Poor TV sound

[audreyh1]

Captions are very useful for learning a foreign language. What worked very well for me was having the captions on in the foreign language. If I missed a spoken bit it would help clarify, so it really trained my ear. If it was a new word, I’d learn it.

This doesn’t work for beginners, but once you are past the initial stages it can really help.

 

[Koolau]

Here I was just about to invest in HAs because I can't hear the TV. I HATE captions 'cause I want to watch the picture. I can't read and watch at the same time. The gummint aught to DO something! (Just kidding. If anyone finds a good solution that actually turns the faded out sound to intelligible dialog, please let us know.)

 

[Sunset]

TV's have sound settings to emphasize the spoken word, so I set ours for that, but doesn't seem to help enough.

 

[Koolau]

I notice the issue with sound most in movies, then in network/cable entertainment shows and least in local/cable/network news. Of course, there's no music in news, thank goodness. YMMV

 

[FiveDriver]

The flat screen TVs usually have their speakers facing to the rear. I've had a Vizio and a Samsung, and they both had their tiny speakers pointing out the back.

Well, my TV sits in a wall unit about 18 inches away from the wall. The sound bounces off of that hard surface and is scattered every which a way. This is a family room with a 2-story ceiling.....and that TV sounds better in the upstairs bedroom than it does in the family room !!

I'm looking at soundbars to get the sound pointing directly into the family room. Bose has a decent one called Solo 5 at Black Friday pricing. Anybody have experience with this Bose Unit ??

 

[COcheesehead]

We have a Sonos sound bar. When you install it there is an app you download to your phone that you then have to walk around the room and stand at different points. The sound bar will send out pulses and tune itself to your space. We listen to TV and music on the sound bar and are very happy. We have zero issues with hearing dialogue.
We had a Bose sound bar previously, but we like the Sonos better.

 

[Music Lover]

I see that a lot of people have a Sonos sound bar. Question:

Does anyone use one in conjunction with a pair of tower speakers? I have very good tower speakers that provide great sound, but I'd consider getting a soundbar if it helped with the speaking. I would still use the tower speakers.

 

[COcheesehead]

I see that a lot of people have a Sonos sound bar. Question:

Does anyone use one in conjunction with a pair of tower speakers? I have very good tower speakers that provide great sound, but I'd consider getting a soundbar if it helped with the speaking. I would still use the tower speakers.

We only use the sound bar. We used to have remote speakers in the ceiling and a subwoofer tucked into a corner mainly for music. The tuned Sonos sound bar we have now we feel is superior to the previous set up. Sound quality has come a long way in recent years.

 

[folivier]

I agree with Koolau, if I want to read I'll pick up a book. Trying to watch a show with CC on is just too distracting.

 

[ERD50]

I see that a lot of people have a Sonos sound bar. Question:

Does anyone use one in conjunction with a pair of tower speakers? I have very good tower speakers that provide great sound, but I'd consider getting a soundbar if it helped with the speaking. I would still use the tower speakers.

I use tower speakers for the front left/right channels, and bought a separate center speaker. I think a sound bar would be redundant, it includes R/L speakers, you already have those with the towers, so your money is being diluted as only a portion of it is going to the very important center speaker.

Here's what I bought for the center, ~ $210 now (was $250 when I bought it! What inflation?) :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BMWZ29F

web image, not my set up:

I repurposed some other tower speakers for my front left/right - pretty low end as far as my tastes in music reproduction go, but they fit in nicely with our TV and entertainment center. Not stellar for high end music listening, but are still 1000x better than most built in TV speakers. I actually bought them for background music for the 3-season room of our old house, and went for the size and style and price over music reproduction, but they had decent reviews for the price.

These, just $145 for the pair (really good for the price):

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...aker-Pair-with-AMT-Tweeter-300-654?quantity=1

And a $200 small subwoofer to round it out (just $149 now! What inflation?):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HCQZDQ

I just repurposed some small bookshelf speakers for the rear surrounds, not much volume is sent to those.

