Are soundbars any good? (for LCD TV)

MarkBargain

I have a 32" LG TV with integrated Freesat which I bought a couple of years ago. The picture is great and the sound is generally impressive, although sometimes when the sound is very loud I notice an annoying vibration noise. It seems to happen at certain pitches and I just notice it from time to time, but last weekend I watched a music programme and it really annoyed me. I understand this is common with LCD (and LED / plasma) TVs as they are build to be thin rather than having good sound quality.

So, that brings me onto my question which is: are soundbars any good? I've seen them for around £100, would they solve my problem or are they a waste of time? Can anyone recommend any particular models? Sharp seem to be the cheapest. Any thoughts on this one? https://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars/sharp/htsb250/shar-htsb250 / www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/19312117/Sharp-Aquos-HT-SB250-21-Channel-Sound-Bar-Av-Speakers/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518|cat:19312117|prd:19312117

jjscotman

I bought a new Sony Bravia tv and experienced a similar intermittent vibration sound which annoyed me so I bought a Sharp sound bar from Amazon which solved the problem immediately and I'm very pleased with it.

The one I got was as follows:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002CPZLIW/ref=wms_ohs_product_

It was £109 when I bought it in November 2010 but seems to have increased considerably in price.

Hope this helps.

wrightk

MarkBargain wrote: »

I have a 32" LG TV with integrated Freesat which I bought a couple of years ago. The picture is great and the sound is generally impressive, although sometimes when the sound is very loud I notice an annoying vibration noise. It seems to happen at certain pitches and I just notice it from time to time, but last weekend I watched a music programme and it really annoyed me. I understand this is common with LCD (and LED / plasma) TVs as they are build to be thin rather than having good sound quality.

So, that brings me onto my question which is: are soundbars any good? I've seen them for around £100, would they solve my problem or are they a waste of time? Can anyone recommend any particular models? Sharp seem to be the cheapest. Any thoughts on this one? www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars/sharp/htsb250/shar-htsb250 / www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/19312117/Sharp-Aquos-HT-SB250-21-Channel-Sound-Bar-Av-Speakers/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518|cat:19312117|prd:19312117

not particuarly brilliant sound quality but it depends on what sort of sound quality your after, and you get what you pay for... but anything will be an improvement on tinny flatscreen tv speakers (aside from string and a baked bean tin)

The vibration you will be hearing is either the speaker itself overdriving or more likely the speaker (or the certain frequencies of the speaker) hitting the resonant frequency of the plastic on the television speaker enclosure causing it to vibrate.

The best thing you can do is to separate the sound from the television. So your choice seems to be ok. Personally i would outsource the sound from the television into an amplifier and speaker chain

billywhizz

My parents bought a Sharp Soundbar, think it's the same model, from Richer Sounds. Very impressed, it makes a huge difference to the standard speakers on the TV. Obviously it's not great at surround sound, but for the money it's a great way to improve the TV sound overall.

wba31

I have the orbitsound T12, which is incredible. It connects via an optical cable, and also has an ipod dock on the top. I had a few infrared problems (interference with my TV/sky box) but the Orbitsound customer service were excellent and have sent out a replacement bar that now works fine. It is slightly more expensive than others suggested, but after shopping around and trying out different bars this really was the best quality product. When I bought mine (April) it was only available on Amazon and in John Lewis - i would recommend a trip to John Lewis to check it out.

almillar

Yes, it will sound better than the TV's own sound. Since we're moneysaving though, don't you have an old stereo you can hook up, or maybe your TV can even hook up straight to speakers?

MarkBargain

Posters have written good things about soundbars then, even the lower end Sharp ones. Someone at work advised me not to get one as he said they bounce the sound off the walls and as I have a small room with curtains behind the sofa it won't sound so good. I'm not sure about that, as all I am looking for is a slight improvement and to get rid of the odd vibration from the TV set. At lower volumes I think the TV sound is pretty good generally, so I'd only use the soundbar when watching films or music.

