Sound bars...

[K Frame]

Edumukate me, hive mind!

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[zxcvbob]

Can you be more specific?

I bought one of these recently: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SMBFZNG  It works pretty well, but IIRC it only has a tiny 5V power supply so not many watts.

[mtnbkr]

Let's talk when you come over this evening.  You can check out my new soundbar+sub.

Chris

[Ben]

I bought mine as a soundbar/subwoofer combo. I really like having the wireless subwoofer on the other side of the room to get the "surround sound" feel. I went with Samsung to match my TV.

I know I could just buy a third party remote, but having a Samsung TV, blue ray, and soundbar keeps everything working off the TV remote without me doing much of anything programming-wise.

[K Frame]

More specific, I have absolutely no knowledge about Soundbars. What's good, what's bad. Whatever. I have a 2008 Samsung 46 inch flat screen. Right now it is hooked up to an older shelf top stereo system that is starting to go bad in that I'm hearing buzzing in the speaker's occasionally.

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[MillCreek]

I bought mine as a soundbar/subwoofer combo. I really like having the wireless subwoofer on the other side of the room to get the "surround sound" feel. I went with Samsung to match my TV.

I know I could just buy a third party remote, but having a Samsung TV, blue ray, and soundbar keeps everything working off the TV remote without me doing much of anything programming-wise.

We also bought a Samsung soundbar/subwoofer to go with the Samsung 70" 4K TV.  Both of them are from Costco, and we really like the soundbar and the 'clear voice' setting, which really helps both my wife and I to better hear dialog.

[Fly320s]

More specific, I have absolutely no knowledge about Soundbars. What's good, what's bad. Whatever. I have a 2008 Samsung 46 inch flat screen. Right now it is hooked up to an older shelf top stereo system that is starting to go bad in that I'm hearing buzzing in the speaker's occasionally.

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There are many good ones to choose from.  I have a Vizio surround system that works well.  Like Ben said, if you get a Samsung brand then you can use one remote, which simplifies things.

I think Bose is overrated and overpriced and Sony quality has fallen off, but the other major brands are good enough.  Get on Amazon and find one in your budget and read the reviews.

[Ben]

We also bought a Samsung soundbar/subwoofer to go with the Samsung 70" 4K TV.  Both of them are from Costco, and we really like the soundbar and the 'clear voice' setting, which really helps both my wife and I to better hear dialog.

Mine is older and doesn't have that, but man, I'm getting it on the next one. I have a heck of a time hearing voices over background noise/music on a lot of stuff I watch. A lot of time it sounds like they're whispering or mumbling.

[mtnbkr]

More specific, I have absolutely no knowledge about Soundbars. What's good, what's bad.

I too have a 2008 Samsung TV.  I recently purchased a cheap Insignia SB+Sub because it was cheap at $50 on sale.  The sound quality is head and shoulders over what the TV alone provided.  The sub is connected via bluetooth, so you're not running wires all over the place.  My Harmony remote fully controls the soundbar and sub, so I don't need a 2nd remote. 

Before anyone says something, yes I know there are better systems out there, but in a semi-chaotic and noisy household, and lacking a dedicated home theater room, I'm not going to see the benefit of the more expensive systems.  I see more than $50 "improvement" over what I had before.

Chris

[Andiron]

Speaking of soundbars for $50...

https://www.woot.com/offers/vizio-sb2820n-e0-28-2-0-sound-bar?ref=w_cnt_gw_dly_tl

[MillCreek]

Mine is older and doesn't have that, but man, I'm getting it on the next one. I have a heck of a time hearing voices over background noise/music on a lot of stuff I watch. A lot of time it sounds like they're whispering or mumbling.

We have the closed captioning enabled on all TV's at all times.

[K Frame]

OK, I got a good look and listen to Mtnbkr's sound bar system last night and I liked it.

I've done a bit more scouting around this morning and have found this one. It seems as if it could be a good contender based on price, reviews, and especially the function flexibility.

https://www.amazon.com/LuguLake-Bluetooth-Subwoofer-Adjustable-Composable/dp/B01F8BGYGE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1517749465&sr=8-5&keywords=soundbar+subwoofer

[MechAg94]

I too have a 2008 Samsung TV.  I recently purchased a cheap Insignia SB+Sub because it was cheap at $50 on sale.  The sound quality is head and shoulders over what the TV alone provided.  The sub is connected via bluetooth, so you're not running wires all over the place.  My Harmony remote fully controls the soundbar and sub, so I don't need a 2nd remote. 

Before anyone says something, yes I know there are better systems out there, but in a semi-chaotic and noisy household, and lacking a dedicated home theater room, I'm not going to see the benefit of the more expensive systems.  I see more than $50 "improvement" over what I had before.

Chris

IMO, even cheaper speakers give pretty dang good sound these days over just the TV.  You can always just default to finding an affordable system from a decent brand.

I got a Sony soundbar with subwoofer via a points system at work.  It does great for me. 

[Ben]

IMO, even cheaper speakers give pretty dang good sound these days over just the TV. 

As fantastic as TVs are getting nowadays picture-wise, the onboard sound certainly sucks - -at least at my price point. IMO, it's almost mandatory to get a supplemental sound system for your average TV nowadays, or use headphones.

[K Frame]

I read an article on Soundbars that said that TV speakers have gotten so bad because the TVs have gotten so good. It's really impossible to put a decent speaker in such a flat compartment as modern TVs, and a lot of times the design forces them to be either pointing to the rear or pointing down which makes the problem worse.

