Soundbars can really enhance your audio experience, providing a rich and immersive sound at home. Whether you’re a keen gamer or love to stream the latest blockbusters, soundbars put you at the centre of the action. If you’re wondering whether to buy a soundbar or want to know more about what they do, you’re in luck: our handy guide is here to help.
What Are Soundbars and How Do They Work?
Soundbars are speakers that enhance the audio quality of content. They’re designed to sit neatly underneath or above your TV and provide a more immersive viewing experience. If you have a high-resolution TV, like a UHD, OLED or QNED TV, soundbars amplify the audio experience to match the high-definition visuals.
Soundbars consist of several speakers in one, which are positioned along the bar in such a way that it tricks your brain into thinking that the audio is coming from around you, when in fact it isn’t. If you’re watching a film or a big-budget TV show, this audio trick will give you a cinematic experience at home.
Although the built-in speakers on your TV will be sufficient, you may want the audio to be punchier, especially if you’re watching action-packed films or TV shows, or playing high-performance games.
Typically, built-in speakers won’t be able to match the audio quality of a soundbar. This is down to the placement of the speakers. In modern TVs, the speakers are usually found at the back or underneath the screen, which means that the sound isn’t travelling outwards. By design, soundbars deliver a better sound quality, because they project the audio out across a room.
If you want to create a cinematic experience at home, you’ll find that a soundbar is a great solution. Here are a few reasons why:
● Soundbars are not complicated to set up, and they don’t require additional wires or hardware to install.
● You can place soundbars directly underneath your TV or even mount them on your wall, so they’re neat and look great in rooms of all sizes.
● They’re generally more affordable than alternative audio systems like surround sound.
You’ll notice that some LG soundbars also come with subwoofers, which are designed to boost low-frequency audio like the bass in music. If you’re watching a film, subwoofers can also enhance deep voices or sound effects, such as explosions, so you’ll get to enjoy a richer audio with more projection. They can communicate wirelessly too, so you don’t need to worry about extra wires (although you will need to plug the subwoofer into a power outlet).
You can also pair a soundbar with a set of rear speakers to create a surround sound like experience. Selected soundbars – like the LG Sound Bar S80QR – come with triple up-firing channels speakers for audio that fills a room.
Soundbars vs. Surround Sound
The difference between soundbars and surround sound has to do with the setup itself. Because they’re designed to sit snugly underneath your TV and are made up of several speakers in one unit, soundbars are a lot smaller. They take up much less room, so you don’t need a huge space to accommodate this kind of setup. Conversely, surround sound setups require multiple speakers placed around the room, with lots of wires connecting them. Surround sound systems are also more expensive than soundbars, and they’re not anywhere near as easy to install.
Apart from the setup, personal preference may also take part when choosing between soundbars and surround bars. Although you may prefer the slightly richer audio of surround sound if your living room is really big. However, most people will find that the audio they get from a soundbar more than meets their needs.
As mentioned above, soundbars are easy to install, and they can be connected with wires or wirelessly. Wireless connection is useful if you have a wall-mounted TV but want your soundbar to sit neatly underneath it on a shelf or TV unit, because you won’t have lots of wires to contend with.
Our soundbars also come with Bluetooth® connectivity, so you can stream and play your favourite music from compatible devices with richer sound.
Our soundbars come with a range of brilliant features to amplify your experience, like the ones listed below.
In our online store, you’ll find soundbars models that use smart technology to improve your overall audio experience; here are some of the smart features you’ll see in selected audio devices at LG.
The AI Sound Pro feature analyses the content on compatible LG TVs, and automatically optimises the audio based on what you’re watching so you don’t need to go into the settings to select the best sound option. This may be the dialogue on a TV show, for example, or the bass of certain musical genres.
Selected LG soundbars are compatible with popular AI services including Amazon Alexa™, Google Assistant™ and Siri (for Apple AirPlay®), so you can control yours using just your voice.
AI Room Calibration uses spatial awareness technology to analyse the dimensions of a room, and customise the audio to match the space. You’ll need to connect to the soundbar using the LG Soundbar app on a compatible smartphone; the AI Room Calibration feature will then measure the shape and size of your room, and adjust the sound accordingly.
Selected LG soundbars come with technologies that have been developed in partnership with British audio specialists (and industry pioneers) Meridian. These models provide an exceptional sound experience, with accompanying features like Meridian Horizon: an up-mixing technology that offers immersive multi-channel audio from 2-channel stereo content, regardless of the loudspeaker layout. This is designed to provide a greater sense of immersion for every listener.
DTS Virtual: X technology adds height and surround audio for a truly immersive experience. Utilising two front speakers and a subwoofer, DTS Virtual: X creates an audio “dome” that’s similar to surround sound – without the need for lots of extra speakers. It works with multiple soundbars and delivers richer audio with clearer dialogue and deeper bass.
Bring the action of a big-budget blockbuster home, feel the bass on your favourite tracks or get deeper into gaming with richer, more immersive sound from LG. Discover our full range of soundbars online today, and enjoy an unparalleled audio experience.
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