Some soundbars are made to include extra speakers for surround sound. However, you are limited to very specific additional speakers. There is usually only one option available. You have to do it from one of these companies: Sonos, Bose, and Nakamichi. These companies all make surround sound-ready soundbars.
Upgrade Your Soundbar: Add Surround
You are a sound lover; you want a surround sound system in your room. Though you have a soundbar, it doesn’t meet your requirements. So, what should you do? How can you get a surround sound system in your room?
You may be thinking of hooking up a few speakers to the Soundbar. Few soundbars come with wired or wireless surround sound speakers, but soundbars rarely connect to outer speakers included in the system. But there are ways to add surround sound speakers to a soundbar. But it will be a complex setup.
Here we will describe why using a soundbar with surround sound speakers may not be the best idea to increase the sound system in your room. So, keep reading.
Why Shouldn’t You Add Surround Sound Speakers to Just Any Soundbar?
We have suggested to you earlier that hooking up with additional surround sound speakers to your Soundbar will not be the best idea. You may want to know why it won’t be the best idea. So, let’s make you clear.
Not all the soundbars are built to include additional surround, sound speakers. Some soundbars include additional surround sound speakers that are limited to very specific additional speakers. These limited specific additional speakers may not provide you the sound that you want. Bose, Nakamichi, and Sonos provide surround sound-ready soundbars.
The 5 Best soundbars we recommend & they are capable of adding surround sound speakers:

- LIMITED TIME STARS & STRIPES SPECIAL, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Sale price $1099. For purchases made at regular price ($1499) in the last 30 days, email Nakamichi directly on Amazon or [email protected] for price adjustment. Do not contact Amazon customer Support as they cannot do price adjustments. Experience the absolute best audio no other soundbar can replicate. Feel the roomshaking bass with exclusive Dual Subs & 360° 9.2 channel audio with our soundbar + four modular surround effects speakers.
- Our DUAL 10" WIRELESS SUBWOOFERS (industry's 1st!), the new soundbar reference standard for bass, produce ground-shaking rumbles that turn your living room into an epicenter of adrenaline-pumping action. They merge to distribute the sonic boom evenly throughout the room with zero localization. Unleash cinema-level volumes without a trace of distortion, replicating the perfect theater experience. Agreed among experts, TWO subwoofers are a must for ultimate home theaters.
- FOUR 2-WAY REAR SPEAKERS (industry’s first!) produce spacious and dynamic surround sound. Each of them (connected to sub via RCA wires) is constructed with a tweeter that reproduces high frequencies with captivating clarity, and a full-range driver that delivers surround effects with power and precision. Simply put, the surround sound performance from simulated/virtual 2.1 or other 5.1 channel surround soundbars does not come anywhere close to this.
- Experience a whole new level of surround performance with our exclusive Spatial Surround Elevation SSE Technology. Featuring 3 advanced audio processing engines working in harmony to enhance directionality, enlarge spaciousness and unlock extra details of any audio soundtrack. Envelop your home theater with up to 9.2.4 channels of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X moving audio that flows all around you. Unleash the full dynamics of your audio experience with 110dB of room-filling sound.
- Enjoy advanced connectivity with Dolby Vision, 4K UHD pass-thru and High Dynamic Range (HDR). Connect up to 6 devices via 1 HDMI ARC, 3 HDMI, 1 Optical and 1 Coaxial inputs. The 52-key backlit remote allows seamless control of sources, DSP modes, individual channel and room size optimization


- The smallest speakers designed by Bose so the focus can remain on your home entertainment not your speakers
- Designed to bring music movies and TV to life with full immersive surround sound
- Simply plug the adapters into a power source and wirelessly connect the receivers to the Bose Soundbar and enjoy your entertainment in minutes
- Looking for more pulse-pounding impact? Add the Bose Bass Module 700 to experience the difference between hearing bass and feeling the thunder.
- Standing less than 4 inch tall Both bass modules have a wireless range of 30 feet


- JBL 5.1 surround sound with 510W of power
- Detachable, battery-powered wireless surround speakers
- Thrilling bass from a 10 Inch (250mm) wireless subwoofer
- Wireless music streaming with Bluetooth
- True 4K connectivity with 3 HDMI in/1 HDMI out (ARC)


