STACK #223 May 2023

TECH FEATURE

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3 SOUNDBAR PICKS

Sonos Beam Compact Smart Soundbar [Gen 2]

This five-speaker soundbar fills the room with high

available, transmitting uncompressed surround sound and formats like Dolby Atmos. Many soundbars also connect to devices wirelessly via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so you can play music or podcasts from your phone. DolbyAtmos This technology adapts cinema-inspired surround sound for home entertainment. Individual sounds are picked out and directed around the room to create a 3D bubble of rich, immersive sound. Other common modes Many soundbars offer a few useful modes. For example, Night mode keeps the sound clear even at low volume, so you can hear everything without waking up the household. And voice modes highlight dialogue among the explosions and music, so you can always clearly follow the story. Bose Smart Soundbar 600 Bose TrueSpace tech separates instruments, dialogue and effects to create an immersive soundscape, pumped out by five transducers including two that fire upwards for overhead audio. Optical, HDMI eARC Dolby Atmos Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, Chromecast connectivity quality audio, with the option to add compatible wireless rear speakers and subwoofers. Varied control options include a touch interface, the Sonos app, your existing remote, and voice assistant support. HDMI eARC Dolby Atmos Voice and night mode Wi-Fi, AirPlay connectivity JBL Bar1000 880W Soundbar This complete sound system packs 880 watts of power with 7.1.4 channels, including a 10-inch wireless subwoofer and detachable surround speakers. Optical, HDMI eARC Dolby Atmos Voice mode Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, Chromecast connectivity

Movies,TV shows and games aren’t just visual experiences – audio is half the fun, and without the right sound setup, you’re missing out. But you don’t have to spend a fortune and spin wires all over your living room. Soundbars are a simple but effective way to elevate your entertainment, and here’s what you need to know. Words Michael Irving Why do you need a soundbar? indicate how immersive the soundscape is. The first number specifies different BIGGER & BETTER SOUND

channels of sound – so for example, '2' would be stereo. Surround sound systems usually include five or seven speakers, and some soundbars can replicate that. The second number indicates subwoofers. So a 5.1 system has five main channels backed up by a subwoofer to pump the bass. High-end sound systems can also have a third number, which refers to how many up firing drivers (or height channels) it has. These bounce off the ceiling to simulate sounds coming from above you. Connectivity How your soundbar connects to your TV affects sound quality. Optical cables are a good baseline, while HDMI with ARC transmits both video and audio in two directions. And HDMI with enhanced ARC (eARC) offers some of the best sound

Modern TVs focus on visual quality, but to match the experience you’ll want external speakers. A soundbar is a neat and easy solution to massively boost your sound quality, packing multiple speakers into a long or compact unit. They connect to your TV with just one cable, and can pump out audio that fills the room and simulates surround sound. You can even expand your setup with extra subwoofers and rear speakers. And many offer the convenience of hands-free voice control. So what do you need to look for in a soundbar? Size For soundbars, size does matter. You’ll want to match it to your TV. If your screen is on the smaller side, there’s no need for a big soundbar, but if you’re rocking a 65–75-inch TV or above, a wider soundbar will be better at matching where sounds are coming from relative to the picture. It pays to measure up first, too, to ensure that it doesn’t hang over the edges of the TV cabinet, and fits below a wall mount. Channels Soundbars and other speakers are described using numbers like 2.0 or 7.1.2, and these

“When setting up a soundbar, a very common complaint is no sound,” notes TCL’s Richard Falzon. “When connecting a soundbar to the TV’s HDMI ARC or eARC ports, you need to ensure that the function is turned on in the TV’s audio settings. Another reason may be the sound format – most TVs will output Dolby audio for TV/ Blu-ray, etc, but some soundbars don’t support Dolby. This applies if you use HDMI or Optical connection. The solution? Simply change the Digital Output format in the TV sound settings from the default AUTO to PCM, as pretty much all soundbars support PCM at a minimum.” PRO TIP

40 MAY 2023

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