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Many of the best improvements to TV audio come from making your space sound better rather than installing fancy speakers and soundbars. And don’t worry, you don’t have to spend big bucks on professional soundproofing.
You may be able to get a little more out of your TV speakers with things you already have, or can get quite cheaply. Your TV may also hide some menu settings that can help you improve your sound quality even further.
Also: Why TVs look bright and vibrant in stores, but look dull in your living room
To help you choose the best spot for creating clean, rich sound, I’ve put together a list of simple hacks that don’t require you to open your wallet.
soft materials and surfaces
Sound waves prefer to bounce off hard surfaces like walls, floors, and ceilings. This can lead to annoying echoes, tinny music and dialogue, and general sound distortion as sound waves move around the room and bounce off each other. Thankfully, you can easily combat this by filling the room with your favorite furniture and decor – preferably made of soft materials.
Textiles, leather and other fabrics absorb sound rather than reflect it, helping to reduce the number of sound waves bouncing around the room. Sofas, rugs, pillows and blankets can all play an important role in your home theater or living room acoustics. Even canvas art on the walls can help absorb sound.
With just a few changes to your home or apartment, you can massively improve your TV audio for free.
Soundproof Curtains and Studio Foam
Even if the problem isn’t in your living room or home theater, noise coming from outside your home can seriously affect your TV’s sound. If it has to compete with traffic or loud neighbors, even the most expensive OLED can sound terrible. soundproof curtains An affordable way to help block out at least some of the noise coming from outside.
Made from layers of heavy materials, they won’t eliminate outside noise completely, but they will at least reduce it to a more manageable level.
Also: This hidden TV feature tracks your viewing – here’s how to turn it off (no matter the brand)
sound treatment options like acoustic foam Have become much more affordable. You can pick up a pack of foam tiles or a pair of corner bass traps on sites like Amazon fairly cheaply for perfectly tailored sound while streaming, watching live sports, or console gaming, to help create strategic reflection and absorption points in your home theater.
You often don’t need any special tools for foam installation, just a can of spray adhesive, so you can acoustically improve your room in just a few minutes.
Built-in calibration settings
Many new smart TVs let you set specific sound configurations for wall mounting and use with a TV stand. Since many TVs are built with rear- and downward-firing speakers, it’s important to tell the screen which one to take priority when producing sound.
With Wall-Mount Sound Mode, the rear speakers get a volume boost for more powerful sound reflection off the wall behind the TV. In stand mode, the downward-firing speaker is boosted to reflect sound off the surface of a table or shelf.
for fire tv
- Settings > Display & Sound > AV Sync Tuning
This test calibrates the visual and audio syncing of a wall-mounted Amazon Fire TV, helping to reduce latency issues caused by reflected sound.
for Hisense
- Settings > Sound > Sound Mode Settings > Wall Mount Setup
for lg
- Settings > Sound > Additional Settings > Installation Type: Wall Mounted
for samsung
- Settings > Sound Settings > Spacefit On
Or
- Settings > Sound > Expert Settings > Auto Volume On > Optimized Mode On
If your Samsung TV features Adaptive Audio, SpaceFit activates built-in sensors that automatically monitor ambient sound and adjust settings and volume for the best listening experience.
Also: 4 Streaming Services I Swear By — And I Bill Only $40 a Month
for sony
- Settings > Display & Sound > Sound > Acoustic Auto Calibration On
If your Sony TV uses the Acoustic Surface Audio+ system, toggling on the Auto Calibration system will activate built-in sensors to monitor ambient noise levels and how well sound is reflected off surfaces behind or below the TV.
for tcl
- Settings > Display & Sound > Audio > Mount Configuration: Wall
for roku tv
- Settings > Audio > Optimize for wall-mounted TV
