Are sound bars worth it?


My cable provider [Videotron in Quebec City] does not offer a cable base/box with analogue outputs. So, I am at a loss how to get the audio signal from my TV to my preamp, for real sound while watching TV.

My question is whether any sound bars are worth the expense and effort in providing better audio than the TV itself [a SONY.... but they are all terrible].

Any opinions?
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Showing 1 response by cd318

It’s quite tricky getting high quality sound from a Sony TV to an amp. I’ve done it via RCA jacks from the back of my Sony KDL 43 W755C to a spare input on the back of my Creek amp. As a bonus everything I play back through  my Sony bdp S6500 DVD player also gets fed to the amp via the TV. 

The tricky part was finding the necessary setting you have to change on the TV menu to enable audio out. I can try to look it up for you if you want.

In the meantime a soundbar can be a considerable improvement upon the TVs inbuilt sound if it’s wallmounted, and a soundbase even moreso if it sits upon a stand.

Funnily enough my non-audiophile family prefer the sound from the TV to that from my speakers claiming the extra bandwidth and bass gives them headaches.

I don’t know how I put up with them.
They probably feel the same.