Need a little help upgrading sound

[little wing]

Hello all,

I have a friend who listens to Pandora via her smart TV. Needless to say the sound is not very good. I wanna get her something to upgrade her sound quality. Don't really want to spend more then $300. I was thinking some kind of Sound Bar and a subwoofer. Am I on the right track or is there another solution I should look at? Thanks for any help.

 

[Seth=L]

Hello all,

I have a friend who listens to Pandora via her smart TV. Needless to say the sound is not very good. I wanna get her something to upgrade her sound quality. Don't really want to spend more then $300. I was thinking some kind of Sound Bar and a subwoofer. Am I on the right track or is there another solution I should look at? Thanks for any help.

Soundbars aren't bad for the uninitiated, and certainly an improvement over TV speakers. Vizio seems to offer a pretty good bang for buck with their soundbars.

That said, if music is the primary focus for $109.99 plus shipping I would probably recommend a separate stereo receiver like the Yamaha R-S201 stereo receiver (assuming the television has analog audio outputs).

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrs201bl/yamaha-r-s201-natural-sound-stereo-receiver/1.html

If the television does not have analog audio outputs it more than likely will have an optical digital output or coaxial digital output then for $169.99 plus shipping you might get the Denon AVR-S500BT. It adds HDMI, 5 channel support (you can still use it as a stereo receiver), digital connections, and Bluetooth.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrs500bt/denon-avr-s500bt-5.2-channel-a/v-receiver-w/bluetooth/1.html

NOTE: I have recently I found that some of the new televisions have none of the above and rely solely on HDMI for the handling of audio from the television, in which case I would still recommend the Denon

For speakers I would go ahead and recommend the Philharmonic Affordable Accuracy Monitor for $195 plus shipping. For the money it offers impressive amounts of bass so a subwoofer would not not be necessity.

 

[little wing]

She has a flat screen, it's about 4 to 5 years old, I'm guessing. I am not sure of the inputs. I will have to ask her. Thanks for those suggestions. I would like to stay around $300 if I could..

 

[Seth=L]

She has a flat screen, it's about 4 to 5 years old, I'm guessing. I am not sure of the inputs. I will have to ask her. Thanks for those suggestions. I would like to stay around $300 if I could..

At that age range it probably has both analog and digital audio connections. In order to future proof her I would recommend trying to at least get a receiver with optical/coaxial digital inputs so if her older television breaks at least her options for a replacement television will be broader.

 

[KEW]

Hello all,

I have a friend who listens to Pandora via her smart TV. Needless to say the sound is not very good. I wanna get her something to upgrade her sound quality. Don't really want to spend more then $300. I was thinking some kind of Sound Bar and a subwoofer. Am I on the right track or is there another solution I should look at? Thanks for any help.

How big is the room?
Living room or bedroom office?
Does everything stream from smart tv or are there other sources?

It won't be ideal, but $300 goes pretty far in a smaller room. In a large room, the volume may not go as loud as you would ideally like before distortion is a factor.

 

[herbu]

Does she have Pandora on her phone? Maybe you don't have to take the audio from her TV. You can find a receiver or soundbar w/ bluetooth or airplay that will pair wirelessly with her phone. In our bedroom we have a $200 Denon soundbar connected to the TV. Bluetooth pairing w/ a phone for music. Not great, but head and shoulders above the TV speakers.

 

[little wing]

How big is the room?
Living room or bedroom office?
Does everything stream from smart tv or are there other sources?

It won't be ideal, but $300 goes pretty far in a smaller room. In a large room, the volume may not go as loud as you would ideally like before distortion is a factor.

It is a living room, I'm guessing about the measurements, but I'd say from the front wall (where the TV is) to the back wall (where the sofa is) is about 15 to 18 feet. It's fairly long as far as width (20 to 25 feet) She streams from her sattilite provider. She doesn't really play music that loud.
Thanks KEW

 

[little wing]

Does she have Pandora on her phone? Maybe you don't have to take the audio from her TV. You can find a receiver or soundbar w/ bluetooth or airplay that will pair wirelessly with her phone. In our bedroom we have a $200 Denon soundbar connected to the TV. Bluetooth pairing w/ a phone for music. Not great, but head and shoulders above the TV speakers.

She streams from satellite provider, I'm not sure if she uses her phone or not, I am thinking not. $200 Denon soundbar huh? That's an idea. I would love to get her a receiver and a couple of bookshelf speakers, but just can't swing it right now. Thanks much for the ideas!

 

[KEW]

I would love to get her a receiver and a couple of bookshelf speakers, but just can't swing it right now.

