sound bar - advice?

[wiredgeorge]

Just bought a new TV; a 32" Element at Walmart to replace the 26" we used previously. Sound won't be loud enough for use with the A/C on in the summer. I tried some amplified inexpensive computer-type speakers but they don't help much. Thinking about a small (under 35") sound bar I can attach to the wall above the TV. Don't want expensive or fancy; just be able to crank up the volume so the TV can be heard over the A/C. Just sitting in the trailer, the TV today without the A/C on, the TV has to be cranked to almost max volume to be able to hear the audio. I also took at look at the audio settings on the menu and didn't get any relief. I know it is a cheap TV but need to figure out the sound issue. TIA! wg

[Kylemcmahon1]

I used a lg sound bar in my outback. Had the same problem. Worked great. It is a 36 inch from Best Buy with Bluetooth as well. Works great.

[foldbak]

I used a lg sound bar in my outback. Had the same problem. Worked great. It is a 36 inch from Best Buy with Bluetooth as well. Works great.
Ya what he said! LG 42" with a LG soundbar. Works great! :cool:

[PARAPTOR]

Yeap sound bar will do it. Just curious have you tried connecting your TV audio out to your rig entertainment system. Basically TV audio will be played out of your interior/exterior rig speakers which are located in numerous places. That is if your entertainment system has an AUX In and you have speakers in your rig.

[wiredgeorge]

The stereo in our trailer has been there since 2002 and works kind of sketchy. I would give it a shot if I could figure out how to get it out. Stereo AND speakers are fastened on the shelf they set on. I can pull the panel below and there are no penetrations (such as screws) coming through the thin little shelf. I am about 100 percent sure that the stereo and speakers are epoxied or glued in place. At some point I will try and replace the old stereo with a more modern (cd/dvd) unit and might try connecting to it. Right now, I would have to replace that thin shelf If they get ripped out and it would have to be done in pieces as a large enough shelf may not fit through unless I can get it in from underneath.

[flybouy]

If the television has a headphone jack you could get one of these to play the tv over the radio. https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-TuneCast-Mobile-FM-Transmitter/dp/B00008SB1D

[FlyingAroundRV]

If the stereo is original equipment with the trailer, have a look in the documents bag for the manual for it. Ours also looked like it was permanently mounted, but I found out that the fascia of the stereo comes off and reveals the mounting screws.
I'll also second running the TV audio through the stereo. We do that in our rig as the sound of the TV speakers is thin and reedy and hard to hear when the AC is on.

[travelin texans]

Buy the sound bar!
I bought the Vizio bar from WM for $48 & it works/sounds great. It has a power cord & an optical cord to the tv & done.

[wiredgeorge]

Manual for the stereo has nothing about removing anything for install. Install page only shows location of antennas and power cord.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/139313/Rca-Rs1286b.html#manual

[sourdough]

George, looking at that photo it looks like you have LOTS of options to completely revamp that area if you are able to do some woodworking. What about removing the entire bottom panel with the stereo/speakers, reframe and add shelving with doors, install a new stereo head in the middle shelf with a couple of small home theater speakers on each side (run the TV audio through it)? Nowadays they make some super sounding small speakers. That would certainly get you above the sound of the AC. If you want something to blow you out of the house you might want something a little stronger.

I'm not sure how that unit is installed in that shelf. I would have to think there is a way to remove it without destroying the entire shelf; possibly underneath, from the back? I would try to find out how that is and just run an audio out from the TV to an input (hopefully) on the back of the stereo unit. If that were possible you could just select that input and use the stereo speakers to play the TV audio or the stereo when it was in use.

The least costly, and probably easiest, is to do what you are looking at; just use the TV and have a complete sound system attached to it as a standalone and leave the stereo as is. If/when you upgrade the stereo unit you could use the sound bar as the sound for both the stereo and TV so you wouldn't be wasting that money. I think the trick is finding a good sound bar that will fit the width of the opening. I thought about doing that for our system but found finding a bar that fit and would sound good a difficult task so just upgraded all the living area speakers and we are quite happy. Good luck on your mission.:)

[sponge60]

We have a Sony sound bar and sub that has been in our last three trailers. Easy to hook up and it sounds great. Easily overcomes distracting noises too. Anymore, there are lots of reasonable sound bars out there.

[PARAPTOR]

Some things to consider: On your existing TV does it have audio out ports, if so what type. Has to have a termination to get sound out to either a separate sound bar or even another stereo. The head jack port would be the least advisable, at least in my eyes. These different sound bars have various audio connection terminal/ports. Keep in mind they are going to have to match with the TV and vise versa.

[flybouy]

The only "safe" way to use the headphone out jack is with a device designed to use that. You can get fm transmitters, blue tooth adapters, and adapters that attenuate the signal and enable it to used on the audio in or preamp in on the connected equipment.

If inexpensive is a major consideration you might check out the discount stores. It's been a while since I was in a Big Lots store but the last time I was in there I was killing time looking around (used my truck to pick up a chair for a neighbor) I did notice a sound bar for like 40 bucks. I have no idea if it would be any better than the tv speakers or not.

[Northofu1]

Most newer sound bars and Tv's have S or optic cable ports. Most name brands of sound bars work really well.
I found optic to be the best.