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[HankB]

. . . I have a heck of a time hearing voices over background noise/music on a lot of stuff I watch. A lot of time it sounds like they're whispering or mumbling.

AMEN TO THAT!!! And turning up the volume just raises the background noise, too. Sometimes using a multi channel system (I'm set up for 3 channels plus sub in my great room) helps, since dialog is often on the center channel and you can turn that up individually. But sometimes, the sound mixing just plain blows chunks.

In terms of sound bars, I got a Polk Audio soundbar/sub system for the MBR which works well - it sounded better than others (e.g., Boston) and wasn't absurdly overpriced and underperforming. (Bose)

[Ben]

AMEN TO THAT!!! And turning up the volume just raises the background noise, too. Sometimes using a multi channel system (I'm set up for 3 channels plus sub in my great room) helps, since dialog is often on the center channel and you can turn that up individually. But sometimes, the sound mixing just plain blows chunks.

In terms of sound bars, I got a Polk Audio soundbar/sub system for the MBR which works well - it sounded better than others (e.g., Boston) and wasn't absurdly overpriced and underperforming. (Bose)

Seems to me (guessing) that a lot of that voice stuff has to do with the production side vs the viewing side. There are plenty of programs where I can easily make out all the dialog regardless of background music, etc., even if characters are whispering, but some shows/movies seem to make it incredibly difficult for me, even if characters are talking at a normal volume.

[mtnbkr]

I read an article on Soundbars that said that TV speakers have gotten so bad because the TVs have gotten so good. It's really impossible to put a decent speaker in such a flat compartment as modern TVs, and a lot of times the design forces them to be either pointing to the rear or pointing down which makes the problem worse.

That makes a lot of sense, though the speakers in my TV (pre LED LCD, so it's thicker) are to the left and right of the screen.  Theoretically, they have as much space as my soundbar.

However, I suspect TV manufacturers are putting less "effort" into the TV's speakers because of the likelihood the buyer has a home theater set up, rendering the TV's speakers moot (and mute).

FWIW, the Insignia set I have has three pre-set DSP profiles, one of which being "News".  It does greatly improve speech, but I wouldn't want to watch a movie or regular TV show in that mode because non-speech sounds are attenuated.

Chris

[T.O.M.]

I subscribe to the idea that they put crap speakers in the Tv's now, knowing so many people will be adding some type of sound system.  We have a Vizio TV, and a Vizio sound bar I bought for around  $80 at Wally World.  It does a pretty good job.  Its similar to this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00SMBG8NC/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1517783587&sr=1-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=vizio+sound+bar&dpPl=1&dpID=31I5XWBHRXL&ref=plSrch

[Ben]

FWIW, the Insignia set I have has three pre-set DSP profiles, one of which being "News".  It does greatly improve speech, but I wouldn't want to watch a movie or regular TV show in that mode because non-speech sounds are attenuated.

Chris

I have the same thing and the same thoughts on it as you. Movies, news, and I forget the third one. Sports maybe.

[Brad Johnson]

I read an article on Soundbars that said that TV speakers have gotten so bad because the TVs have gotten so good.

This.

Lower frequencies, the ones that give sound "fullness" or "depth" (in quotes because, subjective) need X amount of air volume per driver to work effectively. As TV form factors grow ever thinner, there simply isn't enough air volume in the case to accommodate sufficient speakers for any more than vestigial sound. The result is tinny, thin audio that's generally little better than transistor radios from 50 years ago. As has been mentioned, some TV mfgs are addressing the problem by putting the speakers/electronics in a remote-mount case. Others just presume you will have some type of sound bar or H/T system, or that you don't care about sound quality at all.

It also doesn't help that many channels are transmitting in some type of 5.1 digital sound format. The dynamic range of digital sources is well beyond what most internal speaker systems can accurately reproduce. Add to that the downmixing for 2.0 stereo (the TV's two internal speakers) not being handled very well. It all contributes to crummy sound quality.

A sound bar, even an inexpensive one, is light years better than most modern TVs' built-in audio (get familiar with your sound bar's delay function, it usually take some twiddling to get the sound synced). Some wireless headphone setups these days are also darned impressive. I'm an old-school movie hound and have a full H/T system, but that's me. It's waaaaay overkill for anyone not into movie soundtracks like I am. If I have house guests I don't want to disturb I'll plug a long cord into the headphone jack and use earbuds. While they don't supply thunderous punch-you-in-the-chest LFE like my two 15" subs can provide, it's still very, very, very good sound.

Brad

[K Frame]

OK, Mtnbkr cued me in on this one.

https://slickdeals.net/f/11299431-jvc-37-2-1-channel-bluetooth-soundbar-w-wireless-subwoofer-50-free-shipping

JVC. Gets fairly decent reviews. WalMart clearance. $52 by the time tax was added on.

Can't go wrong with that.

[K Frame]

My new soundbar came Wednesday evening.

I'm VERY pleased with it. The sound is very rich, and the bass response is quite impressive. Speaking voices are a LOT easier to understand now than they were with my old system.

I put the subwoofer under the sofa, and when it kicked in Seren was REALLY startled. :D

A few small nits, the biggest one being that it took me multiple tries to get it to pair with the blue tooth on my phone. Once I did manage to pair it, streaming Iheartradio was simple, and the subwoofer REALLY kicked ass on some of the bass from the 1980s songs I listen to!

Oh, the other nit was that it was not at all clear what cables were in the package. I assumed that an optical audio cable would be included, but it was not. Fortunately I have a Home Depot about a half mile from my house and they had a couple in stock.