Michael Gowan

The Vizio V-Series is a solid TV for the price, if you can live with low brightness and poor HDR performance.

Bose Companion 2 Series III sound great and aren’t too big — but lack the latest tech.

The Vizio P-Series Quantum (P65Q9-H1) delivers a crisp picture with great contrast at a good price — but its software holds it back.

The Klipsch AW650 Outdoor Speakers are big in size, sound and price.

The first-generation Sonos Beam delivers very good sound for a small soundbar, and comes with Alexa voice controls.

Polk Atrium 4 set the standard for wired outdoor speakers with a wide, balanced sound for under $200.

The Hisense U7G is a solid all-around TV, with good brightness and color, at a competitive price.

Despite some picture problems, the Insignia 4K Ultra HD Fire TV Edition delivers an enjoyable viewing experience thanks to Fire TV OS.

The Yamaha NS-AW150W outdoor speakers produce a bright sound with full vocals, at an excellent price.

The Toshiba C350 is a solid Fire TV, with good color, but doesn’t handle HDR content well.

The bright and sharp picture of the Sony Bravia X800H, along with its robust Android TV smart OS, make it one of the best mid-range TVs.

This Alexa-powered soundbar produces impressive bass without a subwoofer, though it lacks a truly wide soundstage.

The Samsung Q60T QLED TV costs less, adds Alexa and delivers sharp detail and bright colors — as long as you don’t push it too hard.

Samsung’s Q70T delivers good color and sharp images at a decent price.

The Hisense U8G Android TV (65U8G) delivers rich colors, sharp details — and is oh-so-bright.

The Roku Streambar Pro, which combines a soundbar and Roku streaming device, is easy to set up and has good sound — but can be sluggish as a streamer.

The compact JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam soundbar delivers rooming-filling Atmos audio and good bass — but you can’t make many adjustments.

With a new look, a little more ruggedness and improved sound, the JBL Charge 5 is one of the best Bluetooth speakers — just not one of the cheapest.

The TCL Alto 6 Plus doesn’t cost much and has few frills, but delivers impressive audio for the price.

The Monoprice SB-600 delivers 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos surround sound at a great price, but lacks polish.

The Konka U5 Android TV (55U55A) offers all the goodies of its smart TV OS and produces a good overall picture for the price.

Thanks to above-average sound in a small package, the JBL Flip 5 remains one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers.

The Marshall Mode II wireless earbuds rival the best in this price range for sound quality, but lack active noise cancellation and ruggedness.