Roku Streambar Pro: a Solid, Roku-enabled Upgrade for Your Tv's Built-in Speakers

Roku's step-up soundbar arrives with a new virtual surround mode and surprisingly decent audio performance, plus an integrated Roku player and AirPlay 2.

- By Ben Patterson

Roku has been slowly expanding its line of affordable soundbars, most recently with last year's compact, “pretty good Streambar (fave. co/3soGb8S). Now it has come out with the $180 Streambar Pro (fave. co/3HNTXrS), the successor to 2019's Smart Soundbar. While none of Roku's soundbars will appeal to audiophiles, they're perfect for everyday viewers looking to upgrade their TV's tinny audio without breaking the bank, and the 2.0-channel Streambar Pro ups the ante with surprisingly solid sound and a new virtual surround mode.

The Streambar Pro's efficient audio performance is already a strong selling point, but the real draw is an integrated Roku streaming player with 4K HDR playback, not to mention Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit, and AirPlay 2 support. There's also the vaunted Roku remote, complete with a microphone for voice commands and search.

The Streambar Pro has its limitations, of course. Its otherwise solid sound is a tad weak on high-end detail, and it falters a bit when it comes to music playback. And while you can upgrade the Streambar Pro with Roku's wireless speaker pair and subwoofer, doing so vaults you into a price range with other soundbars that offer much better audio quality. Still, we are talking about a $180 soundbar-plus-streamer here, so as long as you keep your expectations in line, you won't be disappointed.

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