Not specifically to the OP's question but here's another option for those that struggle with hearing and understanding speech on TV's. They are two channel so if you have two pair and hook up to two TV's you can tune to either one.

Sennheiser RS 120 Wireless TV Headphones - Crystal-Clear Sound, Lightweight, Easy Controls, 60m Range https://a.co/d/ehfAta3

TV Mounting and Soundbar Help
 

VillagesAV.com

They set up our 75" system complete with wallmount, power box and cabling for under $250 in less than an hour. Very professional and technically competent. When they finished, the TV was working with internet connection to all services, the soundbar was working and we were "ready to go". Highly recommended.

Again, a lot of wrong information. I have had many soundbars ranging in price from $200 to over $1000 and I’ve also had home theater systems in the $20,000 range with 5.2 and 7.2 speaker setups.

Most people get cheap soundbars just to get a little bit louder sound than using a tv speaker. Some people get a soundbar to take the place of a 5.1 Dolby sound system. If you spend up to a couple hundred $$$, then you are just replacing your tv speakers with the soundbar speakers.

Connections! If you are just replacing your tv speakers with the soundbar and aren’t interested in high quality sound, then you will be using a cable from your tv to the soundbar and then configuring your tv to use the external speaker. Very simple, 5 minute job. Some of these type of soundbars have remote repeaters so when you use the tv remote, the signal is grabbed by the soundbar and then repeated to the tv.

Now if you are getting the better soundbars that are creating a 5.1 or 7.1 Dolby digital home theater speaker system, then you will need a 5.1 or 7.1 home theater processor that drives the soundbar. The true home theater soundbars that compete with a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup will cost you anywhere from $500 to over $1000, which is a lot cheaper than putting in speakers all over your room. These soundbars will need to be calibrated to get all the Dolby digital effects, which will clone in your home theater amp. These type of soundbars are connected to the amp using speaker cables.

1 last thing, no matter which soundbar you are using, get a subwoofer that will hook up to the soundbar or the home theater amp/processor. Subwoofer will need to be calibrated to sound their best.

Tv set up
 

We just used Dan and he was great. Highly recommend him

Help
 

Where do you live? I can come help you. Do you need them mounted as well? I have all tools for inside drywall and outside concrete. I've helped a few people install and setup. I live in Newell village near bottom of The Villages.
Message me direct if you want help.
Mike A.

Last year was my first time ever purchasing a soundbar and I got it from Amazon for $75. It came with remote and setup instructions and I picked the optical. It's not necessarily for just louder sound but also for the background effects. I don't really blast mine.

I always share this story about when I first set mine up and didn't like the echo of the voices. Sounded like they were talking in a tunnel or a can. Then a friend told me to lower the TV remote volume and use mostly the sound bar remote volume. I said oh yeah my dad does that at his house. :duck:

Back in the day I bought a really nice Denon receiver, Klipsch floor standing speakers, subwoofer, and back speakers, etc. We had a more conventional home with enough walls to run wires down and keep things hidden, but our new Villages open concept house obviously doesn't and since it's slab on grade, I can't come from below. In our new home in TV, I don't see a non-ugly way (wires on bare LVP floor) to set it all up. I looked at trying to make them wireless, but that would still require power. You mentioned "The true home theater soundbars that compete with a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup will cost you anywhere from $500 to over $1000". I'm curious if these are true 5.1/7.1 wireless systems or are they bouncing sound to get the same effect. Make/model suggestions?

There is also a great little soundbar called ZVOX that has programs for enhanced hearing of dialogue. Easy to set up, plenty loud. Check it out on Amazon or other sites.

I just installed a Sonos ARC model. Reason being it’s very expanfdible/upgradable . Add wireless subwoofer, and/or add 2 wireless rear speakers. If you do that, you’ve got a 5.1 system. You can also add another set of wireless speakers in other room, or send audio via wireless to their portable “Move ” model speaker when out on patio/ garage etc.

They also have a wireless turntable to play old school “ records” on so you can impress your grandkids here!

Sonos app on phone controls the fine details of your system, while std TV remote takes over volume level. You can change audio balance to enhance voice in those awfully recorded made-for- movie-theatre movies who have 12 speaker tracks (not perfect but better).

