Soundbar

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A soundbar is an alternative to the conventional surround sound system in that it imitates the surround sound with a single loudspeaker box, in the form of a bar with a rectangular cross-section, using acoustic and electronic effects. It is usually sold with a separate subwoofer , as the shape of the soundbar means that there is not enough volume for deep bass .

Soundbar Philips HTS9140

development

The development of today's soundbars has its origins in the so-called "LCR soundbars". LCR is derived from the terms “Left”, “Center” and “Right”, as in this original version three different speaker sections were already processed in the form of a long bar, thus creating a spatial effect. However, LCR soundbars are passive speakers and therefore require a separate amplifier.

In 1998 one of the first multi-channel soundbar systems was brought onto the market, the "Voice of the Digital Theater" or "ADA106" from the manufacturer Altec Lansing . With it you got a two-part system, consisting of a soundbar and subwoofer. Since then, soundbars have adapted to technical developments: wireless connection between soundbar and subwoofer, connection via Bluetooth or near field communication with smartphone or tablet, and automatic adjustment of the sound field using integrated microphones have been part of the development in recent years.

Types

Soundbar

The classic soundbar is an elongated, lying loudspeaker unit with a very small construction depth, so that it can easily be placed below or above a flat screen TV standing on a foot or hanging on the wall. Due to the small volume of the housing, most soundbar sets contain an external subwoofer in order to generate sufficient bass sound. Nowadays, the subwoofer is often wirelessly connected to the soundbar via Bluetooth , but there are also wired solutions.

Soundplate

Nine soundplates from different providers

Soundplates (also "soundbases", "sounddecks") form a sub-category of soundbars and have a significantly greater depth. This is due to the fact that the subwoofers are already integrated in the housing in the form of so-called “down-firing basses”. The larger contact surface also enables the flat screen TV to be positioned directly on the housing. Unlike soundbars, soundplates cannot be installed on the wall.

scope of application

Soundbars represent a simple alternative to conventional surround systems. The devices can significantly improve the sound of televisions by connecting them via the HDMI interface or via a digital optical connection with a fiber optic cable ( TOSLINK ). However, they cannot provide real surround sound as there are no active sound sources next to or behind the listener. In addition, as in stereophony , a minimum basic width should not be fallen below for natural reproduction , which is not possible due to the given device dimensions.

One advantage lies above all in the space savings and the more user-friendly installation, since the single-speaker solution eliminates the need to lay meter-long cables to the front, rear and center speakers. In addition, soundbars are roughly the same length as flat-screen televisions and are therefore not very noticeable.

The sound can also be played from smartphones or tablet PCs via the Bluetooth interface . Many playback devices have a USB input to which USB mass storage devices can be connected for playback of audio files . There are also increasing numbers of playback devices that are equipped with a WLAN interface that allows the playback of audio streams from a sound server .

Working principle

A soundbar is intended to replace a home theater system by mimicking the impression of surround sound. One speaks here of virtual surround sound or virtual surround , because you are not really surrounded by speakers, but only have a single speaker in front of you. Sophisticated technical features such as Dolby Pro Logic , DTS or Virtual Dolby Surround provide the listener with a spatial soundscape that only partially comes close to that of a 5.1 or 7.1 system, which is due to the physical lack of separate loudspeaker boxes.

To create spatial depth, the stereo panorama is very widely spread due to the narrow base width . The installation close to the wall and the space behind the television are used to create comb filter effects, which also give satellite systems their spatial sound.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Stiftung Warentest: Soundbars and soundplates: Full TV sound from 250 euros. (No longer available online.) October 29, 2015, archived from the original on December 10, 2015 ; accessed on January 7, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Florian Friedrich: Advice: What do soundbars do? May 20, 2010, accessed October 3, 2014 .
  3. ↑ a b Soundbars and Soundplates: Better hearing while seeing , test.de , December 5, 2014, accessed on February 19, 2015