Do you love your TV’s picture, but find its sound quality about as engaging as the acting in "Sharknado 2"? One of the quickest fixes for a TV with less-than-satisfying sound is to add a sound bar speaker.
Some of the better-sounding speaker systems are expensive. And who wants to spend more on a speaker than you did for the TV? The good news is that you don't have to pay a fortune. In our latest sound bar speaker Ratings, we found two lower-priced models—one for smaller and medium-sized TVs, the other for jumbo sets—that will have your room rocking without busting your budget.
For TVs up to about 50 inches, the Vizio S3821w offers the satisfying one-two punch of very good sound and an easy-on-the-wallet price of about $160. In fact, this two-piece system—a narrow, 38-inch-long main speaker with exposed drivers and a separate wireless subwoofer—is one of the best sound bar speaker bargains we've found. It also has built-in Bluetooth for streaming music wirelessly from a phone, tablet, or computer.
If your family has a he-man-sized TV with sound that's the equivalent of a 98-pound weakling, then Sharp's HT-SB602 sound bar may be just the ticket. Designed for TVs 60 inches or larger—the main speaker bar is about 60 inches—this 2.1-channel system is a bit pricier at $400, but is among the best-sounding sound bar speakers we've tested. It includes a wireless subwoofer, Bluetooth, plus NFC for touch pairing your portable Bluetooth devices. (It comes with one free NFC tag.) The speaker has two HDMI inputs, a 10-foot HDMI cable, and an IR blaster cable you can use if the sound bar blocks the TV's IR sensor.
Get more guidance with our home-theater and sound bar speaker buying guide and Ratings.
Like most sound bars, both these models are designed to be placed above or below the TV, and they can be mounted on a wall. Our latest sound bar Ratings include another option: a sound base, a wider, rectangular enclosure that’s placed under your TV set. With this type of speaker, you need to make sure that it's rated to handle the weight of your TV. Unlike regular sound bars, most sound bases have bass drivers housed within the cabinet, so you don’t need a separate subwoofer.
With either type of sound system, setup is easy. You can connect a cable box or streaming media player directly to the sound bar or sound base, or you can hook up the cable box or player to your TV, then connect the TV to the sound bar. In most cases, you use HDMI or digital-audio (optical or coaxial) inputs on the sound bar. Older gear may require stereo RCA jacks. Many of the sound bars we've tested have audio processing that simulates surround sound, with varying degrees of success.
If you're looking to improve the sound of your TV set, you can check out our free buying guide for more information, or check our full sound bar Ratings (available to subscribers) for our complete evaluations of more than 35 models.
—James K. Willcox
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