If you are watching tv for a long period, you would have known the fact that tv sound sucks. Except for some TVs which has a soundbar attached or the one with vibrating front panels, the rest of the TVs leave a lot to be desired in terms of sound quality. So, what exactly is the problem with TV sound? There are many. Let’s dig deeper.
Small driver
Yes, TVs have smaller speakers. A smaller speaker isn’t the main issue. Here the speaker is smaller for a large volume of the sound. The small speaker of a TV cannot do justice to fill a room full of sound. There is no replacement for displacement. Therefore a separate speaker setup with bigger drivers easily outperforms any tv speakers.
Position of speakers
It’s not just the size of TV speakers that creates bad sound. It is the position as well. To make the TV appear slimmer and sleek, manufacturers made the bezels thinner and thinner. Now we have TVs with a bezel-less design. Since the bezel spaces are excluded, the regular place for TV speakers is gone for good. The manufacturers started to put down-firing speakers and rear-firing speakers or both. Both cannot replace the front-firing speakers in terms of sound quality. The rear-firing makes the sound hit the rear wall and reflect it towards the user’s ears. Similarly, the down-firing speaker emits a sound that hits the floor and then reaches the user’s ears. In both cases, audio fidelity is lost. Only front-firing speakers can deliver good sound to the user’s ears.
Less stereo separation
Stereo separation is very important for any music. It gives a spacious sound. It makes the sound stereo. Sounds pan from left to right. Instruments are given a place between the speakers to existing. The vocals come from the center of the soundstage. All these create a beautiful sound experience. This is completely lost because of hidden speakers behind the TVs.
Less dynamic range
Dynamic range is the difference between the softest to the loudest of the sounds in music. Music and movies have dynamic range. Vocals are in levels of sound. There are softer sounds, whispers, leaf rustles. And then there are explosions, loud music, etc. these should be reproduced with a strong dynamic range. Unfortunately, small speakers that too, with rear and down-firing speakers cannot do justice for the dynamics of the sound.
Less volume and High distortion
Since the speakers are hidden away from human sight, it has to work hard to fill the sound. This brings in the distortion of sound when the driver is pumping a lot of sounds. Even with the fullest potential before distortion, sometimes, TV speakers cannot fill a decently sized room full of music. Speaker size and placement are the real issues with less volume and High distortion.
Alternatives
So, what is the alternative?
Anything which has front-firing speakers would do. And, the bigger the driver better the output. Hence, a soundbar, stereo speaker, or home theatre system will work wonders for your TV.
Conclusion
We have seen that TV sound sucks and why. If your TV comes with front-firing speakers, you don’t have to buy a separate system unless you want a better sound quality. For the TVs that do not have a front-firing speaker, it is really beneficial to go with even the cheapest soundbar. Thanks for reading.
Aju Vignesh Sathiaraj Padma is a mechanical and audio engineer. He is a person who loves technology and things. He is also an audiophile and loves to listen to music on quality audio gear. He is an avid writer and loves to blog.
He is the founder and author of www.digitfield.com, and he is an expert in copywriting. You can find him either lurking in various forums or listening to classical music.
