Have you been hearing a lot about passive soundbars lately, but you aren’t sure what they are?
You came to the right place to get your answer!
Here in this short buying guide, you will get introduced to the passive soundbar category and the features that are the most common for them. You can also read five in-depth reviews on the currently most popular models. I hope you will enjoy reading it!
Things To Know About Passive Soundbar Speakers
What Is A Passive Soundbar?
A passive soundbar is very similar to a traditional speaker. With it, you need you will not get any amplifiers or AV receivers already built-into it. Therefore, you will need to power it off of an external amplifier or AV receiver, which you usually have to buy separately. It also doesn’t include any digital signal processing or inputs, which doesn’t make the sound any lower in quality.
How Is An Active Soundbar Different?
An active soundbar works quite similarly to the passive ones. They come with multiple speakers that are split up into channels. Sometimes they also have the surround sound capabilities and can be mounted in a few different ways. But the biggest difference is that active soundbars come with the receiver and/or amplifier built-into them.
Where To Buy A Passive Soundbar?
Because there are far more active soundbars on the market, it can be more challenging to find a good passive soundbar. That is why we recommend you look online at big retailer webshops. One that we would recommend is Amazon.com, where you can find the biggest variety of passive soundbars by different brands. The prices on Amazon are also quite acceptable and if you are lucky, sometimes there are even special deals and discounts.
Best 5 Passive Soundbar Reviews
Best 3 Channel Passive Soundbar
Definitive Technology XTR-SSA3 Passive Sound Bar Speaker
Passive Soundbar With 3 Channels
The first passive soundbar is a passive soundbar 3 channel model by the brand Definitive technology. It is their XTR-SSA3 model that gives you the best audio performance. It can connect to your home theater receiver and it can take place of the left, center, and right channel speaker of a traditional surround system.
Ultra-Slim Design
Another benefit of this soundbar is that it comes with an ultra-slim design. It comes in a black color which makes it look very elegant and ensures it seamlessly blends with the rest of your hardware. It is made out of the aircraft-grade extruded aluminum and has a glossy finish that has been hand polished to give it that pearlescent sheen.
Best Audio Technology
With this soundbar, you will get six mid-bass drivers and three 1″ tweeters that will make the TV dialogue much more clear and the whole sound more powerful and a lot richer. The frequency response for this Definitive Technology passive soundbar is 60-30,000 Hz.
What’s In The Box?
Aside from this soundbar you also get quite a few accessories and installation equipment included in the package. You will get the plug-in speaker terminal, 4 L-bracket supports, 4 adjustable feet, wall-mount bracket, six 1/4″-20 x 12mm screws, 4 rubber pads and a template. There is also a user manual, online product registration card and the speaker labels included.
- 60-30,000 Hz frequency response
- installation equipment included
- ultra-slim design
- six mid-bass drivers included
- three 1″ tweeters included
Best Home Passive Soundbar
Klipsch G-42 Passive Soundbar
Cross-Over Home Audio Solution
The next passive soundbar we are about to mention is by the brand Klipsch. Their G-42 model is a cross-over home audio solution that has a left, right and center channel speakers all in one very sleek cabinet. It will provide you with a very accurate and non-fatiguing sound that you will love.
Design And Size
This Klipsch passive soundbar is overall quite sleek and has the following measurements 6″ H x 42″ W x 2.4″ D. It is a perfect fit for all those minimalist types of decors in your home. It has a very high-gloss finish and comes in black color. That means it will probably match with the rest of the hardware you have quite nicely.
What Else It Got?
With this passive soundbar, you will also get the dynamic 1-inch tweeters, for left, right and the center channels. There are also 3.5″ high-output woofers, one for left, one for the right channel and two for the center channel. However, just like with all passive soundbars, the amplifier isn’t included and has to be purchased separately.
- dynamic 1-inch tweeters included
- 5″ high-output woofers included
- accurate and non-fatiguing sound
- high-gloss finish
Best Passive Soundbar For Flat TVs
Martin Logan Motion SLM X3 3-Channel Passive Soundbar
Perfect For Thin TVs
Another one of the passive soundbars we would like to mention to you is the Martin Logan Motion SLM X3 soundbar model. This is a very slender soundbar that comes with folded motion tweeters, 6 of the 4–inch high–excursion fiber cone woofers and the ultra-slim, 3–channel soundbar design. It is a passive soundbar ideal for any super-thin TV.
