[Wanted] SoundBar upgrade on a budget

[Inevitability]

Hi people,
I have a Hisense HS218 Soundbar, which is a s**tload better than my TV speakers, but the audio feels like it's missing something ... I'm no audiophile, but the sound feels a bit too heavy on the lower frequencies and not enough on the upper end.
So I'm looking to upgrade.
I don't mind something older as long as it's in very good shape and the audio quality is a real step up from what I have.
All that being said, my budget is R1500.

Alternatively, if someone knows how to get better performance from the SoundBar I have, and that costs me R0.00, feel free to educate me!
It's hooked up via Optical cable to my TV which, in turn, is only connected via HDMI to an Android TV box (Xiaomi MiBox S)


Item Wanted: Soundbar with better audio quality than my HS218
Packaging Essential: Not at all
Desired Age: Not important if its in good condition
Location: Jhb
Willing to accept a shipped item: Not closed to the idea
Ballpark/Budget Amount: R1500 max

FYI
--------

• For your and my protection please read our guide to safe dealing: https://carbonite.co.za/index.php?threads/guide-for-safe-dealing-on-carbonite.131249/
• A deal is concluded for purposes of feedback when parties agree to a deal

 

[Joshmeister]

Hi people,
I have a Hisense HS218 Soundbar, which is a s**tload better than my TV speakers, but the audio feels like it's missing something ... I'm no audiophile, but the sound feels a bit too heavy on the lower frequencies and not enough on the upper end.
So I'm looking to upgrade.
I don't mind something older as long as it's in very good shape and the audio quality is a real step up from what I have.
All that being said, my budget is R1500.

Alternatively, if someone knows how to get better performance from the SoundBar I have, and that costs me R0.00, feel free to educate me!
It's hooked up via Optical cable to my TV which, in turn, is only connected via HDMI to an Android TV box (Xiaomi MiBox S)


Item Wanted: Soundbar with better audio quality than my HS218
Packaging Essential: Not at all
Desired Age: Not important if its in good condition
Location: Jhb
Willing to accept a shipped item: Not closed to the idea
Ballpark/Budget Amount: R1500 max

FYI
--------

• For your and my protection please read our guide to safe dealing: https://carbonite.co.za/index.php?threads/guide-for-safe-dealing-on-carbonite.131249/
• A deal is concluded for purposes of feedback when parties agree to a deal

Have you tried adjusting your TVs equaliser to try and boost high frequencies?

 

[iamgigglz]

but the audio feels like it's missing something ...

 

[PaladinLaw]

Why are you running

Mibox > hdmi > tv > optical cable > sounbar

And not just

Mibox > optical cable > soundbar

If you don't mind me asking

 

[goldfritter]

Why are you running

Mibox > hdmi > tv > optical cable > sounbar

And not just

Mibox > optical cable > soundbar

If you don't mind me asking

Mibox doesn't have optical out.

@Inevitability what exact make and model TV do you have? This may sound weird, and shouldn't be a thing, but unfortunately some recent TVs have problems with their optical outputs where the sound quality isn't what it should be. I had this issue with an optical DAC with a 2020 model Samsung TV and Googled around it, and apparently it's a widespread issue. There should be (I think) ways around it that cost less than R 1.5k.

If that turns out to not be the problem though, you are probably very close already to the best audio performance one could get for R 1.5k. Unless you happen to have an old stereo amp or hifi speakers lying around?

 

[Inevitability]

Have you tried adjusting your TVs equaliser to try and boost high frequencies?

Yep. TV equaliser has limited options... Highest frequency adjustment option is 10khz.
Tried the different presets on both TV and Soundbar... still doesn't deliver what I want. I mean it's not like it's really bad, it's just ok.

Why are you running

Mibox > hdmi > tv > optical cable > sounbar

And not just

Mibox > optical cable > soundbar

If you don't mind me asking

I don't mind at all... I really appreciate you guys taking the time to reply. The Mibox S optical is via the same jack as the 3.5mm... the optical cable that came with the SoundBar has a different connector. So I used the TV's Optical. Also, there was a time the kids were using the YouTube app on the TV for their account and I was using the Mibox with mine, but I still wanted both to deliver sound to the SoundBar.

 

[Inevitability]

But seriously... If compare the audio from my phone which has nice high frequencies and the SoundBar, the SoundBar is a bit "dull".

 

[Inevitability]

Mibox doesn't have optical out.

