Best Dolby Atmos speakers in 2024

Dolby Atmos is nearly a decade old, and AV manufacturers are still finding new ways to integrate it into the best soundbars, smart TVs, great streaming devices, and other home theater components. If you’ve never heard an Atmos system before, it goes beyond traditional surround sound by way of three-dimensional sound. This mean you can hear in-movie sounds like helicopters directly overhead, dinosaurs behind you, and other immersive audio effects.

While a true Dolby Atmos system involves numerous speakers, subwoofers, an AV receiver, and a bunch of wires, you can get away with Atmos virtualization by way of a soundbar or premium pair of speakers. And if that sounds good to you, we’ve gone ahead and rounded up all our favorite Dolby Atmos speakers to help make your next audio investment a little easier.

Top Dolby Atmos sound systems

While it’s not inexpensive, the Elevate delivers versatile capabilities for music, movies, and games with its formidable soundbar, large sub, and dedicated surround speakers. The system offers excellent clarity and lively, dynamic performance, with a good bass response provided by the sub.

For movies and games, the system is a winner, with Atmos and its dedicated surrounds. Atmos and DTS:X content are adeptly delivered thanks to the Elevate’s rotating drivers, which tilt up for 3D content. The soundbar houses 13 drivers, including a dedicated center channel that contributes to a crystal-clear dialogue presentation. One caveat: there’s no way to be certain how well the mechanized speakers will hold up after years of usage.

In terms of connectivity, the Elevate has you covered. There are three HDMI ports, including an HDMI eARC connection, in addition to optical digital and 3.5mm analog audio inputs. Adding to the impressive feature list, the Elevate also has USB, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. While it doesn’t support Apple Airplay, the Elevate does work with Spotify and Chromecast.

Lastly, the Elevate’s remote layout can be a bit confusing, while the setup and its interface could be more elegant. On the whole, however, the Elevate is an excellent sounding system with great features, earning it our pick for best overall.

The Ambeo Max leverages five tweeters, two up-firing drivers for 3D audio, and six front- and side-firing woofers to deliver best-in-class standalone performance. Cinematic dialog is clear, music and games are dynamic with a wide soundstage, and the Ambeo’s bass response is palpable.

We had the amazing opportunity to go hands-on with this system, and it was quite the endeavor. During installation, you’re going to want a second pair of hands on standby, as the Ambeo Max is incredibly heavy and can be awkward to handle alone.

After a firmware update and audio calibration, this premium Atmos soundbar is ready to go. In our test, we walked the Atmos soundbar through several movie and music tests, and we thought the three-dimensional audio was so powerful, you could almost feel it in your bones.

The Ambeo Max has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and supports many formats and technologies, including AirPlay and Spotify Connect. It also supports Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, meaning you can stream 3D Music from Sony over Tidal and Amazon Music. In addition to HDMI eARC, the system has three HDMI inputs, RCA and optical audio inputs, as well as a subwoofer output. However, dedicated surround speakers are not supported.

Denon is known more for its receivers, CD players, and turntables, and they’re usually pretty expensive, too. Lately, Denon has been venturing into the soundbar market with several models, all of which are affordable.

The Denon DHT-S517 could be considered their mid-range model, though we found that it delivers a premium home theater experience. It’s a 3.1.2 soundbar with Dolby Atmos, and as long as your room isn’t too big, you’ll feel immersed in whatever you’re watching. One issue common with soundbars, especially cheaper options, is muddled dialogue. Denon hopes to remedy that with their Dialogue Enhancer from its center speaker.

While you’d think a mid-range speaker would lack a decent low end, the DHT-S517’s wireless subwoofer goes a long way toward enhancing the bass of this soundbar. Coupled with the atmospheric overhead effect from the up-firing speakers, you have a theater-like experience.

You won’t get a ton of connections, but that’s not unusual for a soundbar at this price point. However, there is an HDMI Enhanced Audio Return Channel input, so you can easily control the volume with your TV’s remote. There’s also a 4K HDMI input that’s compatible with HDR.

Will this soundbar blow you away? Not exactly. But when the price and features are considered, the Denon DHT-S517 holds its own.

At 45-inches wide, the Arc is too large for smaller home theaters, but it hits the spot for larger spaces that require more powerful sound.

This all-in-one Atmos soundbar comprises eight elliptical woofers and three tweeters to deliver full, powerful sound. Its performance is superb for movies, games, and music, hallmarked by clear dialog, strong dynamics, and excellent depth of soundstage. Upfiring drivers ensure immersive Atmos experiences, but DTS:X is not supported. The bass response is powerful and tight, so no need for a subwoofer here, unless you really want to go huge on the low end.

The Sonos ecosystem is innovative and awesome. It allows you to create a completely modular home audio system one piece at a time if you wish to do so. However, the Arc’s physical inputs are limited to a single HDMI eArc port and an optical digital input. The Arc supports Google and Amazon voice assistants, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and other major streaming platforms. Unfortunately, audio streaming is limited to Wi-Fi only.

While we all love our Samsung TVs, who knew the esteemed tech brand would also be behind our favorite Atmos speaker system in 2024? The Samsung HW-Q990D is an 11.1.4 home theater system with two wireless rear speakers and a wireless sub, so while the speakers and woofer still require power, you won’t have to worry about connecting signal cables. On paper, this sounds like a huge surround configuration, and it very much is.

