You are among the lucky ones who were able to access the TV bonus. Or, in any case, he has changed TV for a few years, spending a few, indeed, several hundred euros. It is probably thinner and larger than you would have expected. The shopkeeper assured you that it is 4k (or Ultra Hd) among the cheapest in its range. You turn it on, get comfortable in an armchair or on the sofa and it won’t be long before you’ll find yourself turning down the volume quickly when the music goes up with the change of scene and picking up just as quickly when the dialogues begin. On the resolution nothing to say, you will be amazed but its of the cheapest TVs really leaves a lot to be desired. The reason is obvious: the screens are increasingly flat and there is less and less space to insert speakers in the frames. Sound takes up space. The most expensive televisions, worth thousands of euros, barely exceed a power of 100 Watts. The low-end ones usually have two speakers of 10 Watts each. If you ask an audiophile he will tell you that below 200 Watts there is “no life” and there is no point in putting your hand to your wallet. Those who are less ambitious will notice a consistent sound change even above 100 Watts.
The figures are not important. With less than one hundred euros you can reach the goal as long as you are satisfied with a cheap soundbar. Until a few years ago the alternative was to set up a full 5.1 surround sound system which means placing speakers behind you in the corners of the room. It remains the right choice for those who want to recreate a cinema effect in their apartment. But currently the simplest and least expensive way remains to rely on a soundbar. As the name suggests, it is a bar to be placed on the TV cabinet or hung on the wall. They contain more speakers, starting from two to get to ten. They are easy to install: they generally have two cables: the power supply and the one to connect it to the TV. There is usually always the HDMI port and an optical input. But some can be connected to the TV via Bluetooth. In some cases they perform the function of hub, in the sense that they can manage other elements to add other elements for the diffusion of sound. This directs the sound to the right, left and center and can still be synchronized with additional speakers behind you.
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The best soundbars today are more than just a way to make your TV sound more powerful. Major manufacturers are starting to incorporate voice assistants like Alexa or Google Home to be able to talk to each other. Some soundbars are limited to Dolby Digital, others add Dts, the best go as far as Dolby Atmos. The future guidelines are to design more compact products and work on the surround effect. In gaming, for example, it is important to perceive the direction of the sound. The Sony HT-G700 is a wireless connected subwoofer soundbar with vertical sound. What it means? That by combining the three speakers with a technology called Vertical sound engine is able to transform stereo audio into surround sound up to 7.1.2, expanding the sound even vertically with respect to the position of the listener.
Of course, the goal is not high quality music but the transformation of the living room into a cinema room or a place for gamers. These devices born to improve the sound of the TV today are candidates to be the heart of the audio system. Let’s say if the biggest thing in your living room is TVs, soundbars could become the smartest thing.