Soundbars

The sound quality of a television can often fall short of expectations, particularly when it comes to dialogue or deeper bass frequencies. This is exactly where soundbars come in. These compact external TV speaker systems offer a simple way to enhance the viewing experience without taking up much space. Whether for clear dialogue, powerful bass or an immersive surround sound experience, soundbars offer a host of benefits that take a TV’s sound to a whole new level. Find out everything you need to know about soundbars: from basic features and what to look for when buying, to the question of when a speaker specialised in speech intelligibility is the better choice instead of a soundbar.

What are soundbars?

Soundbars are external TV speakers designed to significantly improve the sound of a television. They often consist of a long, narrow enclosure that typically incorporates multiple speakers to disperse sound and create a better surround sound experience. Soundbars are a popular choice because, compared to traditional surround sound systems, they take up less space, are easy to install and offer improved sound quality without cluttering the room with numerous speakers and cables. Whilst built-in TV speakers often reach their physical limits, soundbars, as external TV speakers, offer a cost-effective and space-saving way to significantly improve a television’s sound.

Sound quality of soundbars

The sound quality of soundbars is usually significantly better than that of a TV’s built-in speakers. Thanks to technologies such as Dolby Atmos or Virtual Surround Sound, soundbars can create an enhanced soundstage and a spatial sound image that ensures an immersive viewing experience. Although they cannot provide a true surround sound experience, many modern soundbars create an impressive soundstage that effectively fills the room with sound. The improved reproduction of bass and treble is particularly noticeable in action films, series or scenes with background music, making the soundbar an excellent choice for TV sound.

• Sound reproduction: Soundbars often produce a much fuller and clearer sound than built-in speakers. By using multiple speakers and advanced technologies such as Dolby Audio or DTS, they offer a wider soundstage and spatial audio that fills the room with a more powerful sound.
• Dialogue: A key advantage of soundbars is their ability to highlight dialogue clearly and distinctly. Many soundbars offer special dialogue modes that emphasise the mid-range frequencies where human voices lie. This ensures that conversations remain intelligible even with loud background noise or music, which is particularly important for films or series with lots of sound effects.
• Stereo effects and surround sound: Soundbars are capable of producing impressive stereo effects that create a wider soundstage. Thanks to virtual surround sound technology, soundbars can create the impression that sound is coming from multiple directions, even though they are housed in a compact enclosure.
• Dynamic range and power: One of the greatest strengths of soundbars is their ability to deliver a wide dynamic range and high power output. Compared to built-in TV speakers, soundbars can sound clearer and free from distortion at higher volumes, which is an advantage for surround sound systems or music played at high volumes. Many soundbars also offer subwoofer options that boost the bass and take the performance to a new level.
• Dynamic range: Soundbars offer a wide dynamic range, meaning they remain clear and distortion-free even at high volumes. This is particularly useful in large rooms or during loud scenes in films, where consistent sound quality across a wide volume range is important.
• Rich, full-bodied sound: Thanks to advanced technologies and the often-included subwoofer speakers, many soundbars produce a richer, fuller sound than a TV’s built-in speakers. These subwoofers deliver deeper bass, making the sound more natural and dynamic.

Soundbar features and models

There is a wide variety of soundbars, differing in their features and models. Most soundbars offer easy installation and are equipped with the most common connection options such as HDMI, optical or Bluetooth to allow for easy connection to the TV. Some models come with subwoofers for additional bass reproduction or Dolby Atmos for an immersive sound experience.

Models with subwoofers: These soundbars have separate subwoofers that deliver deeper bass and enhance the listening experience. They are ideal for people who want powerful sound and deeper bass.

Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbars: These soundbars offer an enhanced surround sound experience, allowing the sound to be projected in all directions and providing a 3D audio experience.

Wireless soundbars: Many modern soundbars offer wireless connectivity options, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which allow for flexible use and installation without the need for additional cables.

What should you look for when buying a soundbar?

When buying a soundbar, there are several factors to consider to ensure that the soundbar meets your requirements as an external TV speaker. Sound quality is, of course, crucial, particularly the soundbar’s ability to reproduce dialogue clearly whilst producing a rich, dynamic sound. Compatibility with the TV and connections, such as HDMI ARC or an optical cable, are also important considerations.

For those seeking an even more immersive experience, Dolby Atmos soundbars are an excellent choice, as they enhance sound reproduction in all directions. If space is limited, compact soundbars with a built-in subwoofer are an ideal solution for maximising bass reproduction without the need for additional speakers.

Soundbar connections

HDMI: One of the best ways to connect a soundbar to a TV is via HDMI. The HDMI connection enables fast and lossless transmission of audio and video signals. HDMI is the preferred choice, particularly for modern 4K TVs, as it offers high bandwidth and support for advanced audio formats such as Dolby Atmos.

Audio Return Channel (ARC) or eARC: ARC (Audio Return Channel) allows audio to be sent from the TV to the soundbar. eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) offers higher bandwidth and supports uncompressed audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, as well as high-resolution Dolby Atmos formats.

Additional interfaces: In addition to HDMI and ARC, many soundbars offer further connection options such as an optical port, Bluetooth and AUX to enable easy connection to other devices. Bluetooth also allows for a wireless connection to smartphones or tablets, whilst the optical port always ensures consistently reliable digital audio transmission.

Advantages and disadvantages of soundbars

Advantages:

• Compact size and easy installation
• Improved sound quality compared to built-in speakers
• Flexibility in installation and connection (HDMI, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi)
• Good bass response and dynamics, particularly in models with a built-in subwoofer

Disadvantages:

• Limited surround sound experience compared to true surround sound systems
• Additional speakers or a full surround sound system are required for a fully immersive home cinema experience
• Higher cost for models with advanced features such as Dolby Atmos

Soundbar or a dedicated speech amplifier?

Anyone who mainly wants films and music to sound full and rich is usually better served by a soundbar. It covers the entire frequency range, supports surround formats such as Dolby Atmos and can often be extended with a subwoofer or additional speakers.

If understanding dialogue is the priority, dedicated speech amplifiers such as the OSKAR by faller audio are worth considering. These devices give up surround effects and bass performance and concentrate on lifting voices out of the sound mix; some can be placed wirelessly right next to your seat. For a home cinema experience they are the weaker choice, for people with hearing loss often the more practical one.