Do I Need Rear Speakers With a Soundbar? Is It Worth It?

Many consumers want a full surround sound experience with a soundbar so naturally they are interested in buying rear speakers.

Rear speakers are often bundled with a soundbar and subwoofer but are not required to have a good listening experience.

In fact many opt to not buy rear speakers with their soundbars.

So the question becomes, do you need rear speakers with a soundbar?

Having rear speakers with a soundbar is optimal for pretty much any soundbar setup

Instead of bouncing sounds off walls like an all-in-one soundbar rear speakers will give you some level of surround sound and immerse you in the movie without distorting the audio before it reaches your ears.

Rear speakers fill up your room with more sound and replicate a surround sound experience much better than a single soundbar can.

However, you do not have to get rear speakers, in fact, if you want to skip ahead, I give my picks for the best soundbars without rear speakers later in this article.

With that being said if you are interested in rear speakers I will go into more detail about the best soundbar with rear speakers as well.

Rear speakers go together perfectly with a soundbar

Rear speakers add background noise and other sound effects that soundbars struggle to emulate.

They will make you feel more immersed in the film than a traditional soundbar.

Leaving out rear speakers means the only noticeable improvement over normal TV speakers is improved bass and dialogue clarity with the soundbar.

Personally, I recommend the Sonos Beam Gen 2 (amazon link), Sonos Sub mini and Sonos ones (rear speakers) for a solid surround sound system that doesn’t break the bank.

This is similar to what I use, as I have the Beam and two Era 100s, but no subwoofer as that will disturb my neighbors.

Although If you want to go even cheaper Vizio makes a great budget soundbar with the Vizio V series 5.1

This is the best budget surround sound experience you will get with a soundbar. You get a subwoofer, rear speakers, and soundbar for an insane price. Nothing on the market comes close to this for the price.

Why a soundbar without rear speakers is inferior

A soundbar will try to mimic overhead effects, surround sounds, and replicate a bunch of different sounds but it comes up short in comparison to having 2 additional dedicated speakers.

When making your purchase I recommend finding a bundle that will include the additional subwoofer and rear speakers to go with your soundbar.

Do not try to buy these by yourself and add to your current soundbar as it can produce mixed results.

I will discuss this more below.

How many rear speakers do you need with a soundbar?

Generally speaking, 2 rear speakers come with a soundbar bunlde.

However, do not try to add your own surround/rear speakers when you have a soundbar.

Unless the soundbar you bought comes with additional speakers I would stay away from it.

Some soundbars are meant to be standalone and do not come with a sub or speakers.

Also, rear speakers are not always compatible unless they are Sonos, which is why I recommend them.

Any Sonos speakers will pair with a Sonos soundbar which is why the company is so popular.

To my knowledge, the soundbar with the most additional speakers is the Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra which comes with 4 separate speakers with the soundbar.

What is the best position for rear speakers with a soundbar?

The best position for rear speakers is at ear level and slightly behind the listener at an angle.

Rear speakers can work with any room but they are considered not optimal for small rooms as having both of them close to each other can drown out the sound.

However, I have rear speakers in a small bedroom and its been no problem.

I would recommend using them as surround instead of rear if your seating position is up against a wall.

Place them somewhat parallel to your ears but slightly behind them.

Generally speaking, this will definitely be the optimal position if you are in a bedroom.

If you have space behind you, have them 2 feet above the listener’s ear and 6-10 feet behind the listener.

You can mount them on the wall or put them on a stand or anything really.

Avoid placing speakers in the corners as the sound can be louder but the sound quality is not as good.

Can you use a soundbar without other speakers?

You can absolutely use a soundbar without other speakers.

A lot of soundbars come with no speakers and have 5 channels built-in or 3.0, 2.0.

This basically means there are five speakers built into the soundbar, whatever number corresponds is how many speakers/drivers it has.

Your best bet is a 5.0 soundbar which will try to mimic some level of surround sound and usually has a built-in subwoofer.

These soundbars often have side-firing and up-firing drivers that attempt to play Dolby Atmos content, which is good being that most movies utilize Atmos.

A great soundbar that fits this bill is the JBL Multi-Beam

This is a perfectly fine option if you do not want to deal with the additional rear speakers which will take up space.

One of the biggest perks of a soundbar is its sleek design and easy storage in your home, it can go in pretty much any room and it is not an eye sore.

Best Soundbars without rear speakers

Here are the top 3 soundbars I know of that are great even without any rear speakers.

I am biased towards the Sonos Beam (amazon link) as I own one but I truly believe it is the best soundbar for the price and for most living situations.

It works great in small to medium-sized rooms.

You can also add rear speakers or a subwoofer at any time which cannot be said for most brands. This was huge for me as I chose to get two Sonos-era 100s (amazon link) a couple of months after buying the beam.

Most soundbars you have to purchase the rear speakers with the soundbar.

The JBL Bar 5.0 (amazon affiliate link) is another great soundbar especially when it comes to bass, it can produce 250 watts.

Conclusion

Although all-in-one soundbars are a good upgrade over traditional TV speakers they fail in comparison to a dedicated 5.1 soundbar setup.

Having a good quality soundbar with 3 drivers (left channel, center channel, right channel) plus two additional speakers and a subwoofer will beat a 5.0 all-in-one soundbar any day.

You will get higher and lower frequency sounds with the subwoofer as well as clearer surround sounds from the rear channels.

Of course, your living situation and the acoustics of your room will have a huge impact on the decision you make.

It is really up to you, whatever you choose will certainly improve your current home theater experience.