Just because you have an aging TV without HDMI doesn’t mean you can’t upgrade its audio with a higher-performing soundbar.

The rise of the soundbar has made it easier than ever to upgrade the audio for any TV, new or old. I’ve been testing home theater gear for many years, and can’t imagine setting up a TV without one.

While most modern soundbars rely on an HDMI cable to connect to HDTVs and 4K TVs, there are still plenty of soundbars on the market with legacy audio inputs that will work with older TVs—and yes, that ...