
You may remember that I bought a Sonos Arc for my TV setup in my little office last year over Black Friday. I’d hoped that it wouldn’t take up too much space, and that I’d get lovely, big sound for my TV. Upon delivery, however, I found a problem. While my small space can house a massive TV, it can’t house a large soundbar and Dolby Atmos. The problem is that the up-firing speakers can’t fire up and bounce the sound off the ceiling for the height — there simply isn’t the space.
So I boxed it up, sent it back to Amazon, and got a refund a few days later. Yet that left me without a soundbar to go with my brand new TV — and while its QD-OLED panel is stunning, the speakers leave a whole bunch to be desired. My issue is that while the best soundbars are excellent, they’re both too expensive for my budget, and too big for my little room. The best cheap sound bars fit my budget more, but they don’t quite have the sonic prowess that I’m looking for. Until I remembered something else I was testing.