So the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus is a very impressive and very affordable 3.1 soundbar that can either be used by itself, or you can build it out and get a 5.1 set up. The amazon fire tv soundbar plus definitely needs a new name, but it also gives popular options like the Bose smart soundbar and the Sonos beam gen 2 a real run for this money. So today we’re going to see how the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar plus compares to both the Sonos Beam 2 and Bose Smart soundbar, the 2025 version, and we’re going to see which one is right for you.
So first theres pricing, the Amazon soundbar retails for $250 by itself. Or you can get the full 5.1 set up where you’re going to get the external subwoofer and rear satellite speakers for a total of $489. And for comparison sake, both the Bose smart soundbar and Sonos Beam Gen 2 retail for $500, by itself themselves. Now you can always build out both of Bose’s and Sonos’s soundbars by adding satellite speakers and or external subwoofers… and you have different satellite speakers and external subwoofers to choose from… but a fully built out system from either Bose or Sonos is going to be $800 or more.
Now obviously, having an external subwoofer is always better cause this way you’re going to get a more movie theater like experience cause you’re going to have more bass, but everyone might not have the room for an external subwoofer or maybe they dont want to disturb their neighbors if they live in an apartment. And having rear satellite speakers is going to make your audio sound more open and immersive…
But in this video we’re going to be testing these soundbars by themselves and we’re going to be comparing them to the built in speakers found on the Sony Bravia 3 TV. However, if you want to see how the fully built out Amazon Fire TV Soundbar plus sounds like, you can always watch the full review video, and if you want to pick any of these products up then they’ll be linked down below and if you want to further support the channel then you can always pick up some merch.
So first theres the design of these soundbars. I feel the amazon sound bar is very big for both its price and its speaker set up. The amazon soundbar has length of 37 inches, a width of 5.2 inches and height of 2.5 inches. Overall I feel that this soundbar just has a very large footprint and it can be quiet difficult to place in your home theater setup. Where as the Sonos Beam Gen 2 has a length of 26 inches a height of 2 and 3 quarter inches and a width of 4 inches. And then theres the Bose Smart Soundbar which has a length of 27 and a half inches, but its more low profile with a hight of 2 and a quarter inches and a width of 4 inches. So both the Sonos and Bose are going to be much easier to place in your set up.
But all of these soundbars are good options for wall mounting cause they are all relatively light weight and they all plug in via a double barrel AC port and theres no external power brick to worry about, which is good. But the Amazon soundbar is the only one here that comes included with a wall mounting kit. Where as with both bose and sonos, their wall mounting kits are sold separately which I personally feel is ridiculous .
Regarding connectivity, all of these soundbars plug into your tv via an HDMI Port as they should and they all come included with an HDMI Cable… which I feel is surprising for the Amazon soundbar just given its price. However, the amazon soundbar is the only soundbar here that doesn’t have wifi and more importantly, it doesn’t have app support. Where as these other two soundbars do. And more importantly with these apps you can adjust the sound of these soundbars which I feel is very important cause everything just has different mixing these days. And simply put, I prefer Bose’s app over Sonos’s app cause its a lot simpler to use. Now with the Amazon soundbar you can adjust its sound… but you have to use the included remote, which just isn’t as sleek as having an app. So personally I do feel that not having app support on the Amazon soundbar is a very big compromise that you’re going to have to make.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, all three of these soundbars are very different. The Amazon soundbar has 3 frontward firing speakers, 3 frontward firing tweeter and dual built in subwoofers that shoot out the back. Now this is a respectable speaker set up, but I feel that it can be in a smaller package. Where as the Sonos Beam gen 2 has a single frontward firing tweeter and a total of 4 speakers. 2 that shoot out the front and 2 that shoot out the sides. And it also has a total of 3 passive radiators. 2 that shoot out the front and one that shoots out the back. And then theres the Bose Smart Soundbar which has a single frontward firing tweeter and a total of 4 speakers. Two that shoot out the sides and two that shoot upwards and it has dual beam chambers with exhaust ports that shoot out the back.
And the fact that the Bose smart soundbar has upwards firing speakers is a big deal cause this is the only soundbar here that has true dolby Atmos support. And what dolby atmos is, its an audio format that allows your sound to have height, instead of everything just being on a single plane. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. All of these soundbars are playing at 70% volume with my preferred EQ settings and we’re going to be comparing them to the built in speakers found on the Sony Bravia 3, but those are going to be playing at max volume.
Sound test
So like you may have just heard, the Sony Bravia 3 actually performs pretty well. It has dual downward firing X balanced speakers which get decently loud, and thanks to the additional surface area, they produce a decent amount of bass. But with other entry level TV’s this built in speakers might not get as loud or their bass can become a rattling mess, but regardless, you’re almost always going to be much better off upgrading to a soundbar.
Now in this sound test, the Bravia 3 did a very good job of getting loud, distortion was not a problem and dialog was very present. But obviously, all of these soundbars managed to get significantly louder. Now when it comes to a max volume standpoint, the amazon soundbar actually get the loudest here. Followed by the Bose smart soundbar and then the Sonos Beam Gen 2. And obviously, if you were to use the Amazon soundbar while its fully built out with its rear speakers, its going to get even louder still. But ultimately feel that all of these soundbars are going to be best suited for a medium sized living room and they will have no problem filling a bedroom with sound.
But from a sound quality stand point, even though the Amazon soundbar gets impressively loud, I cant help but feel that its instrument separation and detail in the highs isn’t as good as these other two soundbars. And then there’s the Bose Smart soundbar which sounds the most open here thanks to its upwards firing speakers. So with the Amazon Soundbar you’re going to get a lot of sound a lot of bass, but these other two sound bars are going to sound more realistic and immersive, and they both do a much better job of bring people’s voices out. So you’re not going to have to crank the volume on them super loud if you want to hear people talking.
So overall, the Amazon Fire TV soundbar Plus is very impressive. It gets very loud and it has a lot of bass, and for less than the Bose Smart Soundbar and Sonos Beam Gen 2, you can build it out and get a 5.1 home theater set up. However, the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar plus does have its draw backs. First off the soundbar it self is very big for its price and its speaker set up. So placing it in your home theater setup and be more challenging than these other two options. This soundbar also doesn’t have app support, so adjusting its sound isn’t as easy as these other two more premium options.
So, if the amazon fire tv soundbar plus is too big for you, or if you want something with better sound… then personally I do recommend that you go with the Bose Smart Soundbar. Its the only soundbar here that has upwards firing speakers, thus giving you true dolby atmos support and I prefer its app over Sonos app.