Can a Good Soundbar Rival a True Surround-Sound System in a Blind Listening Test?

The debut of the audio/video receiver in the 1980s spawned the home theater industry and inspired millions of people to pack their dens with speakers. But these days, it seems the popularity of AV receivers has fallen somewhere below that of bedbugs and above that of Justin Bieber’s mustache. This is due in part to the rise of the soundbar, which promises better performance than you can get from your TV’s built-in speakers in an easier-to-handle, less room-encompassing package than a full-fledged home theater system.

For a long time, pretty much every soundbar sacrificed sonic performance for a smaller, plug-and-play setup, but the category has come a long way. Many of today’s high-performance soundbars support the more-immersive Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround-sound formats, which add overhead and height effects and allow them to approach the enveloping, dynamic sound of an AV-receiver-based surround-sound system.

The impressive performance we’ve heard from the best new soundbars has left Wirecutter’s audio/video team wondering: Is there any reason left for a typical movie fan to bother with an AV receiver, as well as the required five (or seven or nine or 11) speakers plus subwoofer? We decided to try to answer this question in the most scientific way possible—through a head-to-head showdown.

The test

We pitted a high-quality, Atmos-equipped soundbar system against a receiver-based surround-sound system in a blind test, concealing everything but the TV with black fabric so the listeners wouldn’t have a clue as to what they were hearing. The contestants were systems composed mostly of recent Wirecutter picks: the Vizio SB46514-F6 from our best soundbar guide versus a full 5.1.4-channel system comprising the ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2, B5.2, and C5.2 speakers from our best surround-sound speakers guide (with two pair of ELAC’s Debut 2.0 A4.2 Atmos modules added), the Rogersound Labs Speedwoofer 10S from our best high-performance subwoofer guide, and the Sony STR-ZA5000ES, an Atmos-equipped AV receiver. (This receiver, which I use for most of my speaker testing, is relatively expensive and probably not what you’d use with the ELAC Debut 2.0 speakers. However, receivers generally don’t have a big effect on a system’s sound unless you engage their room-correction technology, which we left off for our test.)

Note that the price of the ELAC-and-Rogersound speaker system is about $1,460—more than double the price of the Vizio soundbar—and a good Atmos-equipped receiver, such as the Denon AVR-S750H, adds at least $400. Subtracting Atmos capability would reduce the total price of the receiver-and-speaker system by about $570.

Fortunately, we knew the perfect listeners for this test: musicians who were hardcore into sound but not hip to home theater, so they wouldn’t be able to guess what we were playing for them. One was LeRena Major, a longtime music industry pro who is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the group that picks the Grammy Award winners. The other was Dan Gonda, a Los Angeles saxophonist who plays in numerous jazz combos, R&B groups, and pit orchestras for musicals. Both have helped Wirecutter with previous listening tests.

I set up both systems in my acoustically treated, 370-square-foot listening room. Although the differing configurations of these systems make precise volume matching impossible, using the L_eq (average volume over time) function of my Neutrik Minilyzer ML1 audio analyzer, I was able to get them playing within about 1 decibel of each other, a difference that’s audible but not readily apparent. I played Dolby Atmos soundtracks from the Gravity, Midway, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Blu-ray discs, along with a Blu-ray disc by jazz guitarist Mike Stern and music selections from Spotify.

After the listening tests, I showed the systems to Major and Gonda, discussed the prices and features, and concluded by asking them which type of system they’d be more likely to buy.

The verdict

For our listeners, the audible difference between the two systems was obvious, but choosing between them wasn’t easy.

Their first comments were practically identical: Both noted that voices were clearer and easier to understand through the receiver-based system. As Major put it, “With the soundbar, the voices were a little hard to make out at times. It was easier to understand the dialogue through the surround-sound system, and the voices sounded more fleshed out.” This is likely because the speaker drivers in the soundbar are much smaller and thus can’t clearly reproduce the lowest frequencies of the male voice (a common soundbar issue).

