4 Best Soundbars for dialogue in 2021

4 Best Soundbars for dialogue in 2022

Today we are having a look at what is the best soundbar for dialogue. We have looked at many soundbars on the site lately such as the epic Yamaha YAS-209 Vs Sonos Playbar battle we did recently. I actually have a bit of a personal reason for writing this guide today. My grandparents were always complaining that their TV speakers were terrible. Truth be told, modern TV speakers are all pretty much far from great. Anyway, their biggest complaint was that they had to have the sound up really loud to hear people talk, but then when a commercial or an action scene would happen it would be way too loud!

The Power Of Clear Voice

Many soundbars will have a dedicated feature that is called clear voice and usually, this has its very own button on the remote control. While I would say as we are looking for the best soundbar for dialogue that you want to make sure this is a feature that the soundbar you are looking at has. I would also say, it is not the be all and end all, and most soundbars even if they do not have a dedicated button for it will have some kind of clear voice mode.

The Best Soundbar For Dialogue Reviews

As I wrote this with my grandparents in mind, I decided on two things. First of all, I need to keep this clean as I do not need a phone call lecturing me about how I talk on the internet! Also, I wanted to keep this relatively simple, so I made sure to only select soundbars that I am familiar with and would feel comfortable recommending to my own grandparents. Spoiler alert, one of these is sitting in their living room right now!

1: SAMSUNG HW-S50A 3.0ch Soundbar

2: VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar

3: Sonos Beam

4: Bose Smart Soundbar 700

SAMSUNG HW-S50A 3.0ch Soundbar

SAMSUNG HW-S50A 3.0ch Soundbar with Dolby Atmos (2021), Deep Gray

First up on our quest to find the best soundbar for dialogue we have this fantastic SAMSUNG HW-S50A 3.0ch Soundbar. Samsung for me usually makes great stuff and this soundbar is a prime example of that, this is part of a series and this is the smallest version and also the cheapest as it comes in at just under 200 bucks. The dimensions of this soundbar are, 4.9 x 30.1 x 2.7 inches so it does not take up much space at all. The design of this is very cool. While it is mainly made from plastic, it does have this kind of grey fabric covering that takes up a large portion of the soundbar. I think this is a very nice effect, but you do have to think about it attracting dust and it also getting damaged easily. It offers you HDMI and optical connectivity which is great and you also have a USB port if the soundbar ever needs to be updated.

As far as the sound goes, the SAMSUNG HW-S50A 3.0ch Soundbar is pretty impressive. It has a very easy to use sound mode button on the remote control that lets you move through the different presents, one of which is all about having clear dialogue. This is a 3.0 setup, so you have that center speaker that is there to hit you in the face which is pretty neat. I do think that it is lacking a tad in the bass department, but to be fair if it is dialogue that is your main want from a soundbar I do not see that being an issue. I do have to say that if you do decide to add a subwoofer or extra speakers, make sure you do your homework as Samsung are sometimes known not to play well with others.

What Other People Are Saying

Ok, so this Samsung HW-S60T review: A good all-in-one soundbar?  video is for the larger version, but the style is the same and you can get a good idea of how this thing is going to look in your home. This is a relatively new soundbar (well as of me writing this article) so there are not exactly a ton of customer reviews for this on Amazon just yet. However, this is sitting at 77 percent positive reviews from just under customer reviews.

Movie Recommendation

My movie recommendation here is one of my all time favorites and that is The Shawshank Redemption which is a movie that I feel never gets old. It is also a movie that my grandparents enjoy so it is more than worthy of being on this list. Anyway, this is a very dialogue heavy movie and that makes it perfect to try out this soundbar with. Morgan Freeman’s distinct voice is going to sound extra crispy when used with this soundbar.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the SAMSUNG HW-S50A 3.0ch Soundbar. I think it does what it does very well and granted the bass may be lacking a bit for me personally. However, for someone that is looking for a soundbar that is going to offer them enhanced dialogue, I do not see them being disappointed. I also feel that the under 200 bucks asking price makes this extra attractive too.

