Any opinions on soundbars?

Tech, TV, Mobile, Internet and Geek Corner
1
I have a Philips HTS8100 that I really like, connected to a 50" Samsung PS50B650S TV (with crap internal speakers). The Philips soundbar may have kicked the bucket, so considering something new.

Budget is pretty low (about 400CHF). Space is not really an issue, but we did like the soundbar, as it kept things pretty clean. 4HDMI ports on the TV and Optical/SCART/RGB, so no shortage of connections.

We use it as our home media center with AppleTV, AppleTV2 (jailbroken), VOIP TV Streaming box; so lots of music and TV?movies.

Wondering what others are using at this price point, but always happy to consider going higher.

Thanks,

fduvall

2
80+ views but no OPINIONS? I thought this was EF?

fduvall

3
Soundbars are better than internal TV speaker, but not as good as a dedicated 5.1 system. They try and "replicate" surround sound by directionally bouncing the sound off of walls, but of course that will never compete with true surround.

In short: yes, they are good, and provide decent sound without all the hassle of wiring up your living room. However, a good 5.1 (and even good 2.1 speaker system) will be better in terms of sound quality.

Just ask yourself what your needs are and how much you care about the audio experience when watching movies etc.

4
well, I looked at the heading and was going to hammer out: go Sonos - but then I read the 400 Fr. spending limit and didn't post (until now :-)

5
Ahh, 400chf limit? I missed that. Then for that low budget I would certainly use the EF marketplace and buy an AV receiver and a set of used speakers. He will get much more value and sound quality for your money than buying a crappy quality 400chf soundbar.

6
true, that's why you need to choose Sonos, which can (should the necessary funds suddenly appear) easily be extended to a 5.1 system that sounds very good.

7
Can you please link to the system you mean?

8
Any credible Sonos competitors out there at a (much) lower price point?

At the moment, just looking to set up the TV room with a subwoofer and speakers for TV/movies/music. I did buy the HTS8100 on Ricardo for a good price, so not averse to going 2nd hand.

Really just looking to see what people are using these days, as I have not bought hifi equipment for a LONG time and with all of our home entertainment systems on Mac, and with the availability of wireless, I am pretty clueless about my options.

Back in the US, stored in a container for 7+ yrs, lies my "original" McIntosh kit... it even uses tubes. LOVE the sound of it warming up!

fduvall

9
http://www.radiotvhagmann.ch/products-10233-0/PLAYBAR

can be extended by adding additional wireless speakers.

The sound quality is pretty awesome - but it isn't cheap. It's more than a normal soundbar, of course, as it also plays your entire music library, integrates to services such as Spotify, plays internet radio etc. etc.

here are some reviews:

http://www.slashgear.com/sonos-playbar-review-04272260/

http://www.stuff.tv/review/sonos-playbar

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/aud...1130807/review

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/s...laybar-review/

10
This would be interesting... it's not that the funds don't exist, but that the other banker in the family may not agree to allocate...

But if it were in stages, sh... the other banker, I mean, might be easier to convince.

But still interested to know if Sonos has any good competitors out there. I understand that Sonos is the Gold Standard for wireless, but what a premium they are still charging! As a Mac user, I guess I should understand this...

fduvall

11
similar here, I was going to mention that I plan on testing a YSP-4100 over the weekend but then I saw the 400 Francs budget and decided not to bother.

12
Wow:

"3.1 not enough for you? Well you could always add to Play:3s to create a full, wireless 5.1 system, although that would take the total price to an eye-watering £1720."

While it does seem cool technology and sound-wise, for that money I could build an AV system complete with AV receiver which would blow that out of the water in terms of overall sound and value. That's a seriously huge and imo unnecessary outlay to get the full 5.1 effect.

13
I started getting really annoyed by having to turn the sound up, when people were talking and down when there was an action scene. Unfortunately my TV also only supports audio input via optical cable (So coudlnt use my hifi), so I decided to go down the soundbar route, did a bit of research and discovered that Yamaha made the best soundbars that replicated surround sound. I plumped for the base model (YAS 201 for 499chf) that comes with a wireless bass speaker. While I cant say that I noticed it sounding like surround sound, the sound quality is great and the clear voice function really works. I havent read any reviews on Sonos , but the price seems steep.

14
Was just literally looking at this one on Amazon, seems like it's a good solution if you have a small to small/medium sized room.

15
Yamaha's base model is actually the YAS-101. I got that one because I did not want a separate sub-woofer unit.

Much better than I thought it would be. It costs less then Fr.300.

16
I didn't click all the links, but where are those prices coming from? If you shop on Sonos.com, you get a Playbar and two Play:3s for a total of 1300 Euro (1500 some CHF, roughly). 1720 pounds is what, another 1000 CHF?

Sonos is a good system from what I've read, and I've been thinking about getting a Playbar and a pair of 5s for the other rooms. Haven't seen much out there that really competes with it (unfortunately, as I would like more *good* options!). Doesn't really meet the OPs price requirements, though.

17
Obviously I just read the prices that the article published (usually based on rrp), I didn't go and price everything up myself manually.

Either way it seems like a lot of money vs the sound quality you can get from a dedicated AV receiver and 5.1 speakers. I understand you are paying for convenience and a lot less clutter, but I guess I'm a bit more of a traditionalist when it comes to audio setups. Horses for courses.

18
Just purchased the Yamaha YAS 101 for chf375 very happy with it. It is a single bar with integrated sub woofer. I did not want to have to place a subwoofer box elsewhere. Purchased in Fust.

19
Hi,

I played around with the Samsung HW-E450 soundbar the other day and was surprised with the quality relative to price. you can get it in black or white!

have a look here:

http://www.samsung.com/ch/consumer/t...tem/HW-E450/EN

and price range:

http://www.preissuchmaschine.ch/main...uche=HW%2DE450

20
Looks good. But what annoys me is always having to turn it off and on when one watches TV. Im looking for the type that comes on when the TV is turned on and off when the TV is off.