How Most Soundbars Work?
If you don’t have the instructions about how you will hook up surround sound speakers to the Soundbar, you should never supplement the Soundbar with outer speakers. First, you have to know how the Soundbar works.
Soundbars do simulate surround sound with some tricky audio tricks. For example, if you angled the speakers toward the outside of the Soundbar, the sound would bounce off the walls in the room and into your ears. However, if you do that, you will hear sounds coming from the sides of the room instead of hearing in front of you.
If you add surround sound speakers to a soundbar, you add speakers to amplify sound. However, as sound travels in waves, adding surround sound speakers may cause interference with the normal Soundbar.
This is why you are highly recommended that unless the surround speakers are already included with the Soundbar, or it is capable of surround sound, you should not follow this setup. If you don’t follow this rule, you may mess up with your sound system.
When Can You Add Surround Sound Speakers Directly to a Soundbar?
Many of you may not agree with us. You guys may not agree that hooking up surround sound speakers to a soundbar is not the best idea. Well, just because you shouldn’t hook up surround sound speakers to a soundbar doesn’t mean you can’t. You can, but you need to follow our instructions to hook up your speakers with the Soundbar without creating any mess.
Most soundbars don’t have a speaker out. If you are able to hook up surround sound speakers to a soundbar somehow, you won’t get the audio; it would have audio out. If you try to plug your speakers into the Soundbar’s audio-in channels, you won’t be able to get the audio because they aren’t able to deliver any sound.
You may also be thinking of using the subwoofer channel. Unfortunately, if you use this channel, you won’t be able to meet your requirements because it doesn’t provide a stereo signal.
As we discussed a lot of negative sides of using surround sound speakers with a soundbar, you may think it will be a terrible idea to use it. But, if you don’t agree with us, there are some solutions to use external speakers with any type of Soundbar.
How to Add Surround Sound Speakers to Almost Any Soundbar?


Now, we are going to discuss the processes of hooking up surround sound speakers to a soundbar. You need to abide by these steps very carefully. Otherwise, you may fall into trouble. Here is the step by step guide to connecting external speakers to any soundbar:
- A 5.1 channel video/audio receiver that has pre-outs for the front right, front left, and center channels.
- Soundbar with an RCA, Digital Optical, or AUX input
- External speakers that accept normal speaker cable inputs or connect them to the Receiver wirelessly.
- You will need a stereo mixer with at least three inputs and one output. You can go with the Rolls MX42 4-Channel Passive Mini Stereo Mixer (on Amazon).
1. Connect the RCA Cables to the Pre-Outs on the Receiver
At first, you will need to connect the RCA cable to pre-out. You will surely need a receiver with pre-outs. So, what are pre-outs? Pre-outs are one kind of output from the Receiver that only outputs the audio signal for every channel. They don’t comprise the power for each channel. If you try to connect a soundbar to normal speaker output, it will damage the internal components because it would send power directly into the Soundbar. So, be careful.
2. Connect Other Ends of the RCA Cables to A Mini Stereo Mixer
This is an easy step. You will need to connect the other ends of the RCA cables to a mini stereo mixer. You can buy the Rolls MX42 4-Channel Passive Mini Stereo Mixer (on Amazon). It will be the best option for you.
3. Establish a Connection Between the Output From the Mini-stereo Mixer and the Soundbar


You will need a soundbar with an AUX, Digital Optical, or RCA input in this step.
- Soundbar with AUX input – If your Soundbar only contains an AUX input, then buy an RCA to AUX cable (on Amazon). After that, connect the AUX end to the Soundbar and the RCA ends to the mini-stereo mixer.
- Soundbar with Digital Optical input- If your Soundbar has a Digital Optical input, you will need an analog to the digital optical converter (on Amazon). Then connect a set of RCA cables to the stereo mixer’s RCA output and the other ends into the analog to the digital optical converter (on Amazon). After that, connect a digital optical cable from the digital optical converter to the Soundbar.
- Soundbar with RCA input- If you have RCA input, then connect another set of RCA cables to the output of the stereo mixer and connect the other ends to the Soundbar’s RCA input.
4. Connect Your Speakers to the Receiver
And finally, by using normal speaker wires, hook up your surround sound speakers to your Receiver. How many surround speakers can you use? It completely depends on the capability of your Receiver. If your Receiver allows, then you can make a 5.1, 7.1, 9.1, etc. sound system by using this process.
Why You Shouldn’t Add Surround Sound Speakers to a Soundbar?


You probably don’t want to ruin your sound by mismatching speakers. Though there are ways to connect external speakers to your Soundbar, it will be a difficult setup. By using external speakers and a soundbar, you won’t get high-definition audio.
In the case of adding two surround sound speakers, a 2.1 soundbar will provide a 4.1 sound. On the contrary, a 3.1 soundbar will provide a 5.1 sound.
Your Soundbar doesn’t need any support. It alone provides better sound than hooking it up with external sound speakers. If you add extra speakers, it will interface with the usual sound of the Soundbar.
If you are not satisfied with your soundbar audio system, you should purchase a soundbar that includes wireless surround sound speakers.
-our editorial board has reviewed this article and has been approved for publication according to our editorial policy.
Best Seller List Of Soundbars:


