We have a tv sound bar, but I find that the music is often many times louder then the dialogue . I am looking for a recommendation for a sound bar that will enhance the dialogue in a movie/ tv show. I would like to be able to turn down the volume when the music introduces a scene WITHOUT THEN having to then turn up the volume to hear the dialogue. Does this make sense, does this type of sound bar exist and can anyone recommend a specific one?
I see that “ hearing aid” sound bars are available , but not sure this is would work.
I have a Polk Audio 3.1 channel sound bar that has a separate center channel with its own volume control. The dialogue comes through the center channel loud and clear. Separate subwoofer that gets its signal via bluetooth. Subwoofer also has a separate volume control so if it’s late at night I can turn the bass way down low.
If life was normal I would say go to someplace like Best Buy and play with it, but that would depend on your level of comfort.
Our Sonos soundbar has a dialogue enhancer which helps noticeably. It doesn’t really make a significant change to the super-annoying habit of movies and tv shows blasting music and sound effects at very high volumes at certain times. What is does is slightly boost the frequencies associated with the human voice. It makes a noticeable difference to our ability to hear what characters are saying.
Sonos also has a night mode that does flatten out the sudden volume spikes. But W and I tried it for about 10 minutes and both agreed that it really made the sound of shows very flat and lifeless.
Thanks for starting this. I would love for our sound bar to do the same so I’ll be reading intently.
If we watch movies, we turn on the closed captioning because it is so difficult to hear dialogue even when the sound is turned up
Many sound bars are 2.1 (left, right, and subwoofer). I would try out models that are 3.1 (include a center channel). As I mentioned above, what I like about my Polk Audio sound bar is the separate control for the center channel–I can enhance it without cranking up the left and right (which carry the music)
@MADad Thanks! I wasn’t aware of the difference in models.