Why You Can Trust CNET Hear TV dialog the way it was meant to be heard with the Zvox soundbar, on sale for $140
This soundbar with 12 levels of voice boost is over 50% off right now.
Please don't go for the easy joke -- yes, I know that my ears are getting older. But that's beside the point. The speakers built into modern TVs are terrible and do a lousy job of reproducing dialog. Compound that problem with the fact that many modern TV shows go for a more realistic approach to sound design, which means actors intentionally mumble their way through pivotal scenes. One solution is to turn on subtitles. Or you can, like Cheapskate Rick keeps suggesting, get a soundbar . A soundbar like the Zvox AccuVoice AV157 dramatically improves your TV's audio, and in particular is designed to enhance dialog. Right now, you can get the $300 Zvox AccuVoice AV157 speaker for $130 -- that's 53% off.
That's quite a deal. First of all, let me point out that this is a higher-end model than the AV155 which Rick recently tried out and lauded. While the AV155 has six different levels of dialogue enhancement, this AV157 has 12 levels. You can precisely dial in exactly how much audio boost you need for the center channel dialog.
There's also a feature called Output Leveling, which prevents big spikes in volume (like when commercials come on or there's a noisy action scene). That's almost worth the price of admission all on its own, because it prevents bumbling around for the remote to raise and lower volume like you're on some sort of audio roller coaster.
The AccuVoice soundbar features three full-range speakers (center channel as well as left and right) in a frame that's 17 inches long and 3 inches high. It works with Alexa, automatically turning down the TV volume whenever you ask it a question. And it supports Dolby Digital decoding as well.
This deal should be available now through June 1, or while supplies last.
This article was previously published.
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