After 20 Years of Reviewing TVs, I Actually Found a New One With Good Sound
The Roku Pro Series (2025) features some of the best sound quality I have heard in years of testing AV equipment.
Based on preliminary tests, the TV appears to perform better than the existing Pro series for audio and picture quality.
While it sounds good for a TV, a soundbar with a wireless subwoofer will sound even better.
As a 20-year veteran of TV and soundbar reviews, I can say, with certainty, that you can't expect good sound from a television. Sound quality may be a priority for you and me, but today's TVs typically perform on a spectrum, somewhere between muddy and indistinct. The reason for this is that a flat screen TV is inherently compromised, and onboard sound is usually one of the last considerations. As a result of this, if you want to buy a TV, you almost definitely need some sort of external speaker.
Then again, there are rare exceptions like the newest Roku Pro Series TV, which goes on sale Tuesday starting at $899 for the 55-inch model. The 2025 Roku Pro Series continues the thoughtful touches of previous models -- tool-less stands, an on-TV remote finder -- and adds even better sound to the mix.
Other companies, such as Loewe and Panasonic, have even tried making soundbars a part of the TV, though with varying degrees of success. I've heard those TVs, and they're typically expensive flagships, but the Roku is simply trying to do what any TV should: Make dialog understandable and not require a separate purchase.
The designer of the TV's sound system, Roku's Kasper Andersen, told me he came up with the idea for its unique sound drivers during the pandemic, when he was left to his own devices in an empty audio lab. Andersen's "compression loaded" system appears to work like a horn speaker in that it pipes sound through a tapered opening and helps reduce the muddying reflections that usually occur in TV speakers. To help achieve this, this speaker system is side-mounted, while most TVs point their speakers down, or even back, resulting in super muffled or even 'ghostly' sound.
The Roku Pro TV is not perfect. For instance, there was noticeable audio compression during loud sequences. But this is acceptable for a TV speaker and something I've even experienced with some soundbars.
At the same price as the model it replaces, the Roku Pro Series TV is well put-together, sounds great and, based on initial tests, has picture quality which is better than before. If it performs as well as I anticipate, the new Roku Pro Series could be the TV to beat at the price.
My experience with the Roku Pro Series
Listening to Nick Cave on the new Roku Pro Series
Ty Pendlebury/CNET
I tested the new Roku Pro's sound against its predecessor, the Roku Pro as well as a high-end 2025 LCD, the Hisense U8Q. I tested each one using a mix of movies and music in order to see how the TVs performed when playing dynamic material.
I started my evaluations with one of my soundbar benchmarks -- a scene from Avatar that combines surround effects, quiet dialogue and dynamic explosions: the Thanator Chase. Of the three TVs, the new Roku Pro was able to convey the deep rumble of the Hammerhead Titanotheres as well as the high-end energy of buzzing insects. It was also best able to convey a stereo image -- at the start of the scene, Jake (Sam Worthington) leaves Grace (Sigourney Weaver) behind in a clearing, and the new Roku's audio system followed her position as it moved across the screen.
However, not surprisingly, I found that the TV didn't deal with big dynamic swings as well as a full audio system might. I could hear the audio peaks compress when the Thanator chased Jake under a tree and as he fired rounds at the creature. Yet, this is no sin; I've heard great soundbars like the Zvox SB500 do the same thing. The TV is essentially throttling the sound to prevent distortion or, at the worst, damage.
I then switched to the Hisense and found that this TV was not at all convincing with this scene. While Grace's voice sounded front and center on both Roku TVs, she sounded like she was in another room on the Hisense. Her voice was muffled and indistinct.
While the older Roku Pro still sounds pretty good, I found it could not reproduce bass at all. While listening to Peter Gabriel's track Olive Tree on both Roku TVs, I heard a thick bed of bass on the new Pro, where there was nothing but a flatulent pop on the older TV.
You know when someone drives past listening to bass heavy music and the subwoofer is so loud it sounds like the car is going to fall apart? That's what Nick Cave's Red Right Hand sounded like on the Hisense U8K. I even held the mount and the back of the TV and the rattle was coming from inside the TV.
One of my few complaints about the Roku Pro Series is that, while you can add Roku speakers, you can't add a standalone subwoofer. Granting this ability may reduce the dynamic compression artefacts I heard, as the sub can then take the hit and leave the TV's speakers to produce dialogue.
I did perform a brief picture quality comparison, though only the older Roku had had its picture evaluated with a Konica Minolta CS2000 spectroradiometer. The other TVs were simply set in Filmmaker mode. Using a test scene from 1917, I found the new Roku had more solidity and better contrast than the other TVs. The Roku also had finer shadow detail than the Hisense, which was surprising given the Hisense is around 2.5 times the price. While I'm going to leave my thoughts for a full review, I can at least say that the black levels of the new Roku have improved over the previous generation.
The specs
Sizes: 55-inch ($899), 65-inch ($1,199), 75-inch ($1,699)
Resolution: 4K
Technology: Mini-LED LCD with QLED
Refresh rate: 120Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM
HDR support: HDR10 Plus, Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision IQ
Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 6
HDMI: 4, including eARC
CNET's buying advice
The No. 1 reason to buy a TV has been, and should always be, how good its picture quality is. Yet this shouldn't mean that sound quality can't be No. 2 on the list, especially when your budget is tight. While I am still in the process of evaluating the Roku Pro's display, I can say that this is one of the better TVs I've heard, and at any price.
It's worth mentioning that the existing model is currently being sold at a 30% discount to make way for the new TVs, and while its black levels don't appear to be as good this is still a relatively accurate TV. It's also great at playing video games, and so may be a decent deal if you're looking for a secondary TV for a playroom or bedroom.
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