Bellying-Up To The Sound Bar

I’ve had a surround sound system in my home for well over a decade. It was, and still is, a pretty good setup. It has a Dolby Stereo amplifier with six speakers plus a subwoofer. Even after over ten years and three different TV’s, it still sounds good. There are a few problems though. First, it was set-up in my basement family room for a family that has left the nest. Which brings us to point number two; the basement is no longer the go-to place for my wife's and my screen-viewing. We now spend the bulk of our time in another room with a 4K TV. Finally, the system comes in seven separate, rather bulky pieces. If I ever move, I’ll need to transport the darn thing and someone with a lot more installation skills than me will have to reinstall it – wires and all.

Which brings us to the TV that we watch most often. While it's hooked-up to an amplifier with two speakers, that equipment was around when "The Dark Side Of The Moon” album was still available on vinyl and 8-track tape. That's why I have started shopping for a soundbar.

Recently, there have finally been some steps forward in sound that are meaningful. But first, a bit of history. Stereo was actually invented in 1934 but it didn't make it to records until 1957 when so-called "audiophiles” listened to mostly classical music on boutique record labels. Thanks to psychedelic Rock (and the substances that went with that music) the major labels finally caught-on. By the end of 1968, monaural LPs were discontinued while at the same time, many a set of headphones were being sold.

Stereo pretty much ruled the audio world through the 70’s. There was an attempt to market a four-speaker system called "Quadraphonic” in the early to mid-70’s. However, you needed to purchase a quadraphonic receiver, four matched speakers and recordings in quadraphonic sound. So, it fell on deaf ears and headed to the scrapheap of tech history. Things pretty much stayed that way in home audio until 1982 when surround sound was introduced. As TV’s became larger and less expensive, more and more people installed so-called home theaters with surround sound. And while speakers and audio technology in general kept improving, until recently, Dolby Stereo surround sound was the standard for home sound.

In the meantime, televisions kept getting larger and thinner with no room for, and scant interest in, TV sound from manufacturers. Good, reasonably priced sound quality had always been a major missing link in television audio. Then along came the soundbar. In 1998, Altec Lansing introduced the first one. By the 2010s, most TV makers were producing soundbars and as their prices went down, sound quality was going up. You could even buy a soundbar with two extra speakers and a subwoofer for surround sound with enhanced bass, all wirelessly, using Dolby Stereo technology.

While all this was going on at home, if you visited a movie theater (remember them?), you probably experienced the next generation of sound - Dolby Atmos. It’s a relatively new incarnation of sound technology that is revolutionizing the way we consume and enjoy movies and music. Dolby Atmos is being heralded as the replacement for stereo that we’ve all been waiting for. Now I’m not going to get technical, but those in-the-know say that Dolby Atmos has a much "richer” audio experience than stereo. It can make you feel like you’re literally taking part in the movie you are watching or the music to which you are listening. But why should movie theaters get to have all that good sound? Enter the Dolby Atmos soundbar.

As of this writing, you can purchase soundbars in either stereo or Dolby Atmos. Some have extra wireless speakers and a subwoofer for those who want surround sound and are all about the bass. However, not all soundbars are created equal. Prices for a Dolby Atmos soundbar can run as high as $1,500. Or you can buy a stereo soundbar for as low as $99. There's a lot of choices between those prices. That's why it's important to do research and ask yourself some questions before you buy one such as: What is your budget? Do I need Dolby Atmos or is Dolby Stereo good enough? Is my room equipped to handle four speakers for surround sound or is a front-facing unit enough? Do I have neighbors who tend to call the cops when my subwoofer is blasting during a T-Rex attack in Jurassic Park?"

As I said, I'm in the market for a new soundbar to replace my "Dark Side of the Moon” system. I'm going with Dolby Atmos because its prices have been dropping. You can purchase that $99 stereo soundbar at Walmart, but you can now find Dolby Atmos soundbars for around $500 including a subwoofer and I don't share any walls. My thought is that I’d rather buy a good, but not great version of new technology than a less expensive model with older technology. But that’s me. You do what you can afford and what makes the most sense for the room in which you are experiencing your sight and sound. I’m just not willing to wait another sixty years for the next generation of sound. I don’t have that kind of time!

However, since I retired from the radio business, I do have the time to do the research on Television, Cellular and Internet costs and trends. That’s why I started Lower Tech Bills. Which is another reason why I am going with Dolby Atmos. I’ve been able to save households from hundreds to even thousands of dollars on those costs with some ongoing. I also help people make good decisions on the changing landscape in these businesses. For a free look at your bills or to answer questions, email hmwellsradio@gmail.com or visit lowertechbills.com because you may not have the time to do all the research, but I do.