3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC [2023 Review]

As time goes on, more and more wonderful new home audio standards emerge, and eARC has finally reached a point where this feature is fair to expect. If you’re ready to invest in a premium soundbar with eARC, you’re in a great position to future-proof your system and enjoy the best sound quality possible.

Whether you want to create the home theater system of your dreams or just want a more dependable audio source to complement your TV at a cheap rate, picking the best soundbar for your needs can be difficult.

As the popularity of streaming services grows, and the picture and sound quality of that content improves, investing in a good home audio/video system makes more sense than ever.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 700 soundbar offers the best all-around package, with simple setup, superb performance, and a plethora of feature and connectivity options.

We included three of the best soundbars with HDMI eARC for you in this review. If you are interested in these models, keep reading our 3 Best Bluetooth Surround Sound Systems review for more information below.

Our Top Pick: Bose Smart Soundbar 700: Premium Bluetooth Soundbar

Features: This soundbar features side-firing speakers that can bounce sound off your walls, creating a huge soundstage. It can become loud enough for most uses, unlike the Bose Soundbar 500, and there isn’t much compression at the maximum level.

Although it lacks some low-bass, you can increase its bass performance by adding a subwoofer and satellite speakers, such as the Bose Soundbar 700 with Speakers + Bass Module.

If you are looking for the 3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC, you should give this one a chance. The Bose Soundbar 700 is a tiny soundbar that produces large, professional sound and is simple to operate. However, it can only take sound so far, is costly, and lacks some capabilities.

So here’s the Bose Soundbar 700, which is the company’s current premium soundbar. While everyone else goes large for their high-end models, this one delivers on the Bose promise of “small box, big sound” in spades, packing a lot more volume into its remarkably compact design than you might anticipate.

For the premium pricing, the Soundbar 700 comes with some truly premium features. Its Adaptiq auto-calibrating mechanism is particularly impressive.

This requires you to wear a small headset and sit in the five most-used seating locations in your room while the soundbar plays a series of test sounds in order for it to optimize its sound to your room layout.

Take the time to run the routine since it makes a huge difference in the sound’s impact and dynamics.

Runner Up: Hisense HS214 2.1ch SoundBar with Built-in Subwoofer

Features: It has a larger sound than it appears, produces a surprising amount of bass, and is a highly cost-effective way to improve the sound on TVs with screens up to 55 inches.

The HS214 is fairly reasonably priced, costing roughly £99 at the time of writing (October 2021). While this little soundbar is clearly designed for a sub-£100 price point, if it can deliver in terms of performance, it could be a cost-effective and simple solution to increase the sound quality of your TV.

If you are looking for the 3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC, you should give this one a chance. For those who prefer to wall-mount the HS214, there are two screw holes on the back, as well as a recess to the left (as you face the soundbar) for the connections and a recess to the right for the two-pin power cord.

Power on/off, input selection, and volume up/down are all controlled by touch-sensitive controls, and there’s a removable sticker that explains what the different colored LEDs mean.

The accompanying remote control is rather decent for a soundbar at this price point; it’s easy to use and has all of the necessary buttons set out in a logical manner. You can turn it on and off, adjust the bass, mute the volume, change the volume, switch between sound modes, choose sources, dim the display, and power it off.

Best for Budget: SAMSUNG 3.1.2ch Q700A Q Series Soundbar – Dolby Atmos/ DTS: X (HW-Q700A, 2021 Model)

Features: Wood is used to make the subwoofer. A thin fabric covers the front of the submarine. The HW-Q700A Soundbar does not come with satellites, but Dolby Atmos Wireless Rear Speakers can be ordered separately.

The Samsung Q700A is a little too broad (approximately 98cm) to fit between the legs of a 55-inch television. Its height, on the other hand, is not excessive, and it should not obstruct your view of the television.

If you are looking for the 3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC, you should give this one a chance. The stereo frequency response of the Samsung Q700A soundbar is excellent. It has a reasonably neutral sound profile, with little amplification in the low-frequency region.

Most audio content should be compatible with this soundbar. Deep bass reproduction, on the other hand, is difficult and annoying. Using the visual equalizer in the presets, you may tweak the sound to your taste, as well as the bass and treble settings.

With various settings, the Samsung Q700A soundbar falls short of optimum sound. If you prefer neutral sound, it is still recommended that you utilize the default settings. The Samsung HW-Q800A is a terrific choice if you want a soundbar with good bass reproduction.

Overall, the HW-Q700A has the standard style and construction quality that a Samsung soundbar in this price range should have. Nothing that will wow you, but nothing that will let you down.

Buyer’s Guide for 3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC

A soundbar allows you to have an immersive gaming and movie-watching experience at home. Soundbars are perfect for maximizing the impact of your content, particularly in terms of dynamic sound and audio quality.

