Recently, the well-deserved trend of home theaters has died down. Indeed, it is very pleasant to get into the surround and juicy stereo sound in front of a high-quality picture of the video sequence. However, technology continues to evolve, and as an alternative to a set of home theater equipment, the average person is offered the next stage in the development of acoustic home appliances - a soundbar or sound bar.
Difficulties associated with the installation of a home theater are not taken into account. Finding and selecting a suitable place in the room for home theater elements, laying cables so that they are not noticeable and do not interfere, setting up and other initial operations are just a one-time necessary inconvenience. After setting up, it remains only to regularly wipe the dust on all surfaces of the audio system and try not to overturn the speakers if they are located on the floor.
Technological step forward
The laws of development of systems and technologies suggest thatloudspeakers will decrease in volume while maintaining and increasing their qualities, such as audio soundbars. It looks like it is. This is confirmed by the evolution of the home theater to the soundbar, which occupies an order of magnitude less space than the volume of home theater equipment, and at the same time reproduces high-quality 7.1 sound. The material makes an attempt to delve a little deeper into this topic.
Soundbar - what is it?
You can say about the soundbar that it is such a music column. That is, not one speaker, but a cabinet literally stuffed with many speakers with a variety of characteristics and often installed at different angles in order to fill the room with surround sound with the highest quality.
The heart of a soundbar is its processor. It is he who must have sufficient power to cope with the task of managing multi-channel sound and reproduce surround sound of sufficient power and quality using special audio algorithms for the interaction of controlled speakers.
How does it work?
So, soundbar - what is it and how does it work? Probably, one can say about the appearance of such a device as a soundbar that it is an elongated column under the TV - this device is usually fixed under the image source. It is difficult for the average person to imagine the possibilities of the latest audio speakers, whose cones are made of carbon fiber and which work inensemble with coaxial speakers under the control of the conductor - the processor. We learned what a soundbar is. An overview of popular models will be presented below.
The sound comes, as a rule, from the TV to the soundbar and is already decomposed into frequencies in the processor, goes through the process of algorithmization. Further, in the converted form, it is fed to the speakers in the sequence, duplication, duration and frequency that can correspond to the concept of powerful and surround sound with sound quality much higher than even the CD format.
Question of price
Indeed, technology makes life easier for humanity and makes it more enjoyable. The latest audio systems are proof of this. Because for all its complexity, with ultra-small components and ultra-high processing speed of a huge amount of data, any ordinary user can afford to have such a technology.
This review does not cover prices for mini soundbars that connect to a computer, mobile phone or other devices. Now we are talking about household soundbars connected to a TV or projector to fill the room with realistic sound of the highest quality.
Whoever plans to buy a soundbar, prices are not the last thing. And there is good news here. The price segment, in which the assortment line of sound panels is presented, starts from 100 US dollars. So, for example, through the Internet for about this money you canorder a samsung soundbar. Of course, it is unlikely that you can get all the potential sound quality for this amount, but this technique has the basic capabilities of a home theater. The upper limit of the price range of household appliances of this kind is up to 3 thousand dollars, for which you can get equipment with sound parameters of 5.1 and 7.1 in the highest quality.
Question of installation and configuration
Installation of the soundbar does not present any problems and is performed in two ways. The first is when the body of the device is placed on a furnished stand under the TV and rests on legs or a specialized stand. There are also larger soundbars that are designed for the TV to be mounted on top of them, like a stand.
In another installation option, the soundbar case is attached directly to the wall under the TV with screws. This installation option has its advantages - appliances can be both a functional element and part of the interior. In any case, if you want to install an audio system represented by a soundbar, everyone can.
You can connect equipment through several input options, such as HDMI, digital audio input or analog. When connecting to get the maximum sound quality, the preference is, of course, given to the HDMI input, especially since this provides the ability to control some of the soundbar settings using the remote control fromTV.
Setting the operating modes of the device for the room used using the remote control is also necessary. Using the preset operating modes of the equipment without adjusting the settings for specific conditions is about the same as coming to listen to a famous singer who, for some reason, sings through an ordinary loudspeaker.
Popular models and manufacturers
Among the models of mass market audio systems on the market, one can single out the Samsung soundbar. The equipment of this manufacturer is distinguished by reliable service support and excellent performance. Another alternative representative of the same segment is the lg soundbar, reviews of which are mostly positive. A stylish and modern device in the middle price range collects thousands of flattering comments from satisfied customers. Both manufacturers in their product lines have models for different budgets and in different stylistic solutions.
Based on the analysis of reviews, we can make a superficial and preliminary conclusion that the Samsung soundbar in any budget solution is somewhat better than similar models from the manufacturer Lg. It has a fairly responsive customer service and a long warranty period. Reviews about Lg technology are no worse, and for some decisions, both technological and stylistic, the products surpass their competitor.
Where to buy a soundbar?
You can buy a soundbar for home use today in almost any home appliance store. In this case, everything is simple- came, got advice and bought with the money that he planned, or issued a loan. However, it must be assumed that in this case the acquisition will be somewhat more expensive.
Buying a soundbar in an online store with delivery is perhaps one of the best purchase options, both in terms of the risks of the purchase and in terms of the timing of receiving the order. Quite often, buying equipment over the Internet, you can save a significant amount of money. By the way, according to the results of the analysis of the availability and conditions of existing offers, the Samsung soundbar occupies a very advantageous position.
If the task is to buy acoustics as cheaply as possible, then the possibilities of ordering such equipment through world-famous online stores and auctions, such as E-bay, Amazom or Aliexpress, come to the fore. These stores are probably worth using in cases where the purchase is not urgent and it is possible to wait (delivery of the order sometimes takes more than one month).
Instead of a conclusion
It's very nice in the evening, after a busy day, it's convenient to sit on the couch, turn on a good movie and completely immerse yourself in what is happening. Plunge into the plot and the sea of high-quality, voluminous and enveloping sound, when it seems that you are at the epicenter of ongoing events.
This effect successfully creates a home theater, and can create a good and high-quality soundbar (an order of magnitude smaller in size, and much cheaper in price). What to choose and where to stop is obvious to everyone.
