TV - Will Sound bar boost 7 yr old Sony Bravia

onesixfive

Help!
We moved from Virgin to Sky recently. Only on a HD not a Q box. There would appear to be nothing wrong with any connection on the Sky.
Noticed on some channels that sound on our TV has to move from our usual "35" sound setting to 50 on some channels & 70 on others.
There is nothing wrong with the Sony Bravia TV albeit it's around 7 years old.
We thought maybe a sound bar may help boost the audio.
Trawled around a few stores at weekend & most agreed (a couple didn't), a couple suggested new TV - although most say a sound bar is a usual accompaniment to a new TV these days!
we were advised that "a wireless sound bar, with a HDMI output" would connect & help.
We'd hoped to pick one up for under £100.
But, most new sound bars don't appear to have the old-style "HDMI" output which we apparently need to for our "old" TV. (they have a little square connection instead).
Loathe to spend £200+ on a new sound bar with an "old-style connection" if that wont solve our problem.
If we need a new £500+ TV at the end of the day, then so be it.
But at least we want to be left with a sound bar that would go with the "new" TV.
Any advice / suggestions / recommendations please ?

sarah1972

We have a sound bar that cost £700 new and it is fantastic !

My TV is a 4K Curve Samsung but most new TV's have minimal sound quality and do need a sound bar as you have already been advised.

I would personally go into a shop and get some good advice and have a listen to the sound bars before buying which is what we did.

New_Me

Can you not connect the sky box to the new soundbar using an optical cable?

or this is £120 - http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars-sound-base/panasonic/schte80eb/pana-schte80eb-b

Norman_Castle

Noticed on some channels that sound on our TV has to move from our usual "35" sound setting to 50 on some channels & 70 on others.

Do you mean some channels are louder than others so you have to increase the tv volume? If so a soundbar may make no difference. Do you have a stereo or headphones which can be connected temporarily to see if the problem still happens.

This might be relevant http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky/Low-sound-level-on-Sky-HD-box/td-p/1989070

onesixfive

sarah1972 wrote: »

We have a sound bar that cost £700 new and it is fantastic !

My TV is a 4K Curve Samsung but most new TV's have minimal sound quality and do need a sound bar as you have already been advised.

I would personally go into a shop and get some good advice and have a listen to the sound bars before buying which is what we did.

Thanks for that - but I certainly cant afford £700 for a TV, never mind a Soundbar!!
We've already had demo's & our TV - a Sony Bravia KDL-32S55XX is certainly lacking

onesixfive

New_Me wrote: »

Can you not connect the sky box to the new soundbar using an optical cable?

or this is £120 - http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars-sound-base/panasonic/schte80eb/pana-schte80eb-b

We went into a local branch of Richer Sounds - it was them who pointed out the difference between the old/new cables. I had no idea! apparently the new ones don't come with HDMI. We then went home to photo the back of the TV.

I have pictures of the back of our TV (a Sony Bravia KDL-32S55xx ) but I cant work out how to show them on here
try: http://pdf.crse.com/manuals/4127735E41.pdf
that shows the back of the TV's but I think it's all pre-sound bar's

onesixfive

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Do you mean some channels are louder than others so you have to increase the tv volume? If so a soundbar may make no difference. Do you have a stereo or headphones which can be connected temporarily to see if the problem still happens.

This might be relevant http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky/Low-sound-level-on-Sky-HD-box/td-p/1989070

Yes some channels are louder than others - I have nothing to check, sorry.

Norman_Castle

sng165 wrote: »

Yes some channels are louder than others - I have nothing to check, sorry.

Is the volume difference between channels or between sources eg sky box, dvd, freeview?

onesixfive

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Is the volume difference between channels or between sources eg sky box, dvd, freeview?

Between channels on sky

KingS6

Slightly digress but you can get a full 5.1 speaker package for under £400 now. (Keep an eye out on Richer Sounds clearance stock, seen some go for £199!).

Will bring a serious upgrade over a soundbar for both volume and sound quality. Represents far better value for money too. "There's no replacement for speaker placement". You will actually have sound coming from behind you, not just a wall of sound. Great for films. More future proof too.

Only caveat is having the space for the speakers and cables. You can get some the size of a rubiks cube. Some models are wireless but could prove more costly.

However if you are looking at soundbars exclusively, you'll find the more expensive models are the ones that are HDMI equipped. The lesser ones have an optical connection.

Same with them being wireless.

So a couple or three questions.

Do you need the soundbar to be wireless?

Does it have to be HDMI equipped or happy to use optical?

Do you need proper surround sound (Dolby Digital) coming through the soundbar? Certain channels support this like Sky Movies/Sky Cinema. Think some free to air channels too but not 100% on that. The soundbar needs to be compatible.

I don't think you can send Dolby digital sound from the box to the TV and then the soundbar. It has to be a direct connection.


On a side note I am just thinking this could be a reason for you having to turn the volume right up is that the Sky box is assuming that your TV can decode Dolby Digital 5.1 when it can't and so doesn't sound as it "should". One possibility.

Finally I think you'll find most modern TV's sound quality lacking as they are so thin.

onesixfive

KingS6 wrote: »

Slightly digress but you can get a full 5.1 speaker package for under £400 now. (Keep an eye out on Richer Sounds clearance stock, seen some go for £199!).

So a couple or three questions.

Do you need the soundbar to be wireless?

Does it have to be HDMI equipped or happy to use optical?

Do you need proper surround sound (Dolby Digital) coming through the soundbar? Certain channels support this like Sky Movies/Sky Cinema. Think some free to air channels too but not 100% on that. The soundbar needs to be compatible.

I don't think you can send Dolby digital sound from the box to the TV and then the soundbar. It has to be a direct connection.


On a side note I am just thinking this could be a reason for you having to turn the volume right up is that the Sky box is assuming that your TV can decode Dolby Digital 5.1 when it can't and so doesn't sound as it "should". One possibility.

Finally I think you'll find most modern TV's sound quality lacking as they are so thin.

Sorry I am not so technical!
The simpler the better.
we have plenty of space.
I guess the guys we spoke to at weekend told us wireless because of the connecting "holes" on our "old" TV being a different shape to the "new" sound bar connectors we were looking at.
They told us HDMI - I've no idea what that is - I don't care if its that or Optical (I don't know what that is either!) sorry !
We have a a Sony Bravia KDL-32S55. Can that TV can decode Dolby Digital 5.1 ?? I don't know??


I just want something cheap & cheerful that helps boost the sound, please