Today’s questions: How can I get cinema-quality sound in my apartment without upsetting the neighbors? Which is better: in-ceiling 7.1 surround or 5.1.2 Atmos surround? What’s the best TV under $500 to buy on Black Friday? And why don’t more reviewers test TV tuners?
Will LCD/LED Catch Up to OLED? Best TVs Under $500 on Black Friday | You Asked Ep. 46
Cinematic sound in your apartment
Doug writes: I have a great TV and love the picture, but I think audio is just as important to the whole movie-watching experience. But I live in an apartment, so full-size 5.1 speakers are practically out of the question, and even a soundbar seems anti-social. So what are my options?
I know exactly how you feel. I used to pick certain apartments (sometimes townhouses with neighbors on only one side and one on the other side of the audio system) because I didn’t want to give up listening to great sounding music and movies in my room. Over the years, I’ve pissed off a few neighbors. And let’s be honest, some apartments have walls that are so thin or have no insulation that even moderate sound leaks through. It’s very hard to be an audiophile in an apartment or some condos.
I think the best answer is headphones. Of course, since it’s a party of one, I recommend a standalone soundbar with good bass for watching with others, and then a headphone rig if you want to really turn up the volume. I’d buy an Apple TV 4K and either AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Max. The spatial audio you get from this system is amazing. You could also consider adding bass transducers under your couch cushions, but the buzzing could be annoying to others.
Of course, you can use other wireless headphones. In fact, you might want to get the Sonos Ace headphones with the Sonos Arc soundbar now, or the Sonos Beam Gen. 2 or Sonos Ray later this year. That way, you can enjoy spatial audio with the headphones and soundbar and watch with others without needing an Apple TV. Bluetooth headphones will also work, but they often have latency and rarely offer surround support. So, get either the Apple TV and AirPods bundle, or the Sonos Ace headphones and Sonos soundbar. The Arc works now, while the Beam and Ray will work with the Ace later this year.
Ceiling 7.1 vs. 5.1.2 Atmos Surround
Chip Kiple writes that he installed a 7-channel in-ceiling speaker system when he built his house in 2013. Kiple just purchased a 98″ Sony X90L and is also considering buying a new receiver, which raises the question of whether to use the speaker system in a 7.1 or 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos configuration. Kiple also wondered what the immersiveness of Atmos would be like in his situation.
Here’s where things get a little tricky. The Dolby Atmos effect is meant to come from above. You can achieve this with in-ceiling speakers, or in some cases, you can have speakers facing upwards to bounce the sound off the ceiling. These Dolby Atmos channels (the .2 or .4 at the end of the number sequence, like 5.1.2 or 7.1.4) refer to Dolby Atmos channels. You can have two or four, depending on your speaker configuration. But the important thing to understand here is that they are there to complete the sound dome. So ideally, the other speakers in your Dolby Atmos system would be placed lower in the room, firing towards you.
Your situation is actually quite common – many people choose all-ceiling speakers rather than a combination of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, or floor-standing and in-ceiling speakers.
So you’ll likely end up placing all your speakers in the ceiling and resorting to some acoustic trickery to make the front left, right and centre channels sound like they’re coming from screen level, rather than from ceiling level. And the setup algorithms built into today’s modern receivers can help you make that happen.
Regarding your situation, you have two options: You can wire your speakers to the receiver as a standard 7.1 system, with a front left, right and centre, plus “side surround” and “surround back” speakers, or you can wire and set it up as a 5.1.2 system, with a front left, right and centre, with the “side surround” speakers becoming Atmos speakers and the rear surround speakers taking over the side surround speaker duties.
If I were installing this system, I’d try both and see which sounds better, which means a little bit of work: you’ll have to move the speaker wires on the back of the receiver from one set of outputs to the other, and then you’ll have to open the speaker settings menu on the receiver and make adjustments.
Once you find out which one you like best, stick with it.
Best TVs under $500 for Black Friday
Brent Graves wrote that he’s looking to buy a cheap 55-inch TV for his garage, with a budget of $500, and plans to buy it around Black Friday.
Well, Brent, $500 is a pretty good deal for the 55-inch size. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do know that history tends to repeat itself. The 2023 TCL Q6 is currently selling for $434, and I expect the 2024 TCL Q6 to be around the same price on Black Friday. And the 2024 Hisense U7N will also be below $500 by Black Friday. To help you choose, we’ll compare these models and review both before Black Friday.
Include TV Tuners in TV Reviews
Scott M says: There are a lot of “television” reviews out there these days that are really “monitor” reviews. There is no discussion of what actually constitutes a television (tuner!). According to Nielsen, about 23 million U.S. households use digital antennas to watch free television programming, but do you think TV reviewers ever test and compare TV tuners built into TV sets?
I once loaned a friend my TV until he was able to buy his own (I’m that kind of friend), and when he set up the TV he bought, he discovered that the TV he got didn’t receive as many channels as the TV he was replacing. The TV tuner wasn’t very good. I wish I could incorporate this into my TV reviews.
The challenge I face is that I have yet to find a way to objectively test the performance of the tuner. Choosing an antenna that matches your area will help you receive channels much more effectively than the performance of the TV tuner. I would also like the picture and sound quality to be prioritized over the performance of the tuner. after that Get the best antenna for your area.
Will LCD/LED ever catch up with OLED?
Andrew K writes: LCD screens have been around for decades, and are backed by some of the biggest tech companies in the world, so why haven’t we seen any progress in making LCDs completely backlight-free, which would give them a much bigger competitive edge against other new screen technologies like OLED and Micro LED?
Andrew, that’s an interesting and valid question. I don’t have a deep understanding of the science behind liquid crystal displays, but if scientists could come up with a cost-effective way to improve the basic functionality of liquid crystals, they would do it. I can’t imagine scientists saying, “Hey, liquid crystals are boring. Let’s make some other display technology so they’re not boring.”
Rather, I think what’s happening is that the compounds that can be used to make LCD panels work are inherently limited when it comes to blocking light (or maybe it’s just the properties of liquid crystals themselves). They’ve been twisting and transforming LCDs as much as they can, and thanks to that innovation, we’re here today.
At some point it made sense to stop trying to get more milk out of the withered cow and move on to another animal.
