Roku Streambar Pro review 2024: for media streaming

The Roku Streambar Pro is the successor of the Roku Smart Soundbar and offers a 2.0 setup that is both affordable and technologically advanced. It has a design and performance that are comparable to those of its predecessor, but it comes with a voice remote that provides access to a few more capabilities. You can use the Roku app on your mobile device to listen in private using the headphones that come with the Roku streaming stick, or you can use the remote that comes with the stick to watch content on your television.

The bar also provides access to Roku media’s streamer, which is a handy application that compiles all of your channels and streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu, into a single location for convenient navigation. If you want to boost the bar’s bass reproduction and surround sound, respectively, the company also supplies a compatible subwoofer and satellites that you can add to the bar to accomplish these goals.

Roku Streambar Pro Specifictions

Roku Streambar Pro: Design

The 32.2 x 3.9 x 2.8-inch Streambar Pro looks like Roku’s line of streaming boxes. It doesn’t try to stand out too much and blends in with its surroundings. Four 2.5-inch drivers are in the black, rectangular speaker. It doesn’t come with a subwoofer or surround speakers, but you can add those to make it a real 5.1 system.

The only thing on the front is a white light that shows it’s on. When you turn on the microphone for voice control, the light turns red. On the back, there is an HDMI ARC port that you can use to connect to your TV. There is also a USB port and an optical digital audio port. You can buy this soundbar from its official website

Roku Streambar Pro: Remote

The biggest difference between this and the Smart Soundbar is the handle. Many of us know and love the Roku remote because it looks and feels the same. It’s easy to understand and well made, and it feels solid in your hand. The Streambar Pro version has a button for voice search and a headphone jack for listening in secret.

It has buttons to open Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Hulu right away. It also has two buttons that can be used to store voice commands. Keep in mind, though, that this remote is not the same as Roku’s new mouth Remote Pro, which can be charged and can be controlled by mouth without having to use your hands.

Roku Streambar Pro: Interface

There are more and more soundbars coming out all the time, and the Roku Streambar Pro is just one of them. But while it is easier to use than a traditional speaker system, it also has something that most other soundbars don’t: an interface built right in. This is a 2-in-1 gadget that gives you access to Netflix and Hulu and improves the sound on your TV.

Roku Streambar Pro: Setup

And even though it’s wide, it’s not too big or hard to move. It’s 32.2 inches wide and only 2.8 inches tall and 3.9 inches deep. This gives you a lot of sound. The Streambar Pro should fit under your TV, unless you have a very small setup. It also has places to hang it if you don’t have a place to put it like an entertainment center.

Sound Quality

We’re not the kind of audiophiles who review the latest speaker, receiver, or 7.1 surround sound system every month. We stream a lot, though, so good sound is important. Unless, of course, you’re one of those streams who turns on subtitles for every single show they watch. So, the music quality of the Roku Streambar Pro was judged from the point of view of the streamer.

Our best thing about the Roku Streambar Pro was that you could switch between Standard, Dialogue, Movie, Music, and Night sound modes. Watching a program with a lot of talking? The conversation mode turns down the background noise so that you can hear people talking.

Roku Streambar Pro: Performance

The Streambar Pro is a bit of a letdown as a streaming gadget. It has all the great features you’d expect from a Roku device, like easy navigation and almost every app, but menus and apps were slow to load. When we opened an app, it often took five to ten seconds before we could start playing a movie.

We felt like we were always waiting for the device to catch up with me. On the other hand, these apps open quickly when you use a Roku Ultra or the smart operating systems on an LG or Samsung TV. Roku says that the problems with the way my LG C9 OLED TV worked were caused by problems with connectivity.

Price and Availability

At $180, it’s much cheaper than the $300 Alexa-powered Polk Command Bar and the $400 Android TV-powered JBL Link Bar. It doesn’t have a hands-free voice assistant like those two, but you can get hands-free voice control with the $30 Roku Voice Remote Pro. Even if you double that price to add a subwoofer, you still pay less than the Link Bar and get room-filling, wall-thumping bass. Adding the Roku TV Wireless Speakers on top of that keeps the price under $600 for powerful surround sound.

Final Words

The Roku Streambar is a great choice if you don’t want to buy a whole new home theater system but just want to make your current TV better. It’s not quite perfect, but the parts that will be used the most, like projection and sharpness, are where it shines. The Roku Streambar is a low-risk way to improve your TV’s sound and make older models smarter. In this way, we can’t say enough good things about it.

Roku Streambar Pro review: The good and The bad

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