I haven't looked at many soundbars, but they all strike me as too much compromise. You can't break the laws of physics, speakers need some size to produce volume at low distortion. Some electronics (and some alter the sound in bad ways - like use a lot of compression) and detail to construction can help, but in the end, you need to move some air.

-ERD50

 

[Music Lover]

I use tower speakers for the front left/right channels, and bought a separate center speaker. I think a sound bar would be redundant, it includes R/L speakers, you already have those with the towers, so your money is being diluted as only a portion of it is going to the very important center speaker.
-ERD50

I agree, after my previous post I did some quick research and have decided to go with a dedicated center speaker. There are a few local Black Friday sales still on, I'm comparing different models. I do have to fit it in a TV stand so will be limited to certain dimensions. The current front runner is a Klipsch RC52.

 

[ERD50]

I agree, after my previous post I did some quick research and have decided to go with a dedicated center speaker. There are a few local Black Friday sales still on, I'm comparing different models. I do have to fit it in a TV stand so will be limited to certain dimensions. The current front runner is a Klipsch RC52.

I'd bet those Klipsh will fit the bill nicely for you. I think I looked at those, but certain dimensions were critical for the space I have, and I needed the speaker to have a low height, and the Polks I bought are just ~ 4" high.

Let us know how it works out for you.

-ERD50

 

[Qs Laptop]

I use tower speakers for the front left/right channels, and bought a separate center speaker. I think a sound bar would be redundant, it includes R/L speakers, you already have those with the towers, so your money is being diluted as only a portion of it is going to the very important center speaker.

I haven't looked at many soundbars, but they all strike me as too much compromise. You can't break the laws of physics, speakers need some size to produce volume at low distortion. Some electronics (and some alter the sound in bad ways - like use a lot of compression) and detail to construction can help, but in the end, you need to move some air.

-ERD50

Precisely. Speaker surface area = more air moved = more efficient sound reproduction.

You were just fine buying a different brand center speaker than the towers. The idea that you need to match the center speaker to the L/R speaker is largely a myth. That Polk center speaker should really help with dialogue though I wonder if some male voices might not have their bass resonance produced in full. (Think of James Earl Jones' voice--"This is CNN.")

Speaking of moving air, if you watch a lot of movies and/or action TV shows you could probably benefit from a larger, more powerful subwoofer. You will pay for the larger subwoofer, but it really makes a dynamic difference in the low end. This is especially true if your viewing room is somewhat larger. No doubt you will really enjoy this Polk, but my motto is when you're talking bass, bigger drivers are better!

Be sure to set your AVR crossover frequency to 80 Hz. This will send the audio signals below 80 Hz to the subwoofer and make your whole system more efficient. Yes, I see that your towers are rated for a frequency response of 45-20Khz but what is the amount of roll off of bass frequency at 45Hz? It's probably more than 6 dB. The standard specs is that the low frequency response is measured where the bass roll off is 3dB from flat. Best to let the subwoofer handle the low frequencies and let the other speakers handle anything from 80 Hz and upwards.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I agree, after my previous post I did some quick research and have decided to go with a dedicated center speaker. There are a few local Black Friday sales still on, I'm comparing different models. I do have to fit it in a TV stand so will be limited to certain dimensions. The current front runner is a Klipsch RC52.

What are your dimensional constraints on the center speaker? I might have some suggestions for you.

 

[Music Lover]

What are your dimensional constraints on the center speaker? I might have some suggestions for you.

Max 21.25" wide, 8.25" high.

 

[zinger1457]

I had the Klipsch R-52C and it's a very good speaker, I'm sure you'll like it. I later splurged and replaced it with the Klipsch RP-504C, probably an overkill for many and it's fairly large, looks similar in size to what ERD50 posted above.

