Shopping for TV Soundbar Speakers

TV soundbar speakers are sleek, versatile audio units that deliver the rich music, sparkling dialog, and heart-pounding special effects that are a key part of a satisfying viewing experience. Today's flat televisions lack the space to house a reasonably sized home entertainment speaker, so adding a soundbar offers a simple way to enjoy your programs with high-impact sound. Owing to their slender forms, soundbars take up little space. They're easy to position, whether under the TV or on a bracket on the wall behind.

You can also use your TV speaker bars for playing music, either by plugging your audio device into a USB port, or wirelessly via Bluetooth. In addition, Wi-Fi-enabled soundbars can connect to your home network and allow you to stream music via your computer.

What Are TV Soundbars?

A soundbar is a long, slender enclosure containing a number of speakers, designed to create a high-impact TV sound system. A 2-channel soundbar typically houses three loudspeakers (left, right, and center), and a 5.1 setup contains five. Active soundbars also feature amplifiers, and some models come with a separate subwoofer to round out the sound with rich bass. TV soundbars connect to your television in a variety of ways. Options include analog input (RCA), optical, digital coaxial, and the most popular, HDMI.

For a more immersive listening experience, you can find soundbars with the functionality to decode and render various enhanced audio features and deliver their outputs through surround speakers. These either work with Dolby and other outputs from your television or feature built-in sound decoding systems.

How Does a Wireless Soundbar Work?

Many soundbars are Bluetooth equipped. However, only a few models allow wireless connectivity to a television. Mostly, Bluetooth is used to hook up the wireless TV speaker bar to peripherals such as separate subwoofers or surround-sound speakers, or to link up to various smart devices to stream music, transmitting data over your WiFi connection.

Choosing the Ideal Soundbar

Your main concern when shopping for soundbar speakers will be finding a unit with sufficient power for your room. Most soundbars are fine for use in small- to medium-sized spaces. However, larger rooms might require a more powerful home theater, AV receiver, or a wireless soundbase. You should also bear in mind that a separate subwoofer requires its own nearby power source. If you use Apple devices such as iPods and iPads, choose a soundbar with AirPlay wireless technology for enhanced compatibility. For convenience and ease of setup, you can also acquire a soundbar as part of a home entertainment theater-in-a-box. This comprises a complete system with a full set of speakers together with receiver, tuner, DVD player, and other accessories.

Have you decided it's time to start enjoying your favorite TV shows, movies, and sports programs with impactive audio that does them justice? Browse the TV soundbars at B&H Photo and Video today.