![]() ![]() Your TV might have two of what are called "midrange drivers." They are a speaker type that is a jack of all trades, but they simply don't have the components to produce satisfying bass or treble frequencies. They also have different kinds of speakers, which excel in different areas. Some of the high-end ones are in the 200-300 range, but even a soundbar under $100 is miles ahead of your TV's speakers. While it's hard to quantify how much "sound power" a watt is, almost any soundbar you buy is going to have more than 20 watts of output. Generally, TVs have "stereo" audio (a left and right channel) that is about 20 watts, or 10 for each speaker. Soundbars are compact, horizontal speaker boxes that sit in front of your TV (below the screen) and "pinch hit" for your TV's audio. Often, they also include a separate subwoofer. While there are some variations, generally soundbars are compact, horizontal containers for a series of speakers/drivers. Even if your TV is 5 or 10 years out of date, you can improve (and maybe revolutionize) your audio experience with a soundbar. Well fortunately, there's a super easy fix. ![]() When you turn it up enough to "match" the quality of the big screen, commercials are too loud, dialogue is hard to hear, or bass causes the whole TV to buzz. Even if you own a mid-tier or high-end TV worth a few thousand dollars, I'm willing to bet the audio is one of the most frustrating parts. Modern flat-panel TVs are much thinner than the boxy tube TVs of yesteryear, which is great for aesthetics and convenience, but doesn't leave much space in the TV for speakers. On the other hand, built-in TV speakers have only gotten worse. But LED/LCD TV panel and component manufacturing has come so far in the last decade, nowadays you can get a 4K smart TV for a few hundred dollars that looks pretty darn good-or at least satisfactory. It used to be that buying a cheaper, entry-level TV meant rolling the dice on whether or not it would have problems like stuck pixels, faulty inputs, or just really poor picture quality. Movie has a little more bass TV has a little more vocals music sits between the two.I've been reviewing TVs for almost seven years, and I'll be honest: it's kind of becoming a pointless job. You can select one of three sound modes - Movie, Music and TV - but they don’t actually change the sound much. In some ways the lack of features was refreshing, as soundbars get more complicated and throw in more ways to complicate the setup process, but if you want the ability to adjust sound output to your tastes, then the Alto 6 Plus is not for you. The Alto 6 Plus has no way to adjust to subwoofer level, which may bother some people who would prefer more or less bass. I didn’t test this feature, but setup was easy even without a Roku TV. TCL also makes TVs that run Roku TV, like the excellent TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635), and the Alto 6 Plus is “Roku TV Ready.” That means if you have a Roku TV, it will walk you through setting up the soundbar and you can use your Roku remote to control it. After the connection, I was able to use my TV’s remote to control the level of the soundbar. I connected the Alto 6 Plus to my TV via HDMI, and the soundbar’s HDMI audio return channel (ARC) provided a one-cable connection (the system comes with an HDMI cable in the package). Because the Alto 6 Plus doesn’t have many features, there’s not much you need to do, or can do, during setup. That makes it even more affordable than one of the other high-quality, low-price soundbar and subwoofer combos we’ve tested recently: the Creative Stage V2. The TCL Alto 6 Plus lists for $129.99, but you can find it for $99.99 at Amazon (opens in new tab), Best Buy (opens in new tab), Walmart (opens in new tab), Target (opens in new tab) and elsewhere. TCL Alto 6 Plus review: Price and Availability Our picks of the best Bluetooth speakers.Check out the the best cheap soundbars on the market.Keep reading our TCL Alto 6 Plus for the full verdict. But for the money, you get more than you paid for in improved sound. It’s simplicity has a downside: you can’t adjust the audio - what you hear is what you get. The Alto 6 Plus also sounds impressive, delivering a much bigger sound than you expect at first glance. Ports: 3.5mm aux in, optical in, USB-A in, HDMI ARC Speakers: 2 x full range drivers, 1 x subwoofer
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