- Straight from the theater to your home: easy set-up, built-in tweeter, 2-ch speaker with simple Bluetooth connection
- Deep sound with Bass Reflex speaker
- High power with a slim design that matches any room and is perfect for small living spaces
- Voice enhancement feature is great for TV content with hushed dialogue, or to make conference call participants easier to hear
- Easy TV set up with HDMI ARC


- 【Hearing Every Word】 Say goodbye to muffled dialogue and hello to our soundbar that brings words to life, making you feel like you're part of the conversation.
- 【Compact yet Suitable】At a little over 2.5 inches in height, our sound bar is compact enough to fit in most spaces. You can easily mount it on the wall or place it in front of your TV without worrying about it blocking the bottom edge or IR remote sensor.
- 【DSP&Three Sound Effects】With DSP, sound bar offers three sound modes or presets that cater to different program types, such as movies, music, news. These profiles can optimize the audio settings to suit the specific genre, enhancing your listening experience based on your preferences.
- 【Compatible with Fire TV Remote】Soundbar is compatible with Fire TV remote control. Additional remotes compatible with Roku box or Roku TVs can be provided as per your request.
- 【Hassle-free Installation】We've made the installation steps for the soundbar much simple. Plus, a special vibrant, easy-to-follow installation instructions has been included in the package. In case you still encounter any issues during the sound bar installation process, our dedicated after-sales team is always available to assist you!


- Compact, versatile design – Sleek, rounded all-black finish with easy-to-clean textured surface, optimized for small-med rooms.
- DTS Virtual:X – Sound Enhancement for room-filling, floor-to-ceiling virtualized sound
- Full-Range Speakers – 2 full-range speakers in the sound bar provide coherent sound and brilliant clarity.
- Optimized for 4K HDR Content with Dolby Audio – Bring out the best audio performance from your 4K HDR content with Dolby Audio when connected through HDMI.
- 70Hz – 20kHz Frequency Response – Wide, natural frequency response means you can hear what the artist intended.


- Hear your TV better: Designed with simplicity in mind, the Bose TV Speaker is a small soundbar that clarifies speech and is a simple fix for better TV sound
- Wide, natural sound: 2 angled full-range drivers deliver a more realistic, spatial audio experience for overall better TV sound from a small soundbar
- Enhanced dialogue: This TV speaker is designed to specifically focus on clarifying and elevating vocals and pronunciation
- Bluetooth TV Speaker: Pair your device to this Bluetooth soundbar to wirelessly stream your favorite music and podcasts. Connect up to 3 devices through the inputs (HDMI, Optical in, and AUX in); the first powered on device will automatically connect
- Simple setup: A single connection from this compact soundbar to the TV via an optical audio cable (included) or an HDMI cable (sold separately) has you up and running in minutes


- 【Detachable sound bar】:The 2 in 1 sound bar, suitable for TVs, computers, and more, is innovative. In detachable mode, it connects to a base accessory and can be placed on either side of the TV to create two two-tower soundbars, delivering immersive 3D surround sound. You can also combine the two tower speakers into a long soundbar for placement on a table or mounted on the wall. It not only provides a more immersive listening experience but also serves as an elegant piece of decoration
- 【6 Audio Sources&Powerful Bass】: The 100W soundbar features 2 full-range speakers, 2 tweeters, and 2 bass diaphragms, for total 6 audio drivers that deliver 3D surround bass sound. It's perfect for enjoying music working or dining. its compact design makes it a great choice for small spaces like living rooms, offices, or bedrooms. Whether gaming or watching movies, it creates a concert-like or personal theater atmosphere, enhancing overall home entertainment experience
- 【Upgraded 5.3 Bluetooth &5 Connection Methods】: The TV sound bar is upgraded with Bluetooth 5.3, offering faster and more stable connections, and easily connects to any Bluetooth device and improves sound clarity. Sound bar for smart TV supports USB, AUX, Optical, and HDMI ARC. In HDMI ARC mode, you can easily control the soundbar with your TV remote control. it has a dedicated subwoofer port for connecting the external subwoofer (not included), enhancing bass effect
- 【Distinct EQ Modes & Home Theater Audio】: The TV soundbar offers 3 customizable EQ modes for music, movies, and games, allowing to personalize your listening experience, and enjoy deep, immersive sound. The soundbar delivers cinematic 3D audio, ensuring explosion sound quality in any scene. Whether you're watching a movie enjoying a concert, or catching up on the news, the sound bar enhances the audio of your TV shows and movies for a richer, more dynamic experience
- 【Two control methods】: The TV speakers feature two convenient control methods. You can use the remote control to adjust the surround sound volume, switch tracks, and enjoy the listening experience. you can also use the buttons on the TV sound bar to control the volume


