Best Soundbar Under $400 [Top 4 Under 400 For 2023]

For many of us, a soundbar can be a convenient and inexpensive way to improve the audio quality of our tv’s at home.

With so many on the market today however it can sometimes be time consuming to trawl through the huge selection available to find which are the best ones in your price range.

For this reason we will take a look at some of the best soundbars under $400.

First of all though, lets have a look at an overview of soundbars, and some features you may wish to look for in a new one.

Why Choose a Soundbar?

A soundbar is a speaker system designed to improve your existing TV’s audio.

Due to limited space in modern flat screen tv’s, the built-in speakers are often disappointing.

Soundbars contain several speakers (or tweeters) which enhance the sound the sound of your tv.

Although sound bars can often be criticised for not competing with a fully fledged hi-fi setup, they are often more practical than a new home audio system, and cheaper too.

Features To Look For In A Soundbar

You may wish to consider the following when choosing a soundbar:

Connections

Look for at least one digital connector (optical, coaxial or HDMI). These offer less interference than 3.5mm audio jacks.

Wireless Connectivity

Although not essential, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity are good features to have if you wish to connect your soundbar to other devices.

Bluetooth is a good feature if you want to use your sound bar for listening to music without having to turn on your TV.

Wi-Fi is great if you want to connect to a music speaker system in your home.

Subwoofer

Some may find that the depth of bass offered by most soundbars in not sufficient.

If this is the case you may wish to purchase a sound bar which comes packaged with a sub woofer.

Many of these subwoofers offer wireless connectivity so can be placed anywhere in the room.

1/ LG SK5Y 2.1

Pros
Adaptive Sound Control Feature
DTS Virtual: X Feature
Upscale Lower Quality Audio

Cons
Wireless Surround Sound Kit Is Extra

LG are known for their high end, premium quality entertainment systems.

This recent model of their LG SK series of high resolution sound bars are packed with features that aim to provide a home theatre experience.

The LG SK5Y, is a 360 watt, high-resolution audio sound bar. It is Bluetooth compatible, allowing for wireless streaming directly from a smartphone or other compatible device.

Its technological features enable a surround sound with an adaptive control which automatically adjusts to create the ideal audio experience.

Pros

This sound bar is equipped with an Adaptive Sound Control feature. This enables the device to identify the type of sounds it is emitting.

Whether it is playing music or steaming a movie, the LG SK5Y is able to adjust the volume and sound mode to create the optimal audio experience for the listener.

The LG SK5Y sound bar’s wireless surround sound speaker is compatible with the LG SPK8 Wireless Surround Sound Kit, which can be purchased separately.

This add-on is optional, but is a worthwhile purchase if you want a true surround sound experience.

The sound bar is also Bluetooth compatible. This allows you to wirelessly stream music, TV or video directly from you smartphone or other compatible device, giving a seamless listening experience from the source of your choice.

The DTS Virtual: X feature turns the sounds emitted from movies or music, into immersive audio that fills the room. Think of this as a completely immersive surround sound format that even includes a height dimension for overhead atmospheric effects (for example hearing birds chirping from above your head).

This will also enhance bass tones and create crystal-clear dialogues.

24-bit sound capability contains more data than sound from lower-quality audio. LG SK5Y is able to convert lower resolution audio to the 24-bit format. This is the minimum standard for high-resolution music, so you can have confidence in the quality of the audio provided.

The 360 watt power consumption of the LG SK5Y allows it to perform seamlessly, creating a premium listening experience for the user.

The LG sound bar is compatible with the TV remote controls of eight different major brands. This enables the user to adjust the volume and sound coming from the bar as easily as they are able to on their TV.

You will also be pleased to know that the included sub-woofer is wireless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4uqwRolpxs

Cons

The LG sound bar has wireless capabilities, however this is not included as standard. To be able to use this feature a LG SPK8 Wireless Surround Sound Kit will need to be purchased separately, meaning you may incur more cost than you might have initially anticipated.

