These two Dolby Atmos soundbars are at the top of my Christmas list – but for different reasons

We can probably all agree that it has been long old year. Luckily, the time for lounging on the sofa and bingeing all the movies I've missed this festive season is fast approaching.

And, to enjoy these films as much as possible, it's essential to have the best sound system you can get for your space and budget. In my living room, for instance, there's certainly no room for a multi-speaker sound system.

That's where Dolby Atmos soundbars come in. These models can provide Dolby Atmos sound without taking up much room, and are often much more wallet-friendly than a full-fat speaker system.

If you're looking for a soundbar with Atmos that won't break the bank this Christmas, there are two models that stand out from the crowd right now.

Sonos's precise and refined soundbar

There are few soundbars we have tested that can match this soundbar in terms of its Dolby Atmos performance that cost less than £500. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has been a long-time champion in our test room, and just snagged its fifth What Hi-Fi? Award for its top-notch performance.

Much of that excellence is down to its excellent handling of Dolby Atmos.

While the Beam (Gen 2) might be small in stature, it produces a sound that's much broader than its compact frame suggests. The soundbar manages to create “tangible motion, depth and space” with Atmos movies, which heightens the drama and sense of immersion.

The Beam provides plenty of clarity as well, which lends itself just as well to music as it does to movies. When listening to Amy Winehouse's Tears Dry On Their Own, we find that “every instrument has sonic space to breathe and ornamentation, such as the clarinet weaving around the vocal line, comes nicely to the fore.”

Its connectivity offerings could be more comprehensive, as there is just one HDMI eARC port and an ethernet connection. This is far from a dealbreaker, though.

We dubbed it an “all-in-one device of rare ability” in our original review and, four years later, it has certainly stood the test of time.

It launched at £449, but you can snag it for just £335 at Richer Sounds right now, making it even more of a bargain for a brilliant Dolby Atmos bar.

JBL's room-filling, bombastic alternative

Before we reviewed the JBL Bar 300MK2, barely any other soundbars at that price point had come close to challenging the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). But when we got this model into our test room, it was clear we had found a worthy rival.

It is currently available for £350 at Amazon, meaning it is slightly more pricey than the Sonos model. Still, this is a soundbar well worth your consideration this Christmas.

The JBL Bar takes more of a bass-heavy approach than the Beam, giving action sequences an extra level of punch and excitement. When watching Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, for example, we comment: “When the helicopter flies overhead, we can feel the thrum of the chopper in the soles of our feet.”

It doesn't drown out the other frequencies, though, as voices remain clear and balanced with the rest of the sound.

There's a little more to offer compared with the Beam (Gen 2) when it comes to connectivity, as the JBL features two HDMI connections – one dedicated input and an output that can also receive sound from your TV via eARC.

Both the Beam and the JBL Bar 300MK2 are five-star performers and are our top picks in the entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar category. So, if you're looking to upgrade your TV's sound just in time for movie-bingeing season, these are the models most worth your time.

MORE:

Here's our review of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Check out our review of the JBL Bar 300MK2

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars