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A soundbar, sound bar or media bar is a type of loudspeaker that projects audio from a wide enclosure. It is much wider than it is tall, partly for acoustics reasons, and partly so it can be mounted above or below a display device (e.g. above a computer monitor or under a Home cinema or television screen). In a soundbar, multiple speakers are placed in a single cabinet, which helps to create stereo sound and surround sound effect. A separate subwoofer is typically included with, or may be used to supplement, a soundbar.
Later early passive versions simply integrated left, centre and right speakers into one enclosure, sometimes called an "LCR soundbar".
Altec Lansing introduced a multichannel soundbar in 1998 called the "Voice of the Digital Theatre" or the ADA106. It was a powered speaker system that offered stereo, Dolby Pro-Logic and AC3 surround sound from the soundbar and a separate subwoofer. The soundbar contained four 3-inch full range drivers and two 1-inch tweeters while the subwoofer housed one 8-inch dual voice coil driver. It used Altec Lansing's side-firing technology and to provide surround sound from the sides, rear and front. This configuration eliminated the wiring of separate speakers and the space they would require.
Soundbars have also been criticized for their lack of upgradability. While a sound system using a receiver can be paired with most speakers and subwoofers, soundbars are usually only compatible with their manufacturer's bespoke options, if upgradable at all. Some higher ends soundbars have the ability to perform firmware or similar updates to its soundbar to upgrade the sound or similar things and add new functions.
With the increasing availability of Dolby Atmos content since 2021, it has become increasingly important for soundbars to produce height effects. The conventional setup involves additional wireless up-firing speakers: the ceiling of the room is to bounce height effects off the ceiling, towards the listener. Audio specialized companies such as Nakamichi offer a different approach, in which proprietary upmixing algorithms (patial-amplification, phase improvements, height effect sound layer interlacing) allow a regular 7.1/7.2/9.2 system to provide height effects.
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