Sound is a critical part of the television experience. A great sound setup can make you feel like you’re a part of the world you’re watching (or gaming in). The TV with the best speakers is going to have the same features as all great speakers: good volume, low distortion, and great balance.
We’re going to be looking at six televisions today that can create this type of experience in various ways.
A TV is not always the best container for a great set of speakers because the body is so thin, so we may have to get creative to improve the sound of their built in speakers.
What Makes For Great Speakers?
Before I begin my list of TVs with the best speakers, I want to take some time to talk about what makes speakers high quality. I mean we all know a bad set of speakers when we hear it, but how would we go about measuring quality in sound?
Good volume
First and foremost you need to be able to hear your TV clearly. If you’re watching in a large room, then your TV is going to need good volume. My living room is actually the largest room in my house and we’ve been known to have friends and family over to watch Kansas City Chiefs games. You better believe that the sound has to be pretty loud to fill up our living room among all the conversation.
Note: I actually have my TV hooked up to a sound bar with a subwoofer, but we’ll talk about that later.
So the best TV speakers need to be pretty loud.
Low distortion
But how often have you heard a speaker get loud, but it just didn’t sound good? Probably quite often. One of the reasons for a poor sound quality is distortion.
Now distortion in sound is a really broad term. It can mean that the sound wave is taking unnatural shapes, but the most common form of distortion in low quality speakers is called clipping.
Clipping is what happens when the speaker can’t match the volume being requested by the input speaker. The speaker ends up sounding something like this:
If speakers sound like this (if they are clipping sound) then it basically just means they weren’t well made. More specifically it means that the speakers can’t properly handle the input signal at full strength.
Balance of frequencies
There’s another very common problem with low quality speakers. Sound comes in different frequencies. Low or bass sounds (like footsteps from Godzilla or thunder rumbling) have low freqencies and high or treble sounds (like metal clanking) have high frequencies. Then there are sounds in between low and high (like people talking) that we call middle frequencies or mids.
Good sound setups will generally have dedicated speakers for these different frequencies.
When you hear terms like subwoofer and tweeter, these are just the names of speakers that are dedicated to certain sound frequencies. Subwoofers are for very low frequencies and tweeters are for high frequencies.
A good speaker will have clarity between these different frequencies and you as the listener will be able to clearly distinguish between low and high sounds even when there is a lot of noise happening at the same time.
Speaker location
Speaker location can also play a part in sound quality on TVs. Usually the ideal placement for a speaker is on the front of the TV. This allows the sound to be directed straight at you, the viewer, and you lose very little of the sound coming from the speakers.
If you’ve read my article about making speakers louder, then you know that most of the sound coming from speakers gets sent somewhere other than your ears. You would also know that you can make your speakers sound louder by placing your TV in the corner of a room.
When the speakers are on the back of the TV you can lose a lot of their volume, If the are on the side of the TV you probably won’t lose much, but you will lose even less if the speakers are on the front.
Intervention Time…TVs Just Don’t Have Great Speakers
I need to get real with you for a minute. The reality is that TVs just don’t have great speakers. Yes, some TVs will have acceptable speaker setups (good volume, low distortion, but usually poor balance). Televisions today are incredibly thin so they can mount against the wall. They are basically all less than 3 inches thick, and there’s a reason you can’t buy a subwoofer that’s less than 3 inches thick. In order to get a well balanced sound with proper volume on your lower frequencies, a speaker just needs more size than today’s TVs can provide.
So most TVs today have built in processors and software that are intended to maximize the quality of an external speaker setup. Manufacturers expect you to purchase a soundbar with a subwoofer or possibly even a full surround sound system.
That’s really the only way you’re going to get a top tier sound experience.
I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to buy a TV and expect to set it up and instantly get theater quality sound from the built in speakers. It just won’t happen, even if you pay top dollar.
If you want theater quality sound, you will have to buy external speakers
This is just the simple truth. No TV today comes built in with speakers that can provide a theater quality sound.
I’ll be listing some televisions today that may have a great speaker setup in a few different ways:
- They might have built in speakers that are higher quality than other built in speakers
- They might have great hardware and software that maximizes the performance of an external speaker setup
- They might come bundled with a soundbar to give you a legitimately good audio experience
The TVs on my list will have one or more of these features, so make sure you read carefully and know what you’re getting in to.
Make sure you don’t buy a TV expecting a high quality sound experience, because you will almost certainly be disappointed.
TV with Best Speakers at Any Price
These three TVs all have excellent sound quality without the hassle of attaching them to a sound bar or surround sound system. However, remember that no TV will come built in with theater quality sound. So these TVs also come with processors and software that can really take an external speaker setup to the next level.
