by Les Tyler, dbx-tv, Published in ECN magazine
Today’s flat-panel TV sets have bright, detailed pictures. They look great even when not operating, as a result of thin profiles and disappearing bezels. And, they connect so easily to the Internet, Skype, and BluRay players that they easily serve as the entertainment hub for today’s media-savvy consumers. But, sadly, unless you’ve hooked it up to an external sound system (a sound bar at the very least), you’re probably listening to awful audio. That’s the norm for today’s inexpensive flat-panel TVs — even the largest of the bunch. As a long-time audio engineer and sometime audiophile, it amazes me that consumers put up with this. What’s more, they don’t have to!