Pros:

  • This is not going to take up a ton of space
  • I like the way that this thing looks
  • The dialogue is nice and clear
  • I think that the asking price is more than fair

Cons:

  • The fabric covering might get damaged easily
  • It is lacking a tad in the bass department

VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar

VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X

Next up we have this fantastic VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar which is more than just a soundbar! This is actually a full home theatre set and this goes that step further by offering Dolby Atmos as well. You get the actual soundbar, but you also get two satellite speakers and a subwoofer as well. You are probably dreading hearing how much this costs, but this is currently listed on Amazon for $328! That is an absolute steal in my opinion and this makes this one of the best home theatre sets I have seen in quite some time. I knew this had to be on our best soundbar for dialogue list and truth be told, I have been looking for an excuse to talk about this for a while. As far as the connections go, you have HDMI, optical, and also a USB port for any potential updates as well.

The design is cool and the soundbar and the satellite speakers have a similar style where they are made with plastic, but then have a fabric grille. In terms of the sound, I want to start by talking about the way dialogue sounds with the VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar as that is what we are looking at today. Dialogue sounds fantastic when coming out of this thing. It is nice, clear and just the perfect volume, even if you are watching an action heavy scene with a ton of stuff going on, the dialogue is still nice and easy for you to follow. As this has satellite speakers and a subwoofer, thanks to the Dolby Atmos this has, you get a nice cinema style sound from this that is truly very impressive, even more so when you consider the asking price of this thing.

What Other People Are Saying

This [VIZIO Unboxing] VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X is actually done by VIZIO themselves and they do a great job of showcasing how this thing looks as well as letting you know exactly what you are getting for your money. There are not a ton of reviews for this on Amazon just yet as there are only 43, but 90 percent of these are for five or four stars! I think that this is going to be a very popular set once word of mouth starts traveling around.

Movie Recommendation

I wanted to pick a movie that has a lot of dialogue, but also a lot of other sounds to so we can put that Dolby Atmos through its paces and that is why I have gone for 1917 . I think that this is one of the greatest war movies ever made and a true modern classic. I am sure the Dolby Atmos is really going to come into its own with this movie and as a matter of fact, I know that it does from personal experience!

When I was first sent the VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar to test out I went into it not expecting much. How good could a Dolby Atmos setup at this price really be? Well, more fool me as this thing is fantastic and a great way to bring the magic of Dolby Atmos to your home at a very good price. The dialogue through this is crisp and clear, but this handles pretty much every kind of sound you could imagine!

Pros:

  • I cannot believe the asking price for this!
  • I like the overall design is very stylish
  • This has Dolby Atmos!
  • It comes with satellite speakers and a subwoofer

Cons:

  • Dolby Atmos is great, but it is as most basic as you can get to be honest
  • The fabric grille they have used could be damaged easily

Sonos Beam

Sonos Beam - Smart TV Sound Bar with Amazon Alexa Built-in - Black

I have yet to come across anyone that has used the Sonos Beam and not fallen in love with it. I knew that we had to have something from Sonos on our best soundbar for dialogue list. The design of this thing is just awesome, it comes in at 25.6” x 2.6” x 4.0 so it is ideal if you are short on space, but still want a soundbar. This does cost $399.99, but I have found it closer to the 300 bucks mark so be sure to shop around if you like the look of this. Sonos do offer this in both black and white so that is a nice touch. I am a big fan of the curvy design of the Beam and think it gives it a real elegance. It does have a fabric grille, but that seems to be the style that many other companies are going for these days. As far as connections go, the Sonos Beam has an HDMI port on the back and no optical! However, they do give you an HDMI to optical cable in the box so you are covered.

I have never used a Sonos product and have not been impressed with the dialogue quality. This offers dialogue enhancement which is great for someone that struggles to hear when people are talking on a TV show, movie, or whatever. Sound, in general, is very impressive through this and it does offer more bass than you would think, which is impressive considering it is lacking a subwoofer. While the sound is great, Sonos no longer include remote controls with their soundbars! You have to control it all via their app on your phone. The app is great, but for people like my grandparents that would make this an instant no buy. This is a shame as if this did have a dedicated remote, this probably would have been my suggestion for them to be honest with you.

What Other People Are Saying

The Sonos Beam is a very popular soundbar. As of me writing this on Amazon, there are nearly 5,000 customer reviews for this and a very impressive 91 percent of these reviews are glowingly positive. As a matter of fact, only 3 percent of the reviews are negative! I also suggest that you have a quick look at this Sonos Beam video from Sonos that really does a great job in showing this thing off.

Movie Recommendation

I am going for Jurassic Park with this awesome Jurassic World: 5 Movie Collection that features all five movies. Specifically, Jurassic Park and The Lost World are the movies I want to single out here. You of course have all the roaring and noise that the dinosaurs are making. However, Sam Neil and Jeff Goldblum have a very deliberate and soft way of speaking and I think the voice enhancement that this soundbar offers really does showcase just how good it is here.