@Inevitability what exact make and model TV do you have? This may sound weird, and shouldn't be a thing, but unfortunately some recent TVs have problems with their optical outputs where the sound quality isn't what it should be. I had this issue with an optical DAC with a 2020 model Samsung TV and Googled around it, and apparently it's a widespread issue. There should be (I think) ways around it that cost less than R 1.5k.

If that turns out to not be the problem though, you are probably very close already to the best audio performance one could get for R 1.5k. Unless you happen to have an old stereo amp or hifi speakers lying around?

Hisense A6100
Will do some Googling... I really hope its something as simple as this.

 

[goldfritter]

Hisense A6100
Will do some Googling... I really hope its something as simple as this.

The issue I had was distortion, peaking, and crackling in the higher frequencies. Almost like it would have sounded if you turned the volume up too high - but it happens at low volumes too. Not sure if the Hisense TVs also have it.

I think the way to get around it is with an "HDMI audio extractor" which you can get on Takealot for about R600, and plug the HDMI into that, and then the optical out from that into the sound bar. But, I haven't been able to test if it does actually solve the problem, so I can't guarantee it'll work.

 

[Joshmeister]

As mentioned I think you could try to get a decent DAC. Your TVs built in DAC is probably not that great

 

[PaladinLaw]

Yep. TV equaliser has limited options... Highest frequency adjustment option is 10khz.
Tried the different presets on both TV and Soundbar... still doesn't deliver what I want. I mean it's not like it's really bad, it's just ok.


I don't mind at all... I really appreciate you guys taking the time to reply. The Mibox S optical is via the same jack as the 3.5mm... the optical cable that came with the SoundBar has a different connector. So I used the TV's Optical. Also, there was a time the kids were using the YouTube app on the TV for their account and I was using the Mibox with mine, but I still wanted both to deliver sound to the SoundBar.

Makes sense

 

[PaladinLaw]

Mibox doesn't have optical out.

It does

 

[goldfritter]

Hisense A6100
Will do some Googling... I really hope its something as simple as this.

Actually I'm being dumb. Check if your TV supports HDMI ARC? If it does you can just use another HDMI cable to connect the TV to the sound bar using HDMI ARC rather than using optical - that would solve the issue of a bad optical out without having to buy the extractor box thingie. EDIT: or if the sound bar has HDMI in as well as HDMI out, you can connect the Mibox to the sound bar HDMI in and the TV to the sound bar HDMI out, this would also bypass the optical issue.

It does

OK then I really am being dumb. Do you mean the socket at the back with the red light shining out of it? Because my dad has the Mi Box S and I couldn't figure out how to connect an optical cable to that socket. If you know how please let me know because that would actually solve a problem my dad has been having!

 

[PaladinLaw]

OK then I really am being dumb. Do you mean the socket at the back with the red light shining out of it? Because my dad has the Mi Box S and I couldn't figure out how to connect an optical cable to that socket. If you know how please let me know because that would actually solve a problem my dad has been having!

You need a TOS to 3.5 adapter / cable.

I believe the 3.5mm format was used to save space.

Adapter
Cable

 

[Inevitability]

Actually I'm being dumb. Check if your TV supports HDMI ARC? If it does you can just use another HDMI cable to connect the TV to the sound bar using HDMI ARC rather than using optical - that would solve the issue of a bad optical out without having to buy the extractor box thingie. EDIT: or if the sound bar has HDMI in as well as HDMI out, you can connect the Mibox to the sound bar HDMI in and the TV to the sound bar HDMI out, this would also bypass the optical issue.

That thought crossed my mind but I didn't wanna post until I tried it. So I hooked it up and tried different settings on the TV, the MiBox and the SoundBar. High frequencies are still not as good as the phone but in all of the crawling through the settings, I saw that the Dolby settings were wrong ... I think I fixed that part now. Still, it hasn't made a world of difference so I don't think that's the root cause.

 

[solz]

You need a TOS to 3.5 adapter / cable.

I believe the 3.5mm format was used to save space.

Adapter
Cable

Yes not sure who had it first but Intel had it also on their nucs at some stage not sure if it's still so on the newer ones

 

[PaladinLaw]

That thought crossed my mind but I didn't wanna post until I tried it. So I hooked it up and tried different settings on the TV, the MiBox and the SoundBar. High frequencies are still not as good as the phone but in all of the crawling through the settings, I saw that the Dolby settings were wrong ... I think I fixed that part now. Still, it hasn't made a world of difference so I don't think that's the root cause.

