Teach you how to choose a Soundbar speaker!

                    Teach you how to choose a Soundbar speaker!

The so-called Soundbar, simply put, is a strip-shaped audio equipment with units installed inside, which can be used on the wall or placed on the table. You can use it to play sound effects from TV shows, or connect it to a source to listen to music. Compared with TV speakers or home theater, a product like Soundbar can bring various benefits, including:

1. Can present a better effect than TV speakers

Modern TVs are becoming thinner and thinner, and in order to save costs, it is usually difficult for TV speakers to have good sound effects. The Soundbar is a specially designed audio equipment, and there is enough space to configure the units, which will definitely have better effects.

2. Can provide surround sound effect

Some Soundbars contain digital processing circuits, which can provide virtual surround sound effects and expand the range of the sound field. And some are configured through the unit to emit sound in different directions in the space, and provide surround sound effect through the reflection of the wall.

3. Simple setting, no space occupation

If the purpose is to hear surround sound, compared with the construction of traditional home theaters, Soundbar can be said to be a super simple design that does not take up much space.

4. The price is close to the people and easy to afford

Compared with the construction of a home theater, the soundbar investment is extremely cost-effective, even for freshmen and even students who are new to society.

The Design Trend of the New Generation Soundbar

However, Soundbar is not a new product launched in the past few years. I remember that when I entered the audio industry more than ten years ago, there were already Soundbar products on the market. At that time, we knew the above-mentioned benefits. Why are almost all audio sales now While declining, Soundbar can grow against the trend and become the most popular and best-selling product among global consumers in recent years? The reasons must not be limited to the above. According to our observation, the new-generation Soundbar has the following design trends, which have improved its product advantages and created a good sales performance.

Evolving Virtual Surround Technology

The surround sound effect presented by the Soundbar is based on the home theater multi-channel technology from Dolby and DTS, so the Soundbar will be able to present better effects with the advancement of Dolby or DTS sound effect specifications. For example, the early Soundbar can correspond to 5.1 and present 5.1 sound effects. In recent years, with the introduction of "object-oriented" sound effects such as Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, as well as the advancement of new-generation Dolby and DTS sound effect processing technologies, the Soundbar The effect is brought to a higher level, and consumers will be more moved than ever after experiencing it.

The improvement of Dolby or DTS audio effects is not limited to the traditional disc format, and the network streaming part has also grown rapidly in recent years due to technological advancement. For example, many of the HDMI output terminals of the Soundbar now support ARC or eARC audio return function, because through the HDMI interface, its transmission capability is far superior to the traditional optical fiber or digital coaxial interface, and can transmit higher-standard sound effects. Let the Soundbar have more room to play.

For example, some videos on Netflix already provide Dolby Atmos sound effects. Without a Soundbar, many TV speakers cannot present this high-standard sound effect. After matching the Soundbar, the sound effect can be transmitted to the Soundbar for decoding through the eARC function, and then through technologies such as Dolby Atmos Height Virtualizer (or the surround technology developed by the manufacturer), the audience can hear the sound with width and height. 3D stereo sound effect, such sensory enjoyment is unprecedented.

Pairing with subwoofer has almost become the norm

Because the Soundbar is flat and thin, most of them cannot be equipped with large-sized monomers, resulting in relatively weak low-frequency output. Therefore, when we evaluated the Soundbar earlier, we would say that it is suitable for consumers who "like light tastes", otherwise it is recommended to pair it with an active one. Type subwoofer, low frequency performance is the weakness of the past Soundbar sound quality.

For this reason, a high percentage of Soundbars launched in recent years directly contain a subwoofer, which saves consumers the trouble of matching subwoofers. And the connection between such a subwoofer and the Soundbar has already been set up, and consumers only need to follow the instructions. What's more, many built-in subwoofers have a wireless design, which can be automatically paired with the Soundbar. As long as they are turned on, the Soundbar and the subwoofer will automatically recognize and connect automatically, and consumers don't have to do it at all.

