We bought an LG TV when our Sony died a few years ago, and the sound system is terrible. I started looking at sound bars, but it seems the more expensive they are, the more complicated the specs are.

I found a Sony S100F 2.0ch Soundbar with Bass Reflex Speaker, Integrated Tweeter and Bluetooth, (HTS100F) on Amazon for under $100. It is described as 2-channel for Home entertainment, TV audio enhancement, and Music playback. All we need.

Anybody familiar enough with these things to say if it may be any good, or a waste of money?

Sorry I don't know how to post a link to the item on Amazon, but it should come up if you search Sony S100F 2.0ch Soundbar.

Thanks.

Edit to try this:
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Sp...2&pd_rd_i=B0797MY6JB

(PS it works!)

The only brand I trust is Nakamichi, and yes they aren’t cheap. They take pride in their work. Everyone else, it seems, is made to get you by a few years and kaput. At least all the ones I have owned. They do not last. The Nakamichi in my living room is still going strong.

I would suggest using rtings. I trust them more than anyone else.

https://www.rtings.com/soundbar

Soundbars have come down considerably over the last few years. No need to spend over a hundred any more. We have an earlier version of THIS one and it works very well. Price is good and a Prime deal.

Just get an LG so you don't need 2 remotes

If your TV and your sound bar both support "ARC" then the sound bar will be controlled by the TV remote if you connect them via a HDMI cable. "How HDMI ARC Works with Soundbars" - so you aren't limited to the same brand as your TV.

Sony makes good soundbars, but there are other good ones out there as well. We have a different Sony soundbar (connected to a Sony TV via HDMI/ARC) and really like it.

Connect via HDMI/ARC if you can, then it's controlled all by one remote. I suggest buying a specific soundbar HDMI cable and not just some random old HDMI cable you may have laying around.

I was connected this way but kept having issues with my Roku TV so went back to optical cable connection which is the next best.

Yamaha is where you want to look. Excellent soundbars for the price.
I have one in the living room with a wireless sub and one in the home gym with a wired sub.
Great sound for movies and music.

Thanks for the suggestions. everybody! At this point I'm inclined to go with Bassamatic's suggestion, and I think Amazon Fire had a good reputation last I heard.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out if my particular TV is compatible, and how to hook it up if I get it. I freely admit to being a luddite in these matters!

We have the 50uq7570puj model and I'm trying to see if it has the right HDMI port.

Timdogg6, we're already using 3 remotes, one more won't matter! *sigh*

Depends on what level of sound you want, concert hall-movie theater or just good decent sound.

Get one with a sub, preferably wireless so you can put it wherever you get the best response you want one with optical, HDMI and BT inputs, if your TV has the optical output it will be the best connection for sound.

Wired has a good review for under $500 systems

https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-soundbars/

According to LG you have optical, HDMI (2), USB and Wifi. I would hook it up via and optical cable and you set the TV up to play via optical, that means the soundbar will run all the sound and the tv volume buttons won't work to change volume.


link LG specs

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:


Right now, I'm trying to figure out if my particular TV is compatible, and how to hook it up if I get it. I freely admit to being a luddite in these matters!

Like me, I hope you have children that can assist you.

^^^^
Fortunately, no! I'm the oldest of eight children, learned how to avoid them at an early age.

HRK's post after running it through my brain:


Εξαρτάται από το επίπεδο ήχου που θέλετε, αίθουσα συναυλιών-κινηματογράφου ή απλώς καλό και αξιοπρεπή ήχο.

Αποκτήστε ένα με subwoofer, κατά προτίμηση ασύρματο, ώστε να μπορείτε να το τοποθετήσετε όπου θέλετε την καλύτερη απόκριση. Ένα με οπτικές εισόδους, HDMI και BT. Αν η τηλεόρασή σας έχει οπτική έξοδο, θα είναι η καλύτερη σύνδεση για ήχο.

Το Wired έχει μια καλή κριτική για συστήματα κάτω των 500 δολαρίων.

https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-soundbars/

Σύμφωνα με την LG, έχετε οπτική, HDMI (2), USB και Wifi. Θα το συνέδεα μέσω οπτικού καλωδίου και θα ρυθμίζατε την τηλεόραση να παίζει μέσω οπτικού καλωδίου. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι η soundbar θα αναπαράγει όλο τον ήχο και τα κουμπιά έντασης ήχου της τηλεόρασης δεν θα λειτουργούν για να αλλάξετε την ένταση.

Seriously, though, did you happen to run across a schematic showing where the various ports are? That would be a big help. So far, I think there are three HDMI ports on the back, the Roku stick is plugged into one, the DVD player into another, the third port is unlabeled.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Yamaha is where you want to look. Excellent soundbars for the price.
I have one in the living room with a wireless sub and one in the home gym with a wired sub.
Great sound for movies and music.

^THIS^

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:


We have the 50uq7570puj model and I'm trying to see if it has the right HDMI port.

The HDMI port on the TV will be marked "ARC" too if you have that capability

Otherwise I'd recommend hooking up with the optical cable that should come with the soundbar.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
The only brand I trust is Nakamichi

In the 80s, I went through two Nakamichi cassette recorder/players, the first one a BX150 and it crapped out after a couple of years. I then got the next best model, and that also crapped out after maybe four years. I then bought a decent Sony deck and that lasted me until I gave it away in the early 2000s, an action I regret.

As far as soundbars, there are many good makes and models, depending how much one is gonna spend. My JBL soundbar/wireless subwoofer setup is still going strong for almost 8 years, still sounds great.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
^^^^
Fortunately, no! I'm the oldest of eight children, learned how to avoid them at an early age.

Then for any future technolological advise, you have my sympathies.

The optical cable is sold separately.

Based on what I've learned today (mostly here, of course!) I put the Amazon Fire soundbar in my Amazon cart, along with the optical cable. Once I confirm I've got the right port, I'll order both.

To those of you recommending higher quality bars, I really appreciate it, but things are tight, both of us relying solely on Social Security for our income.

Mine is a Sonos, but it was free via a work promotion.
Happy with it for casual living room use, nowhere near media room quality, but it's just the soundbar, no surround or sub.

Turns out what I thought were HDMI were actually USB ports.

I found a panel marked HDMI with two ports on it, both unused as of now. One is marked:

OPTICAL
DIGITAL
AUDIO OUT

...which is, I assume, the one I need. The other is marked "LAN".

No info on the panel about the "Optical Digital Audio Out" port. Can I assume the optical cable I'm ordering with the sound bar just plugs in there? If so, what happens next? I'm hoping a pop-up menu will give me directions to finish connecting. Comparing the port to the picture of the optical cable connector, I THINK they match.

quote:

Comparing the port to the picture of the optical cable connector, I THINK they match.

You might want to post a photo here.