If you’re looking to upgrade your TV’s built-in speakers and you want something that’s a bit light on the wallet, the Roku Streambar just might be what you’re looking for. It combines good audio performance with all the features that you get with a Roku streaming stick—all at a budget friendly price. With the release of the Roku Streambar Pro, though, you might want to save up a bit more to get the upgraded version. We compare the two below to find out their differences.
Roku Streambar vs Streambar Pro Comparison Chart
Design
The Roku Streambar Pro is longer and taller than the Roku Streambar and its size might pose some positioning challenges if you don’t have a wall mounted TV.
When it comes to size, the Roku Streambar is quite small. In fact, it’s one of the most compact soundbars in the market with a width of 14 inches and height of 2.4 inches. You won’t have any issues placing it in between the legs of even a 42-inch TV. On the other hand, the Roku Streambar Pro is quite long and tall, measuring 32.2 inches wide and 2.8 inches tall. Its bigger size might pose some placement challenges especially if your TV is sitting on a TV rack.
As for build quality, the two are similar. They are both made of plastic that feels sturdy enough and their front and edges are covered in a tight-knit fabric. The fabric provides protection for the drivers, but you can still feel the drivers when you press hard on them. Overall, though, these two have decent build qualities that shouldn’t pose issues as long as you are not careless with them.
At the back, there are openings for their ports, as well as universal mounting holes, so you can mount these with any soundbar mounts. However, you’ll have to purchase the wall mounting hardware separately.
Features
Features-wise, the Roku Streambar and Streambar Pro are similar, however, the latter does come with an upgraded remote controller with a headphone jack.
The standout feature of the Roku Streambar and Streambar Pro is their built-in Roku app. You’ll have access to everything that the Roku Premiere+ will give you, along with the features that you get with Roku TV wireless speakers. Streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu and more can be accessed using either the Roku Streambar or Streambar Pro. In addition to that, both soundbars are also compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit for iOS streaming.
In terms of connectivity, the two soundbars have one HDMI port, one optical port and a USB port. They also have Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. One thing worth mentioning though, is that the Roku Streambar Pro only has Bluetooth 4.2, whereas the older Streambar has Bluetooth 5.0.
Another notable difference is that the remote controller that comes with the Roku Streambar Pro has some few upgrades. First, it has a couple of personal shortcut buttons that you can program to your preferred input, and secondly, it comes with a headphone jack on the side for private listening. The private listening feature is also available on the Roku Streambar, but you’ll need to use your phone and the Roku app to do so.
Performance
With bigger drivers, the Roku Streambar Pro outputs richer and fuller sound than the Roku Streambar.
The Roku Streambar and Roku Streambar Pro sound nothing like the high-end soundbars in the thousands of dollars range and discrete bookshelf speakers. That said, they still offer significant improvements over the tinny sound of most TVs.
Out of the box, the two soundbars have balanced mids that lets you hear dialogue clearly. The bass is a bit lacking but there are a few EQ presets that you can choose to tweak the sound. Normal, Reduce bass, Bass boost and Bass off modes are available to tweak the low and mids. However, the treble range is underemphasized and there’s no settings to play with to adjust it.
Both soundbars have four full-range drivers, but the ones in the Roku Streambar Pro are bigger and they can produce richer and fuller sound. The difference, however, is very subtle, and most people will not even notice it. One area where the Streambar Pro absolutely trumps the standard Streambar is stereo soundstage. As the Streambar Pro is wider, its soundstage is also wider.
Verdict
The Roku Streambar Pro offers better value for the money than the Streambar Pro.
Roku Streambar
Budget option with compact size
Roku Streambar Pro
Upgraded remote and better stereo performance
If you are looking to buy a low-cost soundbar to enhance the sound that comes out of your TV, both the Roku Streambar and Streambar Pro are great choices. Get the Roku Streambar if you want a soundbar that’s light and compact, and if you don’t want to spend too much money. The Roku Streambar Pro is a good alternative if you are willing to pay more for a slightly better audio performance and the convenience of private listening using only the remote controller.
FAQs
The newer Roku Streambar Pro is wider, has larger drivers and it comes with an upgraded remote controller.
Yes, you can use the Roku Streambar and Streambar Pro on any TV that has an HDMI port.
No, the Roku Streambar is a 2.0 channel soundbar and it doesn’t support any object-based sound modes.
Yes, it has Bluetooth connectivity in addition to WiFi.