I just got a new Samsung AUE70 Crystal 4K Pro Smart TV, and the audio in the Plex app is absolutely horrible. Most of the movies I play, the volume in mid-range and vocals is very very low and sounds muffled. If I increase the volume a lot then other sounds, like BGM or sounds of explosions etc. get really really loud, but dialogue is still pretty difficult to hear. Voices sound like whispers. The TV has a 20 Watt speaker. Sound is ok in other sources, like in my cable STB, or media sites running on the web browser, and in my PlayStation 4 games. Sound isn’t great, but fairly balanced, and mid-ranges are fairly clear and voices are distinguished. It’s just in Plex, the audio is absolutely a joke. I have tried toggling Multi-Channel Audio Boost and normalization in settings, doesn’t help at all.
Do I have to buy a sound bar? I was looking at a 40 Watt Samsung soundbar… But I’m not sure that would even help, as it seems like this is a Plex issue. The TV is fairly loud, even with a 20W speaker, and mid-range is balanced in other sources, except Plex.
Are you using the Plex app on your TV or do you use a plugged in player device?
Your description sounds to me as if your TV is reporting the wrong number of audio channels to the Plex app.
Apparently your device has only 2 of them (stereo), but it tells the Plex app that it has e.g. 5.1 (surround).
Which then causes Plex to deliver 5.1 audio as it is. But since 5.1 audio has all dialogue in the Center channel (which is not present in a stereo setup), you are only hearing ambient sounds through your L and R speakers.
If you have a stereo audio track in your video file, select this one instead.
Well, that was a pretty quick response, support is great here!
I am using the Plex app on the TV, downloaded from the store.
I believe most of the movies in my library have a Stereo AAC track. I do have a few titles that show 5.1 AAC tracks. I tried playing three movies, two with 5.1 AAC tracks and one with a Stereo AAC track… And funnily enough, the audio sounds mostly the same in all three of them. The sound is loud but muffled, and oddly, this time when I was testing, the dialogues sounded a little clearer and more balanced than before.
I tried messing with the TVs audio controls. There aren’t many options, there’s three modes - Standard, Adaptive Sound, and Amplify. Volume is too low in Standard mode, but there is an equalizer option in that mode. I tried to increase the treble side in there, didn’t do anything. I normally use the Adaptive Sound mode, increases the volume and clarity a little bit. Amplify mode sounds the same as Adaptive mode to me.
Maybe it isn’t a problem with Plex after all. I might need to get a 5.1 setup it seems like. Thanks for the help.
Yeah, new TVs have a serious problem: their size. Speakers have to have a certain size to produce a decent amount of air pressure. But if you only have a thin “screen border” to put the speakers in, your results are going to be not great.
If you don’t want a full-blown 5.1 system, you can already get much better sound with a decent sound bar.
Yeah, I did read something similar in some TV buying guide, I think.
So, would a 40 Watt soundbar suffice?
I looked at a Samsung T400 2.0 Channel Soundbar with Built-in Subwoofer (40 W, 4 Speakers, Dolby 2 Channel). I don’t wanna get something too crazy, because the room where the TV is isn’t too big, and the TV speakers sound fairly loud as it is, even if they are just 20 Watts. I just want to improve the sound clarity.
I think 40 W should be fine – considering that the sound bar speakers will be firing towards you, while the TV speakers are quite likely firing downwards.
