Question A soundbar with clear dialog that actually works ?

[lobster11]

Like the title says, is there such a thing? I have a 5 year old LG tv with a 2 year old Vizio sound bar that we don't use as we can't hear the dialog over all the music. I don't care about surround sound as that only makes the music & the background noise even more over powering There is a dialog setting on the Vizio but it doesn't really help. I have tried every single setting on both the tv & the sound bar. It just goes from bad to worse.
Thanks
Al

 

[turtletarget111]

Depends on how much cash you're willing to spend on a soundbar setup. A solid mid range option like the Vizio M-Series is a good sub-500 dollar option, with fairly accurate sound reproduction and has a vocal enhancement setting, which works surprisingly well. If you're willing to spend more, the LG S90TR is a good sub-1000 dollar choice, with the Samsung Q-Series soundbar costing over a thousand dollars if you want something closer to the high-end. If for some reason you're willing to spend even more money, then I would look into something more premium than soundbars altogether, as you're creeping into the mid-range space for dedicated 5.1 audio setups.

 

[dwd999]

Any time you're using the term "Soundbar" you have to specify how many speakers it contains. In order to boost the center channel in 5.1 sound, which is where all the dialog comes from, you would need a "soundbar" with a minimum of 3 speakers for the front sound, plus additional speakers for the sides and atmos. Most other "soundbars" which don't have enough speakers just rely on electronic equalizer settings which boost the general range of the human voice, along with whatever else may be in that range. That's why smaller "soundbars" with only 2 speakers don't work very well. As turtletarget111 notes above, you have to establish what price range you're interested in, especially now that the holiday sales are over and prices are back up. And you have to establish whether you want an all in one unit where the sound for the sides and back is beamed out of the side ends of the soundbar, or whether you want "wireless" side/rear speakers which have to be plugged into a wall socket somewhere. It helps if you tell us what you're watching/listening to, and its source. If you're not listening to a source with 5.1 dolby or dts sound then there's no soundbar or speaker system that can help you. The center channel in a 5.1 sound system is where the dialog comes from and if your source material doesn't have a center channel then no sound system will help you.

 

[lobster11]

Thanks for the replies. What amazes me is how many of all the systems have so many one star ratings. We are not looking for a system for music, We just want to watch tv and be able to understand what the actors are saying. When you get into your seventies you will understand.
So, saying that, is there a reliable system under $500 that has a clear dialog?
Thanks
Al

 

[dwd999]

I'm 74 so I do understand what you're saying. The first problem is that there are so many sound formats used in the TV business, both for transmission, and for reception. If the show you want to watch does not transmit in a Dolby format with a center channel (not Dolby 2.0) then boosting the dialog falls back to electronic equalizers that just boost the audio range of the voices, which doesn't work that well because anything else in that audio range is also boosted. If you are receiving Dolby 5.1 audio and can output it from your TV eARC connector or cable box to a soundbar, then at least you have a chance. But you would have to carefully research each soundbar that you consider buying to make sure that it has a separate speaker and circuitry to boost the center channel and that's a herculean task.

The soundbar I use is called the Sennheiser Ambeo Max but even when its on sale its $1700 and since its currently not on sale its $2500. So obviously its out of the question.

Sennheiser's lowest level soundbar is called the Ambeo Mini. Its also not on sale at the moment so its $800 but if you want to wait you may be able to find it for $500. They apparently carry then at the Best Buy stores so if there's one nearby you might be able to see it. It has both Voice and Center channel boosting options. If you want you can even read the manual to see how it operates.

-AMBEO- Soundbar | Mini | Sennheiser United States

www.sennheiser-hearing.com

https://media.graphassets.com/uUcGdf0tQ9uLJXcFh2gu (page 74)

 

[stonecarver]

We just want to watch tv and be able to understand what the actors are saying. When you get into your seventies you will understand.

I'm curious what method are you hooking up the sound bar to the TV.

HDMI
Coax
Toslink
RCA
Mini pin

 

[dwd999]

Yes, I forgot to ask, what model TV is it; does it have an eARC output; is the TV sound set for PassThrough to output any multichannel sound to the soundbar. The same questions apply if you're using a cable or satellite box for output.

 

[LordVile]

Most mid range options are fine really though a 3 channel soundbar . Do you have a sub though? I’ve found when I take the sub out of mine it all sounds much flatter and everything is harder to understand.

 

[Unolocogringo]

The best sound bar I have heard is Polk audio soundbar 50.
But it requires an amp also.
And yes I'm 62.

 

[lobster11]

Had given up on the Visio but decided to try again. Hdmi had not worked, so tried the optical output with internal speakers also. Better, but I made the mistake of agreeing to have the Fios control them both. Now the only volume control that would work was the Fire stick. Went back & checked what I had done & found I had plugged into a plain Hdmi slot instead of the Hdmi arc. Swapped them & better now.
Thanks for all the replies
Al