Best for Microphone
Sonos Arc Soundbar
5.0 feature score
Highest scored product for this feature based on supporting review evidence.
Best JBL Sound Bars for Microphone
Microphone Decision Dashboard
Safest pick
Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
4.5 feature score
Balances feature score, supporting reviews, and overall product strength.
Most evidence
Sonos Beam (Gen 1)
5 supporting reviews
Has the broadest review evidence for this feature.
Best overall product
Bose Smart Soundbar
3.8 overall score
Strongest overall product among items with scored evidence for this feature.
Narrow by product type
Showing Sound Bars only. Switch back to all Speakers anytime.
Narrow by brand
The Arc’s microphone hardware was positively described through its far-field mic array for voice pickup.
Pros: Multi-speaker pairing reliability, Spotify Connect reliability
Cons: Gaming HDMI passthrough, Video passthrough support
Microphone quality was praised for clarity and far-field voice use, supporting both voice assistants and Sonos control.
Pros: Multi-speaker pairing reliability, Voice recognition accuracy
Cons: Bluetooth connectivity, Video passthrough support
The microphone array was generally praised for hearing commands across the room and over playback, with one reviewer offering only a light, unextended test.
Pros: Dynamic headroom, On-device controls
Cons: Video passthrough support, Bluetooth connectivity
The microphone array is judged adequate for spoken interactions with Alexa.
Pros: Chromecast compatibility, Spotify Connect reliability
Cons: Google, Privacy and data