Recommended Sub $100 Soundbars

My second pick is the Ultimea Poseidon M60, which is just a really consistently good bar with no major downsides other than the higher price. I suspect we’ll still see the M60 go down to $99 for Prime Day and Black Friday, but I think the $158 normal price might be here to stay.

For me, the INFITBO D40CS is the one I kept coming back to. It provided the most dynamic sound with clear vocals, and the subwoofer provided meaningful bass without getting too boomy in the midbass. The only downsides about the INFITBO are its shorter subwoofer cable and a lower maximum volume than the Saiyin and Ultimea. So one of those might be a better option if you’re planning on using these outside or in a giant room and you want them to be really loud.

If you know you like to turn up the bass and you don’t mind a little bit of boominess, the Saiyin SPB will probably suit you the best, and I’m happy to see that they’ve updated their Bluetooth firmware from last year to fix the audio sync issues.

The Amazon Renewed Hisense R651 offers a lot of value for $90 with five speakers in the main bar, a wireless subwoofer, and two wired surround speakers. But the overall sound quality wasn’t better than the INFITBO, and any time you get something renewed you don’t know what its condition will be. Mine was in good shape other than the fact that it smelled like a Yankee Candle store, which made me a little nervous about what smell the refurbishers were trying to cover up. Still, if you want a wireless sub and have a good spot to put the surround speakers, the Hisense R651 is a lot of system for under $100 if you’re willing to take a gamble, and the surrounds do add an extra dimension to the viewing experience.

I have to say that the TCL did much better than I was expecting given its extremely lacking hardware, and I was most surprised by how much brighter and energetic the coins in the video clip I tested sounded despite the lack of dedicated tweeters. But it’s basically impossible for a bar-only system to compete with a subwoofer for bass performance, and I didn’t think the TCL’s slight advantages in treble and midrange were enough to overcome the huge discrepancy in bass performance.