Why do people complain about sound on LCD TVs?

[DaveC426913]

Yes, I do have knowledge upon which it is based.

Cool. (I assumed you did, but I had to ask. )

 

[HeLiXe]

Oh, for the love of... don't talk to an audiophile about Bose.

Bose, while certainly better than common retail Sony, Yamaha, and KLH speakers, are basically a triumph of marketing over objective sound judgement. I have owned my share of Bose equipment for sure (all packed away or sold off now), but my in-ear monitors are Ultimate Ears, my iPod dock is Athena, my receiver is a Yamaha Aventage, my speakers are Paradigm, and my subwoofer is a Velodyne. My center channel speaker alone cost more than my current HDTV.

The motto of the story...never mention Bose to a rich scientific male audiophile who has pet cats -_-

 

[DoggerDan]

Well, sure... but in my OP I mentioned that it's an LED TV. One of the defining characteristics is the lack of depth. I can't imagine there's a single LED-lit TV on the market (regardless of cost) that sounds better than a $20 set of computer speakers.

My TV speakers remain muted. I listen to the sound of all programming (DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix, Hulu, etc.) as played through my 6.1 stereo.

Further, they might be comparing it to an old tube TV...

My old tube TV is a flat-screen Sony. The colors are definitely better than my hi-res LCD computer, although the latter wins in terms of resolution.

Oh, for the love of... don't talk to an audiophile about Bose.

Bose, while certainly better than common retail Sony, Yamaha, and KLH speakers, are basically a triumph of marketing over objective sound judgement. I have owned my share of Bose equipment for sure (all packed away or sold off now), but my in-ear monitors are Ultimate Ears, my iPod dock is Athena, my receiver is a Yamaha Aventage, my speakers are Paradigm, and my subwoofer is a Velodyne. My center channel speaker alone cost more than my current HDTV.

Congrats on your Yamaha purchase! My receiver is Yamaha, as well. Excellent sound. I bought 3 pair of discounted Boston Acoustics on a whim for several hundred dollars, and they're outstanding in my 6.1 system. I have a Yamaha subwoofer.

DISCLAIMER: I do not have absurdly expensive cables or any nonsense like that. I've safely avoided the marketing hype that comes with idiot-audiophiles. I use regular 14-gauge wiring. I'd use lamp cord if it weren't so damned ugly.

]

Smart man.

 

[wuliheron]

Cool. (I assumed you did, but I had to ask. )

I'm a big PC video game fan and worked in electronics. Its all about fooling the human eye to get the best bang-for-your-buck and promote immersion. Unfortunately its also like the magician's show where the manufacturers would rather shout "abracadabra" then reveal how the trick is really done. Not that most people really want to know anyway...

 

[DaveC426913]

I'm a big PC video game fan and worked in electronics. Its all about fooling the human eye to get the best bang-for-your-buck and promote immersion. Unfortunately its also like the magician's show where the manufacturers would rather shout "abracadabra" then reveal how the trick is really done. Not that most people really want to know anyway...

The issue I have is the doubt that big screen productions cater to this. I can certainly see video game productions doing so since TV is their primary target.

 

[russ_watters]

Meh, on one level I can sympathize with the idea that 'I paid $800 for a TV, so it should have good sound', but yeah, you should understand what you are buying/getting.

My 42" in my living room has passable sound and I use it as-is for many things, but obviously for a movie I must have my surround sound. My 23" in my bedroom (is too small...) has absolutely terrible sound, so I bought a mid-level set of computer speakers with a subwoofer. This is nice because it is seamless: I can just leave them plugged-in and on and the TV will control the volume.

My biggest sound quality complaint is actually about broadcast quality: Particularly for sporting events, the sound mixing seems optimized for surround sound in a way that makes stereo sound just awful. You often get a hollow/echo-y sound, with the announcers drowned-out by crowd noise using the in-TV speakers.

My bigger complaint is with remotes, but that's a whole 'nother issue. Hopefully, the move to network everything will enable a switch to IP/Wifi based remotes that actually know what the TV is doing instead of guessing/hoping it is doing what it is supposed to.

...and I do have an irate rant I need to post in our product claims forum, regarding air purifiers...

 

[wuliheron]

The issue I have is the doubt that big screen productions cater to this. I can certainly see video game productions doing so since TV is their primary target.

The big screen just isn't as big as it used to be. The drive in theaters are gone. Other theater ticket sales have remained steady, but DVD, cable, satellite, and internet streaming sales have increased and long ago surpassed theater sales. Its not a question of primary markets, but of expanding markets and catering to both theaters and TVs.

 

[FlexGunship]

The motto of the story...never mention Bose to a rich scientific male audiophile who has pet cats -_-

Hey. Who you callin' rich?

(I'm reminded of the parable of the man with a Ferrari. He drove by a husband and a wife. The wife says, "wow, he must be really rich." To which the husband responds, "not after buying that car.")

My TV speakers remain muted. I listen to the sound of all programming (DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix, Hulu, etc.) as played through my 6.1 stereo.

Smart man.

I don't think I've ever tried to use the speakers on my current LCD. This is the TV I have in the living room (bought it almost 5 years ago) http://www.directtvs.co.uk/Hyundai_Vvuon_Q321_32_Inch_HD_Ready_Freeview_LCD_Television_Q321/version.asp" . It even has detachable speakers, so detached they became!