Soundbars - Bring thunder to your living room!

The Soundbar is a special sort of speaker enclosure which creates a stereo or surround sound effect. Basically imagine a wide bar a few inches tall and deep that's about as wide as your TV and is stuffed with small speakers and high tech circuitry. That's a soundbar!
The shape and size means that it cam be positioned either on a shelf underneath the Tv or wall mounted above.

It was advances in screen technology that really sparked the interest in Soundbars. As screens got progressively thinner the lack of bulk meant that on-board speakers just couldn't generate a really satisfying depth of sound. It was Yamahas first Soundbar in 2005 that really sparked the public interest - opening a new product category seemingly overnight.

So Soundbars are great for anyone who wants surround sound without having the inconvenience and expense of buying and setting up an amplifier and several speakers. (And lets face it running cables all round the living room area, beneath carpets and possibly behind skirting boards isn't most peoples idea of a fun weekend.)
The 'Surround Sound' impact (at times referred to as a 3D sound field) is attained by housing several speakers inside of the Soundbar then bouncing the sound from the walls. A mass of modern technology like SRS WOW and DTS complete the effect.

At this point it might be worth pausing to remind ourselves what surround sound actually is....Surround sound is way of enriching sound so that the listener seems to be surrounded by the sound. One of the common ways of achieving this is by installing multiple speakers. 5.1 surround sound uses five full frequency speakers and one low frequency ‘sub’. (This is the .1!) 7.1 Channel sound adds two additional speakers and changes the physical layout.

Its this surround sound effect you want to get that 'middle of the action' feeling.

Some buyers tips are;
Check that you don't have absorbent walls (certain spongy wall papers, wood chip etc)
Check that the Soundbar will actually fit on your TV stand without being obstructed
Count the number of gadgets that you happen to be going to need to plug in and make a list of what sort of connections they want. Then ensure you can connect them all! (Generally two approaches here - either connect them for the TV then connect the Television to the Soundbar or connect them all to the Soundbar and then the Soundbar to the TV.
Pick a Soundbar which can have a separate subwoofer added. Subs can often connect wirelessly which makes setup easier.
HDMI is arguably the best way of connecting devices but does come at a price premium. Take into account what HDMI connectivity needs you've got and carefully consider how you will want to attach everything. This is particularly true of HDMI ARC which can simplify cabling. (ARC allows not only video pass through from Soundbar to TV (For instance if your Blu-Ray player connects direct to the Soundbar) but also Sound from the TV to the Soundbar.

So, do your homework and happy Soundbar hunting! (And read the manual before plugging anything in!!)

I've had a couple of questions about the best physical layout for the room that the soundbar is in, so I thought the following additional Soundbar Information would help.

All Soundbars have slightly different setup considerations therefore do always check the handbook that is included with yours when you buy it. The following guide should provide you adequate basic information to help you figure if your room is suitable or whether things will need to be moved around.

Just before we get in to the requirements let's have a short refresher about how a Soundbar actually works. That sleek wide box which you want sat below or above your TV is full of compact speakers which beam the sound at several angles. The number of speakers depends upon whether or not you have a 2.1, 5.1 or 7.1 system as well as the make and model that you have got. The impact is finished by all of the high-tech trickery like SRS WOW, DTS, and Dolby etc.

Now imagine all those sound beams bouncing of the walls so they all arrive at wherever you are seated.

The next step is to be certain that each of the lines receive an continuous course and that the length of each type of line is comparable. That’s not as tricky as it appears to be, just be certain there won't be bits of furniture getting in the sounds route!

Now as you have possibly read in our technical tutorial quite a few Soundbars will have onboard calibration systems. This means that they can throw out a sound and then change its settings slightly dependant on what it receives using the built in microphone. Other systems help you to manually tune the output which again is an important benefit. Nevertheless, even though you may have got a system with these capabilities you are likely to optimize sound quality by working to follow these tips;

Fit the system in the middle of the right and left wall

Listening location needs to be in front of your unit

There should be an approximately 6ft gap between you and the soundbar

Items of home furniture shouldn't block the travel of sound

Listening spot shouldn't be too near the walls

Walls have to be solid enough to reflect sound beams

Measure the size of your Television rack and ensure the Soundbar definitely will fit without things blocking the path

When you buy your Soundbar study the handbook thoroughly so you can get assistance specific for your model. Don't just start plugging stuff in at random!!! ;-)

As we have discussed a Soundbar can be a good alternative to the expense and complexity of a full surround sound type system. However, choosing the best soundbar does take a little bit of planning.

So what is The Best Soundbar? Well, just like plenty of things in daily life the answer is 'it depends'. The short response is 'the one which does what you require it to do and that you may afford'. To try and find exactly what that means please read on!

What are you going to use it for?
This may seem obvious, but you need to consider what your ultimately want the Soundbar for. Will it be just to give your flat screen Television set improved sound or do you want to emulate that rich surround sound experience? Perhaps you also have an Xbox console or gaming system you wish to enrich? These aspects will determine whether you will be happy with a easy entry level unit or a top of the range system with many different connection possibilities.

How much do you want to spend?
Soundbars cover anything from around £50 ($82) all the way up to £1400 ($2,300).

What do I want to hook up?
Create a list of anything you want to connect and figure out whether it's possible - typical needs are Xbox 360, Blu-Ray, MP3 Player,Wireless bluetooth and of course Television.

How will I connect?
On most entry to mid range Soundbars you are going to attach all your gadgets (Wii, Xbox and so on) to the Television set and then the audio out from the TV to the Soundbar. On a few high end Soundbars it is possible to attach almost everything directly.

HDMI
Pay special attention to HDMI, specially HDMI ARC. When both Soundbar and TV support this it can make cabling much simpler.

Make sure the room where you will be be adding the Soundbar into is suitable.
You need walls that will reflect audio readily. Also make sure you do not have items of furniture that could block the sounds route. Verify that the Soundbar you have in mind will either fit on your Television set rack or perhaps can be simply wall mounted.

How loud are you looking for?
Sound varies from a preety feeble 30watts RMS all the way up to 400 (Phenomenal!). 100 or above is probably about suitable for most people..

What manufacturer do you like?
A lot of the big electronics companies make Soundbars, so if you have a favourite then that could guide your choice.