Soundbar or Speakers for PC, Which Is Better?

Soundbars are made for televisions. Most people use headphones or speakers for their PC and laptops. But, when using speakers for your PC, they often leave a lot to be desired in regards to audio quality. So, I bought a soundbar and thought I’d write this helpful article to explain which is better.

So, soundbar or speakers for PC? Soundbars are better than speakers because people’s voices are easier to understand. Speakers may be slightly better for playing music at high volumes, but the difference is hardly noticeable.

Soundbars are better than speakers for movies, TV shows, and editing audio for videos or podcasts.

Although soundbars are in between a true surround sound and a speaker system, they do provide excellent sound quality. So, below I will discuss the differences between a soundbar, surround sound system, and speakers, as well as, more details about what makes soundbars better than speakers for a PC.

Which is Better a Soundbar or Speakers for a PC?

Soundbars were originally made in response to the poor audio quality of newer TVs. Older TVs had inbuilt speakers but were large and cumbersome. Therefore, a separate speaker system was needed for the audio quality of newer TVs to be good. Soundbars are wide and thin providing good sound dispersion and come with a subwoofer for the mid-tones and bass.

Soundbars are superior for TV shows and movies because soundbars make it easier to hear and understand what people are saying. This also helps if you do audio editing and Skype calls through it. The audio editing of YouTube videos or video content is more accurate. This leads to superior quality audio for this type of work on your PC. When compared to speakers.

Soundbars achieve this because the sound is separated out, where people’s voices and environmental sounds such as the noise of a door closing, come through the soundbar, and the bass and mid-tones come through the subwoofer. Speakers, on the other hand, don’t separate out the sound or have only a small treble speaker which isn’t as good as a soundbar

If you already use speakers and change to a soundbar. It usually takes a few days to get used to it. But, you will find after you use a soundbar for a while and go back to speakers that the speakers are much less intelligible. So, when using a soundbar it makes listening to voices in movies, tv shows, audio calls, and youtube videos easier to understand. This leads to an overall better quality experience when using your PC.

Speakers can be marginally better than a soundbar for listening to music at very loud volumes, but this would depend on the specific speakers and how their quality, which often means price. Therefore, soundbars that are the same price as speakers will have a more superior sound quality for all applications.

Space Requirements For A Soundbar

A soundbar consists of a long thin speaker that is positioned in front of your monitor. The subwoofer can be positioned anywhere, but typically it is put out of the way, on the floor, or to the side.

Some subwoofers that come with soundbars are wireless, which gives you more flexibility on where you can position it. This should be a key consideration when looking at getting a soundbar.

You should have a wide desk and leave as much room as you can between yourself and the soundbar. This will give you better audio quality. The speakers on a quality speaker set, on the other hand, are often large and they come in sets of two or more.

This means that you will need more space, as well as, sufficient space to mount them. Oftentimes, you need to adjust their positioning until you find a spot that gives you the best audio quality.

Are Soundbars Good for PCs?

Soundbars are clearer for voices in movies, TV shows, and any video or audio content such as podcasts and YouTube videos. They are not as good technically for bass and mid-tones, because speakers come with more than one speaker. Meaning they produce more sound. But in reality, the difference is not noticeable and you will get better audio quality with a soundbar.

When using a PC at home, most people will use it for gaming, watching Youtube and Netflix, and maybe for business. If a person is using it for the business they will often use it to make calls.

They won’t work however because when a person talks it will come through the speakers and into your microphone. Causing feedback and echo. Therefore, if you are using them on your work computer always have a set of headphones handy.

That way you can plug them when participating in live videos, or making calls over Skype or Zoom. They are particularly good when editing audio or video with people talking.

Is a Soundbar Better than Surround Sound System?

For audio quality, soundbars are in between surround sound and speakers.

Surround sound is the ultimate listening experience. But, they can be costly and require a lot of space. If you have a designated room to watch your TV or PC then it won’t be an issue.

Soundbars were originally made to make up for the poor sound quality of newer TVs. New TVs became thinner and the speaker quality became less and less. Therefore, soundbars were created as an intermediary and almost an essential item to go with a newer TV.

Surround sound has many different points of speakers, together with the complex splitting of the sound between them. This gives you the full immersive experience and it is hard to distinguish between surround sound and real life.

A soundbar is a stand-alone solution to the poor quality of the speakers on modern flat-screen TVs. They are also part of a full surround sound system. A surround sound system will include multiple speakers mounted in various parts of the room. The soundbar sits at the base of the TV and produces sound from the front. Most models also come with a subwoofer.

Does Soundbar Replace TV Speakers?

A soundbar is a replacement for TV speakers. The same is true for a full surround sound system. A soundbar is in between TV speakers and a surround sound system in terms of the sound quality.

Some people opt for a soundbar to increase the quality of the sound coming from their tv, and provide very good sound quality. People choose to get a full surround sound system when they want the absolute best experience when watching movies or television shows.

Older TVs used to come with large inbuilt speakers, and be very heavy and bulky. Since the innovations into flat-screen technology, the speakers have needed to become smaller and smaller. As a result, the sound quality on modern TVs has declined to the point where a separate speaker system is virtually required.

Therefore, when someone purchases a flat-screen tv, they typically go for a speaker system or a soundbar. A soundbar is preferred because it takes up much less space than a speaker. It also provides excellent sound quality for people’s voices making them much easier to understand.

Conclusion

Soundbars are superior to speakers when using a PC. This is because they separate out the bass and mid-tones. The soundbar is also positioned directly in front of you. This makes the audio of a soundbar to perform much better than equivalent speakers. Soundbars were originally created to provide a solution to the decline in speaker quality that came as a result of the invention of flat-screen TV technology. Because the flat-screen TVs were so thin the speakers used on them had to be thin as well. This lead to the decline in audio quality of the box for most modern TVs.