Soundbar Vs. Surround Sound: What's Better For Your Home Theater Setup?

If you're judging a soundbar against a surround sound system and money is no object, surround sound is the easy winner. If you're considering cost, the discussion becomes more nuanced. Price, space, and ease of use may sway you toward a soundbar, which is a notable replacement for TV audio. But a soundbar is simply not in the same league as a surround sound speaker system when it comes to home theater audio.

A surround sound system has separation and precision that soundbars can't reproduce because they can only simulate multiple speakers. While some soundbars can simulate the sound well, it will never be the same — there is only one speaker, after all. Picture a scene in the woods at night. A whisper comes through clearly on a center channel speaker. In the left and right speakers, you hear a light piano and matching footsteps. Then a stick snaps behind you through the rear left speaker. You jump. That same sound coming through a soundbar sounds more artificial. It doesn't actually come from behind you; rather it's bounced off your walls to emulate the directional audio of that left rear speaker. You hear the stick snap, but it's not precise. You don't jump.

Then there's the subwoofer. Many soundbars now come paired with a subwoofer. But it's not always a true powered subwoofer, which can deliver low frequencies that shake you while maintaining layered tonal sounds and pivoting to new low frequencies. Think about the opening scene of "Top Gun" as the low boom of jets syncs with the synthesized bass of "Danger Zone." A soundbar's subwoofer is more likely to muffle or distort it than a powered subwoofer.

Despite the positives of surround sound systems, the soundbar market is booming. It's expected to double in the next decade, according to Renub Research. The benefits tell you why. First off, there's the ease. Setting up a surround system will take hours. You have to run wires under furniture or through walls, place speakers, and calibrate audio for your space. With a soundbar, you take it out of the box, plug it into the wall and your TV, and do a quick setup. It takes about ten minutes.

You're also more likely to get better value for money. Surround sound systems can cost more than $1,000 for 5.1 surround or more than $3,000 for a Dolby Atmos system, which layers in audio above and around you. Some systems can cost as much as tens of thousands. The best soundbars with Dolby Atmos will cost anywhere from $500 to $1,500. The cost-to-quality ratio leans toward soundbars.

You also have to take into account where you live. If you rent your home, you're probably not able to drill into walls to mount speakers. The average renter lives in a 1,089-square-foot home, which makes it nearly impossible to properly set up a surround system. Even in owned homes, which average twice the square footage, only a fraction of your space is used for watching movies. One bar under your screen and a hidden subwoofer take up considerably less space than a multi-speaker surround sound system.