I have a Sonos soundbar with the Sonos subwoofer on my TV. The sound is fantastic.

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Originally posted by UTsig:

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Originally posted by tatortodd:
The best improvement was my Dad's Vizio. His speakers were on the rear of the TV and it was loud if you were at an angle to the TV but not if you were directly in line with the TV. Even worse, the office/computer room right behind the TV it was louder coming through the drywall than it was in the TV room. I bought my Dad a Vizio sound bar with wireless subwoofers, and the sound is much clearer and best of all it's quieter throughout the house.

I just bought a Vizio for my viewing area, the sound is terrible. I get a real hollow sound, blaming it on the fact that there's a large cavity behind the TV and it's causing this. I might have to pick up a soundbar to see if it solves my problem. I'd probably have to attach it under the shelf the TV is on, is this possible?

yes, it’s possible but I cannot remember if there was a bracket in the box. If not, there should be aftermarket brackets.

SONOS System because of how versatile it will be. Yes expensive, but once you have your setup it does much more. Why SONOS? The soundbar and sub sound great. Then you can add the 2 wireless speakers for surround, but wait, there's more... The wireless rears can also be used independently in other rooms as wireless speakers for your audio devices and only need to be paired with the mains for your movie watching experience. The SONOS gives you whole house audio, with independent sources for each speaker AND can be paired for a real surround experience.

Thought I'd jump in here and thank the OP and all the posters.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a "sound bar".

I have a Sony tv and the tv speakers are terrible. Especially when the speech is low volume, and the speaker volume can't be cranked up very high.

So after reading this thread, I got a Sony S100F sound bar. It works great. Lots of volume if I want it, and the sound is much clearer.

My 2 available HDMI ports were being used, so I used the tv optical audio output. Before this, didn't even know the tv had such a thing.

The Sony sound bar came with an optical connection. One thing about it - you have to look real close to see that the optical connector is not symmetrical. One end is a bit rounded. That end has to fit into the matching configuration on the tv.


adding:

When I first hooked up the sound bar, the sound had an odd "ring" to it. Turned out the tv speakers and the sound bar were very slightly out of time sync.

After using the tv menu to turn off the tv speakers, everything was fine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sdy,

Attaching your TV to just about any external speaker/amplifier will probably improve its sound. I don't think there is anything special about a "soundbar" as opposed to any other stereo monitors. THe stereo monitors will probably actually sound better, but a soundbar is a convenient configuration to set down in front of the TV. I have mine family-room TV attached to my music/entertainment system. In my bedroom, I attached a TV to a pair of very small powered computer speakers. Big improvement in both setups.

I have this soundbar system in our family room and I really like it. The sound quality is great and it gets plenty loud.

I have them on two of our newer TV's a 65 Samsung and 60 LG and they help quite a bit, the Samsung has a Samsung bar with BT sub, does a great job.

The design style now is thin border on the screen to make it look bigger but without a larger footprint, thus they move the built in speakers to the bottom pushing the sound down, it has to bounce off something below the Tv to move forward.

So you end up having to crank up the volume to 70 or 80 to get what used to be at 50% levels. The sound bar even an average one directs the sound forward so part of the problem is tv design.

The other is a Vizio unit bought refurbished and has ran for several years in the garage heat/cold.

Neither are full bore surround systems but they are a major improvement over the tV system.

The vibe I'm getting from this thread is I'm probably not going to be happy with a soundbar. While it would be an improvement, it's not going to give me what I'd expect. Maybe I'll rethink getting a stereo setup to fit the small space.

Thanks.

Yes, I have a klipsh soundbar. Got it on clearance as the new models were coming out. It’s was about $350 but well worth it IMO.

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Originally posted by mark123:
The vibe I'm getting from this thread is I'm probably not going to be happy with a soundbar. While it would be an improvement, it's not going to give me what I'd expect.

That's pretty much my take on soundbars.

If you're content with just TV speakers, you'll probably be even more pleased with a soundbar.

But if you're expecting 5.1/7.1-quality audio from a soundbar, you'll be disappointed.

(Folks that I know that rave about their soundbars have never had a high quality surround sound system. They're just comparing it to the basic TV speakers.)

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Originally posted by RogueJSK:
(Folks that I know that rave about their soundbars have never had a high quality surround sound system. They're just comparing it to the basic TV speakers.)

Well, now you've met one.

I have a Definitive Technology System (even the rears are nicer than most people's mains) with two 10" subwoofers and a 15" subwoofer. It's awesome for watching movies and for watching sports for 2 hours or less.

