TV speakers usually don’t provide an optimal audio experience, often missing the mark with quiet dialogues and loud explosions. Soundbars can significantly enhance the audio quality of your home theater sound. However, using both TV speakers and a soundbar simultaneously usually doesn’t improve sound as expected.
So can you use a soundbar and TV speakers at the same time? It’s possible to use TV built-in speakers and a soundbar simultaneously, as some TVs offer this dual functionality. However, if you want quality sound, you should only use the soundbar and disable the TV’s built-in speakers.
Using both your TV speakers and your soundbar at once does nothing to improve your listening experience. While it certainly will not damage the TV or soundbar, it dilutes your sound and can detract from your experience instead of enhancing it.
Why You Shouldn’t Use a Soundbar and TV Speakers Together
You invested in your soundbar for a reason. Generally, that reason is that your TV speakers leave a lot to be desired. After all, as TVs have become sleeker, the speakers built into them have become even worse. Limited space within the TV not only impacts the area available for speakers but also space to properly reverberate and cool.
To some, it may sound like a great idea to run both your TV speakers and soundbar at the same time. After all, the more speakers, the better the sound, right? Wrong. Below, I list the top three reasons why this idea is inaccurate and why you should not use your soundbar while also using TV speakers.
Is That an Echo I Hear?
Soundbars are designed to replace your TV speakers; they are not meant to work in parallel with your television’s built-in speakers. The primary reason for this is the echo.
When you run both your TV speakers and your soundbar at the same time, audio synchronization issues may arise as the same audio signal is relayed to both. Because the audio profiles of both are very different, the actual sounds that come from each will also be different, often creating what sounds like an echo.
After all, the soundbar offers greatly improved sound quality when compared to even the most expensive TVs available today. So if you have noticed a muddy sound when your TV speakers hit low tones, this same sound will be produced whereas your soundbar provides a cleaner, deeper bass.
Overall, your listening experience will suffer should you play sound through both TV audio and your soundbar at the same time.
Directional Sound Helps You Immerse Yourself in Your Media
Your TV speakers are cheap, built-in models that often do not support the nuances and fluctuations of even everyday television shows. TV speakers typically face in one direction based on the make and model.
Your soundbar, however, is built to handle all of those fluctuations. Many models also help to relay sound the way it should be through multiple, directionally placed speakers within the soundbar itself.
The Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro 7.1.4Ch sound bar with subwoofer (our review), for example, includes four 2.5-inch full-range speakers along the left and right sides, two 2.5-inch center channel drivers, and a single driver at each end of the sound bar for “extreme” left and right sounds.
This helps with accurate sound relays that you may be subtly missing since your TV sound produces sound one-dimensionally.
Control Becomes More Limited and Complex
Another issue to consider with running both your TV speakers and soundbar simultaneously is that your sound control becomes more limited and more complex. A soundbar does not automatically disable TV speakers, so you might need to manually turn off the TV speakers through the TV’s audio settings.
Most modern TVs provide options to either silence your built-in speakers or disable them entirely. You then switch your audio output through your TV’s audio setup menu to “External” to relay signals directly to the soundbar itself.
When you do this, most models will then allow you to easily adjust and control sound settings with the same TV remote. This gives you full control from one remote, used for both the TV and soundbar devices.
When you run the TV speakers and soundbar in parallel, however, you must use two separate remotes to control the overall volume and individual settings.
Want to switch to an “action movie” mode? You will have to do this within both your TV menu and your soundbar settings. Quickly need to turn down the sound because it is waking the baby? You will have to turn down both the TV and soundbar independently in order to do so.
Is this a show-stopper? Of course not, but it is certainly an inconvenience that you can easily avoid simply by deactivating your TV speakers and relying on the soundbar alone. And even then, you can control your soundbar using a TV remote.
Soundbars are an Investment – Let It Show
The fact of the matter is – your soundbar is an investment. Depending on the model you chose, it can be a rather steep investment at that. Almost any soundbar, whether a Bluetooth soundbar or one with HDMI, would be an upgrade to the sound produced by your TV.
This is true even if you bought the most advanced TV on the market today and paired it with any one of the soundbars featured in our Best Soundbars for the Money – Buyer’s Guide. And while your soundbar doesn’t have to be the same brand as your TV, click here to find out why it could be beneficial.
If you plan to invest in a soundbar, even a budget option, it’s best to let the device do its job. For those who are worried their soundbar may be too hard to set up, rest assured that almost all models are plug-and-play in today’s market.
Additionally, with today’s Dolby Atmos availability increasing (Source), you want to make sure your soundbar gives you the quality surround sound system it can.
However, as stated above, you should disable or mute your TV speakers when connecting a soundbar to a TV (our guide). For many TVs, this is a simple process. Often user-friendly, your TV manufacturer should have provided a manual that can explain this process in-depth.
Some soundbars can enhance your entire home theater setup in addition to just boosting sound quality. From built-in Alexa or Google Assistants (our top 8 with Google Assistants) to being able to stream media content, a soundbar can do more than just help improve your TV’s sound.
