Bose Smart Ultra Dolby Atmos Soundbar, All-in-One Surround Sound System for TV, A.I. Dialogue Mode, Alexa and Google Voice Control, HDMI eARC, Black

Why it's worth it

If you mostly watch dialogue-heavy shows and you're tired of subtitles, this is the one to get. Bose's A.I. Dialogue Mode balances voices against everything else, and the bar is short enough that it won't creep up over your TV's bottom bezel.

Wirecutter's panel rated the Smart Ultra highest among the bars it compared for dialogue intelligibility, crediting its dedicated center-channel tuning. Owner feedback lines up with that: news, procedurals, and British dramas come through without anyone hunting for the remote. The dialogue mode isn't a blunt treble boost, either. It rebalances voices against the surround content, so the rest of the mix doesn't go thin and tinny.

It's the easiest bar here to fit under a TV. Bose lists it at about 2.3 inches tall, and Engadget calls that among the shortest of any premium bar — which matters if your TV sits low on its stand or hides its IR sensor in the bottom bezel. Six transducers, including two up-firing dipoles, do the spatial work. No sub, no rears, nothing extra to place.

From our review of 7 soundbars

What we like

• +Wirecutter's panel rated the Smart Ultra highest among the bars it compared for dialogue intelligibility, crediting its…
• +It's the easiest bar here to fit under a TV
• +You also get Alexa and Google voice control built in, plus both optical and HDMI eARC cables in the box

What to know

• –Bose does spatial audio its own way
• –Bass is the real limit