Someone was asking about a Bose soundbar, I was staying at a Marriott resort a couple weeks ago and they had a Bose soundbar connected to the TV. Don't recall the model, it was fairly small in size, but it was a big improvement over the TV (LG) speakers.

 

[Music Lover]

I had the Klipsch R-52C and it's a very good speaker, I'm sure you'll like it. I later splurged and replaced it with the Klipsch RP-504C, probably an overkill for many and it's fairly large, looks similar in size to what ERD50 posted above.

I bought the Klipsch R52C.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Max 21.25" wide, 8.25" high.

Not sure what your budget is. Here were the contenders for me when I was looking:

Airmotiv C1+
https://emotiva.com/collections/airmotiv/products/airmotiv-c1-2

Chane A2.4
https://www.chanemusiccinema.com/chane-a2.4.html
(I see it's out of stock again.)

Ascend Acoustics CMT-340E2
https://ascendacoustics.com/collect...ucts/cmt-340se2-center?variant=40523211833398
(shipping first week of December)

Infinity Reference 253 (out of stock), is on sale a couple times a year for 40% off.

I ended up buying the Chane A2.4 based on rave reviews on AVS Forum. I also bought the Chane A5.5 towers for L/R. I got those right away and then had to wait a couple of months for the A2.4 to get back in stock.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I bought the Klipsch R52C.

Did not see this when I posted my recommendations.
Enjoy.

 

[Music Lover]

Did not see this when I posted my recommendations.
Enjoy.

We cross posted. A couple of your recommendations would have been in my budget. I ended up paying $249 CDN for the Klipsch.

 

[ERD50]

... Speaking of moving air, if you watch a lot of movies and/or action TV shows you could probably benefit from a larger, more powerful subwoofer. You will pay for the larger subwoofer, but it really makes a dynamic difference in the low end. This is especially true if your viewing room is somewhat larger. No doubt you will really enjoy this Polk, but my motto is when you're talking bass, bigger drivers are better!

Be sure to set your AVR crossover frequency to 80 Hz. This will send the audio signals below 80 Hz to the subwoofer and make your whole system more efficient. Yes, I see that your towers are rated for a frequency response of 45-20Khz but what is the amount of roll off of bass frequency at 45Hz? It's probably more than 6 dB. The standard specs is that the low frequency response is measured where the bass roll off is 3dB from flat. Best to let the subwoofer handle the low frequencies and let the other speakers handle anything from 80 Hz and upwards.

Yes, that Polk sub-woofer is on the small side, but I wasn't looking for the full theater rumble-roar-gut-punch experience, just fill in the low end a bit more than those inexpensive towers could do - and it does that fairly well. I'm much more particular when it comes to my music listening room.

I think the calibration determines the cutoff point for the sub. IIRC, they tell you to run the sub wide open so their algorithm can set the optimal point.

-ERD50

 

[audreyh1]

I agree with Koolau, if I want to read I'll pick up a book. Trying to watch a show with CC on is just too distracting.

I don’t read them all the time, just glance at them occasionally.

 

[JoeWras]

Now that we've solved the sound issues, our next task is to convince directors and cinematographers to brighten the lighting in scenes.

 

[Music Lover]

Now that we've solved the sound issues, our next task is to convince directors and cinematographers to brighten the lighting in scenes.

I'd be happy if they reduced to rapid cut from scene to scene every 2 seconds.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Now that we've solved the sound issues, our next task is to convince directors and cinematographers to brighten the lighting in scenes.

These shows with particularly poor lighting, do you stream them? Are they in 4K?

I ask because many programs on Netflix, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, etc. are broadcast in DolbyVision or HDR10, or HDR10+. The very nature of these formats produce a darker picture, much darker on older TV's not equipped to handle these formats. Could be your TV is either: a.) too old to process these formats properly (can't do it); b.) has less than adequate signal processing section for these formats; c.) is not properly set up for when these formats are broadcast.