Sound Advice: Speaker solutions for low-profile TVs
Published in Entertainment News
Q. I have an LG C1 65-inch OLED television and have been very happy with it. I have used an older Bose 321 system for movies and am ready to upgrade to a sound system that is controlled by the TV's remote. I'm looking for a soundbar, but am limited by the very low profile of the set. I appreciate any suggestions you may have.
—G.P., Milwaukee
A. Your television does indeed have a very low profile, with about 2 inches between the bottom of the television and the furniture it is placed on. I will recommend some low-profile soundbars, and then suggest two out-of-the-box, or shall we say off-of-the-furniture solutions you may not have considered.
To control the soundbar with your television remote you need the soundbar to have an HDMI-ARC connection, which is connected to the matching HDMI-ARC port on the television. You then go to the television's setup menus and turn on HDMI-CEC. This will link the soundbar to the television, so it will turn on the soundbar when you turn on the TV and control the volume as well. You will still need the soundbar's remote to adjust specialized settings, but for typical watching your TV remote will be all you need 99.99% of the time.
The very popular ZVOX AV855 soundbar would fit under your television. It is $369.99. Many LG soundbars will fit as well, given they are designed to fit under LG TVs. Low-profile LG soundbars range from $249.99 for a basic model to $1,699.99 for the S95AR soundbar system, which includes Dolby Atmos and wireless surround speakers. The S95AR works with any TV but was designed with LG OLED TVs in mind.
The low-profile stand of the LG C1 stand is very stylish, but as you have seen the low height really limits your soundbar options. There are many third-party stands available that attach to the wall-mounting holes on the back of the television. These stands were developed largely to convert televisions with edge-mounted feet to a single-foot center stand, which does not require a long piece of furniture to accommodate it. They also allow you to adjust the height of the television, and often getting the TV up off the furniture a bit improves the viewing experience. In January I recounted the story of my girlfriend's father's Christmas gift, which was a 65-inch TCL Q5 QLED TV, which has edge-mounted feet. An untold part of the story is we used one of these stands so the 65-inch TV would fit on a much narrower table. (If you read this column on my website you will see pictures of the setup.) If you opt to change television stands to give yourself more clearance your soundbar options open up dramatically.
Last but not least, why not consider a solution that does not require placement under the television? One option is a pair of stereo speakers placed to the left and right of the television. For example, SVS offers the powered Prime Wireless Pro bookshelf speakers for $899.99. The speakers have an HDMI-ARC connection and are likely to have better pure sound quality than most any soundbar, even much more expensive ones. Better yet you could get the $699.99 SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase, a compact integrated amplifier with HDMI-ARC. You can use it with any good pair of stereo speakers, and the SVS Prime Bookshelf speakers for $699.98 or the amazing Ultra Evolution Bookshelf speakers for $1,199.98 would both be a great match. The Ultra Evolution speakers in particular would provide stunningly good sound for both television and music. svsound.com
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