Soundbar vs. 5.1 Speakers

[flipstah]

Originally posted by schocker
I have had one for a couple years, one of the sony with the sub/receiver type deal. I like it a lot but noticed you can't really find any with more than 1 hdmi in, mine having 3 in one out also optical in?

What about bass flip

That's what I was thinking too. There's no way in hell these things have enough bass but reading the reviews, it gave enough bass and focused more on quality than the thump factor.

If that made any sense...

I have JBL towers too and I love them.

[schocker]

I also have a jbl tower, and it thumps

» Click image for larger version

Sound would probably be OK through that, you have an apartment iirc so maybe a lot of bass would not be a good thing anyways? Not sure if you would care about a receiver type deal built in though for controlling things.

[EK69]

Check out rfd forums for vizio sound bar threads. Apparently good deal

[Sugarphreak]

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[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


They sure don't make em' like they used to though... my Yamaha has something stupid like 27 separate speakers in it

The one flipster posted is a soundbar, not a "sound projector" as Yammy likes to call their high end ones. The YSP 4300 has 22 speakers (and is $2000)

[Sugarphreak]

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[Seth1968]

I'm looking to buy a sound bar as well, so thanks for all the recommendations.

Can the volume on all sound bars be controlled by the tv's remote?

[rage2]

I dunno if I want that breast bug of a soundbar in front of the TV.

I went from a full 5.1 system in my bedroom to a soundbar with sub years ago. There is a small step down in sound quality (mine was just an average Samsung) but it was worth it in cleanliness. Rear channel projection was terrible though if that matters.

Oddly enough, after I upgraded the TV to the 8000 Samsung, the internal speakers were even better in rear sound projection. Only thing I'm missing now is bass. The soundbar was louder but for the bedroom it didn't matter to me.

[R-Audi]

I went with a Samsung Soundbar as it intergrated perfectly with the TV..

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...4914c665a4en02


Only complaint so far is it takes about 10-15 seconds to turn on and connect. (Over bluetooth) I have been too lazy to switch to optical or HDMI input.

[Sugarphreak]

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[triplep]

If you have money to blow on a sound bar I would go to Sounds of Music and test out their B&W panorama sound bar. It looks clean, and when I listened to it it sounded fantastic.

[Mitsu3000gt]

The low-end Yamaha sound bars are pretty average, and most sound bars in general cannot deal with DTS audio or HDMI.

The simulated surround effects are better on the higher end bars, but still not as good as even a cheap discrete 5.1 or 7.1 system as far as effects go.

Most Soundbars are also self powered, so you're paying for amplification on top of the speakers themselves. There are some excellent passive soundbars but you're looking at more money again.

Personally I would recommend a 2.1 system unless you want to spend a lot of money on a sound bar or want the cleanest look possible. If the goal is just to get "better than TV"sound, then just about any soundbar will do the trick.

Vizio makes a decent sound bar that is cheap, and has actual rear surrounds that plug into the subwoofer for power, so you don't need to run any wires up front so long as your sub is in the back.

There are some great 2.1 soundbars as well, if the aesthetics are #1 priority.

[flipstah]

What's a good 2.1 setup?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by flipstah
What's a good 2.1 setup?

Sound-bar-style 2.1 or "regular" 2.1?

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


Sound-bar-style 2.1 or "regular" 2.1?

Regular since it's cheaper than sound-bar setup.

[lamp_shade_2000]

Bose Cinemate GS is what I would recommend for a good 2.1 system. They go for about $650. Otherwise just do a sound bar with a sub.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by flipstah


Regular since it's cheaper than sound-bar setup.

There are so many amazing mid-range bookshelf speakers from companies like Totem, B&W, Monitor Audio, Definitive Tech, Paradigm, etc. etc. and it'll just be whatever sounds best to your ears. You can spend weeks or months auditioning different brands if you have the time. I'd be happy having any one of those brands in my home, and are usually my go-to auditions when I'm shopping.

If you want a recommendation, IMO the best bang for the buck going right now are Paradigm MilleniaOnes. They are the most incredible little speaker I've ever heard, and all reviewers seem to agree. The catch is they absolutely need a sub. I would be very surprised if you could find a better set of speakers brand new for around $400. They come with wall mount brackets as well. I know, I know, I sound like a broken record with my recommendations, but I am blown away by these little guys so I'm going to recommend them anyway.

A decent 2.1 setup is going to run you probably $800ish, assuming you have a receiver already, unless you buy some really cheap equipment. You can get some really nice soundbars for that much money or less as well, if you end up going that route.

Whatever you do, don't buy BOSE.

Do you have a budget?

[flipstah]

Hmm, I can just do a 2.1 receiver + bookshelf speakers + sub.

<$1000 would be nice.

[flipstah]

Leaning towards this soundbar setup unless you can cook up a decent 2.1 system for roughly that price:

http://www.visions.ca/catalogue/cate...24410&sku=SB26

Bluetooth and subwoofer are the deciding factors.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by flipstah
Leaning towards this soundbar setup unless you can cook up a decent 2.1 system for roughly that price:

http://www.visions.ca/catalogue/cate...0&amp;sku=SB26

Bluetooth and subwoofer are the deciding factors.

This is a better 2.1 sound bar for the money, and also has bluetooth (but no HDMI, so you would use optical).

http://www.paradigm.com/products-cur.../page=overview

You could get it for roughly $675.

Wireless sub, Bluetooth.

Here is one of many very positive reviews:

http://hometheaterreview.com/paradig...viewed/?page=2