Why sound bars are perfect for dorm rooms

A sound bar is a perfect audio unit for the dorm room because of its size, price point, and ability to multi-task. And once finished with school, the bar can continue to perform for many years to come.

Being a student in college or university can be the best time of your life, but it also comes with a few challenges in addition to keeping up with your studies. I remember it as a time of not having much money, and needing to fit all my belongings in my vehicle and then my dorm room. Not much money and not much space but still wanting to keep my entertainment quotient high. That’s why the sound bar is a good choice.

Sound Bar Flexibility

Sound bars are primarily designed to work with your TV, but sound bars these days also work extremely well for just playing music. Many come with Bluetooth connectivity so you can wirelessly play music from your mobile device or laptop. The Philips 60Watt Sound Bar with Subwoofer (CSS2123B) is a good example of a multi-tasking sound bar since it can work with TVs, DVD players, CD players, gaming consoles, and MP3 players. It has a Music iLink feature that allows you to enjoy music directly from your iPod, iPad, or iPhone. So in the dorm room you can easily use it to augment your TV, play your music and augment your computer videos.

Space Saving Sound Bar

They are ideal for the dorm room because they won’t take up much space due to their long and skinny profile. By mounting it on the wall it will take even less space, but if you aren’t allowed to do that they can easily sit on a shelf. I would recommend getting one with a subwoofer, but if so try to get one with a Bluetooth connection so it is easy to place anywhere in the room for that added bass sound.

Excellent Value

Sound bars won’t sound as good as a premium stereo or surround sound system, but considering their smaller size there a lot of sound bars that sound extremely good. They come with multiple speakers that are crisp and full and when combined with a subwoofer the bass blends right in. A sound bar like the Philips 60Watt Sound Bar with Subwoofer (CSS2123B) is at a very low cost so given the quality of sound it is very good value.

After Graduation

Although ideal for the dorm for the reasons mentioned, once you graduate a sound bar has the flexibility to use it for many years. Mount it under your TV and continue to use it for music playback wherever you end up. Even if once you do start earning more income you decide to upgrade to a premium surround sound system keep the sound bar for the bedroom or den. It is easy to find a good use for it.

Additional Accessories

When you do get the sound bar for the dorm room, don’t forget a couple of key accessories like an optical audio cable to connect to your TV or other devices. The Insignia 6 foot Digital Optical Audio Cable is a good choice because it is very inexpensive but will do a great job of sending the clearest signal from your TV to the bar for nice and crisp sound.

Another must-have accessory is a surge protector to ensure all your electronics don’t get damaged. The Rocketfish 7-Outlet Power Manager and Surge Protector will do the trick very nicely and is a very inexpensive way to protect your gear. It comes with a $200,000 warranty should it fail to protect any of your electronics. The other nice thing about this bar is that it is a power manager with a master plug that controls 4 other slave plugs. Essentially, when you turn off the device plugged into the master it shuts off the other 4 outlets automatically. A real energy saver.