Sound Bar for TV

[Capetonian]

I know nothing about these things, but I want a sound bar for my Sony TV.

I do NOT want one with woofers and sub-woofers as I cannot stand bass and I don't watch or listen to anything that has such sounds. My main priority is that speech should be crisp and clear, and also classical music and other music which I enjoy on TV, but no Jungle Bunny music noise.

Can anyone recommend one which will do the job, easy to install, and up to about £150. I've seen a whole lot for £50-70 but really am dubious of quality in that price range, and then when you go above about £150 they all have these 'woofer' things.

Any ideas appreciated. I don't want to go to a shop as they just push you into buying whatever they get the best bonuses for and I object to be talked down to by a spotty 17 year old who probably only listens to JB music noise anyway.

[OFSO]

Look at Morgan Electronics website for bargains. Failing that, Carrefour (E) has a large choice. Personally I use headphones !

[Pontius Navigator]

Cape, we bought a large, inexpensive TV and given the poor sound reviews opted for a cheap sound bar.

Apart from a total failure to connect we found it covered the IT Eye for the TV remote.

As I deaf head I found the TV sound acceptable and my hearing aids' volume controls sorts out the noise.

I think you are spot on about the noise. Make sure someone can talk you through the connections and controls. Both sons in law use BOSE. Nightmare when we baby sit. One even adds FreeSat to the mix - 3 remotes to just get the News. At least We managed to show him how to get rid of one and he is the techie!

[FD2]

Cape - if you find something which will decipher the low pitch inarticulate mumbling which many actors seem to use these days and turn it into something crisp and clear please let us know! We've stopped watching several films lately on Netflix for this reason - even after I've adjusted the TV sound to max treble and min base! The BBC has admitted that it has used inferior sound recording techniques compared to just a few years ago but the few shows and films where the sound quality is good stand out like beacons. Try watching Matthew McConnaughey or Tommy Lee Jones for extreme mumbling. Maybe it's just a deaf old bugger thing in my case...turning the sub-titles on helps!

[Capetonian]

It's not just the low pitch inarticulate mumbling, it's the awful background noise that seems to accompany and often overpower the dialogue.

I have also tried adjusting to max treble and min bass, but all it does is make it sound cheap and tinny and doesn't solve the bass-ic (sorry!) problem of intelligibility. I end up doing the same with the radio every time I rent a car, I usually find the settings from the last user to be max bass. JB noise.

[4mastacker]

Cape -

I have a look at the "Which?" web-site before I buy an item, looking first at the 'Don't Buy' list. Looking at the reports for sound bars, paying shed loads of dosh doesn't mean it's a good product; one sound bar costing £800, from what would be considered a top-of-the-range manufacturer, was in the 'Don't Buy' category getting a rating of only 44%. A similar model from the same company had a rating of 45%, whilst another company's product costing £179 was rated a 'Best Buy' at 87%.

One shop that I would suggest is actually worth a visit to is these folks. I found them to be very knowledgeable about the various products on offer, gave good solid advice and not pushy at all, unlike large high-street outlets.

[CremeEgg]

Before last Christmas I had a bright idea to try to resolve some of my good ladys hearing problems with the TV where she frequently moaned about not being able to hear the vocals inspite of ever increasing the volume setting on the TV. So around £100 bought us an LG soundbar which came with a subwoofer that we hide in the corner behind the TV cabinet. Didn't want to pay a fortune for something that might not work with an older TV. Very easy to set up - just plug and play. Connects to an LG TV that's probably five/six years its senior with crappy speakers in the back. With the bar the sound is much better - to quote the blurb - a more immersive experience. Many different types of sound are selectable - cinema, theatre, concert, sport, documentary, rock etc etc and you can fiddle to get it how you want.

The speech problem is well known in the industry and many otherwise excellent TV drama series have been slated for not being able to hear any vocals beyond a mumble. Friends in the cinema industry are always getting complaints about mumbling whilst being bounced out of your seat by the jungle bunny effects.

