Above is my TV system as of January 2019 . All recycled components which were collecting dust on shelf, except the very cheap amplifier, which I bought for $40 CAD on eBay.

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Tweeter- Transducer Labs, N26MG (magnesium dome)

Mid- Range - Sealed Bipole (Eton 3-400 front, Tang Band W3-xxx back, both 3" have metal cones with hard break-up around 10 kHz)

Subs-  Four SB Acoustic 12" (2 cabinets. Each sealed cabinet is push-pull configuration, one behind TV and one under the table)

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Crossover- Passive 6 dB/Oct on mid and tweeter (3.5 kHz point used), The sub-woofer is 12 dB @ 110 Hz from small Class D amplifier.

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Amplifier TPA3118 based, 2.1 channel Class D (2x30 watts and 1x 60watts with internal variable crossover on the sub-woofer)

Not a great amp by any means, very budget in fact, but it works for now.

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Overall, not exactly a dream system. Besides, the four 12" sub-woofers, which may be overkill for MP3 quality streamed from YouTube and Spotify. Subs will stay as you should know by now; bass quality/extension is very important for me.

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Sound is as you expect, not spectacular... Bi-pole mid-range helps in getting more sound field but only so much.

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Here comes Plug-in to the rescue. (DSP)

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​Equalizer:

The main speakers are anything but linear. Listening to them straight is quite bright and the sealed subwoofer doesn’t go deep naturally. (google "linkwitz transform" for explanation on required sealed box subwoofer correction).

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Since I have no DSP ability, due to a passive system only used for TV, EQ is my only option. 

Equalizer APO is free software and works on Windows (anything that the computer sends to the TV, the sound will be processed)

On the image above, you can see my correction curve required to  be "flattish" frequency response at listening position.

No surprise, that 22 dB are required for acceptable results, and as such, I reach ~22 Hz flat.

+22 Decibels is a huge amount of correction, but it’s what is required. 

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Stereo Enhancer:

Speakers are close to the listening position and only three feet apart.

I listen four feet from the speaker, and as a result the stereo image is very narrow.

"VST plugin" are free and work like a charm. Equalizer APO supports them. What a blessing.

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I randomly selected "A1stereocontrol" (hundreds of similar offerings are available)

This plugin allows me to select between different stereo widths

• 100% (stock)

• 125% (noticeably wider soundstage)

• 150% (on most music this is my favorite setting)

• 200% (very wide and somehow to diffuse center, too much of a good thing it seems) 

• With artificial extra stereo widening effect, the instruments can seem to come 2' (not a typo, 2 feet) from outside of the speaker. This make orchestral music listening good again. You close your eye and listen as your brain is fooled. It’s impressive.

• mind you, "impressive" for such affordable setup, in absolute term, the system is still low end and sound like it...

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HiFi Mode: (lossless file playing)

Using JRivers media player and playing from my music library, I even add a third layer of processing.

I use "Surround field" included in JRivers.​

• Surround field simulates a wider still soundstage (feels different from previous VST and cumulative effect is better subjectively than either one used alone)

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Listening to the TV system "stock" isn’t very good at all.

Using all three processing algorithms, makes for a surprisingly immersive experience and very satisfying sound. 

Of course, my main rig sounds 100X better than the TV system, but with electronic processing improvements, the TV system sound 10x better than without.

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Some people may not agree with me, but hearing is believing. 

 

It’s similar to eating an overcooked steak by itself with no side. It’s a steak…but not a good one.

Processing the sound is like eating the same overcooked steak with lots of spices, mushroom and gravy added. It’s still the same steak but "improved version". It makes the experience quite different and all of the sudden, a positive one.

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It’s your choice. For me… I'd rather cheat and enjoy what I hear, than be "pure" and unsatisfied.