I tried the Roku Streambar Pro Surround Set — and my ears have never been happier

We may receive commission from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Contents

What the Roku Streambar Pro does How the Streambar Pro sounds To bundle or not to bundle?Looking for more great Amazon deals? Check these out:

The Roku Streambar Bar is shown here with the Roku Wireless Subwoofer and Roku Wireless Speakers. — Part streaming box, part 5.1-channel surround sound system, the Roku Streambar Pro bundle makes a fantastic home-theater addition. (Photo: Roku)

A proper home theater requires two key elements: a big screen and a quality sound system. The screen is easy: Just buy a big TV or maybe invest in a projector. But the sound side of the equation can be a little more complicated. At least, it used to be.

Gone are the days of needing a sophisticated (and expensive) stereo receiver and lots of speakers with unsightly wires running everywhere. Now you can get a superb home-theater surround system that’s almost completely wireless and super-easy to integrate into your living room. Oh, and one that’s a high-end streamer, too.

I’m talking about the Roku Streambar Pro, which is available via Amazon as part of a set that includes the Roku Wireless Subwoofer and a pair of Roku Wireless Speakers. This effectively creates the highly desirable 5.1-channel setup that’s closer to what you hear in a theater. You can, of course, buy these items piecemeal, but I’m here to give you the scoop on the whole enchilada — and what an enchilada it is.

$510 at Amazon

What the Roku Streambar Pro does

Let’s start with the “Roku” part. See, this isn’t just a sound bar; it’s also a top-end Roku streaming device, with pretty much every feature found in the Roku Ultra box. That means you get not only 4K HDR Netflix, Hulu and all the other channels, but also a souped-up remote with voice controls, a headphone jack, custom shortcut buttons and a lost-remote finder feature. The remote should be able to control your TV’s power, volume and mute settings as well.

What if your TV already has smart features built in (in the form of, say, Fire TV or Google TV)? You can still use the Streambar just for audio, but you may lose out on a few features that are baked into the Roku operating system (like, say, dialogue enhancement). One important consideration either way: Make sure your TV has an HDMI-ARC input (most modern ones do) and support for CEC. That’s so you can successfully use the Streambar with items like cable boxes, Blu-ray players and game consoles.

The Roku Streambar Pro is not only a sound bar, but also a high-end streaming box. (Photo: Roku)

The Streambar Pro integrates nicely into your smart-home setup, with support for Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. (“Home servant, turn on the TV and play the latest episode of Severance!”) It also works with Apple’s AirPlay 2 (which lets you mirror your Apple device to your TV) and HomeKit.

Setup is extremely easy: Just connect the Streambar Pro to your TV and walk through the onscreen setup steps. I do wish Roku did a better job of duplicating existing Roku setups you might already have on another TV or device, especially with regard to signing into various streaming services. As it stands, you mostly have to do everything manually.

To add the subwoofer, you just plug that into an AC outlet and walk through another simple onscreen setup. Same goes for the satellite speakers, which you’ll likely want to place behind you for a real surround experience. (Aside: Early attempts at wireless satellites produced spotty results at best; this works flawlessly.) The speakers are wall- and stand-mountable in case you don’t have strategically placed shelves or tables on which to place them.

How the Streambar Pro sounds

I’m no audiophile; I just know that built-in TV speakers are terrible and any sound bar is an improvement. I also know that when you add a subwoofer to that mix, the experience elevates considerably. All this is to say that once you’ve got everything set up, it’s time to rewatch The Matrix. Or The Dark Knight. Or basically any movie or TV that supports 5.1-channel sound. In short order it’s going to utterly thrill your ears.

That’s because you’ll hear the bullets whizzing by. Or the helicopter approaching from offscreen. The subtle sounds of conversation in the cafe. It can actually be a little disconcerting at first, this fully immersive spatial audio in your living room. But, heavens, I’m hooked. And as a 50-something viewer, I especially appreciate the Speech Clarity feature, which amplifies voices. The wonderful flipside to that is Night Mode, which dampens overloud noises like explosions and TV commercials.

The Streambar Pro remote is a star attraction, with a headphone jack for private listening and customizable shortcut buttons.

Again, I’m not the person to say how this compares to super-fancy sound systems costing 2-3 times as much. My ears aren’t built that way, and honestly I’m not chasing super-perfect fidelity or room-shaking bass. I went into this seeking a simple, reasonably affordable, great-sounding setup, and that’s exactly what I got.

It’s not perfect. For example, lately I’ve noticed stuttering video when watching Apple TV+ — an issue that affects no other streaming devices in my house except this one. Every now and again, the whole system will just lock up and reboot — an issue that has affected nearly every Roku I’ve ever owned. And sometimes the sound bar lags when I, say, adjust the volume or even just hit the Home button.

These aren’t dealbreakers; on the whole I love Roku’s simplicity, and this entire setup really tickles me every time I plunk down in front of the TV.

To bundle or not to bundle?

The Roku Streambar Pro has a list price of $180, as does the Roku Wireless Subwoofer; a pair of Roku Wireless Speakers will run you $150. All told, you’re looking at $510, though Amazon’s Surround Set bundle is often discounted to around $480.

That’s not a huge savings, which is why you might want to take a piecemeal approach: Start with the Streambar Pro by itself and see what you think. Although it’s pretty light on the bass, it does include a virtual surround-sound mode that’s fairly effective. You can always add one or both of the other items later on, as theater finances allow.

Speaking of which, there’s a much more affordable surround-sound option in the form of the Vizio V-Series 5.1, which retails for $250 (but is currently just $190 at Amazon). It doesn’t have Roku or any other streaming UI baked in, and its satellite speakers are wired, not wireless. Assuming you can live with that, it’s definitely worth a look.

But if you’re searching for a serious home-theater upgrade, both for streaming and audio, it’s hard to beat the full-on Streambar Pro bundle. I’m extremely happy with it.

$510 at Amazon