Top 3 Best SoundBars Over $1000 in 2022

By Robert Jones · 2021-08-10

Right, if you're thinking of splashing over a grand on a soundbar, you're expecting more than just louder TV speakers, aren't you? I've put some of the top-tier options through their paces to see what's what.

It's easy to get sucked into the hype surrounding soundbars these days, especially when you start looking at the proper premium end of the market. Everyone wants that minimalist look, don't they? Fewer boxes, fewer cables, a tidier living room. But can a soundbar really give you the goosebumps that a proper separates system can? I've spent a fair bit of time with some of the pricier options over the past year or so, and I'm here to tell you what's what. **Quick Verdict: The Sennheiser Ambeo Max is still the king for immersive sound, but the Sony HT-A7000 offers fantastic value and flexibility.** ### Why a Premium Soundbar, Anyway? Now, for twenty years, my workshop has been a shrine to big, clunky speakers and racks full of amplifiers. A soundbar? Blasphemy, some might say. But times change, eh? People want convenience. They want a big sound without the big footprint. And if you're splashing over a grand, you're expecting more than just louder TV speakers. You're after clarity, depth, and something that makes movie night feel like a proper event, not just another Wednesday. I'm talking about proper immersion here. Dialogue that cuts through the explosions, a bass line that you *feel* in your chest, and effects that seem to come from all around you. That's the promise of a premium soundbar. Not just bigger sound, but *better* sound. And if it means keeping the missus happy by not filling the lounge with more gear, then all the better. ### What I Look For in a High-End Soundbar When I'm putting something through its paces in the workshop, especially when it costs more than my first car, I'm not just ticking boxes. I'm listening. Hard. Here's what matters most: * **Sound Quality (obviously!):** This is paramount. Detail, dynamics, clear dialogue, and a soundstage that extends beyond the bar itself. Does it sound natural? Does it manage to create convincing height and width? Can it handle subtle nuances as well as explosive action? * **Immersion & Spatial Audio:** If it's got Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, does it actually *work*? Do the overhead effects sound like they're coming from above, or just a bit higher than the TV? This is where many fall short, honestly. * **Bass Performance:** A good soundbar needs a solid foundation. If it comes with a subwoofer, is it well-integrated? If not, can the bar itself deliver a satisfying rumble without sounding boomy or uncontrolled? You want to feel those low notes, not just hear them. * **Connectivity:** HDMI eARC is a must. Optical is a nice backup. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for music streaming? Expected at this price. Future-proofing matters, too – are there enough inputs for your gear? * **Build Quality & Design:** It's sitting under your TV, often a focal point. It needs to look good, feel solid, and not distract from the picture. Premium materials are a given for this price bracket. * **Ease of Use & Calibration:** How simple is it to set up? Does it have decent room correction? Can you tweak the sound to your liking without needing a degree in acoustics? Right, let's crack on with the contenders. I've picked three that really stand out from the pack, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Bear in mind, this is based on my time with them in varying rooms, not just a perfect acoustically treated studio. ![Top 3 Best SoundBars Over $1000 in 2022](https://speakersmag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Best-SoundBars-Over-1000.jpg) *Top 3 Best SoundBars Over $1000 in 2022 — tested in the SpeakersMag workshop.* ## 1. Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max (Often just "Ambeo Max") Now, this beast has been around a bit, but it's still the yardstick for many. When it first came out, everyone was scratching their heads at the price, often north of £2,000. But blimey, what it does with sound is something else. I've had one of these in my main listening room for about six months now, on and off, and it never fails to impress. Sennheiser, right? They know a thing or two about sound. And they've thrown all their tech at this one. It's massive, mind you. Weighs a ton, built like a brick outhouse. You'll need a sturdy TV stand or a very well-anchored wall bracket for this. ### Sound Quality: Pure Magic The Ambeo Max's party trick is its ability to create a truly enveloping soundfield from a single bar. It uses advanced psychoacoustic trickery and fifteen individual drivers – six 4-inch woofers, five 1-inch tweeters, and two 3.5-inch full-range drivers for the up-firing Atmos effects. It's got serious grunt, too, with 500 watts of Class D amplification. When I first fired it up with a good Dolby Atmos demo, my jaw genuinely dropped. It creates height effects that are incredibly convincing, and the side walls seem to disappear. Explosions in *Mad Max: Fury Road* rumble with authority, and dialogue in *The Crown* is crystal clear, even in busy scenes. Music sounds fantastic too – surprisingly musical for a soundbar, with excellent detail and imaging. It manages to sound expansive without sounding artificial, which is a rare feat. ### Immersion & Spatial Audio: Unrivalled This is where the Ambeo Max earns its keep. Its room calibration system is incredibly thorough. You plug in a little microphone, and it pings test tones around your room, learning the acoustics. It then tailors the sound to your specific space, bouncing sound off walls to create virtual speakers. And it *works*. Truly. I've tested it in a few different rooms – a small office, a medium-sized lounge, and my big open-plan kitchen-diner. In all cases, it created a much wider and taller soundstage than any other soundbar I've heard. It handles pretty much every audio format you can throw at it: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, MPEG-H. It even has its own "Ambeo" 3D mode that can upmix stereo or 5.1 content into something more immersive. Sometimes these upmixers are a bit gimmicky, but Sennheiser's is actually rather good, adding a sense of space without sounding unnatural. ### Bass Performance: Deep & Tight Crucially, the Ambeo Max delivers impressive bass without a separate subwoofer. Those six 4-inch woofers do serious work. For most rooms and most listeners, I reckon you won't feel the need for an external sub. It's not just about loudness; it's about control. Bass notes are tight, punchy, and well-defined, not just a blurry rumble. Of course, if you're a bass fiend and want to rattle the foundations, you can always add any external subwoofer via its RCA output. But for my money, it's perfectly adequate as is. ### Connectivity & Features: Fully Loaded You get three HDMI 2.0a inputs, one HDMI 2.1 eARC output, optical, RCA, and an Ethernet port. Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi are built-in, supporting Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2. Pretty much everything you'd need. The Smart Control app is decent enough for setup and adjustments. **Pros:** * Truly incredible, enveloping 3D sound from a single bar * Fantastic room calibration * Deep, controlled bass without a separate subwoofer * Superb build quality * Excellent for both movies and music **Cons:** * Very expensive (usually £1,999 - £2,200) * Massive and heavy – requires significant space * No separate physical rear speakers option **Who it's for:** * Anyone wanting the absolute best immersive sound from a single-box solution * Those with limited space for a full speaker setup but a generous budget * Film enthusiasts who crave accurate spatial audio effects **Who should skip it:** * Anyone on a tighter budget (under £1,500) * People with small, flimsy TV stands * Those who insist on physical rear speakers for true surround ## 2. Sony HT-A7000 with Optional SW5 Subwoofer and RS3S Rears Now, Sony has been in the sound game for ages, and they've really stepped up their premium soundbar offerings recently. The HT-A7000 is their flagship, and it's designed to be a modular system. You can buy the bar on its own, or you can add their dedicated wireless subwoofer (SW3 or SW5) and wireless rear speakers (RS3S or RS5) later. This flexibility is a real draw for some. I tested it with the full setup: the HT-A7000 bar, the bigger SW5 sub, and the RS3S rears. Without the extras, it's usually around £1,000-£1,200. With the SW5 and RS3S, you're looking at closer to £2,000, maybe more. ### Sound Quality: Expansive & Detailed On its own, the HT-A7000 bar is a very capable performer. It's a 7.1.2 channel bar, meaning