Apart from the remote control, I do not think I have ever not sung the praises of the Sonos Beam. It is just a fantastic soundbar and I think the compact size of it and the fact it produces a great sound, even at that smaller size is a huge reason as to why it is still one of the most popular soundbars around. I cannot wait to see what Sonos offer next in this size, I would love them to make a Sonos Beam II and have Dolby Atmos with it!

Pros:

  • I love the curvy design that this has
  • If you shop around, you can get it closer to 300 bucks
  • The clarity of dialogue through this is amazing
  • It packs way more punch than its small size suggests

Cons:

  • The lack of a remote will be an issue for some people
  • I am sure the white version will be a massive dust magnet!

Bose Smart Soundbar 700

Bose Smart Soundbar 700: Premium Bluetooth Soundbar with Alexa Voice Control Built-in, White

I had to put the Bose Smart Soundbar 700 on our best soundbar for dialogue list as the Bose Smart Soundbar 700 is one of my all time favorite soundbars, pretty much only surpassed by the 900. Ok, so let us start with the obvious and that is the near 800 bucks price tag which puts this way higher than anything else we have looked at today, but this is such a high end soundbar.  Also with the release of the 900, I have seen this go as low as 650 bucks. It has a very cool look and the top of it is covered in glass and the front has a metal grille, there are not many (if any) soundbars that I think look cooler than this. It does come in at 4.25 x 38.5 x 2.25 inches so it is a pretty decent size. Connectivity is nice and easy thanks to offering HDMI, optical and it even has Bluetooth if you want to stream music from your phone through this thing.

Sound wise there is pretty much nothing this thing cannot do. Dialogue is great through here and you have many different sound options so that you can get the dialogue just the way you want. This soundbar has a crazy remote control that gives you so much control over the sound you are getting through this. I think that the bass is great, the mid-range is superb and it does pretty much everything except offer Dolby Atmos, which the follow-up the 900 has taken care of. I really do not think that there is anyone who could test this thing out and not be blown away by the sound that they experience.

What Other People Are Saying

When this came out it was the best soundbar you could get plain and simple. It has a great reputation online with close to 90 percent positive reviews on Amazon from the better part of two thousand customer reviews. There is no shortage of video reviews for this on YouTube, but I like this Bose Soundbar 700 – Listen to the Audio Samples! – REVIEW video as the guy puts it well and truly through the wringer and gives you a really good indication of just how good the sound this produces is.

Movie Recommendation

With the last Daniel Craig James Bond movie about to come out (well as I write this) I thought that his first movie as James Bond, Casino Royale would be a fitting recommendation. This is a great movie, a Bond movie that is a ton of fun and would set the tone for this latest run of the character. I think it is actually one of the more underrated Bond movies and it brought the character well and truly into modern times which as much fun as the Pierce Brosnan 007 movies was never quite managed. Even though if the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies have the best video games in my opinion.

I have talked about the Bose Smart Soundbar 700 so much on this site that I am sure some people are sick about it. Truth be told, I know that this is expensive, even with it being discounted thanks to Bose releasing the Bose Smart Soundbar 900, this is still by quite some margin the most expensive soundbar on this list! I love this thing and it right now is the soundbar that I have in my living room and it will be until I can figure out a way to weasel myself a 900!

Pros:

  • This is the coolest looking soundbar around
  • The whole thing just has a real quality about it
  • Dialogue and sound in general, is amazing
  • You can find it for a fair bit under the $799.99 RRP if you shop around

Cons:

  • This is the most expensive soundbar we have looked at today
  • It has been surpassed by the Bose Smart Soundbar 900

What Is The Best Soundbar For Dialogue?

I have to say that all of these are fantastic and deliver immense sound and sound that is about a million times better than what your TV speakers are offering. If clear dialogue is what you are after, you cannot go wrong with any of these, and while the Bose Smart Soundbar 700 is currently my favorite soundbar that is not who I am picking as the winner of our best soundbar for dialogue contest.

In taking everything into consideration I have to give this one to the VIZIO M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar. That is the soundbar that I suggested for my grandparents and they are over the moon with it and have really gotten into having movie nights. It offers you Dolby Atmos and gives you a full surround sound setup. The vocal clarity through it thanks to the level of clear voice it has is just great, but it is all the extras that you are getting here and the fact that this is coming in at under 350 bucks that make this the winner for me.

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