SIMPLE and Cheap improvement in TV sound (speech), please

[admin_exported]

I have just bought a new panasonic tv. it has great pictures but poor sound. What speakers do you recommend for the TV? The most important need is for crystal clear speech at normal speech volume (rather than high volume, bassy music or games). The simpler the better - we do not want 6 speakers and all the wires that would involve.

The TV spec says...

Audio Output ... "10WX2, 10% THD".

The tv spec also says it has V-Audio Surround and also Dolby Digital plus but all we want is crystal clear speech at normal volume levels.

Help please.

RE Holman

 

[Anonymous]

I would be surprised if your TV was equipt to ouptut to auxillary speakers. I think the 2x10W refers to the output to the internal speakers.

The first thing I would try is to change the sound mode on the TV. Lots of panasonics have more than one mode and you might find changing this helps. Your manual should tell you how to do this.

If this fails you should find the normal stereo outputs on the back of the TV. THese can be connected to an existing Hi Fi ( You need to buy an RCA Phono lead to do this. These are easily identified as the have a pair of red and white plugs at each end. Make sure you buy male to male as male to female also exist) connect between the audio output on the back of the TV, also coded red and white, to the Aux input of your HiFi. The sound will now be playable through the HiFi and the HiFi will control the volume.

If you have no siutable Hi Fi then consider either a soundbar or a 2.1 system. Comet and Currys carry a good selection of these at modest prices or you local HiFi store will have better but probably more expensive kit. Make sure you audition your purchase for sound quality that is acceptable to you.

Hope that helps a bit

 

[Sizzers]

You can also go down this route http://www.qacoustics.co.uk/q-tv/q-tv2.htm @ around £300 but prefer the hi-fi option myself.

 

[John Duncan]

The Q Acoustics option is fabulous, certainly, but pricey, and probably more than you wanted to spend having just bought a new telly. It depends to some extent on what model Panasonic you have and how much you want to spend?

 

[RodhasGibson]

Agree with JD,but any of the decent SoundBars from Denon,Marantz or Yamaha would be a big improvement also.well worth investing in your case.

 

[Anonymous]

As Welshboy suggests, have you explored the set up options on the TV? That would be the cheapest option! I've just had a play with my Panasonic TV (TX-L32G10) and there are a couple of options in the SOUND menu. Setting the MODE to Speech rather than Music and turning off the SURROUND options may give you small improvement in speech clarity. Adjusting the bass/treble may also help.

Otherwise, as Welshboy also suggests, you could try connecting the TV to your existing hi-fi, if you have one, using either the AUDIO OUT (analogue RCA interconnect) or the DIGITAL OUT (optical) connections depending on the inputs available on your amplifier (and the outputs on your TV). Beyond that, the next step is to look at the Q Acoustics kit or the sound bars that have been suggested above.