it has seven front-firing drivers, two up-firing for height, and a built-in dual subwoofer. It handles dialogue brilliantly – clear and anchored to the screen. The soundstage it creates is broad, stretching well beyond the physical dimensions of the bar. It has a good sense of dynamics, too, handling quiet whispers and loud explosions with competence. With the SW5 subwoofer added, the bass gets a significant boost. It's deeper, more impactful, and fills the room with ease. The SW5 is a powerful unit, and it integrates seamlessly with the bar, which is often a problem with separate subs. Adding the RS3S rears is where it really comes alive, though. They give you proper, discrete surround effects that the Ambeo Max, for all its cleverness, can't quite replicate from a single unit. You get actual sounds coming from *behind* you, which is a different kind of immersion. ### Immersion & Spatial Audio: Excellent with Extras Sony's "360 Spatial Sound Mapping" technology is clever. It uses microphones in the soundbar (and in the rears if you have them) to map your room and create phantom speakers. When you add the rear speakers, it can generate up to twelve "phantom" speakers around you. It's very effective. The height channels are good, not quite as astonishing as the Ambeo Max, but still convincing. When those helicopters fly overhead in a film, you definitely feel them above you. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding are, of course, present and correct. The soundstage becomes truly three-dimensional with the full setup. Without the rears, it's still very good for a soundbar, but you miss that true wrap-around feeling that physical speakers provide. ### Bass Performance: Good, Great with Subwoofer As a standalone unit, the HT-A7000 has decent built-in bass, certainly better than a TV, but it can sound a bit thin compared to the Ambeo Max. The dual integrated subwoofers do a fair job, but for proper cinematic rumble, the SW5 subwoofer is almost essential. It's a significant upgrade, adding depth and impact that makes action films truly exciting. If you're spending this much, budget for the SW5. ### Connectivity & Features: Very Modern This is a well-connected bar. You get two HDMI 2.1 inputs (one with eARC), which is a big deal for gamers or those with multiple 4K/120Hz devices. There's also optical, analogue audio in, USB, and an Ethernet port. For wireless, you've got Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, Chromecast, AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect. It's got all the bases covered. It also works with Sony's Bravia Acoustic Center Sync, allowing some Sony TVs to use their internal speakers as a centre channel, which can further improve dialogue clarity. **Pros:** * Modular system allows for upgrades (sub and rears) * Excellent sound with optional physical rears for true surround * Two HDMI 2.1 inputs (great for modern consoles) * Very good room calibration system * Clean, premium design **Cons:** * Full immersive potential requires expensive add-ons * Bass from the bar alone is only adequate for the price * Can get very pricey with all the extras (over £2,000) **Who it's for:** * Those who want the option to build a true wireless surround system over time * Gamers who need HDMI 2.1 passthrough * Sony TV owners who can take advantage of Acoustic Center Sync * Anyone wanting a great balance of features, sound, and flexibility **Who should skip it:** * People who absolutely refuse to have any physical rear speakers * Those on a strict budget who can't afford the add-ons * If you don't need HDMI 2.1 and want pure sound quality from a single bar (Ambeo Max might be better) ## 3. Sonos Arc with Sub (Gen 3) and Era 300 Rears Sonos. Everyone knows Sonos, don't they? They've basically cornered the market for multi-room audio. Their soundbars have always been popular for their simplicity and integration into the Sonos ecosystem. The Arc is their top-tier soundbar, and while it's good on its own (around £899), to get into the "premium over £1,000" category and compete with the others here, you absolutely need to add the Sub (Gen 3) and ideally the Era 300 rears. With the full kit – Arc, Sub, and two Era 300s – you're looking at a chunky £2,000+. I've got a full Sonos system in my conservatory, so I know these inside out. ### Sound Quality: Clear, Dynamic, and Immersive with Add-ons The Arc itself