TriX wrote:
A large part of the reason is that today’s flat screens, with little or no bezel, just don’t have room for decent sized speakers or a decent sized front facing opening/grill. A sound bar is a quick and relatively inexpensive addition that will definitely improve the sound if a bit thin on bass, but feeding the TV through a conventional stero system, especially with a center channel speaker, will produce the best quality sound if that’s an option in terms of space and cost.
There really is no reason that a "sound bar" and associated circuitry couldn't be incorporated into the bottom of the TV casing as part of the design. Most soundbars I've seen use some pretty small speakers anyway in a case that is probably about 4 -5" or so on each side (circumference). The TV will obviously weigh more, be thicker where the speakers are housed, but you'd have fewer wires to run, which would be a great help if you're hanging the screen on a wall.