Tips for Choosing the Best Soundbar

One of the most immersive aspects of a movie is often the sound. Between the soundtrack and surround sound mixing for dialogue and effects, there’s nothing like watching a movie with a big theater sound system. These days, it’s easier than ever to get that movie theater experience at home, thanks to the advancement of technology available at your local home audio store, like soundbars that connect easily to television or projector setups.

A soundbar is made up of a collection of small speakers encased in a sleek bar to match your TV. When it comes to soundbars, however, not all are created equal. You can tell this is true by the wide price range—it’s not uncommon to see soundbars priced from $100 to $1,000. But just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s the best fit for your system. Here are some things to consider when choosing a soundbar.

Connectivity

Soundbars are usually made to connect to a TV, and many will offer connectivity options best suited for this purpose. Most soundbars will have an HDMI connection, but some will also include an optical audio input or even 1/8” analog audio connection. Though they are geared toward connecting to a TV, soundbars can often be connected to other home audio equipment to stream music or to listen to records or CDs.

Recent advancements in wireless connectivity have greatly improved the audio quality of soundbars that feature wireless connections like wi-fi or Bluetooth. These days, wireless connections can transmit high-quality audio. There are many options that prioritize fidelity in such a way that you will feel the booming explosions and hear the quietest whispers just like you would in a theater.

Special features

Some soundbars have special features that set them apart. This can range from direct connections to your preferred music streaming service to audio processing enhancements. One popular feature in soundbars is to expand the audio beyond the bar into a surround sound system.

For example, it’s fairly common these days to see soundbar systems that include a wireless subwoofer, or even a couple wireless satellite speakers. There are also single-bar units that can mimic 5.1 surround sound by using clever audio processing.

Some soundbars can support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, two of the newest formats of surround sound. These are “object based” technologies that allow sound designers to place sounds just about anywhere in a listener’s three-dimensional spatial area. This includes not only front, sides and rear, but height placement. Soundbars achieve this by angling some of their internal speaker up or down to bounce sound off the ceiling or floor to create spatial effects like a plane flying overhead, or a subway train passing below.

How to choose

When you’re deciding on what soundbar is best for your setup, the first thing to do is consider how you will be using it. If you’re not into streaming music, maybe those special streaming features aren’t as important. But if you watch a lot of movies, perhaps it’s important to have a subwoofer and high-quality audio processing.

When you’re ready to check out the latest and greatest soundbars, visit Quintessence Audio LTD today for the best selection of high-end surround sound equipment.

Categorised in: Home Audio Equipment

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