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 Bose Smart Dolby Atmos Soundbar offers a robust package for anyone looking to enhance their home audio experience. One of its key strengths is the immersive sound quality provided by the Dolby Atmos technology and proprietary TrueSpace, which upmixes non-Dolby signals for a rich, multi-channel audio experience. The soundbar also excels in dialogue clarity due to its A.I. Dialogue Mode, ensuring you can hear every word clearly, which is great for movie nights or watching TV shows. The soundbar's compact design packs five transducers, including upward-firing ones, delivering spacious and realistic sound despite its relatively small size.

Connectivity options are plentiful, with Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Chromecast built-in, allowing you to stream music and videos easily from various devices. Voice control is another highlight, featuring built-in Amazon Alexa and compatibility with Google Assistant, making it convenient to control your TV and other smart devices. The inclusion of an HDMI cable, optical cable, remote control, and power cord in the package means you're ready to go right out of the box.

However, there are some drawbacks. The product does not seem to include a separate subwoofer, which could affect the depth of bass for some users. The soundbar is also somewhat limited to indoor use and is not waterproof, making it less versatile for different environments. Additionally, while it supports wireless connectivity, it requires a corded electric power source, which might limit placement options. With a weight of 6.91 pounds and dimensions making it suitable for shelf mounting, it is a good fit for most home theater setups.

The VIZIO 5.1 Soundbar SE (SV510X-08) is designed for those wanting immersive home theater sound, especially in medium to large rooms. It features a 5.1 speaker setup with three full-range speakers in the soundbar, two surround speakers, and a wireless subwoofer delivering a strong 180-watt output. This combination supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which enhances surround sound for a more engaging listening experience.

Connectivity options include Bluetooth and HDMI eARC for easy TV integration, although it lacks a dedicated optical input, which might be a drawback for users with TVs that don’t support HDMI eARC. The subwoofer is wireless for flexible placement, but it actually connects via a wired connection to ensure stable performance. VIZIO’s QuickFit system is a neat design feature that allows the soundbar to neatly attach to select VIZIO TVs without tools, making setup straightforward and tidy. Control is mostly app-based through the VIZIO mobile app, but you can also use your TV’s remote if connected via HDMI eARC. One downside is that the traditional soundbar remote is sold separately, which could be inconvenient if you prefer physical controls.

At about 33 inches wide, it fits well under most TVs without being too bulky or intrusive. This soundbar is well-regarded for users looking to upgrade TV audio with modern surround sound technology and seamless integration, particularly if they have a VIZIO TV or a setup supporting HDMI eARC. Those relying heavily on optical connections or wanting an included remote might want to consider these factors before buying.