Although the sound bar has upscaling to 24-bit capability , the audio quality is still dependent on the original source. If the quality of sound produced from the media is low, the sound bar will not be able to correct it.

The LG sound bar is compatible with the TV remote controls produced by other electronic brands, however it is only compatible with LG, Vizio, SONY, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, Toshiba and Sharp.

2/ ZVOX SB380

Pros
AccuVoice Dialogue Enhancement Feature
PhaseCue System Simulates Surround Sound
Excellent Build Quality

Cons
Lacks Extras

ZVOX Audio is an electronics company known for their innovative soundbase home theatre systems and dialogue enhancing AccuVoice TV Speakers.

The company philosophy is “keep it simple, make it better.” This ethos is evident in all the products they produce.

ZVOX pride themselves on being able to combine quality, style, simplicity and value.

The SB380 is a 3.1-channel system with a trio of 2-inch drivers, and a 4-inch bass woofer.

The ZVOX SB380’s sound bar is housed within a casing of 3.3” of aluminium. This keeps the SB380 in style with the look and feel of the rest of the products produced by the brand.

The SB380 is ZVOX’s high performing speaker. It has a digital amplifier which is equipped with ZVOX PhaseCue virtual surround system, with its subwoofer built into the bar.

Pros

The AccuVoice feature innovated by ZVOX uses hearing aid technology to identify and enhance voices from background noises. The result is a sound system that creates a clear dialogue, even when played at low volumes.

ZVOX systems use a proprietary technology that creates 3 dimensional sound from only one unit. This PhaseCue system simulates the effect of sound emitting from everywhere in the room. Therefore, there is no need for several speakers having to be strategically placed around a room in order to experience the surround sound.

This device has been created with an Output Levelling feature. This gives the sound bar the ability to adapt the sounds emitted from the speaker. It can reduce the very loud volumes and increase low volume sounds to make them more audible.

The credit card sized remote control makes it easy to adjust bass and treble, as well as the SB380’s AccuVoice dialogue boosting, Output Leveling, and variable surround features. All this can be done on the fly.

Behind the speaker’s perforated metal grille is an easy-to-read display for volume level, AccuVoice, surround and input selection. A nice touch is this displays briefly once adjusted, and then disappears.

The ZVOX SB380 has been designed with its subwoofer speaker built into the body of the slim bar. This gives a sleek minimal look to the system, and does not cause clutter from the extra speakers and connecting cables.

The SB380 has several options when you are deciding where to mount it. You can wall-mount it below your TV, using the hanger-slots built into the back panel. Or you can place it upright on furniture below, or above your TV. Or you can place it “on its back” in a low-profile horizontal position right in front of your TV.

Cons

ZVOX have lived up to their philosophy of keeping their technology simple with the SB380. This is of course fine, however for the price you may feel that you were expecting at least a sub-woofer to be included. This soundbar also lacks wireless connectivity.

Also the setup and installation is not friendly for those new to such systems.

3/ Samsung HW-M360/ZA 2.1

Pros
Control Via Phone Or Tablet
Five Sound Modes
Great For Music & TV

Cons
Wireless Surround Sound Kit Is Extra

Samsung’s HW-M360 Audio Sound bar is available with the latest innovations in technology and design.

This wireless Subwoofer is equipped with Dolby Digital sound and the option for surround sound expansion.

The Sound bar’s wireless Bluetooth connectivity lets you control the system remotely.

When paired together with the SWA-8500S Wireless Surround Kit you can expand your surround sound, creating a 4.1 channel system for an authentic surround sound experience.

This whole system can also be conveniently controlled and modified from your Samsung mobile device using a Samsung Audio Remote App.

Pros

The HW-M360 has 5 different modes of sound; this feature puts you in control of the way your media’s sounds are played.

You will be able to adjust the mode of the systems sound depending on what you are streaming. This allows the user to experience the sound as it was intended -whether it be music or movies.

