best soundbar under 300

Table of contents:

• Soundbar connection

The soundbar as a component of such systems can be used in different ways: as a standalone device, as part of a multi-room sound system for the whole house, or as a detachable speaker in a home theater system. You use a best soundbar under 300 for the front stereo and center channels, and a pair of wireless speakers for the rear.

Soundbar connection

HDMI (ARC)

If your soundbar has an HDMI input, it must be ARC (Audio Return Channel) compatible. A modern TV also usually has at least one HDMI-connector with ARC support, and if so, then the best option for connecting a soundbar is to use HDMI. In this case, you can use the TV remote control to adjust the volume of the sound bar. If there is an HDMI output with ARC support, the audio signal from all devices connected to the TV will be transmitted to it - that is, listening to any of them will occur through the soundbar, and the source selection will again occur from the TV remote control.

It's also worth reading your TV's manual to find out how it converts multi-channel audio from sources such as Blu-ray or DVD players to stereo. It may be best to feed the signal directly from these devices rather than from the TV, especially since some of the soundbars have two HDMI inputs. In a pinch, the digital audio input can be used as an alternative.

Digital audio input (Toslink or coaxial)

This is the next best option for connecting a soundbar after an HDMI connection. The digital audio output can also transmit multi-channel audio, however, when using it, you will no longer be able to use the TV remote control to adjust the volume of the soundbar (unless the latter has an additional function for learning commands from a third-party remote control). Most TVs, satellite receivers, BD/DVD players and multimedia players, as well as many soundbars, have a Toslink optical digital jack (the connector for it is shown below on the left), however, sometimes it can be represented by coaxial input or output (coaxial plug is on the right side of the picture). In any case, only jacks of the same type can be connected, so before buying a soundbar, you need to make sure that it is equipped with the appropriate input.

Analog stereo (3.5mm/RCA)

Your TV may be equipped with analog stereo outputs (usually represented by color-coded red and white RCA jacks), and you can use this type of connection as an alternative to HDMI or digital audio outputs. Of course, in this case, you will not get multi-channel sound from your TV. Most soundbars have a 3.5mm analog input, so you'll need an RCA to mini-jack adapter to connect it to your TV.

If the TV is very old, then it can only be equipped with a 3.5 mm headphone jack. In the most extreme case, it can also be used to connect a soundbar, but you need to be prepared for the fact that the sound quality will not be very high.

See also: Home cinema.