Best Sound Bars

Top-rated Yamaha sound bar may cost more than your TV

Active sound bars include an integrated amplifier as well as the signal-processing circuitry required to generate a more convincing surround-sound effect, so you don't need to hook it up to a separate receiver. Many active sound bars also include extras such as a radio tuner or a DVD player. Because they provide for a simpler and less cluttered installation than passive sound bars, active sound bars are often the better choice for those looking at this type of home theater system.

Overall, we found the best reviews for the Yamaha Digital Sound Projector YSP-4000 (*Est. $1,600). It's the top-rated sound bar at CNET and earns a Certified and Recommended tag from Sound & Vision magazine. Other reviews are equally or nearly as complimentary. This is one of the more expensive sound bars available, but it is among the best sounding and most feature packed as well.

To create the illusion of surround sound, the YSP-4000 features 40 small (1.5-inch) drivers that bounce sound off of the room's walls to create the left, right, front and rear surround channels. The center channel is heard directly by the listener. The YSP-4000 sound bar includes an integrated amplifier that is both more capable and more feature-rich than is the norm among sound bars. The Yamaha sound bar includes two HDMI inputs. It has an FM radio tuner as well as XM satellite radio compatibility, so you can listen to music independently of your TV. With an extra-cost accessory, you can hook it up to an iPod. About the only thing that's missing is compatibility with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio high-definition audio formats used by Blu-ray discs. Additionally, the sound bar can't process multichannel PCM audio from those Blu-ray Disc players that have their own decoders.

One of the big problems with the type of virtual surround-sound technology used in the Yamaha YSP-4000 is that room size, layout and even the furniture within can affect the surround-sound field. However an automatic setup feature measures room acoustics using an included microphone, modifying the beamed sound for best results in any room.

Tom Andry at Audioholics.com subjects the YSP-4000 to a torture test, putting it in a room with large offset openings in the walls and comfy but sound-absorbing high-backed couches. Surprisingly, "while the dedicated surround effects were muted and a bit diffused, the overall sensation of surround was presented well," Andry writes. Placing the Yamaha YSP-4000 sound bar in a four-walled room, Andry finds that the sound bar "presented an astonishingly convincing surround experience."

While Andry says performance with movies is quite good, he is less impressed with how the Yamaha YSP-4000 sounds when playing music. However, other reviewers express few such qualms.

The Yamaha YSP-4000 is sized for a 42-inch flat-panel TV. For those with more modest home theaters, the Yamaha YSP-3050 (*Est. $1,200) is a smaller version that's ideal for 32-inch sets. Most of the reviews we found are of the earlier YSP-3000, but the only difference -- albeit an important one -- is that the YSP-3050 can convert analog signals to digital for output over HDMI. The smaller version has fewer beam drivers (21 compared with 40), is missing a few surround modes and has more limited connectivity. Sound quality and the virtual surround-sound field are both excellent, but bass response is lacking -- a common complaint with many sound bars. Power output is reduced compared with the YSP-4000, leading HomeTheaterReview.com to conclude that the YSP-3050 sound bar is most suitable for smaller rooms.

Critics also give good grades to the Polk Audio SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater (*Est. $900). Unlike the Polk sound bars profiled earlier, the SurroundBar 360 includes all of the electronics you need -- including a good DVD player -- in a separate console that's connected to the speakers via a single 15-foot cable.

Like the Yamaha YSP-4000, one of the SurroundBar 360's best qualities is the ability to create a surround-sound field that's notably better than average for a sound bar. The technology used relies on the way the human ears interpret whether sound is coming from in front or behind. In its review, Home Theater magazine says, "In practice, this effect isn't a perfect substitute for dedicated surround speakers, but it can sneak up on you and take you by surprise." Sound quality is excellent. BigPictureBigSound.com reports that the treble is "clean" and that the bass "is rich and deep." That last finding, which is echoed by other reviewers, is especially impressive when you consider that the SurroundBar 360 does not rely on a separate subwoofer to fill in the low end. If you do want to add a subwoofer, the SurroundBar 360 has a subwoofer output jack. CNET added a subwoofer during its testing and said that while doing so brought the sound "closer to what we'd get from a 5.1 channel HTIB," most listeners will probably be fine with the SurroundBar 360 on its own.

While reviewers are in love with the speaker system, the attached electronics get good but not as glowing feedback. The integrated DVD player is a decent but not stellar performer. The maximum resolution is 1080i rather than 1080p. CNET says casual viewers will be satisfied with the output quality, but some of the pickiest viewers might not be happy with soft image quality if viewed on a very large HDTV.

One drawback with the SurroundBar 360 is that it lacks any sort of compatibility with the high-definition audio formats used on Blu-ray Discs. However, the very first sound bar systems with integrated Blu-ray players have begun to reach store shelves. There are no professional reviews -- or even enough user reviews to give those any weight at all -- at present, but we hope to have more information on options such as the Samsung HT-BD8200 (*Est. $800) in our next sound bar update.