10 Best Soundbar With Optical Input 2025 in the United States

The Bose TV Speaker is a compact soundbar designed to improve your TV audio experience, especially for dialogue clarity. Its standout feature is the enhancement of speech, making it a great choice for those who often find themselves straining to understand conversations in movies or shows. With two angled full-range drivers, it offers a wider soundstage, which helps create a more immersive listening experience.

In terms of connectivity, the soundbar excels with multiple options, including HDMI ARC, optical in, and AUX in, allowing for easy setup and compatibility with various devices. The Bluetooth feature also lets you stream music directly from your phone or tablet, which adds to its versatility. Setting it up is straightforward, requiring just a single connection to your TV, and the included remote control offers additional features like dialogue mode and bass boost for a personalized listening experience.

The design is sleek and compact, standing only about 2 inches tall, making it suitable for tight spaces in front of your TV or easy wall mounting. It’s important to note that it lacks a built-in subwoofer, which means it may not deliver the deep bass some users expect for action movies or music genres heavy on bass. Additionally, while it’s marketed for home entertainment, the sound quality is primarily stereo, which might not satisfy audiophiles looking for surround sound capabilities.

The Polk Audio Signa S2 Sound Bar brings a lot of strengths to the table, especially for those looking to enhance their home entertainment setup. The sound quality is a standout feature thanks to its 5 full-range drivers and the wireless subwoofer, which ensures rich sound and deep bass. The exclusive VoiceAdjust technology and Dolby Digital Decoding improve voice clarity and reduce delays, making dialogue in shows and movies much clearer. It supports surround sound, which can enhance the immersive experience while watching movies or playing games.

The slim design means it can fit easily under most TVs without obstructing the bottom edge or the remote sensor, and it can also be wall-mounted if needed. Connectivity is versatile with options including HDMI ARC, optical input, AUX, and Bluetooth for wireless streaming, which provides flexibility for various setups and devices. The setup process is straightforward and quick, allowing users to get started within minutes using the included cables.

Some users may find the 25-watt maximum output power on the lower end compared to higher-end models, but it is still adequate for most living rooms and provides good value for its price range. Polk Audio is a well-regarded brand, known for reliable products. The sound bar is ideal for anyone wanting an easy-to-use, high-quality audio system with modern connectivity features for their home theater.

The Samsung HW-S50B/ZA 3.0ch All-in-One Soundbar is a solid choice for enhancing your home theater experience. Its sound quality is impressive, thanks to Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Virtual:X, which provide rich, immersive audio. The built-in center speaker ensures clear dialogue, making it ideal for watching movies and TV shows. The soundbar features 3.0 channels, which means it has a good balance between bass and treble without needing additional speakers.

Connectivity options are versatile, with both wired and wireless (Bluetooth) connections available, including a Bluetooth Multi Connection feature that allows you to connect two devices simultaneously. This makes it convenient for streaming music from different sources without having to disconnect and reconnect each time. The compact size (4.1 x 2.4 x 26.4 inches) and sleek black design make it easy to fit into various room setups without being obtrusive. It can be wall-mounted or placed on a TV stand, providing flexibility in placement.

Ease of use is enhanced by features like Adaptive Sound Lite, which optimizes audio dynamically, and the included remote control for straightforward operation. Samsung is a reputable brand known for its quality electronics. This soundbar is well-suited for home theater enthusiasts looking for a convenient, all-in-one solution to enhance their TV audio experience.