You can get a pair of AA Monitors (which offer amazing bass for a good full range speaker) for $195 (plus $20-25 shipping to PA).
http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html
I recently compared them to the ELAC B5 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/elac-b5-vs-philharmonic-affordable-accuracy-new-monitor.97171/
And against the Wavecrest HVL-1 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/new-2015-affordable-accuracy-speakers-by-dennis-murphy.95661/#post-1092558

Tell us where you live and we can take a look at Craigslist for you. It is not uncommon to get a nice used mid-level receiver for $60 to 80. Many people consider a 5-10 year old AVR obsolete, but for your purposes, a 15 year old AVR would work great! I picked up a Denon AVR2308 for $70 last year.
I think you can set her up with amazing sound for $300!

 

[KEW]

Does she have Pandora on her phone? Maybe you don't have to take the audio from her TV. You can find a receiver or soundbar w/ bluetooth or airplay that will pair wirelessly with her phone. In our bedroom we have a $200 Denon soundbar connected to the TV. Bluetooth pairing w/ a phone for music. Not great, but head and shoulders above the TV speakers.

Is there a reason not to use the TV outputs. I got good quality feeding some pro audio speakers from a TV on a system I set up. You just have to make sure "virtual surround sound" and that type of stuff is turned off!

 

[little wing]

Is there a reason not to use the TV outputs. I got good quality feeding some pro audio speakers from a TV on a system I set up. You just have to make sure "virtual surround sound" and that type of stuff is turned off!

What TV output would you use? Are you saying output audio signal directly from TV to a pair of speakers? What type of speakers? I am not familiar with this type of set up. I need to have solution in place 2 weeks from now when I will be visiting her and setting this up.
Thanks much.

 

[little wing]

This is her TV

 

[KEW]

What TV output would you use? Are you saying output audio signal directly from TV to a pair of speakers? What type of speakers? I am not familiar with this type of set up. I need to have solution in place 2 weeks from now when I will be visiting her and setting this up.
Thanks much.

No. I'm talking using whatever output you would for a soundbar and feeding it to a receiver instead.
Need to know what outputs are on the TV. If you can read the model number off the back (or manual) we can look it up. But you can also see what connections are labeled as outputs.

 

[KEW]

Ah, just caught on that you are not there to see tv.
When did she buy the tv?
Between that and knowing it is a Samsung smart tv, we can make some safe assumptions.
But a smart tv is certAinly made with the prospect of feeding audio to a receiver in mind.

 

[KEW]

It looks like all Samsung tv's have a minimum of one analog output. However it is not clear if they are RCA or 3.5mm connections.
Analog allows the most universal connection for receivers.

You haven't given feedback on getting receiver via Craigslist and AA monitors. Dennis builds to order, so best to check lead time. I think you are fine, but if you have hesitation, let us know so we can reassure you, or look for another solution.

You can also go pro audio speakers, but I don't know of any in you budget that are full range. I installed a sub in the setup I did. It was for a bedroom and often the listening position (sitting at the foot of bed) was within 3' of speakers, which is too close to use the kind of speaker that can fill a living room. (The tweeter and woofer are too far apart to be so close. The speaker I used had a smaller woofer.)

 

[little wing]

Ah, just caught on that you are not there to see tv.
When did she buy the tv?
Between that and knowing it is a Samsung smart tv, we can make some safe assumptions.
But a smart tv is certAinly made with the prospect of feeding audio to a receiver in mind.

You are correct, I'm not there. I know for sure there is an optical out though. Is that enough info or should i ask her if there are analog audio outs?

 

[herbu]

Is there a reason not to use the TV outputs.

No... no good reason in my mind. Your idea of 2x AA speakers and an inexpensive AVR will give BY FAR the best audio for both TV and music. And if the TV has a suitable output for a soundbar, the same output can be used for the AVR.

little wing, you should listen to KEW. Go on the philharmonicaudio.com website NOW, and send Dennis a note about availability. I don't think anybody here will poo poo the sound quality of a system like that for the money. But 2 weeks may or may not be doable. The sooner you start, the better.

 

[KEW]

You are correct, I'm not there. I know for sure there is an optical out though. Is that enough info or should i ask her if there are analog audio outs?

Perfect.
That means you need an AVR with a TosLink input, which is not difficult to find.

 

[Mark of Cenla]

I suggest an inexpensive Sherwood receiver and a pair of Sony Core Bookshelf speakers. That should be doable for under $300. Peace and goodwill.

 

[Seth=L]

@little wing, Sorry. He have a lot of trouble recommending sound bars because they are so inferior to even a simple stereo. Believe me, I wish sound bars worked the miracle that they want you to believe they do, but they just don't.

If you don't want to push the envelope on the budget and want to avoid used audio equipment that is perfectly understandable.

I'll stand by what I said earlier in this thread, Vizio soundbars seem to offer a good value for their price. The also offer optical digital inputs so connecting them to the television should be a breeze. Good luck.