Even with TV’s being as high tech as they are today, the sound aspect can still leave you wanting more. When looking to improve your home audio, there’s now a much easier solution than having a room full of equipment and speakers- a sound bar! But first, there are a few things to consider when shopping for the right sound bar for you.
First, you’ll need to determine whether you want your amplification built-in or separate. Most sound bars are powered- meaning they already have the necessary amplification built right in. These are very simple to set up. There are also passive sound bars, which require an external amplifier for power.
You’ll also need to make sure your sound bar has enough audio inputs for everything you want to connect directly to it. Some sound bars come with analog stereo mini-jacks, which can be used to accommodate the headphone outputs or smartphones and media players. You can also look for one that has Bluetooth capability to accept wireless streaming signals and play music from services like Pandora or Spotify from your mobile phone.
Next you’ll be deciding the placement of your sound bar. Will it lay on the surface of your entertainment center or be mounted on the wall? Make sure you check the height of your sound bar against the TV screen to ensure that it’s not too tall. Not only would this block some of the picture, but it may block your TV’s sensor- which would prevent remote control signals from getting through. If you’ll be mounting your sound bar on the wall, you’ll need to check to see if mounting brackets are included. You’ll have to run a signal cable down the wall, so you’ll also want to consider if you want to hide the wire in the wall or use a cable hiding raceway.