Living in a small space has its challenges, but poor cinematic sound doesn't need to be one of them. For those in apartments or with smaller rooms for watching television and listening to music, the TCL A65K Soundbar is not a bad option among the best soundbars out there.

Priced at $499 on Amazon (the list price is $699), this pencil-shaped soundbar is about 35 inches long and stands two inches high but packs 460 watts of power. With the included subwoofer, you can blast the latest Netflix movie or crank up any one of the three new Drake albums at high volume. Dolby Atmos support, a brilliant room adaptation feature that uses AI, and a compact design are the main highlights.

Call it a niche product if you want, but judged as a compact audio product, I liked the features and design of the TCL A65K even if the actual audio quality can’t compete with the Sonos Arc Ultra or even come close to the Focal Mu-So Hekla. Audiophiles should definitely take a pass, but the rest will find a lot to like for the price, the small size, and smart design.

One of the TCL A65K's smart design choices has to do with the product size. The A65K soundbar weighs only 2.5 pounds so I found I could easily hold it with one hand. The subwoofer, which is designed to face toward you, weighs almost 12 pounds but is also not a back-breaker.

Compare that to something like the Focal Mu-So Hekla soundbar at 34 pounds and the A65K feels featherlight. For those looking for high-quality audio in a compact package, this might just be the perfect solution.