A high-quality audio experience truly elevates the content you watch on the big screen. It's certainly difficult to recreate the movie theater sound experience in your home, unless you're willing to invest in a “jaw-dropping” figure. The next best thing is a speaker system that can play audio via its multiple speakers and a subwoofer. I've been using a Sony speaker system for a long time, but it has become increasingly difficult for me to keep up with its demand.

The excessive effort required to manage and maintain the setup, its immobility and rigidity, and connectivity limitations led me to get a soundbar. It supports newer-gen connectivity, blends in with my room's aesthetics, and doesn't require much effort to set up. Let's discuss why a soundbar is a much-needed upgrade if you struggle with an old speaker setup.

No setup complexity

Plug and play

Switching from an existing home theater receiver to anything new is an uphill task. You cannot do it often, and if you rent a place, you cannot pry open the walls to install multiple speaker sets in different corners of the room. Temporarily wall-mounting everything, connecting it to the receiver, and then figuring out the TV connection is another headache.

After I upgraded my room design, I was no longer interested in the old audio system installation. The soundbar seemed like a wise choice because it only needed a couple of wires. One for power and one for the physical connection with the TV. That's all. No additional cabling, extra power supplies, or extensions are necessary to make everything work together.

Soundbars have made the home audio setup ridiculously simple, and that's a boon for non-tech-savvy users. You don't need to be an audio wizard to figure out how to make everything work together, and you can install the soundbar and subwoofer combo yourself. Apart from the technical complexity, you don't need to tear apart your room to get the audio output “just right.”

Multiple connectivity options

Wired or wireless is your choice

Modern soundbars don't rely only on an analog connection. Instead, they offer advanced audio options, including HDMI eARC, optical, and Bluetooth connectivity. Each of these options has its perks, and I like the idea of having a Bluetooth option in the audio system.

I dread the time I have to replace a super-old, hard-to-find cable in my old audio system. HDMI eARC cables are sturdy and much easier to find, and you don't have to worry about matching the color code or manually tuning.

My TV also supports Bluetooth audio (it's not new), but having a wireless option is great. I can put the powerful soundbar in wireless mode when I need a clean audio setup or in places where cables cannot fit. If I have to shift temporarily to a new work location or move the TV to another room, I only need to worry about a power outlet. The audio output cabling isn't something to worry about unless I need to use the HDMI cable connection.

I remember one incident at my friend's house where the TV’s audio port was in an unreachable location. We couldn't connect the cable to the old sound system, so we ended up watching with the TV's built-in speakers.

Decent audio experience with TV controls

Don't need two remotes

It’s no secret that a calibrated 5.1 audio speaker system offers better audio quality than a soundbar speaker system. The multichannel audio system setup offers a surround-sound experience that is very appealing to audiophiles. You actually start to feel immersed in the content when speakers are firing audio at you from multiple angles.

But that doesn't mean the soundbar offers a murky, inferior audio experience. It tries to bridge the gap with some software tweaking, and watching moves doesn't feel like a letdown. I recently watched the Chainsaw Man movie on my TV, and the soundbar amplified my viewing experience. The BGM was intense and gripping, and the soundbar delivered impactful audio.

HDMI CEC is another perk of using a soundbar because I don't need to manage two different devices. My TV remote provides central access to both devices, and I can control the audio through it. The effort to first switch the soundbar on, change the TV audio input, and then do the volume control now happens automatically.

The soundbar helps me build a clutter-free setup that doesn't spoil the room's aesthetics. You can worry about other elements on your TV table or wall-mounted soundbar, rather than hiding the cabling behind curtains. No mess, no multiple cables running across your room, or the fear of tripping on them. The audio setup blends with your room decor rather than sticking out like a sore thumb.

Soundbar makes audio simple

My old multichannel audio system is still there, but I've stopped using it with my TV. I prefer the soundbar’s simplicity both in terms of footprint and installation. I don't need to go to extreme lengths or damage my room to complete the installation, or deal with a wire mesh covering my floor or walls. Uprooting and reinstalling the soundbar takes barely 5 minutes and is doable by even complete novices like me.

The icing on the cake is advanced audio options such as HDMI eARC, which uses a single cable, and CEC, which lets me control the soundbar from my TV remote. I don't have the granular audio control I had with the old speaker system, but I don't miss it. I hate fiddling with audio controls too much and won't need the granular control for home audio. If you don't use a soundbar, upgrading to one is a surprisingly easy solution you're missing out on.