As for connecting a stereo up, I am very limited for space so can't do that unfortunately. My hi-fi is to the left of my sofa and I'd need the speakers either side of the TV, where there isn't room.

wba31

MarkBargain wrote: »

Posters have written good things about soundbars then, even the lower end Sharp ones. Someone at work advised me not to get one as he said they bounce the sound off the walls and as I have a small room with curtains behind the sofa it won't sound so good. I'm not sure about that, as all I am looking for is a slight improvement and to get rid of the odd vibration from the TV set. At lower volumes I think the TV sound is pretty good generally, so I'd only use the soundbar when watching films or music.

As for connecting a stereo up, I am very limited for space so can't do that unfortunately. My hi-fi is to the left of my sofa and I'd need the speakers either side of the TV, where there isn't room.

sound bounces, but not off brick walls? your colleague have rubber or perspex walls? The sound bar i have doesnt bounce sound off any walls in my house, it has 7 speakers (i think) along the bar and on the side which create a "virtual surround sound...?" by spreading the sound. It is not surround sound like with a 5:1, but it does for me, plus i didnt want cables all over my living room. I'm sure the sharp bar mentioned is very similar, spreads the sound out as best it can.

If money was no object I would have bought an expensive surround sound system (ie bose) and paid my mate (sound tech) to professionally install it into my living room. As it was i paid £300 for a nice soundbar, which sits just in front of my TV with the sub hidden behind...

Fifer

wba31 wrote: »

sound bounces, but not off brick walls? your colleague have rubber or perspex walls? The sound bar i have doesnt bounce sound off any walls in my house, it has 7 speakers (i think) along the bar and on the side which create a "virtual surround sound...?" by spreading the sound. It is not surround sound like with a 5:1, but it does for me, plus i didnt want cables all over my living room. I'm sure the sharp bar mentioned is very similar, spreads the sound out as best it can.

If money was no object I would have bought an expensive surround sound system (ie bose) and paid my mate (sound tech) to professionally install it into my living room. As it was i paid £300 for a nice soundbar, which sits just in front of my TV with the sub hidden behind...

If money was no object, you can do an awful lot better than Bose. (You can do a lot better than Bose on a fairly modest budget IMO).

But if the OP is looking for better sound than his existing telly can provide, 'bouncing' sound off walls isn't an issue. Just switch off any "virtual surround sound" processing and use a decent sound bar in normal 2.1 mode.

wba31

Fifer wrote: »

If money was no object, you can do an awful lot better than Bose. (You can do a lot better than Bose on a fairly modest budget IMO).

But if the OP is looking for better sound than his existing telly can provide, 'bouncing' sound off walls isn't an issue. Just switch off any "virtual surround sound" processing and use a decent sound bar in normal 2.1 mode.

As money is an object i dont know of the top spec stuff, bose is just the most expensive thing i have seen in currys!! £5k for one 5:1 system... im sure Bang & Olufsen aren't top spec either? but why be pedantic, im just making an example. the OP asked "are soundbars any good?" and I'm saying "yes"

the orbitsound doesnt have a virtual surround sound button, its what it creates. To call it surround sound is untrue, its what it tricks the ear to by how wide it spreads the sound, hence it being virtual, not literal, or actual, or whatever the official term is. you can adjust the setting from wide sound down to Mono. it does sound better on the wider sound settings...

Fifer

wba31 wrote: »

As money is an object i dont know of the top spec stuff, bose is just the most expensive thing i have seen in currys!! £5k for one 5:1 system... im sure Bang & Olufsen aren't top spec either? but why be pedantic, im just making an example. the OP asked "are soundbars any good?" and I'm saying "yes"

I'm sure B&O aren't top spec either. I was just making the point that you don't have to buy expensive (overpriced) 'lifestyle' gear to get a decent sound.

wba31 wrote: »

the orbitsound doesnt have a virtual surround sound button, its what it creates.

But it does have a 'normal' setting which I understand switches off all 'spacial' processing and delivers plain stereo sound. That's the setting I'd advise the OP to use.