkas5309]

for the Vizio set, you have the satellite speakers placed wrong. The speakers are Atmos so they shooot upwards too. So you need to install them vertically and NOT horizontally as the video suggests.

[@stephennelson5544]

The rear speakers for the Vizio are only surround speakers. They are NOT Atmos. They fire forward only.

[@jullianhuisken7779]

8:00 the 700c does not support hdmi2.1

[@LoganScottY]

As much as I love the Q990C you're right about all samsung's soundbars needing a lower max volume. It truly is terrifying to think that a simple accidental finger slip on the smartthings app can make you shit your pants and potentially break your speakers

[@The1Music2MyEars]

All in One soundbar manufacturers = let's make the bar sound the best possible, make it ported, make it fuller Soundbar with sub manufacturers = let's jam pack the bar with 100 speakers and not let it get close to low mid range, you know, cause we have a sub. Oh and then jack up the price to $1800

[@nick7813]

True 👍🏼

[@neohuman100]

I thought this was a soundbar under $500.00? You picked the winner based on options to upgrade. That upgrade is pricey.

[@JonahMatthes]

The only factor wasn't an option to upgrade. I still believe for price to performance, the Samsung soundbar is the best deal even with just the soundbar and subwoofer.

[@tiagoj8020]

Surprised you haven't done the Samsung 990C yet.

[@JonahMatthes]

That’s coming next!

[@hunkymeat74]

I found the Vizio for 150 what a deal

[@JonahMatthes]

What a steal!

[@Josh-99]

Please spill the tea and let us know where you found it. Thanks!

[@hunkymeat74]

@@Josh-99 it was yard sale site, I got lucky

[@Techman2ch]

JBL bar 500?

[@mateuszptaszynski5377]

Samsung doesn't support 4k120 passthrough

[@DeepDishPizza]

Why did he stop doing videos?

[@nick7813]

For a soundbar to sound good it needs to be $600 and upwards. For $300-$500 I’ll go for a hifi system.

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

Being a fan of av recievers and speakers for films rather than the convenience of soundbars means that i can't actually find the 'like' button... Sorry!! 😆

[@jorgehester5864]

"Promo SM"

[@michael-4k4000]

Boys, we can’t let these powerful home theater products take over our lives were more than that. We’re better than that. We should be out there helping people donating to charities. People in need disabilities. It is our power and ability to help others that makes us superheroes.

[@slimgibb2426]

Cloth sucks. Especially if you have cats

[@LoafRock]

🍻