[wiredgeorge]

I bought a cheap soundbar manufactured by Vivitar for around $40 from Amazon. Will be here tomorrow and will report on function. It has RCA jacks as does my TV (red & white) and that is how it will be connected. Also has A/C adapter (not USB like most of the cheap soundbars). Last, it mounts on the wall which was important to me. Will review when I have a chance to install the thing.



BTW: Bought this TV as it had a good picture in the store. No way to know the speakers are not good... insufficient volume.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ELEMENT-32-Class-720P-LED-HDTV-ELEFW328C/641843612

[wiredgeorge]

Follow up...
Vivitar sound bar I bought wouldn't work. Only has RCA inputs or bluetooth. I have RCA jacks on my new TV but they are inputs only and I didn't find this out till I actually read the manual after the soundbar failed to make sound.

Took the missus to Jim's for breakfast and then dropped off the Vivitar soundbar at the UPS store for return to Amazon. Received my refund immediately after it was scanned in by the UPS store. Then went to Best Buy and bought an Insignia Model:NS-HSB318 soundbar as below:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insigni...?skuId=5809303

Took about 5 minutes to install. They supply a template to install two screws, plug in the AC adapter and connect a digital audio connector (not supplied) from TV to soundbar. The soundbar offers three modes for sound reproduction: std, movie and news. Standard and news modes sound about like the TV speaker sound but the movie mode is far enhanced and sounds like surround sound. There is also a bass on/off function. I left the bass on and didn't hear a lot of difference. The sound is fantastic now and it can go loud enough to overcome a Dometic Breeze II Quick Cool noise blanket. Our A/C is right there on top of us when watching TV and quick cool (shutting ducted registers) sounds like a jet engine.

Okay... a couple nitpicks... the way you tell if the thing is in the correct input mode (there are three) and if it is on and the bass feature is actuated are via idiot lights on top. You can't see them with the soundbar mounted over the TV. There are manual buttons on the unit on the end in the event you don't want to use the supplied remote. The buttons will require a flashlight to see, small and obscure. The remote isn't very powerful and you need to be on top the soundbar or at least within 5 feet for it to work. These things won't hurt our enjoyment of the sound but could use improvement. As far as the idiot lights, I have seen reviews of other soundbars complaining about the lights where you could see them if in a darkened room. My missus wants to buy another soundbar for our TV in the living room to give it the same theatre type sound now that she heard this one.

If you get a soundbar, READ YOUR TV OWNER'S MANUAL to figure out what type OUTPUTS you have; My new Element didn't have RCA OUT and that is why I returned the first one I bought.

[PARAPTOR]

Good Job and thanks for getting back to us with you experiences and overall comments. Now its time to sit back and enjoy your new system! :dance:

[SkiSmuggs]

I got a Yamaha YAS-106 and love it. It may have been replaced by YAS-108. I can chase us out of the trailer if I crank it up. Connected with an optical cord, but you can use HDMI and analog as well.

[Irv gates]

Wiredgeorge , Access to the Built in Radio might be accomplished by pulling the speakers out from either side of the Radio. I think the sound bar is the best way to go if you have mounting room for it. Ig

[damillersr]

Follow up...
The buttons will require a flashlight to see, small and obscure. The remote isn't very powerful and you need to be on top the soundbar or at least within 5 feet for it to work. These things won't hurt our enjoyment of the sound but could use improvement.

I would recommend to anyone with an integrated system to get a Universal remote control. I have 4 of the following, 3 in the house and 1 in the rig. Setup is easy via a web site if you are "tech comfortable". The big bonus is where ever I am, the remote and all of the buttons are in the same place.
https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Infrared-Universal-Programmable/dp/B004OVECU0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1545061734&sr=8-3&keywords=logitech+remote+control+universal
YMMV:)

[wiredgeorge]

I would recommend to anyone with an integrated system to get a Universal remote control. I have 4 of the following, 3 in the house and 1 in the rig. Setup is easy via a web site if you are "tech comfortable". The big bonus is where ever I am, the remote and all of the buttons are in the same place.
https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Infrared-Universal-Programmable/dp/B004OVECU0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1545061734&sr=8-3&keywords=logitech+remote+control+universal
YMMV:)

The Best Buy house brand soundbar I bought isn't compatible with anyone else's remote so I have the Dish remote AND the little soundbar remote; a bit of a pain but the price was right. As I mentioned, the missus loved the sound and insisted Santa bring her a soundbar for our S&B living room big TV. I ordered this one for her; still inexpensive but can be programmed to work with any remote (I hope, that is why I got this one).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G85HNPP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The only downside is that our big livingroom TV doesn't have the optical audio out and I will need to hook it up with RCA jacks which it does have (I checked to be sure they were OUTS this time).

I also turned the soundbar in my trailer upside-down so I can see the idiot lights to tell if it is on and which input, etc. Had to hog out the keyhole screw slots on the back so the mount screws could slide down the slots and hold the soundbar securely when traveling.

[guitarboy52]

That was my solution for our 2520 passport, about $7.00 dollars for cable and didn't have to figure out how or where to mount sound bar. Feel the trailer is cramped enough without unnecessary clutter.