Place the soundbar directly below the TV, centered, with a couple of inches of clearance — wall-mounted if the TV is wall-mounted — and connect it with a single HDMI cable to the TV's ARC or eARC port so one remote controls everything.
That one sentence resolves the three questions behind almost every soundbar installation call we take: where it goes, how it hangs, and which cable makes the remotes behave. But each answer has details worth getting right — a soundbar is the biggest audio upgrade most living rooms will ever get, and a ten-minute placement mistake can mute half of what you paid for. Here is how our home theater installation team approaches it on real San Diego jobs.
Where Should a Soundbar Go?
Directly below the TV, horizontally centered on the screen. Dialogue is the whole reason soundbars exist, and voices sound natural when they come from just under the picture, as close to ear level as the setup allows. Keep a gap of roughly 2 to 4 inches between the top of the bar and the bottom of the screen so neither blocks the other — many soundbars house upward or side-firing drivers, and TVs place their IR sensor in the bottom bezel.
Just as important is where a soundbar should not go: inside a cabinet cubby, behind a console lip, or on a shelf below knee height. Enclosed placement muffles the treble, reflects bass off the shelf, and — on Atmos bars — completely defeats the up-firing speakers that need a clear path to the ceiling. If your TV sits on furniture, the soundbar simply sits in front of it on the same surface; if the space below the screen is blocked (an above-fireplace install, for instance — see our fireplace mounting guide), mounting the bar above the screen and angling it down is the accepted fallback.
Should You Wall-Mount the Soundbar?
If the TV is on the wall, yes — a floating TV with a soundbar marooned on furniture two feet below looks unfinished and pushes dialogue away from the screen. Nearly every soundbar ships with keyhole slots or bracket tabs and a paper drilling template. The install logic mirrors TV mounting: hit a stud where possible, use rated hollow-wall anchors for lighter bars where not, and level it to the TV, not to the floor — in older houses those two lines genuinely disagree, and the eye always compares the bar to the screen edge above it.
Two measurements save re-drilling. First, set the TV height correctly before the soundbar goes up — center the screen at seated eye level (the math is in our guide to how high to mount a TV) and let the bar's position follow from it. Second, if the TV hangs on a full-motion arm, mount the soundbar to clear the TV's lowest travel, or bracket the bar to the TV mount itself so they move together.
How Should You Connect a Soundbar?
Use one cable, and make it the right one. The TV becomes the hub — every streaming stick, console, and cable box feeds the TV, and the TV hands all audio down to the soundbar. Here is how the connection options compare:
| Connection | Best audio it can carry | One-remote volume? | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDMI eARC | Lossless Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, DTS:X | Yes (CEC) | TV and soundbar are both eARC — the default choice |
| HDMI ARC | Dolby Digital+, incl. streaming Atmos | Yes (CEC) | Either device lacks eARC — still excellent |
| Optical | Compressed 5.1 (Dolby Digital/DTS), no Atmos | No — remote must be programmed | Older TVs with no ARC-capable HDMI port |
| Bluetooth | Compressed stereo | No | Music from a phone — not for TV viewing |
| 3.5mm / RCA | Analog stereo | No | Legacy gear only, last resort |
The ARC/eARC port is labeled on the TV's HDMI row — plugging into any other HDMI input is the single most common wiring mistake we correct. Once connected, switch on HDMI-CEC (each brand names it differently: Anynet+, SimpLink, Bravia Sync), set the TV's speaker output to the soundbar, and disable the TV's internal speakers so audio is not playing from two places a half-second apart. That last step is the fix behind most "echoing TV" service calls.
Where Does the Wireless Subwoofer Go?
Most soundbar subwoofers pair wirelessly, needing only a power outlet — but "wireless" does not mean "anywhere." Bass below about 80 Hz is largely non-directional, so the sub does not have to sit near the TV; it does have to breathe. Place it along the front third of the room on the same wall as (or adjacent to) the soundbar, a few inches off the wall, port unobstructed. Pushing a sub into a corner boosts output but often turns it boomy and uneven; sealing it inside a cabinet chokes it entirely. If the bass sounds thin or bloated from your seat, slide the sub a foot at a time along the wall and re-listen — placement changes low-end response more than any settings menu.
When Is In-Wall Wiring Worth It?
A wall-mounted TV and soundbar earn their clean look only when the cabling disappears. The full treatment routes the HDMI and soundbar power drop through the stud cavity, with power handled by a code-rated in-wall relocation kit — never a plain power cord fished through drywall. It is the same concealment work described in our complete San Diego TV mounting guide, just with one extra outlet planned behind the bar's position. In-wall wiring is most worth it when walls are open anyway (remodels), when the install is the room's permanent layout, or when a rear-speaker surround kit joins the soundbar and wires would otherwise cross a doorway. On rented walls or masonry, a slim paintable raceway delivers 90% of the effect with zero drywall work — and our handyman services team patches and paints the wall to finished condition when we do open it up.
Field note — When someone in San Diego searches "soundbar installation near me," the story is usually the same one: the bar has been in its box for a month because the TV is already on the wall and drilling below it feels risky. Fair enough — that is the exact job we do most. The bracket template, the stud line, and the cable path are a one-visit fix, soundbar calibrated before we leave.
Soundbar Installation: FAQ
Do I need HDMI eARC for Dolby Atmos?
Not always. Regular HDMI ARC can carry Dolby Atmos encoded in Dolby Digital Plus, which is what most streaming services use. You need eARC for the lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS:X soundtracks found on 4K Blu-rays. If both your TV and soundbar have eARC, use it — it is the highest-bandwidth path either way.
Can a soundbar go above the TV instead of below?
Yes, when the space below is blocked — above-fireplace installs are the classic case. Mount it as close to the top screen edge as possible and angle it slightly downward toward the seating. Below the TV is still preferred because dialogue tracks closer to ear level, but above beats a soundbar buried in a cabinet.
Why does my TV remote not control the soundbar volume?
Usually because HDMI-CEC is switched off, or the soundbar is connected by optical cable, which carries no control signals. Enable CEC in the TV menu — Samsung calls it Anynet+, LG SimpLink, Sony Bravia Sync — and connect via the HDMI ARC/eARC port. On optical setups, most TV remotes can be programmed into the soundbar instead.
Can you mount a soundbar during the same visit as TV mounting?
Yes — that is the most common way we install them. Mounting the TV and soundbar together means one set of wall measurements, one round of cable concealment, and a finished wall in a single San Diego service call. Tell us the soundbar model when you book so we bring the right bracket hardware.
