Choosing the right soundbar

If you hesitate when purchasing a sound bar, you might prefer to select in priority a model equipped with at least DTS Digital Surround, Dolby Prologic II or Dolby Digital.

As a soundbar is placed just in front of the screen, it is also important to check the height of the screen stand. If the bar is too high, it may hide the bottom of the image!

If the screen is curved, you can even find suitable soundbar models, which are also curved. Also please think about the color of the device and prefer a sober colored bar, not too shiny, which will blend into the decor without annoying light reflections, rather than a very chic white model, but which is likely to attract the eye, especially placed where it should be.

Subwoofers

This is not always the case, but some soundbars also have an additional subwoofer. This allows, in addition to the bass sounds themselves, such as rumbles and other explosions, to give more "life" to the entire sound spectrum, including the dialogues.

Sound Towers

It is a bit like the vertical and boosted equivalent of a soundbar. While minimizing the number of satellite speakers compared to a home cinema installation, since everything is grouped together inside the tower, you will benefit from several speakers, as well as good bass due to the size of this device. The downside is the lack of stereo effect.

Wireless

The presence of a Bluetooth mode makes it possible to connect wireless devices. On the sound reproduction side, there is nothing to gain in terms of performance, but from an aesthetic point of view, it is always more pleasant to be able to minimize the cables. As a bonus, you can use Bluetooth to stream music from another Bluetooth device such as a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Another option: home cinema kits

The first-price models among 5.1 home cinema kits, around 100 euros or less, are also a way to boost the sound of your television set. Composed of a subwoofer and 5 speakers, such an installation is a little more expensive than a first-price soundbar, but it contributes, because it multiplies the sound sources, to widening the audio space around the TV screen to better immerse yourself in it.

There too, it has nothing to do with a high-end home cinema installation but it is still much better than the sound coming from the television screen alone.

Headphones for total sound immersion

To benefit from excellent sound quality, there is no need to shake the walls and wake up the neighbors! You may not always think about it, but improving the sound of your TV screen and home cinema system can also go through the use of headphones with high performance.

Headphones, in addition to the tranquility brought to the surroundings, also allow you to completely immerse yourself in the sound environment of a film. As in music, you may be guaranteed to discover a new wide range of sound effects that would otherwise have escaped you.

To choose your headphones, rather than being dazed by the numbers, the ideal is to be able to try them out in order to assess on the one hand their sound qualities, but also their comfort. Comfortable headphones should be forgotten when you wear them. To prefer wireless headphones in Bluetooth is obviously a good idea when the television set allows them to be connected in this way.

Helpful tips & tricks!

Since the multiplication of sound sources is a good way to improve the sound of your television set , why not recycle some of your old equipment? TV Screens, TV decoders, or  Set-Top-boxes are equipped with audio outputs, at least cinch or jack plugs, which only need to be connected to computer speakers or a stereo system. Even if entry-level, such an audio installation can greatly improve the sound of your television set!