From Dolby Atmos FlexConnect to Marshall and KEF getting into the game, 2025 was a great year for soundbars

2025 was an unusual year for soundbars. While perennial favorite flagships from Samsung and LG saw only tiny incremental changes, the race was joined by Marshall, and home audio heavyweights KEF and Bluesound reimagined their soundbar strategies. It was also the year that marked the arrival of Dirac’s audiophile-grade room correction to the category, and a new challenger: Dolby Atmos FlexConnect.

2025 was also the year we got a taste of things to come. Marshall’s new Heston soundbars are Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast-ready, setting up a new kind of expansion in 2026 when the company plans to let customers use its Homeline portables as home theater surrounds. And TCL offered us our first peek at Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, a multi-speaker alternative to the best soundbars.

Here’s a breakdown of everything that happened in 2025.