And this "Soundbar+subwoofer" combination has a more complete low-frequency effect, unlike the early Soundbar that sounded "empty at the bottom plate". When watching movies, it not only has surround sound effects, but also has a strong low-frequency boost. The effect is similar to that of TV speakers. Compared with the huge difference, consumers' satisfaction after hearing it has greatly increased, and the probability of transaction has naturally increased.

Can be combined with APP

With network streaming playback function

Another major development of the new-generation Soundbar is that it incorporates many wireless functions, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Regardless of which one, users can use the Soundbar to play mobile phone audio, which opens a door for the Soundbar's playback capability, which is equivalent to being able to integrate with network streaming. For example, you can play streaming music on QQ Music and Netease Cloud Music through your mobile phone, and you can also play files on your mobile phone.

Or through Wi-Fi, the Soundbar can play music from other devices in the local area network (such as NAS, PC or other servers). For this reason, some manufacturers will also develop exclusive apps to expand the use of the control feel, so that the use of the Soundbar is more flexible, and it is more in line with the habitual lifestyle of modern consumers.

How to use the new generation Soundbar?

So how to use these new-generation Soundbar products? I personally think that with the different design ideas of manufacturers, Soundbar can be roughly divided into the following three types, with different usage and effects. It is best to plan before adopting:

1. The 2ch design mainly replaces the sound effect of TV speakers: that is, its sound generation method is still two-channel type, and it does not pursue the presentation of surround sound effect. At first glance, it seems that the function is more positive, but in fact, it may be cheaper and easier to operate. It is also because of the simple structure that the sound quality may be good (less interference). If you only have such a demand, you may wish to use such a product instead of pursuing other designs.

2. Provide "virtual" multi-channel surround sound effects: This kind of Soundbar uses digital calculations to add ingredients to the signal so that you can hear virtual surround sound effects. Their characteristic is that the effect can be achieved without using a lot of monomers, and it is possible that the monomers are all facing the front.

The advantage of this design is that it is not affected by the space environment. No matter where it is installed, as long as the seat is not too far from the speaker, you can feel the effect. Furthermore, their shape can be made relatively flat (because the single body does not need to be very large), so it may be suitable for wall hanging, and it can have a good match with flat-screen TVs. Their disadvantage is that because of the digital calculation process, the sound texture may be affected, and it may sound thin or unnatural.

Can provide "solid" multi-channel surround sound

This kind of Soundbar will be equipped with a large number of units, which emit sound in different directions of the space, and obtain a solid surround sound effect by reflecting off the wall.

Their advantage is that, since there are actual monomers that emit sound in different directions, they can present a very wide sound stage. Furthermore, most of the process does not have much virtual surround computing processing, and the sound quality can be maintained better. The disadvantage is that it is very affected by the surrounding space. If it can be used in a shoebox-shaped space with left and right symmetry, and the walls have high reflection coefficients (such as cement solid walls), the effect will be the best. If it is in an environment with left-right asymmetry, abnormal zero space or strong sound absorption on the wall (such as thick curtains), the effect will be discounted.

Of course, the above is just an overview. The actual situation still depends on the product design. The point is, it is recommended that you understand the design direction of the product and the way it produces effects before adopting it. Almost every Soundbar has a different situation. , A correct understanding can find a suitable product. Modern Soundbars are almost always equipped with subwoofers. You must also pay attention to the placement of subwoofers, which will have a great impact on the sound quality. According to our evaluation experience, the subwoofer of many Soundbars is mainly based on the sense of volume and lacks layers. If you stuff it in the corner at will, you may hear a relatively muddy sound. If this is the case, it is recommended to use the subwoofer Pull away from the corner, try different positions, or adjust the sound pressure ratio between the subwoofer and the Soundbar to find a balance between low-frequency energy and low-frequency lines.

Finally, for many Soundbars to be mounted on the wall, the connection terminal area on the back panel will be made very narrow. It is likely that the terminal head of the wire must be "turned" when connecting, so please use a thinner signal cable. We have several times. With such experience, I was eager to use a relatively high-end HDMI cable to match it, but the result was not easy to use. Please pay attention to the small details of this part.