5 Creative Uses For Your TV's Old Soundbar

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The speakers on a TV get the job done well enough, but they're not the most pleasant-sounding. You might struggle to understand some dialogue sometimes and other times the volume might seem like it doesn't go loud enough. That's typically because TV speakers are inferior to most external speaker systems, so most people opt to connect a sound bar to their TV, improving sound quality in multiple ways.

However, soundbars don't only need to be connected to a TV to be useful and since they're small and portable, they're easy to set up in just about any room in the house. Many soundbars are Bluetooth compatible, clearing up unnecessary clutter but also making them compatible with most modern devices like your smartphone. You might be tempted to call soundbars glorified Bluetooth speakers, but the sound quality alone separates them by miles.

Once you upgrade your current soundbar, you might be tempted to toss the old one. Before you do that, you should consider upgrading one of the other rooms in the house with your old soundbar. There are plenty of options.

There's nothing better than being able to work out in the privacy of your own home, not having to wait around for a machine only to clean up after others. Sure, you can simply use a pair of over ear headphones for working out or earbuds, but sometimes they can be more of a hassle than they're worth. Instead, take that old soundbar you had for your TV that you were just going to toss and connect it to a sound system in your designated workout area. Better yet, pair it to your phone. Either way, blast that music and feel the vibrations of your favorite playlist from the soundbar as you build up a sweat.

Alternatively, if you have a TV in your home gym and have simply been using the stock speakers, hook up the soundbar to it. It will make it a lot easier to get through your workout when the sound quality is improved.

Some people enjoy having parties where they can laugh at their friends while simultaneously sharing their favorite songs, and karaoke is the best way to do that. Granted, pairing a soundbar with a karaoke microphone takes a little finesse and a few steps — and you'll still connect it to the TV — but it ends up being worth it because it's going to sound better than any speaker that's part of a karaoke kit. And it will definitely sound better than using TV speakers.

If you get your hands on something like the Sound Town SWM150PROS karaoke mixer system, you can connect it directly to a soundbar. Better yet, if your old soundbar has Bluetooth, pair it with your Android and use one of the must-have karaoke apps in the Google Play Store. This isn't a bad option for some solo karaoke, which might be odd but isn't too different from singing in the shower.

How often do you have guests over for a barbecue, pool party, or a get-together where you're in the backyard? Music really ties any party together, adding some background noise and sometimes serving as a decent conversation starter. Some people might already have a receiver back there hooked up to some old speakers for entertainment, and others might simply pair their phone to a Bluetooth speaker. Whatever you have in your backyard, switching over to a soundbar is not a terrible option, especially if you get your hands on a weather-resistant one. Then you won't have to be too concerned about the elements, as long as you store it in a safe location.

Something like Samsung's Terrace Outdoor Soundbar is specifically designed for the outdoors — albeit quite pricey — so the audio comes in pretty clearly and gets loud enough to overcome many outdoor sounds. Take it to the next level and set up a TV in the backyard, too, to enjoy your favorite sports with your friends. If you're not one to have many backyard parties, but you do a lot of work in the garage, you could also set a soundbar up in there, listening to your favorite tunes while you tune up your car.

You've likely heard at some point from somebody that vinyl sounds better than CDs, Spotify, and any of its affordable alternatives. Purists enjoy the figurative warmth of a record and how authentic it sounds, where the music isn't overly compressed. Sure, you can't seamlessly jump from one band's music to another with a turntable or set it to shuffle, but there is a culture with vinyl that you simply don't get from a digital format. Imagine how crisp the audio would be if you hooked up your turntable to a soundbar, combining a little bit of the analog world with the digital.

Most modern record players come with the right connectivity to pair with a soundbar, including Bluetooth. If you have an older turntable, it probably doesn't have an amp, so you'll need to get a pre-amp or you're not going to hear much of anything from the soundbar. Once you hook it up, though, you're going to enjoy superior-sounding music playing from superior sound system, listening to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones as they were intended to be heard.

Competitive gamers typically favor headphones of some kind for their gaming needs because they want to hear every little sound in their game of choice. If it's a competitive game like a first-person shooter, it's very necessary to hear where an opponent is coming from. A single-player game, on the other hand, is not as crucial. The audio simply adds to the immersion, but you don't need headphones for that. Plus, if you have friends over to the house as an audience, they want to hear what's happening in the game too, and that's where a soundbar can be useful.

Beyond the sound quality, a soundbar will save some space on your desk. Rather than getting the traditional two-speaker setup from some of the top-rated computer speakers that's commonly seen on computer desks, a soundbar is a single piece and has fewer cables. Not to mention you can get creative with some soundbars out there by connecting them to the computer monitor itself, so it's not taking up any space on the desk.

If you go the premium route, you can get a soundbar with a subwoofer and some rear speakers, improving the soundbar's sound quality with some additional bass and some surround sound action, which you might want as an audiophile. However, simply upgrading to a soundbar without a subwoofer will still be an improvement over most basic speakers.