It's just too damn much for my college football viewing habits. Definitive are a tad bright, Denon is a tad bright, there is a lot of bass, and the end result is it's sensory overload to watch an entire football game let alone two.

On the other hand, the sound bars that I mentioned earlier in the thread are great for every day TV watching and watching college football.

What I'd like would be the equivalent of a pair of computer speakers, but that takes optical input, rather than 3.5mm analog.

My little TV is on an articulating wall mount. A sound bar would not work. The TV in the man cave will be the same.

We have a Sonos sound bar, it makes a huge improvement, if you can swing the price, add the speakers and sub, what a great system with huge sound quality.

I had never had anything but built in TV speakers before but when I upgraded my TV to a nearly top of the line Sony 75" I told the guy I wanted something better but I'm no audiophile. They suggested a matching $350 Sony sound bar with wireless woofer.

Well, is wasn't BAD, if fact it was pretty OK. it just wasn't the upgrade I expected and it didn't do the TV justice.

So, I went back to discuss it with the owner, old friend of the family, who happened to be the main home audio guy.
Just so happened he had just upgraded his personal system. He refunded fully for the sound bar and offered me his ~3 yr old $3,000 Sony receiver / amp for 750 bucks. Then he pared it with a very nice set of new 5.1 Klipsch speakers. I ran the wires under floor and he came and set it all up.

High quality and power... I had no idea. Loving it.
I stream my music through the system from my laptop as well.

I would do a sound bar in a bedroom, but never less than a full system in my Den again.

You just have to weigh how much time you spend in front of it and budget. And it does add some complexity to operating it all.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
The vibe I'm getting from this thread is I'm probably not going to be happy with a soundbar. While it would be an improvement, it's not going to give me what I'd expect. Maybe I'll rethink getting a stereo setup to fit the small space.

Thanks.

There are good soundbars, mediocre soundbars, and bad soundbars. It gets confusing because they're all called soundbars, but their capability and purpose varies wildly. The Bose Soundtouch 300 or Soundbar 700 with sub, or the Sonos Playbar with sub are great. Pricy, but worth the extra.

Mark if you are still interested the Samsung soundboard are on woot.com right now, and will be for the next 24 hours. 99.99.


I have 2 of the KM 37 model, one with the wireless rear speakers (buy separate, optional) and one without.

Short of buying an expensive 5.1 or 7.1 audio receiver and running wired speakers, this will be a great setup for the price.

Of course it won't compare to a high end audio setup.... no shit.

But I run the 5.1 in the upstairs and the 2.1 in the bedroom. I have the kick ass 7.1 setup in the basement.... but the 7.1 setup is over 1200 bucks....

So just depends on what you are looking for. The folks trashing soundboard aren't wrong in the fact that they don't do as well as a dedicated audio setup, but that isn't an apples to apples comparison.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
The vibe I'm getting from this thread is I'm probably not going to be happy with a soundbar. While it would be an improvement, it's not going to give me what I'd expect. Maybe I'll rethink getting a stereo setup to fit the small space.

Thanks.

Check out the speaker from Bose. It is not a surround sound set up.

Like I said, it only amplifies the center channel/ vocals. Now the dialog is not overrun by the surrounding sound.

I can HEAR what they are saying !!!

Bob

If considering a Sonos, check out the Sonos Beam. Many rate it as the best Sonos offering between Sonos Playbar and Sonos Playbase. That said, I have the Playbase, Sub and 2 Play:1s (on stands). I also use this set up to stream music, Internet radio and locally stored music. The Sonos (in app) Trueplay feature will analyze room size, layout, décor, speaker placement, and any other acoustic factors that can impact sound quality. Then it literally adjusts how each woofer and tweeter produces sound. I'm very happy with this system.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
The vibe I'm getting from this thread is I'm probably not going to be happy with a soundbar. While it would be an improvement, it's not going to give me what I'd expect. Maybe I'll rethink getting a stereo setup to fit the small space.

Thanks.

As many stated, a soundbar, regardless of brand, will be an improvement over the built-in speakers. Some brands better than others, but IMO, "sound quality" is a subjective matter. My soundbar setup improves nicely in regards to volume, frequency range and clearer audible sound (especially voice), but the one thing it will not do is replace a proper 7.1 surround home theater system. If you're expecting the latter, you won't get it with a soundbar.

I don't have much soundbar experience. IF you're willing to pay for a good one - I'm sure there's one worth buying. Read through this forum: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/195-soundbars/


I have been looking for a nice 2.0 powered bookshelf speaker setup for my parents though, as they don't have any ideal spot for a soundbar and there's no way I could talk them into a proper 5.1 setup.