- DTS VIRTUAL:X: Expand your listening experience; DTS Virtual: X creates spacious 3D sound putting you at the center of the action for an elevated and immersive home theater experience
- SUBWOOFER INCLUDED: Get that big boom with our included subwoofer; Bring home intense sound with rich, powerful bass; Elevate the action and take things to the next level
- BASS BOOST: Bass you can boost with a tap; Feel the depth of distant thunder as your listening experience is taken to another level; Tap the button Feel the power
- ADAPTIVE SOUND LITE: Enjoy all your favorite video content with dynamically optimized audio and enhanced voice clarity so you can follow along with action packed games and blockbuster films
- GAME MODE: Optimize your gaming experience with perfectly synced directional audio that moves with the onscreen action; Game Mode eliminates distractions so you can hear better and play harder


- 5.1ch Virtual Surround Sound System for TV: This 5.1ch sound bar features 3 main channels for crisp dialogue and 2 surround sound speakers, creating a virtual surround sound field. With SurroundX technology, it offers precise audio with 99.99% detail accuracy. AI enhances the sound for a lifelike audio experience by coordinating the speakers to mimic realistic sound movement, elevating your home theater experience. Note: Recommended for space of 108 to 215 ft².
- Wired Connection between 2 Surround Speakers: Connect 2 surround speakers using a cable and power the right speaker to pair it wirelessly with the tv soundbar. If pairing fails, place 2 speakers and sound bar within 1.5 ft of each other. Press the SURROUND button on the remote for 5s until “SUR” flashes. Then press the PAIR button on the right surround speaker for 5s until its light flashes. Once paired, the light will stay on, and you can reposition the speakers as needed.
- 4-inch Wired Subwoofer with BassMX Technology: The Aura A30 sound bar for smart tv includes a subwoofer featuring Ultimea BassMX technology for improved low-frequency sound. Its optimized magnetic circuit and diaphragm produce deep, resonant bass, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in rich low frequencies and experience the impact of every beat. BassMX amplifies action scenes and explosions, enhancing your overall bass performance.
- Ultimea Smart App Control for Intuitive Audio Adjustments: Ultimea smart App for this 5.1 tv sound bar for smart tv can switch multiple EQ, adjust bands and matrix, lets you fine-tune the treble, midrange, and bass tones to perfectly suit your personal preferences. Stay ahead with regular OTA upgrades to ensure a seamless premium audio experience with Ulitmea 5.1 virtual surround sound system for tv.
- 121 Preset EQ Matrices: The Ultimea App caters to the ultimate audio enthusiast with 121 preset equalizer matrices, tailored for four distinct sonic preferences: Bass, Pop, Classical, and Rock. Explore precision tuning and fine-tune your listening experience with dynamic adjustments to achieve your desired effects.


- Simple, Convenient 2.1 Design - Experience the performance and features of a larger, more complex home theater system in a simple solution designed to blend seamlessly into any home.
- Powerful Performance - Brilliant clarity, thunderous bass, and Dolby Audio and DTS Digital Surround support combine for performance beyond its size.
- Simple Setup, Streaming & Control - Get setup and listening in minutes with HDMI ARC and Bluetooth connectivity for unparalleled ease of use, control, and access to your content.
- Minimal Modern Design - Clean, low-profile silhouettes, subtle textures, and matte finishes seamlessly blend into any environment.
- 2.1-Channel Sound - Experience a powerful room-filling, true stereo experience ideal for movies, music, and gaming.


- Amp up your audio - Fire TV Soundbar enhances TV audio with dual speakers for fuller sound, clearer dialogue, and deeper bass—all in a compact design.
- Immersive sound - Enjoy a three-dimensional virtual surround sound experience with DTS Virtual:X and more detail with Dolby Audio.
- Easy setup - Just plug in the included HDMI cable to the HDMI eARC/ARC port on your TV to instantly enjoy audio that's always in sync.
- Compact design - With a length of 24“ and a height of just 2.5", Fire TV Soundbar fits most entertainment consoles and TV stands.
- Stream audio with Bluetooth - Connect your phone or tablet via Bluetooth to fill the room with your favorite music.


- Fire TV Soundbar Plus – Elevate your audio with an all-in-one 3.1 soundbar that’s easy to set up. Featuring built-in bass, crisp dialogue, Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X.
- Powerful sound with style – Take your entertainment to the next level with incredible sound, clarity, and depth packed into an all-in-one design.
- Crystal clear dialogue – A dedicated center dialogue channel sharpens conversations so you can catch every moment of your favorite shows.
- Sound in another dimension – Dolby Atmos features 3D sound that moves around you and clear dialogue. DTS:X delivers multi-dimensional audio for lifelike sound.
- Easy setup – Connect the included HDMI cable to your TV's HDMI eARC/ARC port and instantly enjoy audio that’s always in sync.
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Last update on 2025-02-09