Soundbars

[Gym Beglin]

AMA - I've been researching them all for the last 3 days, probably put 15-20 hours into it.

 

 

[Aventus]

What's the best value for money soundbar?

 

Split it into best for under 50, under 100, under 150 etc.

[Captain Turdseye]

Who invented them?

 

How many are sold in the UK every year?

 

If you lined them up next to each other, how many would it take for them to stretch all around the world?

 

How many Freddos does it cost to buy a top of the range one?

 

Haven’t you got anything better to do with 15-20 hours?

[Gym Beglin]

What's the best value for money soundbar?

 

Split it into best for under 50, under 100, under 150 etc.

Serious?

 

Any soundbar is better than the speakers on your modern telly.

[Aventus]

Serious?

 

Any soundbar is better than the speakers on your modern telly.

I was hoping for a better answer after your 20 hours of hard research.

[Pureblood]

AV receiver, subwoofer plus seven speakers>soundbar

[VladimirIlyich]

Good for stopping floods,I hear.

Oh,soundbars...

[Aventus]

AV receiver, subwoofer plus seven speakers>soundbar

Posh bastard.

 

Do you get your butler to plug all that in for you?

[Pureblood]

Posh bastard.

 

Do you get your butler to plug all that in for you?

 

It's 12 years old but I spent big.  

[Gym Beglin]

Can you control the volume with your telly remote ?

[Gym Beglin]

You got your Xbox plugged in as well?

[stringvest]

TK is right on this one.  A proper AV system, especially a modern system with network and internet capability, with enough HDMI and USB inputs for you to plug your various media and game sources, and enough analog and digital inputs for you audio sources, then 5 or 7 speakers and a sub.  

Get a good one and you're future proof (at least for 5-10 years).

 

oh, and you can use your TV remote to put the volume up or down if you like.

[Pureblood]

Can you control the volume with your telly remote ?

 

It comes with its own remote.

 

You got your Xbox plugged in as well?

 

I've got my PS4 plugged in direct to the AV Receiver using HDMI, the AV has an HDMI out to the TV.   I've got a Master System, Mega Drive, Gamecube, Dreamcast, Xbox (original) and PS2 all hooked up to the TV.  The TV has an optical audio out which goes to the AV receiver.  

 

I would say even a budget surround set up would sound better than a high-end soundbar, but it's all about personal preference.

 

If you want to save on space and don't want speakers all over the place get a soundbar.

[Gym Beglin]

Have you got Sky as well?

 

I think you're dropping sound quality as a result of the optical out.

 

HDMI ARC is the shit.

[Pureblood]

No, I don't use Sky.  Optical is good for the consoles as I don't have to faff about linking all the consoles to the receiver separately. 

[Babb'sBurstNad]

It comes with its own remote.

 

 

I've got my PS4 plugged in direct to the AV Receiver using HDMI, the AV has an HDMI out to the TV.   I've got a Master System, Mega Drive, Gamecube, Dreamcast, Xbox (original) and PS2 all hooked up to the TV.  The TV has an optical audio out which goes to the AV receiver.  

 

I would say even a budget surround set up would sound better than a high-end soundbar, but it's all about personal preference.

 

If you want to save on space and don't want speakers all over the place get a soundbar.

 

Depends what you mean by budget. You can certainly build a cracking surround set-up if you source some quality older speakers and are willing to forego things like Dolby Atmos support in the receiver. New though? I'd favour a top soundbar over budget 5.1, certainly over the more lifestyle systems with small centre channels.

 

I miss having a big sub for music though.

[Pureblood]

Depends what you mean by budget. You can certainly build a cracking surround set-up if you source some quality older speakers and are willing to forego things like Dolby Atmos support in the receiver. New though? I'd favour a top soundbar over budget 5.1, certainly over the more lifestyle systems with small centre channels.

 

I miss having a big sub for music though.

 

Yeah, I agree.

[Qwikage]

Good quality sounbars are immense.

 

Got a Sony soundbar and sub when i got my new telly. Set it up and stuck on a DVD. About 20 mins in and explosion goes off in the movie. Dogs scatter like confetti and wife has a meltdown because i scared them.

