By Ever since TV’s started getting thinner, sound quality had to be sacrificed. We had been so accustomed to large, tall speaker set ups in our homes. You’d walk into a room and have speakers at the front, at the back, on the corners and on the walls. It was getting out of hand and it seemed like nothing could solve this conundrum. Thankfully innovation never stops and in this day and age where simplicity is the essence of complexity, that’s what the sound bar aims to accomplish.
Soundbars Explained
Gone are the days of spending hours on end setting up speakers all around the room and having to deal with a strenuous amount of wires. We’re going wireless and we can thank soundbars for that. Imagine many tiny powerful speakers all elegantly fit into a well designed bar. Those are sound bars. They are basically a redesign of speakers. It is an all-in-one speaker system that delivers high-quality TV sound without requiring the space, complexity and expense of a home theater setup. A sound bar’s long, slender cabinet contains two or more speakers, and may provide either stereo or surround sound. Some soundbars come with sub woofers as well, just to amplify the sound.
Questions To Ask Before Purchasing a Sound Bar
What your TV supports
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This is in terms of audio formats and connectivity. You TV should be able to accommodate the sound bar making its seamless and wireless properties that much more appealing.
What you want from your speaker?
Sound bars help amplify the sound of your TV and with the addition of IoT including voice assistants, these speakers do us a world of good. You’re able to play music and content from a range of devices and by vocal commands. If you’re looking for that sleek design to fit your space will this is it. It’s unobtrusive and fits well in almost all areas.
Three things to look into when buying a Sound Bar:
- Design
- Audio Quality
- Connectivity
What ports does it have?
Some sound bars only have one HDMI port reducing it’s capabilities. So make sure to check and get one with multiple ports, preferably arc HDMI, USB ports and additional audio output ports.
Does It have WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity? Or Both?
The seamless nature of the bars make them more captivating. The ability to connect via Bluetooth and WiFi gives the device a much larger spectrum to work with. The fact that it can connect to WiFi and also manage voice commands leads to a world of content streaming we can’t wait to enjoy.
Size
Size always matters. Depending on your set up, you might need a smaller or larger soundbar to suite your needs. Thankfully there are many different types of designs you can use.
It is important to go and listen to soundbars before purchasing one. It is very easy to design a good looking sound bar. Getting down to the shop and actually listening to the quality of the bar.
5 Sound Bars You Should Consider:
We’ve looked into a few of the sound bars in the market and these are the ones we think you should check out.
**Tell us if you’d like a review done for any of these bad boys.
Should You Get a Sound Bar?
So are these worth getting? It depends. The plain fact of the matter is that multi-speaker surround setups are now much cheaper than the super-premium sound bars that can create a surround sound effect. For example, an LG-branded true 5.1 set with distinct channel speakers and the same 500 watt power rating as the sound bar above KES 25,000 less than a third of the sound bar’s retail price (and including a Blu-ray player!).
Surround setups are complicated, though, and aren’t always as aesthetically pleasing. So if there’s no practical way for you to run wiring for surround sound speakers all the way around a room, or if your home’s decor is so important that you just can’t stand to see those extra speakers, then a surround sound bar might be the best option.
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