TV Audio Upgrade Help

[Vivek Batra]

Hi Guys

Need your help to find out a soundbar replacement.

I've been using a Sony HT-ST5000 soundbar for the past 7–8 years, but it's now become unreliable—it sometimes outputs sound, sometimes not. Sony no longer has spare parts available to repair it. As expected, the built-in speakers on my LED TV sound terrible, especially for dialogue, and I can't tolerate the poor audio quality.

While designing my TV wall (photo attached), I had originally planned for a 65-inch TV flanked by in-wall LCR speakers and possibly a small subwoofer. At the moment, I'm using a 55-inch TV, but the wall has ample space for a 65-inch upgrade with speakers on either side.

However, I recently discovered that the cavity behind the TV wall is only 2 inches deep, which may not be sufficient for typical in-wall speakers, typically 4 inches depth required


I'm not an avid movie watcher—most of my usage is YouTube and OTT content. My goal is to significantly improve sound quality, especially dialogue clarity, without spending too much. I'm open to installing an AVR and three speakers (LCR) if it fits the budget.

Room : Bedroom

Room Size: 18 x14 x 9.5 Feet

Budget: Under ₹1,00,000

Priority: Clear sound, especially dialogues

Use: YouTube, OTT content

Concern: TV wall cavity is too shallow for in-wall speakers

What are my best options to get better audio than the TV’s built-in speakers given these limitations?

Thanks.

Regards
Vivek

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[square_wave]

If that is your room, there are a number of things you can do to improve the sound with current setup.

1. Put that subwoofer on the floor. That cabinet upon which the sub is currently sitting will vibrate and will create resonances and make the bass muddy and that will affect the upper frequencies too.

2. Raise and isolate that soundbar from the cabinet using some device from iso acoustics.

Aperta Series

Discover the Aperta Series speaker isolation stands, designed to manage the energy of the speaker and reduce vibrations resonating through the supporting surface to eliminate dissonant sounds in the listening area or joining rooms.

isoacoustics.com

Just buy a pair of appropriate ones that can raise and isolate and aim the bar to your ears.

Doing these two things will change the sound substantially.

The other option is to change the full setup.

Get a basic avr from the likes of marantz slim series and get a pair of wall mountable book shelf speakers and a sub woofer that should be placed on the floor.
- Mount the speakers by the side of the TV. Mount them onto the wall after making approproate holes through the cabinet into the concrete wall. They should be firmly mounted to the wall. Try and get front ported speakers to reduce port issues since the speakers will be relatively near to the wall as compared to a stand mounted ideal setup. There are also on-wall speakers that will just probably need 2 sturdy nails to fix. You can try those too. They will be slightly lower in performance than a pair of nice bookshelf speakers on wall mounted brackets. But the onwall ones are visually more appealing.

https://dougbradyhifi.com/collections/on-wall-speakers?srsltid=AfmBOopcl8k2P5N3nYsRNHkVMawUdD-N_SokqxJ2mEwVAo5okdVQy8_B

- Subwoofer at the corner of the room firmly on the floor with some breathing space around it and the wall.
- Get a centre channel speaker if you really need it but mount it the same way as the other 2 speakers. Firmly on the wall with sturdy brackets unless they are the onwall type.

 

[Vivek Batra]

If that is your room, there are a number of things you can do to improve the sound with current setup.

1. Put that subwoofer on the floor. That cabinet upon which the sub is currently sitting will vibrate and will create resonances and make the bass muddy and that will affect the upper frequencies too.

2. Raise and isolate that soundbar from the cabinet using some device from iso acoustics.

Aperta Series

Discover the Aperta Series speaker isolation stands, designed to manage the energy of the speaker and reduce vibrations resonating through the supporting surface to eliminate dissonant sounds in the listening area or joining rooms.

isoacoustics.com

Just buy a pair of appropriate ones that can raise and isolate and aim the bar to your ears.

Doing these two things will change the sound substantially.

The other option is to change the full setup.

Get a basic avr from the likes of marantz slim series and get a pair of wall mountable book shelf speakers and a sub woofer that should be placed on the floor.
- Mount the speakers by the side of the TV. Mount them onto the wall after making approproate holes through the cabinet into the concrete wall. They should be firmly mounted to the wall. Try and get front ported speakers to reduce port issues since the speakers will be relatively near to the wall as compared to a stand mounted ideal setup. There are also on-wall speakers that will just probably need 2 sturdy nails to fix. You can try those too. They will be slightly lower in performance than a pair of nice bookshelf speakers on wall mounted brackets. But the onwall ones are visually more appealing.

https://dougbradyhifi.com/collections/on-wall-speakers?srsltid=AfmBOopcl8k2P5N3nYsRNHkVMawUdD-N_SokqxJ2mEwVAo5okdVQy8_B

- Subwoofer at the corner of the room firmly on the floor with some breathing space around it and the wall.
- Get a centre channel speaker if you really need it but mount it the same way as the other 2 speakers. Firmly on the wall with sturdy brackets unless they are the onwall type.

Hi @square_wave

Thanks for taking out time and writing a detailed answer. Well current setup is defunct so no point in improving that. Will explore the on wall speakers and a decent AVR to go with. But your points regarding taking sub out of the cabinet might help if i go with it in the first phase, that I will surely try.

Thanks
Vivek