# TV Sound Systems



## adamz (May 13, 2018)

Modern flat screen TV sets mount the speakers in the rear of its chassis, and they keep the speakers small on purpose.

In most cases, an external sound bar is better. 

In some cases, for output loudness/clarity a speaker near the person (a remotely located speaker) is a good choice. Or a sound bar can also give good loudness because it projects the sound forward.

As for the hearing impaired, this is probably best decided by them because not all hearing impaired have the same type of impairment. Some people can't hear voices very well, so a TV/Sound Bar with voice enhancement might be a good option. For instance, LG TV sets have an option called Clear Voice" which enhances voice.

Knowing the type of impairment will give you a better idea of the TV audio that's needed.


----------



## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

A good quality sound bar may solve your problems. TV speakers are crap across all lines.



But I suggest you buy a TV with digital optical audio out for the sound bar and variable audio out to RCA jacks.


The sound bar works well for my wife all the time, works well for me when she is not home but when we both watch I use wired headphones via the the RCA jacks. We can each control our own sound level with remotes.


I tried a variety of wireless solutions but the latency (lag time) between the sound bar audio and the bluetooth solutions was a deal killer when we both watched.


Both my TV and soundbar are Vizio.


----------



## Dave Sal (Dec 20, 2012)

Pretty much all speakers in modern flat panel displays are not very good. They are too small to be effective in reproducing sounds, but they have to be small to fit into the slim TV panels. For a hearing impaired person, it's much better to get a separate audio system than relying on the TV speakers. You can get a decent speaker system and an inexpensive receiver for less than $400. I am biased towards Definitive Technology speakers, and have two systems. The small one in my living room is used with a wall mounted plasma TV as the speakers in that TV are horrible. Now, I can hear everything clearly and have great bass response as well. 

https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...00-5.1-home-theater-speaker-system/1.html?v=1

https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...2-ch-x-70-watts-bluetooth-a/v-receiver/1.html

If $400 is more than you'd like to spend, then I'd recommend a sound bar as well.


----------



## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Here read this SS...https://www.diychatroom.com/f12/market-surround-sound-system-640487/

This works great for us...with a very EASY wireless instillation...
A sound bar and two rear speakers that plug into a sub woofer that
Plugs into a wall outlet...

You can get it at Costco ...the price is in the 200.00 dollar range...
(We actually paid 180.00 on sale)
I love Costco for this kind of purchase, if you don’t like it you can 
easily return it.

We both have the normal age related hearing loss...this works
great for us.


----------



## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

All good, solid advice. But what is his Budget? Perhaps he is into a colossal 11.1 Surround System, with all the Bells, or just want to improve the Sound of the TV a little.
Yes, you can do that by simply adding a good Soundbar with wireless Subwoofer, stay away from Vizio ($199) please and check out some of the LG Soundbars. ($500+). They come with a wireless Sub as well.

Don't expect a Killer Dolby Atmos Setup, even though the Soundbars claiming they can produce it. LOL!
But overall, after installing a good Soundbar, your Speakers won't sound like a McDonalds Drive-through Speaker anymore.
:vs_cool:


----------



## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

The missus has some hearing loss and we have a fairly inexpensive Samsung soundbar that seems to help. Hearing loss runs in her family and some of them have taken to turning on the closed captioning which they find helps. I find it somewhat distracting but I live with it. We've gotten into watching series' from the UK (via DVD) and depending on the 'strength' of their accent the closed captioning helps me as well. There is one set in the Shetland Islands and I get about half of what they say without the cc.


----------



## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

lenaitch said:


> The missus has some hearing loss and we have a fairly inexpensive Samsung soundbar that seems to help. Hearing loss runs in her family and some of them have taken to turning on the closed captioning which they find helps. I find it somewhat distracting but I live with it. We've gotten into watching series' from the UK (via DVD) and depending on the 'strength' of their accent the closed captioning helps me as well. There is one set in the Shetland Islands and I get about half of what they say without the cc.


Have you considered the famous TV Ears?
Amazon has a variety of those devices:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...wZqLcyvYZf1MA7HUboOx65ji4wX9FwBRoCoWYQAvD_BwE


----------



## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Deja-vue said:


> Have you considered the famous TV Ears?
> Amazon has a variety of those devices:
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...wZqLcyvYZf1MA7HUboOx65ji4wX9FwBRoCoWYQAvD_BwE




Ya, not there yet. Things like that are a psychological as well as physiological boundary. I'm still getting used to wearing reading glasses - it's only been about 20 years.


----------



## 99 wirenuts (Sep 8, 2018)

Colbyt said:


> A good quality sound bar may solve your problems. TV speakers are crap across all lines.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey Colby, you mention latentcy. I think this is what i suffer from. 
My new Black Friday special TV only has 2 HDMI inputs, so my stereo receiver is connected only with the audio optical cable. Could the lack of an HDMI connection make the sound from TV to the stereo “lag” a bit. It just sounds off a bit, maybe like a touch of an echo.


----------



## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

99 wirenuts said:


> Hey Colby, you mention latentcy. I think this is what i suffer from.
> My new Black Friday special TV only has 2 HDMI inputs, so my stereo receiver is connected only with the audio optical cable. Could the lack of an HDMI connection make the sound from TV to the stereo “lag” a bit. It just sounds off a bit, maybe like a touch of an echo.





I'm very far from an expert on the subject. It might be the sound output choice and can be changed in the audio section of most TV menus. Choices are usually PCM, Dolby and I forget the third option.


Might also be the audio mode selected, again in the TV menu.



Explore the menu options and play around.


----------

