When you get a new TV, you might think you have bagged yourself the perfect all-in-one home cinema system. And if you are spending more on a set, the expectation is, understandably, that you will get better overall performance in terms of sound, as well as picture quality and features.
But getting it into your living room and finally watching a movie often proves to be a different story. That’s because, to put it bluntly, most TVs sound poor. This is partly due to manufacturers’ focus on making them thinner by the year, especially where OLED sets are concerned.
In terms of aesthetics, this push for thinner TVs has generally been a good step forward, and picture quality rarely suffers. It’s a different story for sound, though, as it means there’s less room for top-quality speakers.
A recent reminder of this ongoing issue came when we reviewed the 65-inch version of the new LG G5, a £3299 / $3400 / AU$5299 TV.
Boasting a new Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel, 4K resolution, and the new second-generation Alpha 11 AI Processor, the G5 is every inch the 2025 flagship TV – and it’s just 2.4cm thick.
The G5’s picture quality is glorious (especially now that an initial Dolby Vision issue has been fixed), and the features for gamers are exceptional.
But its sonic performance lags behind the rest of its fabulous abilities, failing to deliver in its expression of low-level dynamics.
When we watched Blade Runner 2049, we found that it did not “dig particularly deep into the low end of the thumping bassline,” for example. It also did not capture the emotion of voices during conversations, making for dull listening.
What makes that even more disappointing is that a budget soundbar costing 20 times less than the OLED improves the TV’s sound performance.
We tested the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar alongside the G5, and were shocked by what we heard.
The Fire TV Soundbar is a £120 / $120 bar positioned at the cheaper end of the product spectrum. While it received a three-star rating, we found it still delivered punchier bass and better levels of clarity compared to the LG G5’s built-in speakers.
When watching the iconic Live Aid sequence in the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic with the TV speakers alone, the sound does not wrap around you as it should. With the Amazon soundbar, though, it manages to create more of a sense of a seemingly endless crowd – and that’s despite the soundbar not supporting Dolby Atmos.
Don’t get us wrong, this is not an issue isolated to LG. Most TV brands are guilty of leaving audio quality somewhat on the sidelines compared to picture. That’s why we almost always recommend budgeting for a soundbar to partner with your flatscreen.
The silver lining to this is you do not have to spend an arm and a leg to upgrade your TV’s sound, although you can spend more if your budget allows. Even the best budget soundbars will provide a better-sounding movie experience.
Still, it highlights a larger issue that TVs simply do not sound good enough. Should we have to factor in extra cash when forking out for a pricey OLED already? Step it up, guys.
MORE:
A fix is on the way for our big problem with the LG G5 OLED TV
Check out our full Amazon Fire TV Soundbar review
These are the best soundbars we have tested
And here are the best OLED TVs we recommend
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