Mibox also has dolby and DTS.

Would def try skipping the tv and going mibox > sounbar

 

[goldfritter]

You need a TOS to 3.5 adapter / cable.

I believe the 3.5mm format was used to save space.

Adapter
Cable

Yes not sure who had it first but Intel had it also on their nucs at some stage not sure if it's still so on the newer ones

Well there I have learned a thing I never knew before. Thanks, I will send this to my dad.

Mibox also has dolby and DTS.

Would def try skipping the tv and going mibox > sounbar

@Inevitability this is then worth a try too, as on some TVs the ARC output doesn't carry the full 5.1ch sound but downmixes it to stereo (this is my dad's situation and the reason why the MiBox's optical out might solve the problem). The soundbar might then be better able to handle vocals in sources that have 5.1ch sound. But, this won't make a difference on stereo sources like music and non-5.1 series/movies.

Overall again, if that doesn't help, then I think you are basically very close to having maximised the sound quality one can get from a TV for R 1 500 - especially considering your soundbar is over R 2k new. You can get a basic stereo amp and speakers for under R 5k, which would give great highs, but you'd lose the subwoofer, and in all my explorations I couldn't find a way to combine a stereo amp with a soundbar and its subwoofer.

So your upgrade path is either a better soundbar, or an AV receiver with speakers and subwoofer.

 

[Inevitability]

Will definitely give that a try.
Thanks guys ... I truly appreciate your inputs and the time you've given to me.

 

[Inevitability]

Did some further digging, and it looks like the international version of my soundbar comes with a remote that has a treble control button, but the South African version of the remote does not.
I'm disappointed.
In this (very detailed) review below, they confirm what I've been hearing...

Out-of-the-box, it has a pretty neutral, though slightly dull, sound profile. The treble range is a bit underemphasized

With calibration, this soundbar has a good stereo frequency response. With its bass set to '-3' and its treble set to '4', it has a very neutral, balanced sound profile that's suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content

Hisense HS218 Review

The Hisense HS218 is a budget-friendly 2.1 soundbar. Out-of-the-box, it has a pretty neutral sound profile suitable for most types of audio content, though it ca...

www.rtings.com

 

[pboy]

or for R2kish.. you could get a pair of powered stereo speakers that is way ahead of the soundbar design.
I've seen some edifier on special. sell the hisense, and get an active sub, as there are some powered stereo speakers that have sub out as well.

 

[Scrooloose]

Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4 Floorstanding Speakers (Pair) – E-piphany

 

[goldfritter]

Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4 Floorstanding Speakers (Pair) – E-piphany

Kek. And then you still need an amplifier to power them. And fancy cables at R 4 000/metre.

 

[BillyBob]

Frankly, based on what you're telling us, it sounds like the tweeters on your soundbar may have shifted off this mortal coil.

Look for a cheap second-hand Yamaha or Phillips soundbar. They're pretty decent.

 

[Inevitability]

or for R2kish.. you could get a pair of powered stereo speakers that is way ahead of the soundbar design.
I've seen some edifier on special. sell the hisense, and get an active sub, as there are some powered stereo speakers that have sub out as well.

I like this idea. If its not too much to ask, can you give me a 3-line crash course on what I should look for beyond just the words "powered speakers"?

Frankly, based on what you're telling us, it sounds like the tweeters on your soundbar may have shifted off this mortal coil.

Look for a cheap second-hand Yamaha or Phillips soundbar. They're pretty decent.

I've been looking at old Sony/Yamaha/Onkyo receivers for sale on Marketplace. But the decent ones are still prices around R2k, and that's before any speakers.
I haven't yet seen a single Yamaha/Phillips soundbar.
Like my father used to tell me when i was a child ... next time i will look with my eyes open

 

[Inevitability]

or for R2kish.. you could get a pair of powered stereo speakers that is way ahead of the soundbar design.
I've seen some edifier on special. sell the hisense, and get an active sub, as there are some powered stereo speakers that have sub out as well.

Did some more Googling... People seem to love those Edifier bookshelf speakers on the Internet and YT reviews... I'm gonna look for those.

 

[Inevitability]

Thanks everyone who replied ... gonna lock the thread cos I am hunting alternative solutions from the suggestions that you guys posted.