[Benella]

Wonder if anyone can help?
I've just bought a new Samsung VE26EH4500W 26" smart tv.
I'd read several reviews before buying & the general consensus was that it was a good buy.
About 80% said picture quality & sound were good.
One or two commented on poor sound quality, but was acceptable.
After installing the TV I beleive I have wasted my money.
The sound quality is about as good as two tin cans with a bit of string joining them together.
I have tried all the different sound settings & tried adjusting the graphic equalizer all to no avail.
Is the only answer a sound bar, or can I hook up a couple of external speakers to improve the sound quality?
Any help would be appreciated.

[mjhal]

you will need a sound bar like you already said
comet have a samsung one SAMSUNG HW-E350 for 149.00

[speleo1]

try a surround sound sytem

[Fudbeer]

The Samsung sets although a nice tv sound quality particularly on the small ones is not great,infact the majority of small screen sets have very average sound quality in my experience.

[fake]

I agree, the sound quality of internal TV speaker is poor.

Do you have a hi-fi as you could route the sound through that.

[scimsfan]

Richersounds have the Philips CSS2115 white 2.1 soundbar for £80.
It's only slightly wider than your tv and most importantly has a digital optical input connector.
At that price it won't blow your socks off but it should be an improvement on the tv speakers.

[Kidorry]

I had the same problem with my 26" Samsung so I went into tools>adjust sound>set as standard, and it worked a treat.

[L00b]

Originally Posted by Benella

Is the only answer a sound bar, or can I hook up a couple of external speakers to improve the sound quality?

There are various ways to skin this particular cat but, in simple terms, few modern (LCD) TVs have the required outputs (red and black 'crocs', like on the back of amplifiers) to directly connect and power external speakers.

Tinny sound is an increasingly regular problem of modern (LCD) TVs, as these get ever-thinner (so with ever less internal volume to amplify/'resonate' sound output).

After that, the 'solution' will depend on your set's interfaces (HDMI, optical out, digital coax out, composite out (red/white RCA sockets), even headphone 3.5mm socket) and what you have to plug in (existing stereo, soundbar, full-out 5.1 or even 7.1 surround system, etc. - and their own interfaces).

For what it's worth, I went from an ageing Pioneer VSX 5.1 amp with KEFs KHT-2005 speakers to a Yamaha YSP900 soundbar with sub (as an experiment into soundbars). The Yam is a piece of s**t compared to my 'old' setup: an improvement on the TV sound itself, for sure, but still 'hollow' and 'tinny', and nowhere near the much vaunted-'pseudo' 5.1 a lot of people and reviews claim these have (even after careful calibrations), putting out sound without any 'body' or 'consistency'. The sub drowns the mid-range and no amount of setting-up/tinkering seems to sort this out.

My cheapo 'kitchen' Philips 2.0 DVD HiFi (MCD122) sounds miles better, in the same room.

So, soundbars...IMHO, essentially the same problem as with thin-flat TV, and I suppose it's simply physics/acoustics: if the resonating volume (or even dimensions for sufficient speaker cones 'throw') is not physically there, no amount of 'trickery' will make up for it.

So much so that I'll be going back to a multi-speaker solution by Xmas, most probably a 'decent' 2.1, with large-ish speakers.

[Fudbeer]

I have my lcd tv sound running through a strandard cambridge audio amp and some small mordaunt short speakers a huge improvement on the standard speakers on the tv.

A lot of these huge surround sounds with speakers all over the place are a waste of money imo.

[L00b]

Originally Posted by Fudbeer

A lot of these huge surround sounds with speakers all over the place are a waste of money imo.

Depends what the system is and what you watch/how frequently.

If most watching by a person is news, documentaries, etc. and comparatively little in the way of 'immersive programs' like movies, then fair enough, and your setup (quality amp and speakers) would indeed be ideal/more than enough.

But a 'proper' 5.1 system with a decent amp, speakers and sub makes for a heightened movie-watching experience. IMHO, as a 'semi' movie buff. I'm talking here about decent components (like your system, but in 'surround guise'), not your "surround-sound-in-a-box" LG, Sony or Samsung (e.g.) systems designed more for looks than audio quality/musicality.

And before anybody screams, I bought one ("surround-sound-in-a-box" by LG) for my Dad last Xmas and set it up for him, so am comparing with informed experience. Decent enough (miles better than £300's worth of 'branded' (ho-hum) soundbar), but not a patch on my 7 years-older Pioneer/KEF setup.

I really miss my KEFs

[Fudbeer]

Originally Posted by L00b

Depends what the system is and what you watch/how frequently.

If most watching by a person is news, documentaries, etc. and comparatively little in the way of 'immersive programs' like movies, then fair enough, and your setup (quality amp and speakers) would indeed be ideal/more than enough.

But a 'proper' 5.1 system with a decent amp, speakers and sub makes for a heightened movie-watching experience. IMHO, as a 'semi' movie buff. I'm talking here about decent components (like your system, but in 'surround guise'), not your "surround-sound-in-a-box" LG, Sony or Samsung (e.g.) systems designed more for looks than audio quality/musicality.

I really miss my KEFs

Yes fair points was referring to the lg/sony/samsung stuff really.

[Benella]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I've solved the sound problem.
Took the TV back & got my money back.
I'll stick to my cheap Akura - at least the sound is spot on.