is a sleek, minimalist bar. It's got eleven drivers inside, including two up-firing ones for height effects. On its own, it delivers a very clear and spacious sound. Dialogue is excellent, and it creates a decent, wide soundstage. For music, it's typically Sonos – clean, balanced, and enjoyable. It handles Dolby Atmos well for a single bar, creating a sense of height and width, but it's not quite as convincing as the Ambeo Max's magical trickery. However, it truly transforms when you add the Sub (Gen 3). This thing is a powerhouse. It delivers deep, visceral bass that truly underpins movie soundtracks and music. It's probably one of the best wireless subwoofers out there. Then, adding the Era 300 speakers as rears is the final piece of the puzzle. The Era 300s are special because they *also* have up-firing and side-firing drivers, making them true multi-directional rears for Atmos content. This creates an incredibly immersive sound bubble, arguably the best discrete surround experience on this list, thanks to those dedicated physical height channels from the rears. ### Immersion & Spatial Audio: Top-tier Discrete Surround With the full Arc + Sub + Era 300 setup, the Sonos system delivers a fantastic Dolby Atmos experience. The combination of the Arc's height drivers and the Era 300s' multi-directional design creates a really convincing dome of sound. You get precise object placement, and effects move smoothly around and above you. It feels like a proper home cinema system, just without all the wires running everywhere. Sonos's Trueplay room tuning (via an iPhone, mind) helps optimise the sound for your specific room, and it does a decent job. It's not as forensic as Sennheiser's system, but it makes a noticeable improvement. ### Bass Performance: Exceptional with Sub The Arc on its own has decent bass, but it's nothing to write home about. You *need* the Sub (Gen 3) to unlock this system's full potential. The Sub is genuinely brilliant. It's deep, powerful, and incredibly musical. It integrates flawlessly with the Arc, taking the strain off the main soundbar and allowing it to focus on mids and highs. It's a significant cost, but if bass matters to you, it's worth every penny. ### Connectivity & Features: Simple but Limited This is where Sonos can be a bit polarising. The Arc only has one HDMI eARC port and an Ethernet port. That's it. No additional HDMI inputs, no optical (though it comes with an optical adapter). This means all your devices need to be plugged into your TV, and the TV then sends the audio to the Arc via eARC. For most modern setups, this is fine, but if your TV has limited HDMI ports or older HDMI standards, it could be a headache. It supports Wi-Fi, Apple AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect, of course, as part of the Sonos ecosystem. **Pros:** * Fantastic, immersive 3D sound with full setup (Sub + Era 300s) * Best discrete surround experience due to Era 300 rears * Exceptional bass from the Sonos Sub (Gen 3) * Seamless integration into the Sonos multi-room ecosystem * Sleek, minimalist design **Cons:** * Very limited connectivity (only one HDMI eARC port) * Full system is very expensive (over £2,000) * Bass is lacking without the optional Sub * Trueplay tuning requires an iPhone **Who it's for:** * Existing Sonos users who want to expand their system * Those who prioritise discrete, physical rear surround effects * People who want top-tier bass performance * Anyone who values a clean, minimalist aesthetic and multi-room audio **Who should skip it:** * Anyone with lots of sources that need direct HDMI inputs * Those on a budget who can't afford the Sub and Era 300s * Android users who can't use Trueplay (though it still sounds good) ## Comparison Table: Premium Soundbars Over £1,000 | Feature | Sennheiser Ambeo Max | Sony HT-A7000 (with SW5/RS3S) | Sonos Arc (with Sub/Era 300) | | :------------------ | :----------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------- | | **Price (approx.)** | £1,999 - £2,200 (bar only) | £1,000-£1,200 (bar only); £2,000+ (full system) | £899 (bar only); £2,000+ (full system) | | **Channels** | 5.1.4 (virtual) | 7.1.2 (bar); 7.1.4 (with rears) | 5.0.2 (bar); 7.1.4 (with rears) | | **Dolby Atmos** | Yes | Yes | Yes | | **DTS:X** | Yes | Yes | No (DTS Digital Surround via eARC) | | **HDMI Inputs** | 3 | 2 (HDMI 2.1) | 0 (only 1 HDMI eARC output) | | **HDMI eARC** | Yes | Yes (HDMI 2.1) | Yes | | **Subwoofer Req.