If you're looking to pick up a TV ahead of the Super Bowl, Samsung is currently discounting many of its QLED TVs, matching their lowest prices ever. Normally, the 75-inch model of the Samsung QN85A QLED TV costs $2,999.99 but is currently on sale at Samsung and Best Buy for $1,999.99. This massive, slim-bezel display features amazing visual fidelity and also includes a variety of other handy features. The Tizen OS grants access to most major streaming services and a number of helpful apps, and the TV features built-in support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing you to control playback or find your favorite show with ease. The already excellent picture quality is enhanced even further thanks to HDR10 support, a 120Hz refresh rate, and FreeSync compatibility for superior gaming performance.

The system creates a clear and immersive experience for music as well as film and TV content. Samsung's HW-Q950A is a fully equipped solution, offering 22 drivers, multiple speakers, and 11.1.4-channel The system slots upfiring and side-firing drivers not only in the bar, but also in the wireless surround speakers, punching out enough Dolby Atmos expansion to make you question the need for discreet speaker surround sound systems at all. As noted in our Q950A review, no soundbar can deliver the full dynamics, resonance, and presence of a true multi-speaker home theater system setup. But the Q950A comes about as close as we've heard, at a more approachable price. Its reams of drivers combine for a thrilling Dolby Atmos (and DTS:X) experience that transforms your room into a "dome" of sound. The system also offers impressive musicality for such a thin device (Samsung acquired AKG for a reason).

That's the question LG's SP9YA poses, which comes labeled as a 5.1.2 The SP9YA isn't the first soundbar to attempt this trick; the Creative SXFI Carrier tries something similar, and with similarly mixed results. The SP9YA also packs an array of impressive features, including AI-powered room correction, eARC, built-in AirPlay 2 and Chromecast, as well as support for Alexa speaker groups and Spotify Connect. This review is part of TechHive's coverage of the best soundbars. Click that link to read reviews of competing products, along with a buyer's guide to the features you should consider when shopping.

You could say that the Magnifi 2 is the soundbar-iest soundbar. The 2.1-channel system pulls out all the stops to pull off a multi-speaker experience from its compact design, fully embodying the soundbar creed. To that end, it does as well as could be expected with the tools Polk has provided, and the combination of sheer brute force and clear detail the bar musters from its limited armory is impressive. Nearly every rival at this price adds at least a center channel for dialogue. What's more, the Magnifi 2 can't decode high-end audio formats like Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio (let alone popular 3D formats like Dolby Atmos), leaving it to dwell somewhere in limbo between entry-level bars like Vizio's V21 and multi-channel Atmos powerhouses like the Sonos Arc.

The real crux of the issue isn't whether or not the SR-B20A is a good soundbar: it is, delivering robust audio for TV, movies, music, and games, despite the lack of an external subwoofer. The issue is that there are same-price'bars that do more: Yamaha's own YAS-109 soundbar is roughly the same price and gets you Amazon Alexa compatibility, while the very valuable Vizio V-Series'bar includes a very respectable external subwoofer at, by this estimation, no extra cost. The best thing about the SR-B20A is that it delivers very respectable sound without the need for an external subwoofer. If you really don't have much space to work with, it's an ideal choice. However, if you want to maximize sound quality per dollar, you're probably better off springing for a soundbar that delivers the kind of cinematic punch made possible by an external sub.

Polk Audio manages to tease some relatively impressive virtual 3D audio out of its 2.1-channel MagniFi soundbar, which makes the speaker's subpar bass response all the more disappointing. Equipped with built-in Chromecast and Google Assistant support, the MagniFi 2 is easy to set up, and Polk Audio's custom digital sound processing delivers subtle surround and height effects without undue harshness. The $499 MagniFi 2 also comes with three HDMI inputs, a pleasant surprise for a soundbar in this price range. But while it's unquestionably an upgrade over standard TV speakers, the MagniFi 2's otherwise crisp audio is undermined by muddy bass from the wireless subwoofer, robbing the sound of punchiness. Polk Audio has three lines of soundbars.

The two-year-old Yamaha BAR 400 is one of the least expensive soundbars around to offer high-resolution multi-room audio support, but you'll need to sacrifice other features--such as Dolby Atmos and a center channel--in the bargain. This 2.1-channel model boasts support for Yamaha's robust MultiCast multi-room audio platform and Apple's AirPlay 2, and it serves up solid 2D movie audio and top-notch music performance. But the $500 MusicCast BAR 400 lacks native support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, the two leading 3D audio formats that are fast becoming de rigueur in this price range, and its DTS Virtual:X mode sounds too harsh to be a viable substitute. With its $500 price tag and support for Yamaha's high-resolution MusicCast multi-room audio system, the two-year-old Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 is something of a throwback in Yamaha's soundbar lineup. In the past couple of years, Yamaha has focused more on budget-priced DTS Virtual:X soundbars (think $350 or less), none of which support MusicCast.

LG SN8YG soundbar ticks many of our favorite boxes, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based sound, eARC support for lossless audio, room calibration, and built-in Chromecast and Google Assistant. More importantly, the $800 SN8YG doesn't skimp on sonic fundamentals, paying special attention to the mid-range audio that too many of its competitors tend to gloss over. While its flat sound signature won't appeal to all tastes and it lacks soundstage-boosting side-firing drives, the LG SN8YG's full, rich audio quality nails the basics. This review is part of TechHive's coverage of the best soundbars, where you'll find reviews of competing products, plus a buyer's guide to the features you should consider when shopping. If you wish, you can turn the 440-watt SN8YG into a full-on 5.1.2

To answer the question posed in the subhed, no, Polk didn't create the Command Bar by taking a hole saw to the middle of its chassis and dropping an Amazon Echo Dot in there. But the feature is unquestionably designed to look like that, and this soundbar does support Amazon's Alexa digital assistant. Soundbars are hot these days, and they run the gamut from sub-$100 cheapies to the ludicrously priced, but wow-it's-impressive Creative X-Fi Sonic Carrier. Polk is going after the better-than-entry-level market with this $300 speaker. That makes it $100 cheaper than the recently reviewed Sonos Beam, and it comes with a nicely matched subwoofer.

Whether you're gaming on a PC or console, you want to be swept up in the action. Picture quality, size, and sound are all important, but what happens when your TV simply can't react as fast as you can? The most exciting, fast-paced games--like shooters, fighters, or racing sims--are built around the assumption that split-second reactions will actually happen within a split-second on your screen. When they don't, it's a major immersion breaker, and input lag is usually the culprit. But with a brand-new new batch of consoles, ever more powerful PCs, and the rise of affordable 4K TVs, where do you even begin?