Tinny tellies – what does your TV sound like?

Would that double the cost of the TV, or would it be more?

What’s wrong with making the case deeper and including better speakers, or supplying a sound bar as standard rather than it being an optional extra?

I’ve done the same, but with a pair of all-in one PC “active” speakers. I think you can buy similar speakers for around £15-20. They sit behind the TV and make a great improvement to the sound.

Car manufacturers have perfected the art of getting people to spend a lot more than they would if they bought the basic model. They even manage to get away with charging high prices, as you will see if you compare the cost of a sat nav as an extra compared with one bought from a shop.

So far, TV manufacturers seem to have focused on the theme of ‘biggest is best’ but I would not be surprised to see the introduction of expensive options, either built in or as accessories.

If you have an optical output connect to an amplifier and a pair of speakers i would imagine you can find some real cheap after Xmas at a car boot sale.

I bought a Panasonic HTE80 Soundbox to go with my 42″ Panasonic TV.
The music and action sound is pretty good, especially on Blu Ray DVD.
The speech sound quality is rubbish.
Always had Panasonic. This could be the last.

Sound bars without all the bells+whistles are just low end amplifiers with chip audio and small speakers no one has yet defied the law of Physics in relation to quality of audio output and frequency response in them . They are basically a commercial response to the rubbish speakers in most TV,s ,by no stretch of the imagination can they be called “real hi-fi ” . I have built real hi-fi and bought top-end audio equipment -it is NOT cheap , you are conned into all the advertising that you see on TV/websites etc you will NOT get quality sound reproduction out of them , just try and find a good report of sound-bars from British high end audio mags or for that matter any electronic mag like electronics world which sells to all the British audio design Engineers > I am sorry if I sound negative but the publics hopes of very good sound reproduction will be dashed very easily . The reason people think they are good is the extremely bad sound reproduction of most TV,s . I could actually build discrete audio amplifiers to cutting edge design for the price of some of those “sound reproducers ” . Want to save money in the long run buy a good quality audio amp /buy good quality speakers >connect to TV thats what I have.

I agree, Duncan, but a decent sound bar can greatly improve the sound of many flat-screen TVs. Those who value sound quality will have Hi-Fi separates and hook up their TV, but most value simplicity.

Tracy there are sound bars for sale and connections to a hi-fi system on most TV,s . I have my flatscreen connected to an audio amplifier and hi-fi speakers but you dont have to go to that length . Tinny sound is lack of low frequency response due to the minute size of the speakers they are usually terrible you can also buy amplified extension speakers (with a built in amplifier) there are many choices on the market it depends on what you want to pay.

Duncan – you have touched on something I have not been able to understand. The speakers in sound bars don’t seem to be very large either but good ones give very good sound. The main difference in speaker size between a TV and an SB is not the circumference but the depth from front to back so perhaps that is the key criterion. Modern flat TV’s are obviously too thin to have any sensible depth for the speakers hence the tinny sound.

We bought a Yamaha sound bar for a secondary Samsung TV that was starting to get fuzzy for speech – the picture was fine but the sound was annoying. The SB has made a massive difference, including reproducing sounds that were completely lost previously, and has allowed us to play at a lower volume. It didn’t cost a fortune either.

John I see where you are coming from in the physical distance traveled by the cone but that still doesnt make a small loudspeaker produce large low frequency sound-ie- frequency response down to under 100 Hz . The standing waves can still only travel a short distance from mc cone to outer edges of speaker . If you can afford it special digital controlled amplifiers built into hi-fi loudspeakers can output low frequencies in speakers that wouldnt normally go that low but they are expensive . No small loudspeaker can defy the Law of Physics

I suppose what I was trying to say in a roundabout way is that for a little more depth in a flat screen TV much better sound could be produced obviating the need for a sound bar. The sound bar we bought does an excellent job for our needs. There wouldn’t be much point in paying a lot more to increase the sound fidelity while at the end of the day it’s still a forty-two inch flat-screen TV and half the programmes are made to a disappointing picture [and sound] quality anyway. For £150-200 people can get a dramatic improvement in their TV enjoyment by choosing a good sound bar – and the Which? test reports were very helpful in our case.