TV sound enhancement

[harrydee]

My efforts using soundbar/soundbase to improve tv sound dialogue have failed. Would Denon avr X520bt plus JBL ES25C centre speaker with two JBL ES20 speakers (L & R) help. I understand the centre speaker can be individually adjusted to bring out the speech.

many thanks

 

[macdiddy]

Yes.

 

[Leeps]

The above comment is quite right of course. Pretty much anything will sound better than many soundbars and soundbases. Only high-end ones have the capacity to sound ok, but then they can usually be outperformed by other similarly priced systems. People buy soundbars and soundbases for looks and lack of wires, not sound.

However, it's worth bearing in mind that things are not always as straightforward as they seem.

When considering a multi-channel sound system, you do need to pay attention to precisely what your source is. Even now, many TV programmes are only transmitted in stereo, so if you were hoping to boost dialogue by increasing the volume of your centre channel, then it won't work because in this instance only your main left & right channels are being used anyway. So you will remain at the mercy of the sound engineer who recorded the audio in the first place.

It's for this reason that 2-channel TV sound and music often don't sound that great on multi-speaker array soundbars and soundbases: because they don't do stereo very well, and why for the price of a typical soundbar, a stereo integrated amplifier and pair of budget speakers will massively outperform it. It's also an area where even quite expensive multi-channel subwoofer/satellite systems can be underwhelming because in straight stereo, they can't compete with a decent pair of full-range stereo speakers.

Of course, if you were playing a 7.1 Bluray, that's different altogether. Then yes, in many cases you will be able to boost dialogue by increasing the volume of your centre channel, through which the majority of dialogue will be heard.

So in answer to your question, yes soundbars and soundbases can be easily outperformed, but the system you choose to do this will depend on what you mean by 'TV sound', and how much of the time you will be playing stereo-only sources. If you've already wasted money, then take care with your next step: make sure you actually go to a dealer and listen to a number of products, listening to stereo and multi-channel sources and let your ears not your eyes decide.

 

[harrydee]

Many thanks for helpful answers - I'll check out the local dealers.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Leeps, that was a great answer, much better than I could have done! *clapping*

 

[Leeps]

Leeps, that was a great answer, much better than I could have done! *clapping*

Many thanks SSJ. Much of my comment was based on my own mistakes in the past though!