Inspired Sound
With this soundbar, you will get the ultimate performance very similar to the home theaters. It was designed and crafted by engineers to make sure you get the rich and powerful sound, but also that low bass frequency. There is a folded motion transducer with the diaphragm also included with this soundbar. It is recommended to get the amplifier that has the power of 20 to 140 Watts per channel.
Design And Set Up
This Martin Logan passive soundbar has a very sleek, slender and very elegant design. It has the overall dimensions of 51.8 x 12 x 5.4 inches. However, it is quite heavy and it weighs 18 pounds. You can place it either on a shelf or even mount it to the wall if you want to save some extra space in your home.
- weighs 18 pounds
- sleek, slender and elegant design
- folded motion transducer with the diaphragm
- ideal for any super-thin TV
Best 6-Speaker Passive Soundbar
Wet Sounds Stealth-6 Core Passive 6-Speaker Soundbar
Non-Amplified Soundbar
The next passive soundbar we think is worth sharing with you is by Wet Sounds. Their Stealth-6 Core Passive 6-Speaker Soundbar is a 21″ non-amplified soundbar which is designed for ATV, golf carts, but also the marine use. Since it is a passive soundbar it will require an amplifier, but you will have to purchase it separately. Make sure that the amplifier you buy is compatible with this soundbar.
High-Performance Audio System
This soundbar will offer you high-quality audio and it comes with four 3″ full-range drivers and a pair of 1″ titanium tweeters included. That way the sound that is produced by this soundbar is rich, dynamic and powerful. It will be perfect for hosting parties on a boat or anywhere else you’d like to bring it to.
For Outdoor Use
Unlike many of the soundbar you can find on the market, this specific one is designed to endure outdoor conditions. It is made out of extruded aluminum housing and has stainless steel hardware. The wiring provided for this soundbar is also durable and waterproof. That means that even if you are using it on a boat and it gets splashed by water, you don’t have to worry about it stopping working.
- designed to endure outdoor conditions
- extruded aluminum housing
- stainless steel hardware
- four 3″ full-range drivers
- 1″ titanium tweeters included
Best 32-Inch Tv Passive Soundbar
KEF HTF7003 Sound Bar Speaker
Audio solution for flat panel TV
Today’s flat panel’s Tv demands an audio solution that will compliment their stylish modern looks, as well as produce high-definition audio to match the HD image they offer. That is why the KEF HTF7003 Sound Bar is one of the best solutions for them. It is a passive soundbar that was designed to perfectly match any 32-inch Tv or larger.
Drive Units
With the KEF passive soundbar, you will get the dual 2-inch bass drivers and a 0.75 tweeter for each channel. That means that the triplet of drivers is repeated three times and created independent left, center and right channels. From a single acoustically inert aluminum enclosure this soundbar will produce a home theater kind of a sound.
Size And Design
This soundbar has a very sleek design and it also has a very thin profile to match the depth of most flat-panel televisions. It comes with a high gloss black finish which makes it look very elegant. Another thing worth mentioning is that the terminals are gold plated so you can get a secure and easy connection to almost any bare speaker wire.
Set Up And Equipment
The equipment you get with this soundbar is a tablet stand and a wall mount bracket. That means those are the two ways you can easily set this soundbar. All of the instructions on how to set it up you get in the owner’s manual that is also included with the soundbar.
- matches any 32-inch Tv or larger
- table stand and a wall mount bracket included
- dual 2-inch bass drivers
- very sleek design
Conclusion: What Is The Best Passive Soundbar?
Out of the five best passive soundbar models, we opted for two as winners. They are the Wet Sounds Stealth-6 Core Passive 6-Speaker Soundbar and the Definitive Technology XTR-SSA3 Passive Sound Bar, which we think are a little bit better than the rest of the models. Both come with no amplifiers or receivers included or built-in. The Wet Sounds model is waterproof and made out of durable material, so it is great for outdoor use, on a boat for example. It also comes with drivers and tweeters included. The Definitive Technology passive soundbar has three channels, ultra-slim design and comes with all of the essential accessories included in the channel.
If you want to read more about the best soundbar for sale, check out the full article we have all about that topic. Some of the best soundbars for the money are mentioned in another one of our articles. Check out the best soundbar with subwoofer article where we suggest some of our favorite products from that category.