Manufacturers usually provide a volume control, so they can balance the sound to suit their placement and room acoustics. Soundbar buyers have to decide where to put the subwoofer that generates the bass.

Of course, everybody calls everything a soundbar nowadays, but you’d probably have been happier with a soundbar instead of a soundbase. Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer Soundbars contain two or usually more small loudspeakers (tweeters) to provide the treble and mid-range. Soundbases are tidy and only need one mains plug. They typically have two or three small speakers at the front, and one or sometimes two woofers pointing downwards. Soundbases are large and flat, so you can stand your TV on them.

Low frequency sounds are not very directional so the placement doesn’t matter too much. They work with a much larger loudspeaker in a separate box, a subwoofer, which provides the bass. Soundbars are long bars that contain two or usually more small loudspeakers (tweeters) to provide the treble and mid-range. TV sound quality took a dive, and people turned to soundbars and soundbases to get better results. It became a problem with flat LCD screens because you can’t put a loudspeaker that’s, say, 5-10cm deep in a screen that is 3-4cm deep, or less. This wasn’t a problem when TV sets used giant cathode ray tubes.

Loudspeakers create sounds by moving lots of air around, usually by vibrating a paper or plastic cone in a box. People who prefer Eine kleine Nachtmusik are probably still listening to the hi-fis they bought in a previous century. Soundbars are sold to people who want loud explosions and don’t mind the windows rattling.

Īnd while you’re complaining about the Otone Soundbase’s boomy bass, this may appeal to users who watch blockbuster movies or play action games. The alternative effects include Film, Music and Voice on the Cambridge Audio TV2 soundbase, while the Samsung K450 offers Cinema, Sports, Clear Voice, Music and Night Mode. One is usually called something like TV and provides a pass-through of the TV sound. Today, digital signal processors (DSPs) offer a range of effects instead.

Improve sound quality flat screen tv