4 reasons dumb soundbars are a waste of money

If you weren’t aware, there’s still a certain sniffiness about soundbars in some quarters of the audiophile community. It makes sense to a degree — all else being equal, a speaker with distinct channels will always be able to produce more authentic and nuanced surround sound. You might call a soundbar the audio equivalent of eating a veggie burger instead of the real deal. In practice, of course, many soundbars do sound amazing, and simulated Dolby Atmos is better than going without.