** | Optional (excellent bass from bar) | Recommended (SW5 significantly improves bass) | Essential (Sub Gen 3 is a must) | | **Rear Speakers** | None (virtual surround) | Optional (RS3S/RS5 for true surround) | Optional (Era 300 for true 3D surround) | | **Calibration** | Advanced mic-based room tuning | Mic-based 360 Spatial Sound Mapping | Trueplay (iPhone required) | | **Music Streaming** | Wi-Fi, BT, Chromecast, AirPlay 2 | Wi-Fi, BT, Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect | Wi-Fi, BT, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect | | **Size (approx.)** | 126.5 x 13.5 x 17 cm | 130 x 8 x 14.2 cm | 114.17 x 8.7 x 11.57 cm | ## FAQ: Your Premium Soundbar Questions Answered ### Q: Do I really need to spend over a grand on a soundbar? A: Honestly? It depends on your expectations and your room. If you just want better TV sound, no. Loads of good soundbars under £500 will do that. But if you're chasing true cinematic immersion, convincing Dolby Atmos height effects, and a sound that competes with decent separates, then yes, that's where the premium options shine. You're paying for advanced processing, better drivers, and often, more powerful amplification. ### Q: What's more important for immersive sound: a great soundbar or adding rear speakers and a subwoofer? A: Tricky one, that. For sheer 3D soundstage from a single box, the Sennheiser Ambeo Max is hard to beat. It does an astonishing job without any extra bits. However, if you want *true* discrete surround – sounds actually coming from behind you – then a system like the Sony HT-A7000 or Sonos Arc with physical rear speakers will give you that. And for deep, impactful bass, a dedicated subwoofer (like the Sony SW5 or Sonos Sub Gen 3) is always going to outperform built-in drivers. It's a trade-off between minimalist convenience and ultimate immersion. ### Q: Can these premium soundbars replace a traditional AV receiver and speaker setup? A: For many people, yes, absolutely. Modern premium soundbars, especially with optional rears and subs, can deliver a surprisingly compelling home cinema experience that's far simpler to set up and much tidier. They won't match a meticulously calibrated, high-end separates system with huge speakers for sheer grunt and ultimate fidelity, especially for music. But for films and TV in an average living room, they get incredibly close to that "full system" feeling without the clutter. ### Q: Are HDMI 2.1 inputs really necessary for a soundbar? A: If you're a serious gamer with a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X and a modern TV, then yes, HDMI 2.1 inputs on your soundbar are very useful. They allow passthrough of 4K resolution at 120Hz refresh rates, and also variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM). If your soundbar doesn't have them, you'd have to plug your console directly into your TV and rely on eARC, which can sometimes introduce handshake issues or limit audio formats depending on your TV. For most casual viewers, it's less critical, but it's a nice bit of future-proofing. ## Final Word So, there you have it. Spending over a grand on a soundbar isn't for everyone, but if you're after a serious upgrade to your TV sound and want genuine cinematic thrills without filling your living room with boxes, these three are absolutely worth a look. Each has its own flavour, mind. The Sennheiser Ambeo Max is the undisputed single-bar champion for sheer spatial audio wizardry, still an engineering marvel. If you prefer the flexibility to build a true surround system with physical rears and need those HDMI 2.1 ports, the Sony HT-A7000 system is a cracking choice. And if you're already in the Sonos ecosystem or want arguably the best discrete physical surround sound with incredible bass, the Sonos Arc with the Sub and Era 300s is brilliant. My personal pick? If I had to live with just one soundbar and my budget stretched, it'd still be the Ambeo Max for its sheer single-bar immersion. But if I had the space and permission for the full array of optional extras, that Sony setup gives it a real run for its money. It all comes down to what matters most to *you* – ultimate single-bar performance, modular flexibility, or full-on wireless surround. Just remember, whatever you choose, give it a good listen first if you can. Your ears are the ultimate judge, eh?