Tv with a slightly better speaker than bog standard

olb81

Looking for a 40-43 inch tv with all the smart apps and importantly a reasonable speaker audio built in.

Is dolby atmos a sign of an ok speaker?

I want to spend about £2-300.

I'm not talking amazing speakers just slightly better than the bargain basement speakers which are unusable.

I mean for example I find the amazon echo dot speaker to be reasonable for music, so I'm not talking hi fi quality.

Just want to hear a little bass and not a tinny mess.

Any ideas?

oldernonethewiser

Is there somewhere locally you can go to listen to TVs?

What might sound fine to one person could be poor to another.

Dolby atmos doesn't mean it has good speakers.

wongataa

Televisions aren't big enough to fit decent speakers inside of them. If you want better sound you are better off buying some kind of half decent external speaker setup like a soundbar and plugging it into the TV.

sausage_time

Very happy with my Samsung QE43QN90D sound (and picture) quality. I bought for the picture quality with a view to adding external sound - but sound is much better than my previous TV (lower end Philips).

ididgetwhereiamtoday

SKyGlass do a 43 inch model that has a built in sound bar but of course I think you need a Sky Subscription for this.

We have a 32 inch Samsung (Frame) and the sound is superb on it for such a small set. The 43 inch model is pricey and more than your stated budget. It is a really nice TV though.

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6682140/tv-with-a-slightly-better-speaker-than-bog-standard

Run away from any TV at that low price point that claims it has Atmos. You're better off with straight stereo and having more of the cost of the TV invested in a better screen.

Grumpy_chap

The OP might need a TV plus soundbar.

Maybe there are some offers for TV with 'free' soundbar?

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7482652/specialoffers/E49625?_gl=1*1wyqcx7*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTQxMzk3NzI3Ni4xNzg4NTkxNzI4*_ga_JWCPD5SJK1*czE3ODg1OTE3MjckbzEkZzAkdDE3ODg1OTE3MjckajYwJGwwJGgxMDgxMzc5MDQz

Or this

https://www.diy.com/departments/sharp-43hj4225kb-43-inch-4k-ultra-hd-roku-smart-tv-with-ht-sbw121k-2-1-bluetooth-soundbar-subwoofer/5055167738605_BQ.prd?srsltid=AfmBOorZo-wOSQKEoW6_qK_TOF8xkeYN_at8vyiq2Z5Z7YvF135UghaM-i0

This thread could be worth a read

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82086087#Comment_82086087

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6682140/tv-with-a-slightly-better-speaker-than-bog-standard

Atmos in theory means firstly it is able to render sound on the vertical plane not just the horizontal (ie sounds dont just go around you but over you too) plus rather than the sound be encoded to say the gunshot should come from the rear left speaker the sound instead has objects, coordinates and paths and the playback device works out how best to represent that based on what speakers it has (Atmos supports up to 22 speakers)

For anything other than a TV Dolby has relatively strict criteria to be able to say its DD Atmos, for TVs there are two tiers though - PlayBack and Passthrough. The former is tested, though there is realism of what can be acheived with a TV, but the later the TV itself cannot do anything other than pass the signal out via HDMI and you require a compatible soundbar or AVR. Still requires specialist chipsets and a licence from Dolby.

At the end of the day if its just a passthrough TV then the sound of the TV itself could be absolute junk because Dolby wont be testing or certifying it. Even if its rendering it the pass mark for TVs is below that of soundbars. TVs wont have a height channel so they dont mic above the TV and instead they "trick" you into thinking its above by having a notch in the sound, so instead the Dolby testing is a horizontal plane mic listening for the a clean notch

Personally have a 5.2.2 system, so have two speakers in the ceiling… I dont find it a massive improvement and there are only really a handful of films or music where you can really feel the height. The idea of it being object orientated is good but havent ever had a bunch of speakers with enough amplication to see if it really can cope with correctly imaging the movement of an object no matter the speaker placement.

SiliconChip

If you have a home stereo system that is within a cable's length of your TV's location then you may be able to improve your sound for the cost of a cable. I connect my 12 year old Panasonic TV to my Denon mini hi-fi system using the digital audio out socket on the TV and the digital in socket on the hi-fi using a digital optical cable which then routes the sound through Kef Coda 7 speakers.

EssexExile

Another Denon user, it's great.