LG OLED G1
- Comes with Dolby Atmos built in surround sound technology
- Built in AI processor to adjust sound (and video) based on what you’re watching
- OLED offers the best picture quality available today
- Connect to external speakers via bluetooth
The LG OLED G1 is LG’s top of the line TV. LG’s OLED televisions are among the best in picture quality on the market today. However, the G1 also has some built in sound features that are hard to find. So let’s talk about those features first.
The built in speakers are the latest from Sonos, which are also among the highest quality built in speakers you can get for a TV.
In addition to high quality speakers, the TV comes with the Dolby Atmos surround sound technology. This tech is good for the built in speakers, but you’ll really see the benefits of it after you connect the TV to a separate surround sound system. Same goes for the built in AI processor. It works to manipulate the sound and video of whatever is playing to maximize clarity for you. Again, these features benefit the built in speakers, but they make an even bigger difference with an external sound setup.
This TV has the gallery design, which just means it mounts flush to the wall and is made to look like a piece of art. You can set it to gallery mode and the TV will cycle through paintings when its not in use. Also, a wall mount is included, which is nice because I always have trouble looking for a wall mount that works well for a new TV.
The remote has voice control which allows you activate and navigate the LG OLED G1 with only your voice.
This television is pricey. It’s almost certainly not the best value considering the C1, which we’re about to look at has most of the features of this G1 model for 30% less money. However, overall it is the highest quality TV on my list today. The built in sound and speakers will not disappoint and this TV can take an external speaker setup to the next level.
LG OLED C1
- Comes with Dolby Atmos built in surround sound technology
- Built in AI processor to adjust sound (and video) based on what you’re watching
- OLED offers the best picture quality available today
- Connect to external speakers via bluetooth
You’ll notice my highlights list for this LG OLED C1 is identical to the G1 we just looked at. That’s because the video and audio features of this model are the same as those of the G1. And this TV is noticeably cheaper.
So to remind you, this TV comes with top tier built in sonos speakers, the Dolby Atmos surround sound technology as well as the AI processor that adjust sound and video to match the currently playing media. These features make for a top quality built in sound experience and of course the video experience is also top notch.
This C1 is missing the gallery mode, doesn’t mount flush to the wall and doesn’t come with a wall mount.
However, the C1 and G1 both have a few more features I left out in the last section. They both come with gaming optimization to create very low latency in your gaming experience. They also both have Google Assistant and Alexa built in.
There are also a few features that likely won’t be used by most people, which include sports alerting and a filmmaker mode which is supposed to show “movies exactly how filmmakers intended.”
All in all the LG OLED C1 offers 90% of what the G1 offers but at about 70% of the price. This television is probably the best value in the above $1,000 price range.
TV with Best Speakers under $1,000
The $500-1000 range presents probably the best value. You can get very good picture quality and can save some money to buy an external sound system like a decent sound bar. I wouldn’t recommend relying on the built in speakers of these two TVs, so use the money you save on the TV to buy some external speakers.
Samsung QLED Q60T Series
- Comes with Active Voice Amplifier software to make voices easier to understand
- Quantum dot LED display for over a billion different colors
- Built in processor that transforms anything you watch into 4k
Samsung has some of the highest quality TVs in the $500 to $1,000 price range. This Samsung comes with the QLED screen technology that can show over a billion possible colors. It also comes with a built in processor that transforms anything you watch into 4k quality. The QLED picture quality is on par with most televisions that are more than twice the price.
Now let me remind you that you won’t be able to rely on the built in speakers for great sound quality. But this model comes with the Active Voice Amplifier software that makes voices stand out better.
With the money you save on this TV you can buy a mid tier soundbar and still spend under $1,000. Depending on what size screen you opt for, you could afford one of these:
- The TCL Alto 6+ with subwoofer
- Polk Audio Signa S2 with wireless subwoofer
- Klipsch Cinema 400 with wireless subwoofer
All of these fit into the mid tier in terms of quality (although the Klipsch is on the high end of the mid tier) and they all come with subwoofers. You’re sound quality with a set up like this will easily surpass that of the built in speakers on the two LG OLED models.
Overall, the picture on this Samsung model is excellent and the price allows you to splurge on a mid tier external speaker setup (between $100 and $400 depending on what screen size you choose).
Samsung AU8000 Series
- Object Tracking Sound for a surround sound-like experience
- Q-Symphony TV and soundbar technology
- Crystal Color screen for real life colors
- Built in processor that transforms anything you watch into 4k
The Samsung AU8000 Series doesn’t have the same screen technology as the QLED model, but it does have sound features that the other model doesn’t have.