Although both Major and Gonda were surprised that the compact soundbar system could put out such a big, spacious sound, they also noted that the receiver-based system produced a more convincing and natural sense of envelopment. “During Gravity, with the speaker system I could really hear the voices transitioning from speaker to speaker, moving around the room,” Gonda said. “With the soundbar, it sounded more like a ‘front and back’ effect rather than a wraparound effect.” The reason for this effect is obvious—the front speakers in a conventional surround-sound system can be spread much farther apart.

Last, they found the receiver-based system to be much more dynamic and exciting, thanks in large part to the superior performance of the Rogersound subwoofer. The Vizio subwoofer sometimes seemed overwhelmed, especially with the movie soundtracks. “The bass was more prominent with the soundbar on the music we listened to, but it sounded weak on movies,” Gonda noted. This is probably because most of the bass in music is in the middle of the bass range (about 40 to 80 Hz), while action movies tend to have deeper bass to create more of that couch-shaking effect. The Vizio subwoofer sounded boomy and distorted when it tried to play movie soundtracks loudly, while the Rogersound sub never seemed to strain.

But while both of our listeners clearly preferred the sound quality of the receiver-based system, neither was likely to buy it—at least not given their current living conditions. “I definitely prefer the speaker system, and I’d go for that if I had the space. But my living room is half this size, so the soundbar would work better for my place,” Gonda said.

“I liked the sound of the full speaker system, but I’d probably buy the soundbar because I’m not very DIY and I probably wouldn’t hook up the receiver correctly, and I like the look of the soundbar better,” Major said.

Which one should you buy?

Although soundbar performance has certainly come a long way, our testing revealed that non-audiophiles can still hear and appreciate the sonic improvements that even a modest surround-sound speaker system can deliver. But for many (probably most) movie fans, the price paid in complexity and cash for such a system makes the soundbar a more appealing buy.

If you want to experience something close to the sound of a commercial cinema—the best dynamics, the clearest vocal reproduction, and the most seat-shaking bass—we still think a set of conventional speakers paired with an AV receiver and a good subwoofer is the way to go (although we’re intrigued by the possibilities of new wireless home theater systems such as the Enclave CineHome Pro, which don’t require a separate receiver). It simply makes for a far more captivating experience. If the movie you’re watching is any good, it’ll feel like a mini vacation—for those 90-plus minutes, you’ll forget your woes and get wrapped up in some fictional characters’ woes instead.

That being said, you’d need the space for at least five speakers plus a subwoofer, not to mention enough space between you and your neighbors to avoid constant noise complaints. Plus, unless you hire an installer, receiver-based systems present a complicated wiring project, and you’d probably need some home improvement skills if you want to hide those wires. Most receivers today do offer automated speaker setup to configure themselves for your speaker array and balance the volume levels of the speakers, but such features are not always reliable, and you still end up with a system that’s daunting for most people to operate.

If you want at least a taste of cinematic sonic envelopment but your living situation doesn’t accommodate a big audio system or your patience won’t accommodate a complicated user interface, we recommend an Atmos-enabled soundbar with upward-firing speakers that bounce sound off your ceiling to create the more immersive overhead effects. These soundbars can’t (yet) deliver the fidelity of a conventional surround-sound speaker system, but they can deliver a sense of envelopment that makes movie watching more of an escape. Note that there are some inexpensive Atmos soundbars that lack true upward-firing drivers (they use psychoacoustic tricks to simulate the height effects); these models might be okay for TV watching, but they can’t deliver a real immersive experience.

Of course, the much lower price of the soundbar system will be a deciding factor for many people, but it’s possible to get a receiver-based system for a price closer to that of the soundbar—as long as you’re willing to forgo Atmos. For example, a Denon AVR-S540BT receiver, paired with the Polk Signature speakers from our best surround-sound speaker system guide and the Dayton Audio SUB-1200 from our best budget subwoofer guide, would cost about $1,000, or about $300 more than the soundbar system.

In the end, surround sound is like any other pursuit, where you have different options for casual users and hardcore enthusiasts. The first decision to make isn’t what type of device to choose; it’s what level of involvement you desire. Once you’ve made that choice, you stand a much better chance of choosing components you’ll enjoy.