Most resources regarding this topic are going to be biased toward the style of a home or living room or personal preference. Here is a direct answer to the question and even some pros, cons, and some tips.
You can wall mount a soundbar with no issues. You may want to wall mount a soundbar to add a fresh modern look to the area and to have a clean entertainment center. Or you may not depending on the risk of losing sound quality.
Consider a few important factors before you make the switch from your TV stand to the wall. Some of these factors are going to be aesthetic, sound quality, convenience, and cost of course. Let’s begin and jump headfirst into what it takes to successfully wall mounting a soundbar.
It's Okay to Mount a Soundbar to a Wall
Like we talked about, this will be a complete preference to mount the soundbar to the wall. The most likely scenario you’d like to do this is going to be when the TV is also wall mounted.
There are many ways you can go about this, and nearly endless amounts of products to choose from too. Just know that the end result can look fantastic and it may flow better than you ever thought.
Now that you know it can be done, and it can look fantastic while doing it, did you know that by doing this you can also have your living room stand out from the average household. In fact, how many homes have you been in where they stepped up their audio game and had the soundbar mounted?
Getting ahead of the curve and setting the trend isn’t such a bad thing, especially if you constantly open up your home for a movie night.
Pros and Cons of Mounting a Soundbar to the Wall
Since we talked about some simple tips to improve your soundbar quality, we're going to cover some Pros and Cons as well.
It’s all fun and games to improve the aesthetic of your home, and with small steps like these, it’s one way to crush the entertaining game. But when it comes down to the final decision, here are some Pros and Cons that will hopefully solidify your decision.
Pros
- Clean Look – Not easily can you beat the clean look of a properly mounted soundbar under a TV if it’s done properly. If you maintain the wire management, it will look flawless.
- Safety – How would it feel to know nothing can topple over and break or even fall on someone? By mounting your whole setup, nothing will be knocked off or topple over on someone.
- Less Wear and Tear – No one likes the scratches and marks left from everyone adjusting the TV and soundbar on what was a nice piece of furniture. By mounting the soundbar, you can ensure no one will be spilling their drink on or near it either.
Cons
- Listening Height – One of the issues with mounting the soundbar could be with the listening height. Placing the soundbar too high could cause obstruction and poor quality performance to the sound.
- Possible Vibrations – If the soundbar is not installed and mounted properly, this could cause bad vibrations and even cause it to fall off the wall. Mounting it directly into drywall is not going to be beneficial or safe.
- Poor Quality – If the soundbar is mounted too close to the TV or even slightly behind the TV, the upward facing speaker will not fire correctly. Like the Samsung Q700A Dolby Atmos soundbar (on Amazon). The soundbar will no longer be able to function as it was designed to.
How to Mount a Soundbar to the Wall
If you want to try and tackle this task, it’s important to ensure you do it correctly. What that looks like is fairly simple:
- The first thing you need to do is decide where you want it to be located. Location will be key to ensure you don’t lose sound quality by hiding it behind the TV or by obstructing the soundbar from doing what it was built to do. We recommend mounting it under the TV with enough room to operate and access to any buttons or features you will need.
- Find the studs that you’ll be drilling into. It is very important to mount it on studs to reduce vibration and to ensure you have safely placed it on the wall without risk of falling. If your TV is already mounted, it should be pretty easy to find where the studs are.
- Next, you need to pre drill the holes where the mounting brackets will attach. (make sure the soundbar you intend to mount is designed for mounting. Some mounting kits will have weight specifications, so also consider if the two products are compatible.
- Finally when you attach the sound bar, be sure that there is no room for vibration. Using a foam gasket in between the mount and the soundbar is a quick and easy solution.
Following those few tips will guarantee better sound performance, and will mitigate the risk associated with wall mounting a soundbar.
You Can Also Mount a Soundbar to a TV
You may be surprised by how easy it is to mount a soundbar to the TV rather than the wall. It’s a very easy process and you can actually attach the bracket right to the TV or its mount. There is no reason to drill any holes, and a universal mounting bracket for a soundbar (on Amazon) is all you need.
This will give you the freedom to move your TV around without compromising the sound quality you could muffle by mounting it to the wall.
If you are interested in mounting a soundbar to a TV, we have a full tutorial on how to do it.
Final Thoughts
There are a few pros and cons that hopefully will help you make a decision on whether or not to mount your soundbar. Just know that if you decide to make this move, and it’s done correctly, the result can be wonderful. There are many products out there that will make the entire process seamless and affordable too.
Benefits are across the board with this topic, and one way or another there are going to be hiccups that can easily be worked out too. Comparing the two options is going to come down to preference though. The tools are very minimal and it could take as little as 15 minutes to set up.
