4 Disadvantages of Soundbar Audio You Need to Know About

If you’re tired of the soulless sound produced by your TV speakers, a simple solution is to add a soundbar. Requiring little setup, you can have one of the best soundbars money can buy and up and running in just a few minutes – and we’re willing to bet that the first movie or show you test will sound way better than your TV could ever deliver on its own.

That said, a soundbar isn’t a be-all and end-all for dull audio. Although easy to connect, most systems don’t offer the same level of immersion and channel separation as a proper surround sound setup with an AV receiver. There’s also the risk of buying a soundbar that’s too big or too small for the listening space you’re trying to fill, a common soundbar buying mistake you won’t discover until your new bar is out of the box.

We don’t want anyone to be dissatisfied with their soundbar purchase. Research and reviews are essential when selecting one of these TV speaker replacements, and it’s also worth looking into this list of four disadvantages of soundbar audio that you should know about. Buyer’s remorse can be especially harsh when an audio product isn’t up to par – not to mention that repackaging a soundbar can be a real pain.

A typical soundbar enclosure contains several drivers positioned close together, with tweeters and bass radiators also occasionally. While this all-in-one approach is great for freeing up space in your living room, housing the left and right audio channels so close together can impact the space of your audio.

The front channels (left, right, center) are some of the most important elements of any speaker system, but you’ll need a decent distance between each shelf or floor stand for proper stereo imaging. Traditional speakers can be spaced around a room however you like, so you won’t have to worry as much about a narrow soundstage; if something doesn’t sound right, you can simply move a speaker.

Soundbar manufacturers may try to compensate for a narrow stage with cinematic presets or a volume boost feature, but there’s only so much you can do when all your speakers are placed in a plastic chassis that’s half the width of your 65-inch TV. Even the widest soundbars can struggle to create enough left-right separation for sound to be naturally driven and spaced.

Many mid-range and high-end soundbars (and even some entry-level models) tout the ability to “virtualize” robust surround formats, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Generally speaking, this often means that the soundbar itself contains top- and/or side-firing speakers, or that it comes with a set of wireless rears. This also means that the bar is probably using psychoacoustics and digital processing to sound bigger than it really is. Regardless, “virtualization” is not the same as “you own a full surround sound system.”

Depending on the model you’re working with, surround virtualization may end up being nothing more than a slightly wider soundstage up front, or nothing at all. Good virtualization is best achieved in small to medium sized rooms. So if you’re working in a cavernous theater space, a soundbar may not have the power or directivity to generate decibels in every square inch of the room.

Surround virtualization also requires appropriate connectivity. If you’re looking for Atmos height effects, connecting your bar via digital optics won’t work. Instead, you’ll want to use HDMI ARC/eARC to give your bar system and TV the bandwidth both devices need to capture your space in sound.

One of the benefits of owning an AV receiver with connected surround speakers is the modular approach you can take to building a sound system. Let’s say you’ve invested in the entire 5.1 part of a surround setup, but you’re not satisfied with the low-impact performance of your subwoofer. No worries: once the funds are freed up, you can simply purchase a larger, more powerful submarine. The same goes for any other speaker you’re not happy with.

We’d be lying if we said that no soundbar system is modular, but scalability is much more limited than you’d expect with a traditional speaker system. Unfortunately, this often means that if you don’t like the sound of your bar’s subwoofer or wireless rear speakers (if they come with them), you’re stuck, unless you decide to upgrade the entire soundbar.

Again, this isn’t a difficult decision for all soundbars. For example, there are a handful of products on the market that have an LFE output for connecting an active subwoofer. So even if the soundbar doesn’t come with a bass drive, you may still be able to add one later. But speaking of subwoofers, there’s one final soundbar audio drawback that you should know about before you go.

Many new soundbars come with a standalone subwoofer that pairs wirelessly with the bar. On paper, this is a bargain, because it means you’ll be able to place the woofer in just about any part of your room near an AC outlet. In reality, however, the A to B coupling between the bar and the woofer can be much more tedious. There’s also not much rhyme or reason why one set of soundbars might connect more reliably than another (r/soundbars has some interesting theories, though).

I can even give a personal example: a few years ago, I bought a Samsung soundbar combo that I connected to a Samsung TV. My living room is only 12 feet long and even when the woofer was placed directly next to the soundbar it wouldn’t connect. At all. I also tried resetting everything, to no avail. But months later, I plugged in a new bar-woofer system (the one I was testing for a review) and the wireless pairing went smoothly.

It’s probably safe to assume that the larger the footprint you’re working with, the more likely it is that a wireless bar-woofer connection will be interrupted or fail altogether. And trust me: once the sub is disconnected, you’ll likely notice a drop in overall sound quality and immersion.