Even though Amazon’s Alexa is the most popular voice assistant on the market and it seems you can’t throw a rock without hitting Amazon Alexa equipped devices, it’s only been available in soundbars for a little over a year. Sonos and Polk Audio were the first companies to release Alexa-friendly soundbars with the Sonos Beam and Polk Command Bar. Basically, each of these is a hardcore Alexa speaker.
If you’re looking for a model with Alexa voice integration, consider features such as microphone quality (which is how well Alexa can hear you) as well as the overall sound quality provided by each speaker. We’ve rounded up the best smart soundbars with Alexa voice that you need to know, and we update this as we review new products.
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Yamaha’s YAS-209 is the speaker to get if you want to replace an Amazon Echo and a soundbar with a single device that has good sound quality. This smart speaker sounds great with movies, thanks to the implementation of DTS Virtual:X, and music sounds good, too — thanks partly to the deep audio and bass of the wireless subwoofer. You can control settings on the smart speaker such as volume and setup via the remote or free app. The onboard mics can also hear your voice commands when the music is cranked all the way up, meaning you don’t have to sacrifice Alexa voice control when you’re rocking out. Plus, setup is a breeze with an HDMI and optical cable. It’s the Amazon Alexa TV soundbar all the others should aspire to be.
Read our Yamaha YAS-209 review.
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If you can find the Polk Command Bar for around $200, which is what it’s going for at most major retailers these days, then this device is a great buy for the sound quality. Its looks are reminiscent of the Amazon Echo, and it offers most voice control functions with Alexa integration, too. Streaming music in multiple rooms is easy with one voice command. It’s Fire TV compatible, so you can use it with your Fire TV Stick — the product has HDMI ports that were specifically designed to fit the Fire TV Stick. With the help of a wireless subwoofer, the audio sounds good with movies, even if the Yamaha is slightly better with music services.
Read our Polk Command Bar review.
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The Sonos Beam works with Alexa and is compatible with Google Assistant voice services, making it one of the most flexible soundbars on the market. You can use the Sonos app to choose which smart assistant you want in every room. The other selling points of this device include the excellent, robust Sonos multiroom system and super-enveloping, immersive sound experience when you play movies. You might want to add the (expensive) sub to get the most audio performance out of it, though. All in all, it’s a really solid smart speaker sound bar that offers great sound quality and voice control.
Read our Sonos Beam review.