There are thousands of articles about the picture quality of televisions—Do you want OLED or LCD? How do aspect ratios work? What’s the difference between 60 Hertz (Hz) and 600 Hz? And what about 3DTV?

And this makes sense because a TV is mostly thought of as a visual medium. But you know what doesn’t get talked about often enough? The sound quality!

There are few things as annoying as hearing an echo while watching an action movie or having to struggle to hear whispering actors during a drama.

Sound plays a huge role in your overall television or theater experience, but TV manufacturers seem to focus on picture quality rather than sound quality. That said, the speakers that come stock with many TV’s, even really expensive ones, often deliver poor sound quality.

You have several options to upgrade your sound quality, but the cheapest and fastest is to add a decent sound bar to your setup. Here’s how that works.

What is a sound bar?

When flat panel TV’s took over the market they left a big hole in their ability to deliver quality sound because of their tiny speakers. And not only do flat panel TV’s come with small speakers, they’re often pointed in the wrong direction because of how they’re designed into the TV—either facing downward or behind the unit.

The sound bar is the electronic industry’s response to poor quality from flat panel TV’s. It’s an all-in-one speaker unit, usually shaped like a bar, although it can vary. Any sound bar, no matter which brand or the cost, will sound way better than your TV.

The purpose of a sound bar is to deliver a sound experience that matches the lifelike visual experience.

Tips for placing your sound bar

Usually, you’ll want to place your sound bar directly below your TV. If your TV is mounted on the wall you’ll have to figure out a way to mount the sound bar as well. If your TV rest on a cabinet, it’s easy to just place the sound bar right in front of the TV.

Note: Since sound bars were created specifically in response to flat panel TV’s, most are designed to be easily placed in conjunction with your TV. You can either buy a sound bar from the same manufacturer as your TV (which ensure a good aesthetic fit) or buy one from a company that only does audio equipment (which ensures premium sound).

Either way, don’t forget to snap a picture of your TV setup and do some measurements before you go to the electronics store or online shopping!

Benefits of soundbars

Sound bars are the fastest and cheapest way to drastically improve the sound quality of your TV. You don’t really have to worry about redesigning your living room or space planning, and you can find decent sound bars for under $200, but the good ones will cost significantly more.

In addition to enhancing your viewing experience, many homes actually use a sound bar as their primary music system, which extends your investment even further.

Of course, sound bars aren’t the only way to upgrade your theater experience. Look for our next blog post as we dive into the world of surround sound—the ultimate sound experience for your home!

As always, if you have any questions about home audio or woul
d like to speak with an expert, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Valley Home Theater.