Okay i thought...use it for my PS4 upstairs.... st it up and stick on a game... 10 mins in and her indoors appears at the door screeching at me to turn it off as the vibration is coming through the laminate floor and scaring the dogs.

 

It's up the fucking loft.

[TheBitch]

Sonos Playbase, beautiful piece of kit.

[Gym Beglin]

£650 though?

 

I went for the Q acoustics M4.

 

The whole audio market is a mindfuck though, you trawl through loads of review sources like Which, AV Forums, Best Buy, What HiFi, CNET, Truated Reviews, Expert Reviews, Tech Radar, Stuff, Amazon, Tech Advisor, Digital Trends etc, and try to find some common ground in their

reviews.

 

Everyone looks for something slightly differently than the others, some reviews are biased towards detailed mid ranges and punchyness, others value bass over everything, others mark down based on a flimsy remote, some will dismiss it based on how it looks, or that it blocks their IR receiver on their telly, some will mark down based on price, others will ignore price in their marking.

 

There isn’t a definitive answer for anything. I phoned a guy at Richer Sounds and asked his advice, he said Samsung make shit audio equipment and that I should go with a Yamaha or a Kardon. But reviews for some Yamaha soundbars are shit, Qhich scored the company at 53% overall for Soundbars, and customer satisfaction was 72%. One of the flagship models YAS 207 looks brilliant on paper, amazing tech reviews and not one of them mentions that the sub woofer just drops out during low speech tv watching. To the point that people have been returning the lot in droves, it’s impossible to ignore how bad it is.

 

I was going to spend £380 on a 3 channel Samsung, but decided to go £240 for the Q Acoustics 4 because it continually kept being referenced in multiple reviews as a benchmark for quality. Lacking in bass, maybe, lacking the faux surround, yes, but I have a plan. There’s a lot of movement on Dolby Atmos at the moment, in two years they will come right down in price, and the high end stuff will be THX. Probably. Anyway, I’d fell better about upgrading at this price point, whereas I’d be fuming to spend £380 now and feel reluctant to fork out £400 again to upgrade to Atmos.

[Brownie]

I got a free Samsung soundbar when I bought my recent TV and I love it. It’s obviously miles better than TV speakers and it’s my first soundbar so I have no point of comparison. I was watching Stranger Things 2 with surround turned on and it genuinely sounded boss so will do for me.

 

I’d love a proper surround system but can’t be arsed with all of the wires and kit.

[johnsusername]

Has anyone used the Sky Soundbox? It's made by Devialet.

 

It's got very good reviews and i can get it for £249. But i've already got a Bose speaker (was a poresent a couple of years ago and cost similar but it's not exclusively set up for the telly and i rarely bother plugging it in - the wire sticks out the side of the telly, and it doesn't have a remote so it's a bit of a pain when you want the volume up/down.) I tend to only use it when the wife and kids are away for films etc. Having two small kids in the house I don't want massive noise.

 

Obviously that sounds like it would be a waste of my time getting a new one, but i want one anyway. 

[Total Longo]

I got a free Samsung soundbar when I bought my recent TV and I love it. It’s obviously miles better than TV speakers and it’s my first soundbar so I have no point of comparison. I was watching Stranger Things 2 with surround turned on and it genuinely sounded boss so will do for me.

 

I’d love a proper surround system but can’t be arsed with all of the wires and kit.

 

I just run them under the carpet with a stick of bamboo, a stanley knife and some gaffer tape. Everything runs through the amp, the blu ray, xbox one, sky HD and it sounds boss coming out of five speakers.  

[Alan Sex]

Thinking of getting a Sonos beam and pairing with a couple of Sonos 1 speakers to make a semi surround setup. 
 

Can’t get the sub with it at this point as don’t want to spend all at once. 
 

Anyone have Sonos beam or know about it? Think this would work? 

[sh#t waffle]

I've got the Beam, and it is absolutely ace. In terms of bang for buck I'd say it's the best product Sonos make. I haven't bothered with rear speakers, but it would work really well. Our living room is medium-sized, and I don't feel like we're missing anything by not having the sub, the beam's sound is surprisingly weighty.