The Best Equalizer Settings For TV-Samsung, LG, Vizio, Philips
By Robert Jones · 2021-04-16
Don't settle for rubbish TV sound. I've spent 20 years tweaking speaker settings, and a few simple adjustments to your TV's equalizer can make a surprising difference to clarity and balance without needing to buy new kit.
Right, let's be honest, TV speakers are rarely anything to write home about. They're usually an afterthought for manufacturers, tucked away, firing into a wall, or just plain tiny. But that doesn't mean you're stuck with tinny voices and muddy explosions. Over my twenty-odd years testing kit, I've spent countless hours tweaking settings on everything from budget sets to the latest OLEDs, and believe me, you can wring a lot more out of them than you might think.  *The Best Equalizer Settings For TV-Samsung, LG, Vizio, Philips — tested in the SpeakersMag workshop.* It's not just about spending a fortune on a soundbar or a full-blown home cinema setup either. Sometimes, just a few minutes in the settings menu can transform your viewing experience. It's about getting the most out of what you've already got, or making a new purchase sound its best from day one. **Quick Verdict: A few tweaks to your TV's EQ can make a significant difference to dialogue clarity and overall sound balance.** ### Why Bother with TV EQ at All? Think about it. You've just dropped a grand or two on a shiny new telly, with an incredible picture. Then you switch it on, and the sound is… well, a bit pants. Voices get lost, music is a mess, and everything just sounds a bit thin and lifeless. That's where the equaliser comes in. It's your secret weapon to combating those factory settings that are usually optimised for nothing in particular, or worse, for shipping rather than listening. I remember setting up a new 55-inch LG for my brother-in-law last Christmas. Beautiful picture, absolutely stunning. But the sound? Like someone talking through a pipe. He was ready to splash out on a soundbar right there and then. I told him to hold his horses. Ten minutes later, after digging into the sound menu and dialling back some aggressive treble and giving the mids a nudge, his face was a picture. "I can actually hear what they're saying now!" he exclaimed. And he saved himself a few hundred quid, which I think he spent on more festive treats, so everyone won. It's about clarity. It's about getting that subtle thump from a film score without it rattling the whole room. It's about making speech intelligible without having to crank the volume to ear-splitting levels during quiet scenes, only to be blasted out of your seat when an action sequence kicks in. Basic EQ adjustments can fix a lot of these common frustrations. ### What Exactly Are We Twiddling? Common EQ Settings Explained Now, don't expect a studio-grade mixing desk in your TV's sound menu. Most manufacturers give you a fairly simple set of controls, but they're usually enough to make a real impact. You'll typically find sliders or numerical values for a few key frequency ranges. * **Bass / Lows (around 20Hz - 250Hz):** This is where all the deep rumbling, the explosions, the kick drums, and the lower end of male voices live. Too much, and everything gets boomy, muddy, and indistinct. Your TV might vibrate. Too little, and everything sounds thin and weak. For TV speakers, I generally aim for a subtle boost here, just to add a bit of weight and warmth without overwhelming everything else. If you've got a subwoofer, this setting becomes even more crucial, as you'll want to blend it properly. * **Mid-range / Mids (around 250Hz - 2kHz):** This is the bread and butter of almost all audio, especially dialogue. Most human voices, guitars, pianos, and a huge chunk of music sit in this region. If voices sound muffled, distant, or unclear, this is the range you need to focus on. A slight boost can bring dialogue forward. If things sound boxy, honky, or shouty, a slight cut might be in order. This is often the most important band to get right for general TV watching. * **Treble / Highs (around 2kHz - 20kHz):** This is where the sparkle, the detail, the crispness comes from. Cymbals, violins, female vocals, and the "s" sounds in speech (sibilance) are all up here. Too much, and it can be harsh, fatiguing, and sharp – like a knife scraping a plate. Too little, and everything sounds dull, lifeless, and closed-in. On many TV speakers, especially cheaper ones, the treble can be overly aggressive or poorly reproduced, so I often find myself gently pulling this back a touch to reduce harshness. Some TVs will also offer specific