Soundbars

Soldato
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Not something these days I'm very clued up on. However my house mate has asked to help him improve the sound quality on the TV. If it had a headphone socket I'd be saying hook up the PC speakers to that, but alas it has no such socket.

My first thought was indeed a soundbar as that's pretty much simple enough, straight forward to install and get going.

He does connect his computer to the TV a lot to watch movies etc on. The TV is a 55 inch LG Plasma which has a plethora of connections such as phono out, HDMI and it even has optical. Does a TV with optical out automatically feed its sound signal to a connected device and if so I'm assuming whatever sound is being fed from the TV (PC, Games Console of PVR Box) will come through the soundbar ?

If thats the case what soundbar would you recommend ?

Pardon the ignorance but I'm used to connecting all my stuff via phono connections to my AV receiver.

Thanks for your help gents.
 
Soldato
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TV's don't have "phono" out, as that is a phonograph, a record deck output. Which needs amplfying with a phono stage.
The TV will have "line level" usually on RCA outputs.

"Does a TV with optical out automatically feed its sound signal to a connected device and if so I'm assuming whatever sound is being fed from the TV (PC, Games Console of PVR Box) will come through the soundbar ?"

No, not all TV's will output DD/DTS to the optical out, or pass through DD/DTS from a source to the optical out. It may just output 2 channel PCM, or nothing at all.

The only "soundbar" experience I've had is the Q Acoustics QTV2, it fits on the vesa mount, and is a 2.1 system. It's pretty good for the price I paid at £150, simple to use remote, and single input so just output optical cable from TV to sounbar, and not fussed whether it passes DD/DTS, or PCM as long as their is sound so for the parents it was worth it.
 
Man of Honour
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Not something these days I'm very clued up on. However my house mate has asked to help him improve the sound quality on the TV. If it had a headphone socket I'd be saying hook up the PC speakers to that, but alas it has no such socket.

My first thought was indeed a soundbar as that's pretty much simple enough, straight forward to install and get going.

He does connect his computer to the TV a lot to watch movies etc on. The TV is a 55 inch LG Plasma which has a plethora of connections such as phono out, HDMI and it even has optical. Does a TV with optical out automatically feed its sound signal to a connected device and if so I'm assuming whatever sound is being fed from the TV (PC, Games Console of PVR Box) will come through the soundbar ?

If thats the case what soundbar would you recommend ?

Pardon the ignorance but I'm used to connecting all my stuff via phono connections to my AV receiver.

Thanks for your help gents.

A soundbar should give you a decent boost to audio quality compared to the built-in speakers.

They generally come in at three different levels regarding the audio connections. The cheap stuff relies on the TV having a headphone socket or audio out connection. Since very few TVs have been made in the last 5-6 years with a dedicated audio out (Red and white phono sockets, labelled Audio OUT.... not Audio IN) then you are relying mostly on having a headphone jack with these entry level sound bars. Headphone jack is also a rapidly disappearing feature as manufacturers struggle to cut costs.

The next step up are the sound bars with an Optical input. This is a better bet for quality audio. Digital Optical can carry basic stereo audio but without the background hiss from a headphone connection. It is also technically capable of carrying DD and DTS but there's a catch.

First off, you need to read your TV manual very very carefully to see what it's capable of doing. TVs that have a HD TV tuner (Freeview HD and Freesat HD) can receive transmissions of HD channels that include DD5.1 audio. Often you'll find that the TV will pass that digital signal to the Optical out. The manufacturer's spec will then say that the TV does DD5.1, but what they won't say is that it's restricted to the TV tuner output and streaming app/USB playback if fitted. Any source connected by HDMI won't pass DD5.1 to the Optical out. There are some TVs that will, but it's by no means universal.

DTS is rarely supported, or if it is then only in 2.0 mode and not the full 5.1 version. Again the tide is starting to turn on this with some LG 4K top end sets starting to support it. Check your manual carefully.

The other catch with multi-channel is what the sound bar will make of the signal. If it's a basic stereo sound bar (stereo / stereo with sub / simulated-but-not-real-surround) then all the effort of trying to figure out DD5.1 goes to waste. The soundb bar works with PCM stereo and that's your lot. Those sound bars that do handle 5.1 properly will have the additional speaker in them to try to bounce rear channel sound off adjacent walls. Yamaha is a good choice for this with their mid and high-end sound bars.

At the top of the tree connection-wise are the sound bars with HDMI ARC and, you hope, some extra inputs too.

HDMI ARC relies on the TV being similarly equipped. If it is, then you'll get sound via the HDMI connection and also control too. This is where your TV remote will operate the sound bar instead of the TVs internal speakers when the sound bar is switched on. ARC also support DD and DTS subject to the sound bar's and TV's functionality.


As in most things, price dictates features and to some degree the audio performance too. Have you a budget in mind?
 
Soldato
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Yeah connect with optical cable then.

I'd go for one of the following:

LG SH4D 2.1 Wireless Sound Bar £120
SAMSUNG HW-K450 2.1 Wireless Sound Bar £120

If can spend a bit more then:

YAMAHA YAS107 7.1 Sound Bar £169
Bose Solo 5 £185
 
Soldato
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It doesn't look like that TV has HDMI ARC so yeah, optical will be the best option. My folks just got the Samsung HW-K450, it's pretty good for the money. I've connected it up for them with HDMI but I know from the manual that it can be set to turn on automatically when it detects an optical signal.
 
Soldato
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I wouldn't get the Bose Solo 5 - lots of customer complaints while working at JL. It sounds okay, but not as good as similarly priced competition.

Best deal at the moment is the Denon HEOS soundbar + sub set. Has HDMI ARC (lets you control the soundbar using the TV if it has a compatible port). Though, at £270, it pricey. Was north of 600 though, and for something with similar capabilities as my £1400 Sonos Playbar + Sub setup, seems a steal.
 
Soldato
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Best deal at the moment is the Denon HEOS soundbar + sub set. Has HDMI ARC (lets you control the soundbar using the TV if it has a compatible port). Though, at £270, it pricey. Was north of 600 though, and for something with similar capabilities as my £1400 Sonos Playbar + Sub setup, seems a steal.

A lot of money to spend on a soundbar that doesn't support 4K passthrough though.
 
Man of Honour
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This is the actual TV he has - http://www.lg.com/uk/support/support-product/lg-50PG3000

I've looked through the manual and it has optical out and by the looks of it has phono out too. I was thinking the best way to connect would be optical out to the soundbar that has optical in.

He was looking at spending £140 or so as there is a decent Samsung offering currently at the purple shirts shop.

BIB.... really? Which one of the Audio IN connections do you think is secretly masquerading as an Audio Out then? Is it the Audio IN that's labelled as part of Component In, or the one that's tagged Audio IN (RGB/DVI)? Perhaps it's the Audio IN for AV3 IN? I've never understood how people can read the word IN and go "Nah, **** it, the manufacturer don't know what they is doin'. This ain't really an Input like it says. I can get sound out of this" lol :D

If you're thinking about the SCART then you'll be equally disappointed. SCART is only bi-directional for the TV tuner signal. No sound out of SCART for any of the AV or HDMI inputs.

Stick with Optical Out.
 
Soldato
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Cornwall
Not my TV, belongs to my house mate who bought the soundbar today. He liked the Samsung that was recommended above. Spent ages this afternoon setting it all up. Happy as a dog with two tails he is.

Thanks all for the advice much appreciated :)
 
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