The Crystal Color screen technology is about average for TVs in this price range, so you’re not getting a huge amount of value there. The Object Tracking Sound(OTS) and the Q-Symphony technologies are where you get your value here.
The Object Tracking Sound is a surround sound tech. For example if you have a car racing by on screen the OTS will make the sound move across the room so you can hear it moving. This is going to make a bigger difference if you have a full surround sound setup than it will if you get a soundbar.
Q-Symphony is a feature that allows sound to be played from your soundbar AND your TV speakers at the same time. Obviously this will have benefits in terms of overall volume and your sound balance could benefit as well. This feature can only be used when you plug in your TV directly to the soundbar, I assume because a bluetooth connection would encounter some latency issues. I believe you will also need to opt for a Samsung soundbar (like the SAMSUNG HW-Q60T) as well to ensure that this feature works.
While the Samsung AU8000 Series isn’t best in class for screen quality, it is best in class for sound related features, and the screen quality is on par with most other televisions in its price range.
TV with Best Speakers under $500
We all know that less money usually means lower quality products, however, if we isolate our search to picking out television sets with the best speakers, then we can cheat a little bit. This first TV under $500 comes bundled with a sound bar, which puts its sound quality in competition with some of the best built in speakers on the market.
TCL Class 4-Series with Alto 6 Sound Bar
- Alto 6 Sound Bar is included
- 4K Ultra HD screen
- Super easy and intuitive UI
In my opinion TCL has some of the best value TVs out there. In fact, my wife and I run some Airbnbs and we have bought several TCL Roku televisions because they are affordable, durable, good quality and the remote is easy to operate (very important for an airbnb).
This TCL Class 4-Series comes with the Alto 6 Sound Bar! I’m gonna be honest, even the lowest quality sound bars are going to compete with the highest quality built in TV speakers.
The Alto 6 is such a sound bar. It’s a lower quality sound bar, which means it won’t get as loud, it doesn’t have a dedicated subwoofer and it overall balance just can’t compete with a high quality sound bar. But guess what, it’s still a sound bar that’s well rated and performs great for it’s price range (under $100).
And even the lowly Alto 6 can compete with the built in speakers of most televisions twice the price of this TCL.
Don’t be too quick to write off this TV. It’s an incredible deal if your primary feature is sound quality.
INSIGNIA NS Series (and purchase a sound bar separately)
- 4K resolution with excellent picture quality
- Price is low, so you can purchase a respectable sound bar and keep price under $500
The INSIGNIA NS Series doesn’t come bundled with a sound bar, but it is one of the best picture qualities in this price range. And furthermore, the price allows you to buy a sound bar and keep the price under $500.
I recommend one of these:
There are lots of sound bars out there for under $150 that have acceptable quality to make for a great TV watching experience. The two above are just what I happen to have used before and I can personally vouch for their quality.
Again, you shouldn’t expect these soundbars to blow your mind, but if you compare them to built speakers of most TVs under $1,000 you will hear a clear and obvious improvement. They are louder with less distortion and better frequency balance than the vast majority of built in TV speakers.
If you want to pair great sound quality with equally great picture quality, then you’ll need to pay more for your TV. But if sound quality is at the top of your list, you’ll be very happy with a good cheap TV (like the INSIGNIA NS Series) and a decent sound bar.
Make a TV with Bad Speakers Sound Great With a Soundbar
So the reality is that the best built in TV speakers will never be able to compete with the loudness and quality of exterior speaker setups. Yeah some high end TVs will come with speakers that outperform bad exterior speaker setups, but they will never compete with good ones.
So if you’re happy with the size and picture quality of your current TV, but you just want to upgrade your audio, then I recommend getting a decent sound bar.
A soundbar that costs $100 will, roughly speaking, give you the sound quality of a TV in the $500-1000 range. And a soundbar that costs $300-$500 is likely going to beat out any built in TV speakers you can buy.
So if you really care about sound and don’t put very much value on the picture quality (or you are happy with your current TV’s picture) then I definitely recommend going for the value TV/sound bar combo option over the expensive TV with great built in speakers option.
Recap
Let’s wrap this up by summarizing what makes a TV have the best speakers.
- No TV can provide theater quality sound with its built in speakers
- You can get passable audio with a few TVs costing over $1,000
- Otherwise you’ll want to get a budget TV with some good audio features built in and buy an external speaker setup (like a decent soundbar)
You can get a pretty respectable TV/soundbar setup for under $500, but a truly immersive experience will cost significantly more.
