There’s a veritable slew of powerful soundbars on the market, so much so that it can be a daunting task choosing the best soundbar for all your home entertainment audio needs.
Major brands, like Samsung and Yamaha, deliver exceptional quality but usually at a premium price. And you might wind up paying forfeatures you may not even want or need.
While going budget isn’t always the most sound option when choosing a home entertainment audio solution, the OXS Thunder Lite ($149 at Amazon) has gifted me the most incredible living room soundscape at a very reasonable price.
And that’s not the only reason why I adore this thing. Through an incredible range of I/O in tandem with one potentially game-changing feature, the OXS Thunder Lite stands out as my number one soundbar pick this year. But how can a mere $150 soundbar be such a staple in the face of an immense list of alternatives?
I/O for everyone
While most of the more common soundbars sport bluetooth connectivity these days, it’s nice to have options for more connectivity where necessary. You may not always need it, but USB-C, optical, and even 3.5mm AUX are nice additions to have, especially if you aim to have the cleanest audio possible.
The OXS Thunder Lite makes itself available to a wide net of devices with 5 main connectivity options, including the 3 aforementioned inputs of optical (S/PDIF), USB-C, and 3.5mm AUX, as well as HDMI eARC and Bluetooth 5.0. This ensures that I can have as many of my home devices connected as necessary, including my PS3 (optical), Formovie projector (eARC), and mini PC (USB-C).
Each input comes with its own colored identifier so I don’t get lost in the plethora of options when switching between devices. The Thunder Lite even automatically turns on when audio is played via the connected input, so I don’t have to reach for the controller every time I sit down to play games or watch a movie.
If its connectivity wasn’t enough, the OXS Thunder Lite provides some incredible internals for a device under $150. Its specs include 2 2-inch full-range drivers, a frequency range of 60Hz to 20Hz, 90dB of sound and a peak output power of 80 watts. It’s got three main EQ modes, including News, Movie and Music.
A speaker configuration of two channels, left and right, on a bass tube might not be the most ideal for everyone, but this soundbar’s main attraction lies within its game-centric feature. The OXS Thunder Lite puts most others to shame by cranking video game audio (as well as other sources) to a new level of immersion.
3D audio immersion
At just $150, the OXS Thunder Lite might not seem to pack a powerful punch in the sound department. But, using its special virtual surround sound feature, the device becomes an avid contender among best cheap soundbars without sounding cheap at all.
You’ll literally feel the punchiness of guns when fired and the sounds of footsteps as if they were actually behind you.
The soundbar leverages an interesting feature called virtual surround sound. Although it can be found on a wide variety of alternative options on the market, like the JBL Bar 5.1 and the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, the OXS Thunder Lite’s iteration is focused primarily on upping the audio quality in varied genres of video games.
The best title I’ve found to pair with the Thunder Lite’s VSS is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. You’ll definitely have to pump the volume down a bit, as most CoD games come standard with extremely high audio levels, but once that’s been sorted you’ll literally feel the punchiness of guns when fired and the sounds of footsteps as if they were actually behind you.
Though, given that game’s rather lackluster appeal currently, there are still a multitude of other options on the market, including The Finals, Final Fantasy XVI, Alan Wake 2 and many more. OXS claims the VSS mode is tailored specifically to either FPS or RTS games, but I’ve found it works wonders in practically any experience, even when watching movies and shows.
Virtual surround sound works in a way that tricks your ears into thinking the audio being played fills the whole room. As such, it’s not really a substitute for actual surround sound options, but it definitely gets the job done in this case.
Sounding off on pain points
There’s little missing on the OXS Thunder Lite to make me want to give it any negatives, though that’s not to say it’s perfect. As already mentioned, the Thunder Lite automatically turns on when sound is presented to the speaker, but I wish it was a bit more intuitive.
Instead of turning on in this way, which then makes me miss several seconds of the initial audio, I wish the Thunder Lite could turn on alongside the device in use. That’s quite an ask and a stretch for some inputs, like 3.5mm and optical, but it would be a nice touch if doable for others beyond HDMI eARC.
In the same vein, turning off devices, like my projector or PS3, doesn’t turn the soundbar off, which can be a bit annoying as I more often than not forget to power down the soundbar, as well. The Thunder Lite does come equipped with a standby procedure, which automatically turns off after a set time when not in use.
While I haven't experienced it, others have voiced concerns about the Thunder Lite’s USB-C connectivity, citing problems with Windows 11 and the use of other devices alongside the soundbar. Inactivity, as already mentioned, will cause the soundbar to turn off after around 15 minutes, which isn’t ideal for those using it as their main PC audio setup.
Despite these much-needed tweaks, the OXS Thunder Lite proves to be one of the absolute best soundbars I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. It may not make me any better of a gamer than I already am, but it certainly amplifies my gaming and movie-watching experiences to an all-new level of immersion that’s hard to beat.
You can nab the OXS Thunder Lite today on Amazon with a $50 coupon, netting you my favorite soundbar of 2023 for just $99!
More From Tom's Guide
- Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini review
- The new Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar combines Dolby Atmos and AI
- Amazon Fire TV Soundbar offers a cheap, easy solution for better audio
