In some scenarios placing soundbars in their ideal location can be quite difficult, not everyone has enough space to do so. This usually happens if you have a pretty large soundbar or a short TV. If this is the case, the idea of putting the soundbar behind the TV may not sound so crazy. Bad soundbar placement generally equals poor sounding audio.
The best thing you should practice before buying a soundbar is to consider its placement options, this means you can narrow down your options to the best soundbars for you. Doing this means you won’t run into issues with not having enough space. In general, the most common options with placing a soundbar is above, and below the TV.
Answer: You may have reasons for placing your soundbar behind your TV, maybe to hide it or because you don’t have enough space. Placing your soundbar behind your TV is ultimately a bad idea, this results in poor audio quality and it makes controlling it via remote difficult.
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It’s A Pretty Bad Idea
When setting up an entertainment setup, the most important thing you should consider is how you can maximize the levels of immersion. Placing your soundbar goes against this philosophy as it results in poorer sound quality, this is mainly due to the audio being blocked.
Secondly, your entertainment system should be easy to use, placing your soundbar behind your TV will essentially block many possibilities of you controlling it via remote. This reduces the user-friendliness of your entertainment setup which is a big no-no.
We can understand why someone may want to place their soundbar behind the TV, but this is possibly the worst placement option possible. It can be seen as a waste of money as you won’t get the best experience from your soundbar.
The obvious reason why someone may want to place their soundbar behind the TV is that their TV stand may leave no room for it. This is usually the case if you have a pretty large TV stand and a small TV stand/console.
Also, there are inherent risks with putting your soundbar behind your TV, it can cause your soundbar to fall which can potentially damage it. When it’s producing sound, naturally it will move backward very slightly increasing the risk of it falling.
Where Should Soundbars Go?
The most accepted place for a soundbar would be at the front of the TV placed on the TV stand, sometimes moving your television back a bit if there’s enough room can open up some space for your soundbar. However, there are more placement options such as above the TV and below it.
When considering soundbar placement, you need to consider the placement of the TV, and the typical seating area, this is so you can get the best immersive experience possible. If you sit pretty low, then place the soundbar below the TV.
Reasons why the soundbar would go below the TV, is when the TV is mounted pretty high, and you have low vouchers or prefer to watch TV on the floor. In this scenario, placing the soundbar below the TV is ideal.
The general rule of thumb is to have the soundbar at ear level, so the placement largely depends on where you sit. So options such as placing the soundbar on the floor is also a pretty bad idea, always placed on the TV stand if possible.
Another really bad soundbar placement is placing it behind the couch, this will have similar effects to placing it behind the TV as it can obstruct sound. Also, placing it behind the sound is generally less immersive, the soundbar audio is meant to be perceived from the front.
Can Soundbars Go Above The TV?
Placing the soundbar above the TV can be a decent idea if your TV is positioned quite low and you have fairly high seated chairs. Choosing to place the soundbar above the TV can also be because your TV console is too small or your TV stand is too big.
In terms of immenseness, this can be an issue if the soundbar is placed too high, this is because the optimal positioning of the soundbar is to have it at ear level. As long as you have high couches, this shouldn’t be a massive issue.
Placing the soundbar above the TV usually requires extra equipment such as a soundbar bracket, this will securely place the soundbar above the television. Usually, they’re quite affordable costing under $50, but not everyone will want more expenses.
Also Read: Soundbar Above Or Below TV
Are Soundbars Better Than Surround-Sound?
Firstly, soundbars are definitely cheaper than surround-sound setups, so they easily win when it comes to price. Also, vastly simpler when it comes to setting up as they don’t require multiple speakers to replicate the surround-sound effect.
The fact that soundbars are easier to set up means you can enjoy your entertainment setup far quicker. Since soundbars are cheaper, easier and smaller, it makes them more ideal for smaller rooms.
Now that we’ve got the soundbar benefits out of the way, surround sound setups are far more immersive when it comes to home theaters, also they’re better for larger rooms for example the 7.1 setup is great for rooms larger than 350sqft.
Also, the levels of immersion can really be appreciated if you’re serious about setting surround sound up, it can easily emulate a genuine theater experience which is far superior to soundbars.
Surround-sound can also enhance other areas of your life such as increasing the value of your home if implemented with style and aesthetics. Soundbars will never increase the value of your home like a surround sound & home theater setup would.
Setting up surround sound can be quite intensive as it requires a lot of trial and error to find the optimal setup. The setup process can take hours or even days of tuning to find the best results possible. This includes finding the optimal subwoofer placement and seating placement.
Also Read: Best Soundbar For LG C1
Also Read: Best Soundbar For LG CX
Verdict
The verdict is that soundbars have specific placement rules that you should follow for the best results. Soundbars should never go behind the TV as this can block audio as well as block your remote from controlling it.
The general rule of thumb is to keep the soundbar at ear level for the best results, when it’s placed too high or too low, the audio quality can be severely diminished.