Many soundbars have various input options, and many can connect to your TV through HDMI. eARC stands for Enhanced Audio Return Channel, and it’s used by HDMI 2.1 devices.

As a result of the increased bandwidth and speed, your TV may send audio to the soundbar with little or no compression. Some of the greatest soundbars with HDMI eARC support are listed above. If you are still not sure, keep reading our buyer’s guide below.

Do you need a soundbar?

Absolutely. Even if you’re not a die-hard cinephile, the best soundbars will transform your TV viewing experience — built-in TV speakers simply don’t do your favorite movies, TV shows, or games justice.

How much to spend on a soundbar?

It all depends on what you’re looking for in the first place. You can be looking at pricing of $800 / £800 / AU$1,000 and up if you want the best soundbar technology has to offer.

However, there are several excellent cheap soundbars available, some of which cost less than $100 / £100 / AU$150. Just keep in mind that you usually get what you pay for, and these low-cost versions are unlikely to contain premium features like Dolby Atmos, back speakers, or high-resolution audio.

Where to put the soundbar?

When it comes to soundbar installation, you typically have two options: wall-mounting it or placing it below your TV on your TV cabinet. If your soundbar is particularly tall, wall-mounting it may be the best solution, as it may hide your TV’s IR receiver, rendering your remote control unusable.

Dolby Atmos

If you want to take your home cinema sound to the next level without turning your living room into a speaker version of Stonehenge, a Dolby Atmos soundbar can help.

With a Dolby Atmos soundbar, you can experience genuinely immersive film screenings without the clutter from the comfort of your own home.

A Dolby Atmos soundbar can literally elevate the audio on your TV to the next level without the effort or cost of a full installation. These sleek speakers can mimic the immersive 3D audio experience you’d enjoy at the movies.

The majority of quality Atmos soundbars use upward-firing drivers to disseminate sound vertically and reflect it off your ceiling, creating the illusion of overhead speakers. As a result, objects on your screen can be heard all around you, such as circling helicopters or pouring rain.

Dimensions

There are a few things to consider before making a purchase. Calculate the size of your new soundbar based on the measurements of your television. You don’t want it to be dwarfed by the screen, but pairing a large bar with a little TV could look odd, like a tiny head placed atop overly broad shoulders.

Look up the specs and compare the width of the bar to the width of your television. Check the height as well; if you’re going to put the soundbar in front of your TV, you don’t want it to obscure half of the screen.

Connectivity

Then there’s connectivity and features. Wireless subwoofers, Bluetooth connectivity, 4K-friendly HDMI inputs for a games console or 4K Blu-ray player, ARC and eARC-enabled HDMI outputs, and even Dolby Atmos audio with up-firing speakers are all features of modern soundbars.

Consider the types of stuff you’ll be seeing and the sources you’ll be using. Many of these technology will be obsolete if you only watch Freeview. However, if you’re watching Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in 4K HDR, you’ll want to get the greatest audio quality possible to ensure your video sounds as amazing as it looks.

Sonos ARC

The Sonos Arc is a high-end soundbar for televisions that is perfect for music, movies, and games. It boasts a beautiful design and supports high-resolution audio. It features amazing surround sound capabilities, making it a must-have for gamers, movie buffs, and music fans.

For gamers and movie buffs, surround sound is a requirement. You get incredible sound quality with HDMI eARC. It has built-in Amazon Alexa control, so you can use your voice to issue requests and even replay music, making things simple and convenient.

It provides spectators and listeners with realistic, detailed sound. It’s also a terrific option for listening to music.

Creative Stage

If your budget is tight, the Creative Stage Dolby Atmos soundbar offers a slew of previously unheard-of features, including HDMI connectivity with HDMI ARC connector and a subwoofer, for less than a C-note.

What’s more impressive is that this low-cost soundbar sounds better than most of its ultra-low-cost competitors, thanks to a wired subwoofer that delivers deep bass.

This soundbar speaker includes a range of audio modes, making it ideal for music, concerts, and gaming. For gamers and movie buffs alike, the sound quality is excellent. Check out our review of Creative Stage.

Frequently Asked Questions: 3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC [2023 Review]

Conclusion: 3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC [2023 Review]

You may have observed that, despite the fact that flat-screen displays are getting brighter, clearer, and more colorful, the gap between the dazzling quality of a new TV’s picture and its lackluster sound performance is widening.

Because practically all new television sets, regardless of size, have substandard speakers hidden away in progressively small frames, this is the case. However, simply adding a soundbar to your setup is a simple way to make your viewing experience more interesting and delightful.

The best soundbars bring powerful audio into a compact design that fits in front of or beneath your television. There are no separate speakers to overwhelm the room, and there are no twisting cords to tumble over. We hope you liked our 3 Best Soundbars with HDMI eARC review and it was helpful.