Would a soundbar help?

theukmoog

theukmoog

theukmoog

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My mum recently upgraded from a decade old 32" Samsung to a 43" Samsung UE43CU7100 but she doesn't think much of the sound quality (99% of viewing is TiVo over HDMI cable).

I've had a listen and have to agree; it just doesn't sound great.
It only has 3 sound options - Standard, Adaptive and Amplified (if I remember the three settings correctly) - and an equaliser.

I've tried all 3 and have settled on Standard with a tweaked EQ to make dialog clearer but it's still not great :(

Is this standard quality for a £329 TV these days?

I've never had a soundbar but was wondering if a (relatively cheap) soundbar might improve things further.
 
TV sound is generally lousy, the supplied speakers in my LG OLED are lousy, really bad.

A £150 Q Acoustics 2.1 speaker system QTV2 was a massive upgrade, and actually pretty darn good- I'd be more than happy with it for bedroom system and I've got a 6000W 9.2.4 system so that says a lot. Bit lacking in midrange, but still much better than TV sound

I wouldn't buy a cheapo soundbar from B&M though, get something better.

Parents hearing is going so getting that QTV2 helped them hear talking.
 
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Not saying they are hard of hearing but if they want something cheap that will deffo help with voices and sounds etc then the below isn't too bad. Bought my parents one as they always moaning about the sound on the TV and usually end up with sub titles on haha! But the below has helped and they love it.

 
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Simmz said:
Not saying they are hard of hearing but if they want something cheap that will deffo help with voices and sounds etc then the below isn't too bad. Bought my parents one as they always moaning about the sound on the TV and usually end up with sub titles on haha! But the below has helped and they love it.

Click to expand...

Also disable the TV own speakers otherwise have funny sound if both are on. On parents there is setting to disable internal speakers totally. Adjusting volume on TV remote does nothing
 
Buy a sound bar with a HDMI input (HDMI ARC), enable HDMI Control, and your dear old mum won't need to do anything other than use her TIVO remote. TV on/off (with sound bar), Vol +/-, mute, the TV even going to the correct HDMI input for the TIVO.

For sound bars, the Polk Audio React has HDMI ARC and is available for £169 (normal price) or just £99 if you sign up to Richer Sounds VIP club.
 
Thanks for the advice.

I did buy a cheap(ish) £80 2.1 soundbar and my mum is very happy with the improvement.
It's not hearing issues, it really was terrible sound on the Samsung compared to the previous (10y old 32") Samsung or my own TVs.

I've set it up with an optical cable, for now, as all 3 HDMI inputs are in use, so can't try HDMI ARC.

Unfortunately, I can't get the TiVo remote to control the TV - tried all the codes and it just won't respond :(
The old Samsung was fine.
 
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