Taking over from last year’s HW-990C, the new Samsung soundbar adds HDMI 2.1 to its fold of inputs, making this a great AV system to connect game consoles and gaming PCs to. Enjoy 4K/120Hz passthrough, along with fast response times and minimal lag. The HW-Q990D has Alexa built-in, too, making this soundbar a bonafide smart speaker. You can also enjoy Chromecast, AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth as additional connectivity options.

From floor to ceiling, the Samsung HW-Q990D delivers one of the most impressive and decibel-rich Atmos virtualizations on the market, and can even be linked to a Samsung Q-Symphony-compatible TV for an expanded soundstage. Introduced a couple of years ago, this wireless Samsung tech allows Samsung TV speakers to work in unison with certain Samsung audio systems.

The Era 300 is an excellent surround speaker when paired with a Sonos soundbar. Its performance is detailed, rich, and dynamic, far surpassing the typical surround speaker. It creates an enveloping rear 3D soundstage with six total drivers aiming at the front, sides, and top. However, the pleasure will not come cheaply, as you’ll need two Era 300s to serve as your surround speakers.

The Atmos-capable Era 300 is also a superb main speaker for music and can be moved around the house with relative ease to create different configurations with other Sonos products, making it exceptionally versatile.

It’s worth noting that despite its versatility, the Era 300 is not a suitable Atmos soundbar substitute, mainly because it doesn’t have physical HDMI inputs. The Era 300 has USB-C line-in audio connectivity via an optional dongle, but that’s about it in terms of physical inputs. In addition to Wi-Fi connectivity, the Era 300 offers Bluetooth audio. The Era 300 supports Amazon’s voice assistant but, unfortunately, omits Google support.

Audiophiles once considered Bose speakers to be expensive and for people who knew nothing about sound quality. Their speakers used to be a muddled, bassy mess that made some of us cringe. Not anymore. Bose soundbars like the Smart Ultra show that overall sound quality has greatly improved in recent years.

It’s impressive how much Bose packed into the Smart Ultra. At about 3.5 feet, this soundbar is quite sleek; its slim profile should fit on most mantels and entertainment centers. Despite its compact size, you still get a nine-speaker 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos driver array with two upward-firing height speakers for a clear and enveloping sound experience.

In our review, we found that mids and highs were surprisingly strong for a soundbar. Both movies and television were crisp, with enough low-end for special effects and dialogue. Music was okay, but if you’re planning on this soundbar being your sole speaker for jamming out, we’d recommend buying a subwoofer. The Smart Ultra’s bass was less impressive with music, which was surprising since Bose often has the opposite problem.

One thing we really appreciate is the Smart Ultra’s AdaptIQ; it offers customizable audio settings according to your room. Have you ever done EQ for a home theater receiver with an auto-setup microphone? AdaptIQ is similar, except you use a headband so that the mic more accurately adjusts the spatial audio. That’s pretty cool.

When it comes to smart features, the Smart Ultra offers everything you’d expect. Alexa is built-in for effortless voice control and smart home management. You can also add Apple or Spotify via the Bose Music App, or you can just use Airplay or Chromecast. Speaking of the Bose Music app, it provides comprehensive volume control and EQ settings, and even connects with other Bose devices for a multiroom audio setup.

The Bose Smart Ultra is certainly expensive, but if you’re looking for a hassle-free soundbar for your main living area, it’s a worthy contender.

When it comes to Dolby Atmos soundbars, you want to invest in a product that will make you feel like your listening space has speakers in every corner of the room. This is exactly the kind of audio experience we had when testing the JBL Bar 1000 ourselves. Engineered to deliver a complete 7.1.4 surround experience, three-dimensional immersion from a soundbar doesn’t get much better than this.

Outfitted with HDMI, digital optical, and USB inputs, the Bar 1000 allows you to wire up all your components before wiring the system to your TV. It even includes a Bluetooth input for wirelessly streaming music and a room calibration tool that fine-tunes the JBL’s performance to whatever room you place it in.

Selecting a Dolby Atmos speaker

Selecting the best Dolby Atmos speakers requires weighing your needs, space, and budget against a few system types. These range from compact single-unit soundbar setups to configurations with multiple dedicated speakers including surrounds.

In addition to audio quality, things to look for in Atmos speakers include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth audio streaming support, physical connectivity such as HDMI inputs, and control with popular voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Pick your Atmos audio

When it comes to flagship audio, Dolby Atmos systems continue to lead the charge. As such, it pays to know what some of the best Atmos options out there look and sound like.

If you ask us, we think most folks will be happy to rally behind the Vizio Elevate 5.1.4 Home Theater System. Easy to install and even simpler to use, the Elevate system sounds incredible when watching movies, playing video games, and listening to music. It also includes two wireless rear speakers and a wireless sub, and decodes both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround formats.

If you’ve got the money for it though, we recommend the Sennheiser Ambeo Max Soundbar. As our premium pick, this monster of an Atmos soundbar may require a second person just to put it on top of your entertainment center. In our hands-on review, we were totally blown away by its amazing audio quality and bass presence; and it didn’t even come with a subwoofer. It’s one of the most expensive Atmos speakers out there, but it’s also one of the best.

Of course, not everyone wants to buy a $2,000 Atmos speaker, or even an $800 setup like the Vizio Elevate. That’s why we’ve included the Denon DHT-S517 as our best value pick. It may not look like much in pictures, but this soundbar-sub combo delivers exceptional Atmos virtualization, and for a price that most of us can wrap our heads around.