If you’ve recently purchased a new television, you’re likely loving the intense color and lifelike images. Yet, if your TV set is of the new micro-thin variety that’s becoming increasingly popular, it may leave something to be desired in terms of sound quality. Per Andrew Gormley, a freelance cinematographer, director and podcast producer, this is no coincidence.
“As TVs get thinner and thinner, physics dictates there’s no way they’ll be able to produce BIG sound,” Gormley told HuffPost. “TV speakers simply can’t accommodate modern sound mixes properly. You get muddy sound with little-to-no bass or low frequencies.”
Yet, as Gormley describes it, elevating the audio in your home entertainment space is an easy fix. He recommends purchasing a soundbar or a long speaker pointed directly at you to enhance the sound as you watch your favorite movies and shows.
“I think soundbars, now more than ever, are a pretty crucial part of the home theater experience,” he said. “More often than not, the TV speakers themselves are either downward-firing or rear-firing. The ideal position for a speaker is pointed straight at you!”
Gormley also pointed out that sound bars are compact, singular speakers producing clear surround sound and can take the place of a multiple-speaker setup with wires running all over your house.
He urges people looking for a soundbar to check the channels. “You definitely want to make sure it has at least 3 channels (left, right, center). This is sometimes labeled as ‘3.1,’ with the ‘.1’ being the subwoofer for additional bass,” Gormley said. “Most dialogue is pushed through the center channel, so if you only have a 2.1 system (left, right, woofer), you still might have difficulty understanding softly spoken scenes or dialogue during bombastic action.”
To help you find a sound bar of your own, Gormley shared his five favorite picks.
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