If you’re building a home cinema set-up or just want to boost the audio from your TV, a soundbar is essential to an immersive movie night. To make shopping that little bit easier, we’ve picked out the best soundbars (under £100).
All of the cheap soundbars we’ve highlighted are backed by positive reviews from customers that have put them through their paces.
Keep reading our buying guide to see how a soundbar can improve your TV, and for more details on the soundbars under £100 that we recommend.
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What is a soundbar?
The clue is in the name. A soundbar is a bar-shaped speaker that usually sits underneath your TV. These gadgets amplify the sound from your TV and offer more power than the speakers on the side of your TV.
If you want a true surround sound experience, you can try pairing a soundbar with a subwoofer.
How can a soundbar improve your TV?
The primary job of a soundbar is to make your viewing experience even more immersive. It’ll spread the sound from your TV evenly through your living room with more bass than you’re used to – if you’re watching an action-packed blockbuster, you’ll ‘feel’ every explosion.
There are other benefits. Investing in a soundbar could be a good decision if you’re currently struggling to hear your TV from where it’s sat. You can also connect wirelessly to most soundbars, which could be useful if you’re hosting a party and want to background noise.
- Enjoy a surround sound experience – soundbars are better at dispersing sound than TVs. They’re louder, too.
- Experience deeper bass – if you’re a fan of Hollywood blockbusters, treat yourself to a soundbar. The bass generated by the best soundbars will add something special to the viewing experience.
- Connect with your smartphone – most soundbars support a Bluetooth connection, so you can pair them with smartphones and tablets. In other words, your soundbar can double as a party speaker when you have guests over.
You’ll be pleased to hear that you don’t have to break the bank to get yourself a popular soundbar. See below for more on soundbars under £100.
How much does a soundbar cost?
It depends on the brand you side with and the size of the soundbar itself. We’ve spotted some top-rated soundbars for under £100, as you’ll see further down this page.
But prices for premium soundbars can zoom past the £1,000 mark. At that price point, the models on offer are blessed with deep, powerful sound, smart features, EQ settings and more.
Soundbar prices can go beyond £1,000, but our cheap alternatives will still do a great job of complimenting your favourite movies.
We’ve trawled through Amazon to dig out some soundbars under £100.
The 5 BEST Soundbars under £100
1. Majority Snowdon II Soundbar
Price: £34.95
This cheap soundbar from Majority could be yours for under £40. It’s an ‘Amazon’s Choice’ best-seller, featuring a built-in subwoofer and an impressive 120W output. If you’re looking for an affordable way to give your home cinema an extra punch of bass, this could be the model to go for.
The Majority Snowdon II can be used wirelessly via a Bluetooth connection. It’ll plug directly into your TV using the bundled RCA cable, or you can sync it to your smartphone or tablet without having to mess around with cables. Bluetooth support means you can load up your favourite Spotify playlist on your mobile and have the sound play through the Majority speaker. If you’re hosting a party, it’ll adapt well.
We think this soundbar looks its best mounted to the wall. Place it just underneath your living room TV and your favourite movies will have a noticeable ‘boom’ to them.
A handy remote that partners up with the Snowdon II has dedicated treble and bass buttons. You can adjust the sound of your music in seconds if you want to tweak the performance.
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2. ABOX 2.1 Channel Soundbar & Subwoofer
Price: £79.95
This head-turning ABOX bundle on Amazon gets you both a soundbar and a subwoofer for under £100. The 120W soundbar sits underneath your living room TV, right next to the wired subwoofer which produces room-filling audio. ABOX says that its bundle will serve up ‘deep, punchy bass’, ‘detailed midrange’ and ‘crispier treble’.
The remote control included in this ABOX package has 4 individual EQ buttons. You can pick between ‘News’, ‘Music’, ‘Movie’ and ‘3D’ depending on what you’re watching. With the soundbar and subwoofer forming a capable team, you’ll be treated to cinematic surround sound from the comfort of your sofa.
Like the Snowdon II, this ABOX model supports a wireless connection through Bluetooth. The soundbar can pair quickly with your Android or iOS device over-the-air, or you can use an AUX-In cable. The ABOX has a brushed metal grill and angled sides, which gives it a premium finish. For a sub-£100 product, it’s a good-looking piece of kit.
Head to ABOX’s Amazon page and you’ll see this product is backed by hundreds of positive reviews. Customers have complimented this affordable home cinema package on ‘amazing’, ‘rich’ and ‘detailed’ sound. Try it for yourself.
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3. Aisung Soundbar
Price: £24.99
We don’t think this mini soundbar is powerful enough to compliment your big-screen TV, but it’s a good fit for a PC desk. This Aisung model has a pair of built-in 5W drivers that really kick things up a notch if you’re gaming.
You can connect to this 19-inch soundbar via Bluetooth or with a physical connection using the audio input slot. If you connect your mobile to this soundbar and turn it off, the next time you power up the soundbar the two devices will be paired automatically once again.
On the side of the soundbar, you’ll also see a USB charging port and a TF card connector.
You don’t always have to reach for a remote to control this soundbar. There are four physical buttons on the soundbar that deal with power, volume, play and pause.
According to Aisung, you’ll get ‘up to 6 hours’ from this soundbar on a single charge. It has a Bluetooth distance of around 10m.
In the box, you’ll get the speaker itself, along with a remote, USB cable, AUX cable, RCA cable and batteries.
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4. LG SK1D Soundbar
Price: £58.99
Here’s another ‘Amazon’s Choice’ soundbar you might want to add to the shopping list. We think the LG SK1D all-in-one is one of the most stylish options around.
This sub-£100 soundbar has the brains to adjust your audio automatically. When it detects dialogue, it’ll tweak the sound to make sure everything is crystal-clear, while action scenes will cause the soundbar to raise the sub for more impact.
When it’s not in use, the LG SK1D waits in standby mode. But once it notices you’re trying to connect your smartphone or tablet to it, it’ll wake up without you having to press any buttons.
LG claims that it’s Auto Sound Engine ‘optimizes the audio at every volume level keeping the frequencies accurate in the right place’.
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5. Megacra TV Soundbar
Price: £45.99
This 28-inch Megacra soundbar is on offer for under £50. The brand promises ‘superior sound’ and ‘booming bass’ from this affordable model, which features a pair of 3-inch full-range drivers.
Megacra is confident that you won’t notice any sound distortion from this speaker even when you have the volume cranked up high.
To make sure setting up this soundbar for the first time is a simple job, you’ll get an optical cable in the box that connects your TV to the soundbar. There’s a bundled remote, too.
Again, this soundbar supports Bluetooth for smartphone and tablet connectivity. Megacra suggests pairing this soundbar with a TV that’s bigger than 32 inches.
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