Curlywhirly
From memory, I think I read that the problem with modern TV sound is that TVs are now very slimline and so are the speakers; previously TVs were huge bulky things with large integral speakers to match.
The speakers are actually at the back of modern plasma tv's. How mad is that? The sound comes out and hits the wall, or anything else, but not in the direction of where one is sitting facing the screen.
Too many programmes are recorded with accompanying traffic or machine noise, together with awful 'muzak' sound track and on top of that we have to strain to listen to mumbling actors. There are endless complaints about many well-advertised dramas and excellent series and often based on people simply being unable to hear.
We use sub-titles a lot. We also have a Bose sound bar which is connected and sits on a shelf behind where we sit. It acts like a kind of all-around sound system and makes up for the sound loss which accompanies the purchase of a plasma screen t.v.