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Best Small Soundbar of 2024 [CNET]
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Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.
Ty Pendlebury has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
- Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Despite what some people may think, bigger isn’t always better. You don’t have to spend a ton on a huge speaker setup to enjoy an exceptional audio experience. If you don’t have the room or just don’t feel like spending an arm and a leg on speakers, considering investing in a small soundbar makes perfect sense.
If you have a small TV or have only a tiny place to fit an external speaker, a small soundbar can still deliver exceptional sound quality. The best small soundbars can fit into cramped spaces and come with a surprising number of features. For example, the Roku Streambar isn’t only a compact soundbar but also a capable video streamer, making it great for a bedroom setup. If making dialogue easier to understand is your aim, the Polk or Yamaha speakers below could be a great fit.
All the systems here feature single soundbars ranging between 1 and 2 feet long, while the Polk also includes a separate subwoofer.
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If there was ever a solid gold bargain, it’s undoubtedly the Roku Streambar, which combines both audio and streaming in one device. This is a two-channel soundbar with a fully-fledged 4K streamer onboard, and even if you don’t use the streaming functions it works well as a standalone soundbar. As a smaller soundbar, it doesn’t have the deepest bass, but it does offer an expressive midrange with a dedicated voice mode for clearer dialog. It’s an unbeatable value and frequently on sale for under $100.
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At 13 inches wide, the soundbar part of the Mini fits the moniker, even if you do need somewhere to put the gallon-sized subwoofer. The inclusion of the sub is worthwhile, as the system punches well above its weight with great sound in movies and with music. In addition, having Google’s Chromecast built-in enables a wealth of streaming and multiroom capabilities.
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Sonos’ entry-level soundbar features the company’s excellent multiroom music system onboard while being smaller than the Sonos Beam. We were impressed with the sound quality for both music and movies. It delivers a surprisingly wide soundstage through the use of proprietary waveguides. Connection is simple with a single optical connection, while users seeking HDMI or Atmos should look to the step-up Beam Gen 2.
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