5 simple ways I make my soundbar sound more expensive

• 1 Room placement (and sound dampening)
• 3 Putting the subwoofer in the right place
• 4 Using the right audio connection
• 5 Updating firmware when possible

Summary

• Beyond placing your soundbar directly under your TV, you may want to remove sound obstacles, and invest in acoustic panels to improve dampening.
• Always make use of calibration options, and re-calibrate your speaker whenever something significant changes in your room. Experiment with EQ settings too, such as vocal- and bass-booster toggles.
• Connect your bar via eARC if your speaker and TV have compatible HDMI ports. ARC is the next best choice. Optical and Bluetooth connections should only ever be used as a fallback.

Chances are, if you have any sort of external speaker for your TV, it’s a soundbar. It’s an optimal use of space, allowing you to cram in everything from a basic two-channel system to one capable of handling 3D surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos. Even people who can afford a full home theater might prefer to keep things simple — I know I’d rather deal with a couple of cables behind my set than figure out placement and wiring for a bunch of satellite units.

As simple as soundbars are, though, there are ways of improving their output. And you should if you can. While personally, I don’t feel the need for anything more extravagant than my Sonos Ray, everyone deserves to hear their favorite movie with something like the punch it had in theaters.

I don’t know if I have an absolute favorite movie anymore, in case you’re curious. I just have a few top picks, such as Apocalypse Now, The Fellowship of the Ring, and David Lynch’s Dune — and I’d be pretty disappointed if they didn’t have booming soundtracks.

1 Room placement (and sound dampening)

Atmos fans, pay attention

As you’d guess, placement isn’t all that complicated. The best spot is typically directly under your TV, centered to provide the most natural stereo panning. Ideally, your bar should also be around ear height, relative to where you’re sitting to watch. That’s not always possible, but the closer you can get, the better. Some people use a wall mount to achieve this. As an alternative, you might do what my wife did, which is build a shelf in just the right spot.

One thing you may not have considered is sound dampening. A soundbar should never be obstructed by anything, whether those are decorations, streaming devices, game consoles, or the TV itself. If you’re dealing with unwanted reverb, you may be able to improve sound by intentionally adding dampening to your walls and floors. There are dedicated soundproofing (AKA acoustic) panels if you need them, although something as simple as a rug or soft wall hanging may help.

Bear in mind that if your soundbar simulates surround sound by bouncing it around the room, you don’t want to kill reverb completely. Figure out which drivers are the “bounce” channels and experiment with dampening (or deliberate reflection) accordingly. In the case of Atmos and DTS:X soundbars, there tend to be at least two upward-firing drivers to simulate vertical audio.

No special hardware needed

Because soundbars that simulate surround sound rely on wall or ceiling reflections, calibration is absolutely essential for them. Bad or absent calibration can result in sounds seeming to come from the wrong place, or being mixed at the wrong levels. The good news here is that calibration is increasingly automatic, handled either on-device or through a mobile app. Either way, a microphone is used to capture test signals, which help paint an acoustic “map” of your room.

The only thing I’ll add is that if you change your soundbar’s position, or meaningfully redecorate a space, you should run calibration again to compensate.

Speaking of mobile apps, take advantage of any EQ (equalization) tools they have. That includes experimenting with presets, even if you’re reasonably happy with default levels. Once you’ve found a preset you like, it may be possible to customize frequencies further, say if you find mids or highs lacking. Some bars have specific vocal- or bass-booster toggles, which can be handy shortcuts if they’re implemented properly. You don’t want a bass-booster that drowns out dialogue, or a vocal-booster that kills too much of the low end.

3 Putting the subwoofer in the right place

Or simply, managing bass

If you have a separate subwoofer connected to your soundbar, it’s hard to go too far astray with placement, as long as it’s sitting directly on the floor — it’s not going to accomplish much by shaking a shelf or entertainment center. To enhance things further, try placing it in a corner or along a wall, since this can bounce some of its frequencies into the wider sound mix. That could be overkill, mind. And if a subwoofer is rattling too much, it may be time to slip a mat or rug underneath.

Dedicated subwoofers are increasingly optional, since the best soundbars tend to have powerful integrated units. Even my Sonos Ray would trigger noise complaints if I ramped up the volume. If your bar does have an integrated subwoofer, spend some time testing related EQ settings, and use the same principles to control bass that you would with a separate accessory.

4 Using the right audio connection

The hierarchy of sound

Whenever you’re given the choice, the best option to connect your soundbar is eARC. Although vanilla ARC connections support 3D surround formats like Atmos and DTS:X, they have to use compressed audio to do it, which means you won’t be able to take advantage of Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. That’s probably fine, though, unless you’re aiming for audio perfection.

If both ARC and eARC aren’t available for some reason, the next best option is an optical/TOSLINK port. That limits you to compressed stereo or 5.1-channel audio, but the worst trade-off may actually be CEC support. Optical speakers can’t automatically be controlled by your TV, so you may need to “teach” your soundbar to respond to your remote, if it works at all. You may be out of luck if your remote doesn’t have an IR blaster.

Bluetooth should be the option of last resort. While Bluetooth has come a long way, it’s even more bandwidth-restricted than optical, and more prone to lag too. It’s not good for much more than basic two-channel audio.

5 Updating firmware when possible

Don’t count on miracles, though

Realistically, most soundbar firmware updates aren’t going to change much, which is why this suggestion is towards the bottom of the list. They can occasionally make a difference, however. For example, a May 2025 update improved Speech Enhancement on the Sonos Arc Ultra. On any software-enhanced soundbar, you might benefit from things like bug fixes, increased responsiveness, and expanded app or format compatibility. You will, of course, have to pair the appropriate mobile app, and be patient while new firmware downloads and installs — speakers aren’t equipped with the same level of horsepower as your phone.

If an update fails, don’t panic. There’s always some means of performing a factory reset. After that, you can reconnect your phone and attempt the update again, or try using your bar as a “dumb” speaker. Be aware that some software-based features won’t work, such as vocal boosts or smart home integration.