Best Soundbars to Fix Muffled TV Voice in 2024
Not all TVs have great speakers, and that can seriously hinder your viewing experience. Plus, sometimes you can barely hear the dialogue in shows or movies, with the volume cranked up only for music and sound effects. If you find yourself constantly adjusting the volume while watching your favorite shows, it would be wise to invest in a soundbar. There are plenty of other useful tips and tricks to get better TV sound, but nothing works as well as adding a good soundbar to your TV. It can significantly improve the clarity of dialogue, as well as provide more immersive sound and better overall audio quality for everything you watch.
A lot of sound bars have a dedicated voice mode these days, though some do it better than others. One company that stands out is Zvox. It specializes in dialogue, and most of its products have at least one voice enhancement mode (some as many as 12). Another brand that focuses on voices is Polk, with its excellent VoiceAdjust feature. Yamaha also makes an affordable soundbar with similar options.
a soundbar can cost a lot less than some others home theater systems but can also improve the sound of your TV. Whether you’re looking for a budget speaker or something a little more premium, these are the best soundbars for dialogue.
If you’re looking for a soundbar that delivers plenty of bass and clear dialogue without the need for a subwoofer, the Zvox SB500 is a great buy. In fact, the company has added more levels of sound enhancement since I reviewed the SB500, which should make it even easier to dial in the dialogue the way you like it.
The Polk React is a successor to the Command Bar, the first soundbar to feature Amazon Alexa, and offers an excellent mix of features and performance. Polk’s VoiceAdjust is one of the better dialogue enhancement systems available, and it’s put to good use here.
The Zvox soundbars are great, but they lack HDMI connectivity. The compact Yamaha SR-C20A not only offers the convenience of an HDMI ARC connection — found on most newer TVs — but also has a special Clear Voice mode to make dialogue a little easier to understand. It’s also the least expensive option on this list.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is a compact Dolby Atmos speaker with dedicated height speakers in a compact soundbar, and the sound quality is top notch. Especially for dialogue in movies and TV shows. The soundbar also adds features like multi-room music and the Alexa voice assistant.