There is a fair bit of dated information in some posts, but also some good info. To answer fairly, people need to know what you are trying to achieve, what the budget is, and if wiring can be involved. Those issues define the possible. That said , money is directly relevant to results.

If you are spending more than $150, and you really need to, I would insist onan eArc connection vive optical or other. The reason, with eArc, the TV will completely contorl the soundbar power, volume etc so you use 1 remote. On optical cables, you have to turn power on and change volume with a soundbar remote or physical button.

You asked for recommendations. Samsung has one of the highest rated systems out there (the upper end Samsungs), but wiring can be involved. They play great with certain new Samsung TVs though. Thier are some upper end bars, well over $1K that are great, but you end up expensive.

I belive the SONOS suggestion is a great one, although they are not perfect. My system is a SONOS Arc soundbar, a Sonos Gen 3 Sub, and two era 100s as surrounds. What I like is the communications between the soundbar and speakers is wireless, so you just need to plud each speaaker in. Sound is very good, but not quite a true stand alone system in my house. The main issue is the "open floor plan", since the Arc soundbar uses reflections for left, right, and upper channels (in Atmos). My room is not symetrical, so in my case the right side is a little weak, rest is great. If you look at Sonos, they are expensive.....but they tend to have 20% off sales fairly regularly. They also offer military/first responder discounts if you but direct from them. I belive a great way to go, but you can quickly get to $2K in a Sonos system.

Getting someone to talk you through is a great approach. Villages AV is great. As a previous poster offered, I could help discuss as well, but am out of town for another 2 weeks on a cruise.

Hopefully some of above helps

. I have. Bose 900 sound bar. 800$ And a Bose 700 bass speaker 700$. I’ve had high quality sound equipment my whole life and I find the Bose system for music high quality nice clean sound.

Correcting your second paragraph about optical cables, I control both the TV and the soundbar using one remote, which is the Xfinity remote. One button turns on the TV and the soundbar and the same remote also controls the soundbar volume. No need to use the soundbar or the TV remotes.

Also, regarding HDMI ARC or eARC for audio sound. I tried using an HDMI cable from my TV to my Pioneer receiver to get the best sound. Every time I turned on the system, it made a loud noise, and there was a delay while the audio signal was redirected to the HDMI cable. And, sometimes the connection failed altogether. So, I connected the TV audio output directly to the receiver using an optical cable, and everything worked great. I found that the sound quality with an optical cable is virtually identical to the HDMI ARC sound quality for almost every digital format, including Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, and other formats. There may be a slight difference if you are using one of the latest high end audio digital formats, which are basically unavailable in today's audio content for movies and music. I would not recommend using an HDMI (ARC or eARC) cable to deliver audio to a soundbar or a receiver.

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On your 1st point, optical is very probably not what is controlling your soundbar. Your remote is likely set up to do so via IR. While that works for many bars, some use RF to control them. I was a little strong in my words, many soundbars will require a seperate remote to operate, but if you make sure you get one compatible with existing IR remote you can map it to it. But the TV itself will not control any soundbars through optical. 100% true for volume, and a very high percentage true for power on/off. I just got rid of a soundbar with optical only, and RF remote, because it did not work with remotes like Spectrum etc.


I stand by eArc being the way to go. You get the control functionality, and the best sound available. For example, optical does not do Dolby Atmos. In most case I agree optical sounds as good, but is the dated and losing allot of ground (aka Atmos). Dolby Atmos is available through Amazon Prime, Apple, and others on a limited basis already. A simple Google search confirms this point......eArc HDMI first.

I agree. I have a $6,000 system including a 75-inch Sony TV, a Pioneer receiver, and a 5.1 Definitive Technology speaker setup. But, I do not have Dolby Atmos speakers. I tried the eARC audio connection to my receiver, but it did not work well for me, so I went back to a single optical connection. In my experience, the audio/video equipment manufacturers are way ahead of those who produce the content. Almost everything you can watch today is Dolby Digital 5.1 and non-4K video. Even much of the 4K content available is not a native signal, but an upscaled signal. But, they sell 4K and 8K TVs and receivers that have more than 10 audio output channels. Personally, I think it will be a long time before the content is available to make good use of the latest equipment.