Overall a partial solution but the best solution has been my good lady's referral by her GP to Specsavers for a hearing test and subsequent obtaining of some hearing aids which have much improved things far more effectively than any sound bar.

TV volume back down to 10 having been up around 18 previously.

[unifoxos]

My (recently) new flat screen TV had tinny speakers that vibrated with certain sounds. The TV has a digital output port. I bought an adapter for about a tenner which takes the digital output and changes it to a format suitable for my Toshiba home cinema system. Six feet of wire and I am in business with full surround sound and loads of control options.

I mute the TV's original speakers to get rid of the vibrations. OK, it's an extra control to use, but it only takes a second to turn it on or off as required, and it's great for watching films. Mind you, I've had to disconnect the woofer as so many documentaries nowadays seem to rely on ridiculous levels of bass on the completely un-necessary background music.

[Pontius Navigator]

I can endorse 4mastaker's recommendation. Had a TV with a/5 year warranty. It had been used with a TV Box until we moved it to a different room after 4.5 years. We found the RF Tuner was u/s. At that age it was beyond economic repair. We got a new model, different maker but same size. Much higher spec and a new 5 year warranty. We could finish up with 'new TV for life'

[OFSO]

Our LG TV's all have a setting folder called "Intelligent Voice" which is excellent for separating voice from background.. Watching Netflix on a Sony the past few days noticed the mumbling. Might have been able to tweak it but was not my TV so desisted.

Still prefer headphones bluetoothed to LG TV.

[Wodrick]

We had a SONY one , bought as it was not recommended as it "Emphasised the speech frequencies too much". It was criticised by the reviews for doing just what we wanted.
It did have a wireless Sub Woofer which I turned down and hid.
It is no longer current but some of it's features are on other SONY bars.
It succumbed to a power surge here and the replacement, from Samsung, is adequate but not as good.

[FD2]

Thanks for the tip OFSO - don't know if Panasonic has one but I'll have a scout around.

[Capetonian]

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments, and 4ma in particular for the reminder of Richer Sounds. I have bought stuff in the past from their Weybridge store and they are exactly as you say. I'd rather pay a few pounds more to deal with people like that than some pimply inarticulate yoof in places like Currys/PC World.

[OFSO]

In Carrefour you can just wander round and twiddle knobs, try everything, and nobody says a word. Very good choice of sound bars too, from no-name to Sony to LG and Panasonic.

Headphones much better !

[ian16th]

Still prefer headphones bluetoothed to LG TV.

Is the Bluetooth function built into the TV?
I currently have a device that connects to the 'Headphone' o/p and then connects to my hearing aids via Bluetooth.

If the function is in the TV set it cuts out a device and gives me some freedom to change hearing aid supplier.

[OFSO]

Bluetooth headphone connects to SCART as tv audio out in use for audio amp with five channel speakers. While I would not say my hearing is failing, what has changed is my ability to understand speech against background noise, and that's where I find headphones excellent.

[ian16th]

Bluetooth headphone connects to SCART as tv audio out in use for audio amp with five channel speakers. While I would not say my hearing is failing, what has changed is my ability to understand speech against background noise, and that's where I find headphones excellent.

Don't have funny EU things like SCART down 'ere.

[Pontius Navigator]

You mean your TVs are no longer fitted with such old technology or they are yet to be fitted?

[ian16th]

You mean your TVs are no longer fitted with such old technology or they are yet to be fitted?

We never had it. SCART was virtually EU only.

My 1st video camera was purchased at Schiphol Duty Free and included a SCART adaptor.
The adaptor was only ever used when on holiday in Reunion, where I had to use it to connect to the hotel TV set.

[Capetonian]

The last time I saw a SCART connector was on an old TV which I dumped about 5 years ago. Last month I threw away about 50 different cables with SCARTS on one or both ends.

I have just called Richer Sounds and they have recommended a sound bar, so thanks all for the tip and hopefully soon I'll be listened to films and be able to hear the dialogue.