TV sound after wall-mounting

After the TV goes up, some people notice voices are harder to follow or the sound seems thin or boomy. The TV hasn't changed. Its surroundings have.

Where TV speakers point

Thin TVs have no room for front-facing speakers. Most have small drivers that fire downward from the bottom edge or backward from the rear panel.

• On a stand, down-firing speakers bounce sound off the furniture toward you. On a wall with nothing beneath, that reflection is gone and sound sprays at the floor.
• Rear-firing speakers an inch from the drywall get an exaggerated, muddy bass and lose clarity.
• A TV in a niche or above a deep mantel has its sound trapped or blocked.

Free fixes first

1. Tell the TV it's on a wall. Many sets have a "wall mount" or "installation type" option in the sound menu that re-tunes the speakers for that position. Some run a microphone calibration.
2. Switch sound mode. "Standard" or "Clear voice/Dialogue" usually beats "Cinema" or "Music" for speech.
3. Turn off extra processing such as virtual surround if voices sound hollow.
4. Reduce bass a step or two if the wall makes it boomy.
5. Check the content. Streaming apps often default to 5.1 audio; on TV speakers that can bury dialogue. Choose stereo where the app offers it.

Placement

• A console or shelf under the TV gives down-firing speakers a surface to reflect from.
• A little gap behind the TV helps rear-firing speakers. Ultra-flush mounts are the worst case.
• Tilting the TV down slightly aims everything, sound included, at the seats.
• Soft furnishings — rug, curtains, sofa — tame echo in rooms with hard floors and bare walls.

The real fix: external sound

Physics limits what a speaker the size of a matchbox can do. A soundbar has larger, forward-facing drivers and a centre channel for dialogue.

• Even a basic soundbar is a clear step up for speech.
• A bar with a separate subwoofer fills a living room.
• Mount it directly under the TV, level and centred; ours is $49 installed and connected. Positioning is covered in the soundbar placement guide, and hook-up in ARC and eARC.

Hearing dialogue

If the main problem is following speech:

• look for a dialogue enhancement setting on the TV or soundbar,
• try night mode / dynamic range compression, which narrows the gap between whispers and explosions,
• consider a bar with a dedicated centre channel,
• and subtitles are no defeat.

Bluetooth headphones

Most TVs can send sound to Bluetooth headphones for late-night watching. Expect a slight delay on some models; use the TV's audio-sync setting.

In-wall and in-ceiling speakers

For a system with no visible boxes, speakers built into the wall or ceiling are an option best planned with the wiring before the TV goes up.

Rattles

A buzz at certain notes is usually something touching: a cable against the wall, a loose bracket cover or a picture frame nearby. Press on things while it plays to find it.