This is actually one of the main areas in which the HW-M360 pleasantly surprised us.

As you may know, soundbars aren’t generally geared towards playing music. However you can expect music to come through crisp, clear and loud over the HW-M360.

The sound bar comes with a separate wireless 6.5-inch 130-watt, sub-woofer. This means that when it is placed in anywhere in the room, the user will receive the authentic experience of being fully immersed in all the bass frequencies. The wireless design prevents the clutter of wires and cables.

The HW-M360 has the option of expansion with an additional purchase. The SWA-8500S Wireless Surround Kit will allow you to expand your surround sound and create a 4.1 channel system.

The wireless Bluetooth connectivity feature allows you to connect wirelessly to your TV for a one-touch control of your sound bar from any of your Bluetooth compatible devices, such as your mobile phone or tablet.

Another great feature is the Mobile Control. This feature allows you to control your home entertainment system from your Samsung mobile phone or tablet.

When you install the Samsung Audio Remote app on your device you can control it remotely.

This convenient app lets you control the important functions of the sound bar, such as turning it on and off, volume, and media controls.

It also lets you control the systems customizable functions such as the equalizer.

Cons

The sound bar does have the option to be expanded from a 2.1 channel to a 4.1. However, to do this you will need to make an additional purchase of the SWA-8500S Wireless Surround Kit.

Also no HDMI input may be a deal breaker for those wanting to play 4K or HDR video.

4/ VIZIO SB3651-F6

Pros
Great For Streaming Content
Excellent 5.1 Surround Sound
DTS Virtual: X Feature

Cons
Subwoofer Could Be Improved

Vizio are an American electronics manufacturer most famous for their flat-screen TV’s.

Increasingly however they are becoming known for their awesome range of high tech speaker systems.

Vizio offer several sound bar systems, with one of their latest versions being the SB3651-F6 model.

This overall look of this sound bar is in line with aesthetics of the existing entertainment equipment the company has produced.

Vizio might be a relatively new company compared to some of the bigger brands that produce the same technology, but they are certainly offering features that can compete with the best of them.

Pros

The VIZIO SB3651-F6 5.1 home theatre sound system is packed with some of the most up to date technical features to be found on a soundbar.

It has a three-channel capability which will enhance your TV’s audio and create crystal clear dialogue.

This sound bar comes with a wireless subwoofer speaker which adds a booming bass to your audio.

The system also has two rear surround sound speakers which will enrich your viewing or listening experience with true surround sound.

The Vizio sound bar is fitted with DTS Virtual: x. This innovation in sound technology gives the virtual effect of sound coming from overhead.

A Chromecast-enabled app will allow you to connect the sound bar with your smartphone. With the free VIZIO Smartcast mobile app, one’s mobile phone can be used as a remote control with all the standard capabilities of a regular remote control.

Via the remote control you can alter the sound in several ways, including subwoofer and surround. Via the app you can also go as far as tweaking the treble, bass and adjust center-channel.

The freedom to directly stream through Wi-Fi allows the user to enjoy the highest quality audio without having to transfer media from other sources.

The way the system is designed, allows the user to connect more Vizio speakers together allowing for different audio to emit from different speakers simultaneously.

One of the most impressive features of the Vizio sound bar is that it works with the Google assistant on your phone. This will enable the user to control their sound bar with just their voice!

The Vizio sound bar comes with its own remote control as well as the cables necessary to connect it to its self and to the TV. The manufactures even included the unit’s wall mount brackets for easier installation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO0QtOjn8lc

Cons

The satellite speakers have a wired connection to the subwoofer, which may limit where you can place the subwoofer (although the wires are very long).

Also you may find at high volumes that the subwoofer experiences some slight distortion and vibration.

Summary

So there we have it, four of the best soundbars under $400. We hope this article will help you choose one that’s right for you.

Keep checking back here at aeonreviews.com for more audio reviews.

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