I have a Samsung 49" curved monitor. Love the monitor, but the audio quality is terrible (using USB-C). Could I use a TV soundbar as computer audio? Is it just a matter of finding one with a small audio in jack and connecting it to my sound card? Any recommendations?
Using a soundbar as computer speakers?
- Thread starter mudboy
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Razer actually makes some small soundbars specifically for this use case.
You probably won't get much in the way of surround effects. Most soundbars intended for a living room are going to be trying to bounce sound off of the walls and ceiling toward a space much further back than you're probably sitting at your computer.
However, the actual speakers inside that soundbar are probably a substantial upgrade compared to whatever garbage Samsung squeezed into that monitor. Were I trying to buy a soundbar specifically for this use case, I'd basically ignore Atmos and surround capability, stick to small and relatively inexpensive and make sure it has an audio input my PC or monitor supports. A lot of them are built around eARC which most monitors can't do as far as I've ever noticed, but if your PC supports TOSLINK, that's fairly common too.
I just removed a very large Samsung soundbar from my living room in favor of real speakers. I had intended on moving the soundbar to the bedroom but I've been overruled so this thing:
Will likely be living here once I get the monitor on its new mount:
(And now I'm going to go clean my mousepad)
You probably won't get much in the way of surround effects. Most soundbars intended for a living room are going to be trying to bounce sound off of the walls and ceiling toward a space much further back than you're probably sitting at your computer.
However, the actual speakers inside that soundbar are probably a substantial upgrade compared to whatever garbage Samsung squeezed into that monitor. Were I trying to buy a soundbar specifically for this use case, I'd basically ignore Atmos and surround capability, stick to small and relatively inexpensive and make sure it has an audio input my PC or monitor supports. A lot of them are built around eARC which most monitors can't do as far as I've ever noticed, but if your PC supports TOSLINK, that's fairly common too.
I just removed a very large Samsung soundbar from my living room in favor of real speakers. I had intended on moving the soundbar to the bedroom but I've been overruled so this thing:
Will likely be living here once I get the monitor on its new mount:
(And now I'm going to go clean my mousepad)
Why not pick up some 2.1 PC speakers designed to do the job you want?
Amazon link for Logitech 2.1 speakers.
Amazon link for Logitech 2.1 speakers.
Don't buy Logitech anything related to sound. They are just absolutely awful.
The Klipsch Promedia 2.1s sound surprisingly good, but they're built poorly and are unreliable. You could try a set of those and see if you get lucky on longevity.
The Klipsch Promedia 2.1s sound surprisingly good, but they're built poorly and are unreliable. You could try a set of those and see if you get lucky on longevity.
Low end sound bars are literally just plastic cases designed to hide wires and just to hide wires. Their format doesn't mean anything acoustically at that level.
There are some good deals on midrange sound bars that were stranded in warehouses as HDMI specs changed every year or so, making them undesirable.
https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/soundbars/speakers/soundbars/1.html
But you're not really meant to be sitting right next to them but if that's the only format that will fit on your desk, currently, reality is reality.
If you can find a way to clear out additional room, I suggest this thread:
https://meincmagazine.com/civis/threa...speakers-if-you-have-the-space.1410729/page-6
There are some good deals on midrange sound bars that were stranded in warehouses as HDMI specs changed every year or so, making them undesirable.
https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/soundbars/speakers/soundbars/1.html
But you're not really meant to be sitting right next to them but if that's the only format that will fit on your desk, currently, reality is reality.
If you can find a way to clear out additional room, I suggest this thread:
https://meincmagazine.com/civis/threa...speakers-if-you-have-the-space.1410729/page-6
Limited space beneath the monitor. Currently have a pair of old Altec Lansings lying on their sides.
^ so that's basically a $150 soundbar that's not hiding the wires.
A soundbar can do a few different things:
* hide wires, especially if it's just two midrange speakers (no separate tweeter and bass) in a box
* act as hub to power other sound channels (rear breakout speakers, external subwoofer)
* do sound processing (via hdmi ARC) to try to ensure that all channels are used even with stereo signals or that more weight is placed for vocals on the center speaker or via Atmos algorithms, try to bounce sound off the ceiling to make it sound like it's coming from somewhere else
If you got something like a midrange Sonos Beam 2* (provided it would even fit), it might be acceptable for your use. OTOH, you wouldn't be able to redirect every driver within it to face you like your current sideways configuration. You're not meant to be sitting next to these things.
* I know Sonos is overpriced and currently in the doghouse over corporate stuff but the current discount on that item seems ok and you have HDMI/Toslink as inputs on this
A soundbar can do a few different things:
* hide wires, especially if it's just two midrange speakers (no separate tweeter and bass) in a box
* act as hub to power other sound channels (rear breakout speakers, external subwoofer)
* do sound processing (via hdmi ARC) to try to ensure that all channels are used even with stereo signals or that more weight is placed for vocals on the center speaker or via Atmos algorithms, try to bounce sound off the ceiling to make it sound like it's coming from somewhere else
If you got something like a midrange Sonos Beam 2* (provided it would even fit), it might be acceptable for your use. OTOH, you wouldn't be able to redirect every driver within it to face you like your current sideways configuration. You're not meant to be sitting next to these things.
* I know Sonos is overpriced and currently in the doghouse over corporate stuff but the current discount on that item seems ok and you have HDMI/Toslink as inputs on this
I picked up the Razer Leviathan soundbar a couple years ago and it does the job. I have an ultrawide monitor and no room to the sides, the Leviathan nestles nicely between the keyboard and the monitor. It sounds fine, but I'm far from an audiophile.
Displacement is god with speakers, everything else is a compromise. And some compromises are surprisingly good, but still that. @mudboy do you have any room for satellites? You can get pretty amazing sound out of satellites with a (hidden if you want) subwoofer.
View: https://youtu.be/nNpWLJn-Huk
I have one of these and I love it.
I am ex recording engineer so I really like good sound but for consumer usage on a home rig the convenience alone makes it worth it. It's not the best sound ever but I find that its good enough for anything I need as long as I'm not editing audio/video. I would rate it as "the lower end of upper midrange" in audio quality. Its less boomy than the Razer Leviathan. Wider soundstage also. It doesn't have the wattage of my previous under-monitor soundbar (which was actually an old phillips sound pedestal meant for 2010 era TVs) but it does the job acceptably and stays out of the way which I like. I DO wish it had more than 3 preset EQ's but well... What can you expect in an affordable desktop soundbar really? Basically the best praise I can give it is... For the money nothing is overly impressive or offensive about it. There are no glaring deficiencies.
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Pocky Is God
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I'm not a fan of LED crap, but that really doesn't look that bad.
Mind, I'd still turn it all off the instant I sat down, but still.