How about a Sonos Arc SL from Costco and a Sonos Sub? They sound as good as a HTiB and can do fun music things from your phone too.

Sonos sound bar at Costco is $449

https://www.costco.com/sonos-b...oduct.100816447.html

They have a Polk with wireless sub for $299, Samsung with sub for $309

For budget, Vizio with wireless sub for $159.

Link

The cheaper Sonos soundbar sounds great, my mom has it. I just won’t have it in my house because it has a mic for Alexa people. Plus the Arc sounds FANTASTIC even without a sub.

As the saying goes, we 'bit the bullet' and opted for a Sonos sound system and never looked back. It's beyond your budget but well worth the investment.

Don't like soundbars, I'd start with this system, find a receiver you like to drive it.

https://www.amazon.com/Energy-...la-578735747007&th=1

I presently have a great Denon Receiver driving a 7.1.2 system that’s sounds great. Unfortunately, we’re selling the house next week with all furniture and electronics. I’m looking at the highly rated Sonos Arc system with sub and 2 surrounds. While it’s $2k, I’ve read great reviews on this system.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I’m looking at the highly rated Sonos Arc system with sub and 2 surrounds. While it’s $2k, I’ve read great reviews on this system.

I'm extremely happy with mine.

With all the "Costco" references it sounds like people have been assimilated.

Costco sells Costco-specific electronics that appear to be a good value on features, but they are designed for a price point. Every time I look, I see older tech or discontinued models selling for slightly less than other stores. Or seemingly feature rich but performance lacking stuff.

Bottom line: soundbars suck and anyone pretending they don't suck hasn't listened to even a passable 5.1 system. Are soundbars better than internal TV speakers? Yes, but so what? They are a compromise intended to move more substandard product at a high margin relative to cost of manufacture.

A proper AVR with a set of 5.1 speakers blows any soundbar away. There is simply no comparison. With modern room correction software like Audyssey MultEQ XT the specific speakers are less critical within reason.

Look at how much the industry wants to charge you for a wireless speaker system with cheap drivers and minimal power to try to move air. Convenience costs a lot relative to actual sound quality.

We have this. We didn’t buy any of it at once. We bought the TV, then the sub-woofer, then the receiver, and finally the Klipsch speaker system. If you want to stay sub $1,000, this won’t work. But, we bought ours in pieces as they came on sale and we had the $$$. It worked out really well.





1. Klipsch speaker system: https://www.costco.com/klipsch...oduct.100665767.html.

2. We added in this subwoofer also a Klipsch.

3. You can then buy the receiver you want at Costco, online, your local store etc. You can pick the features and price.

4. The TV is an 86” LG. You have one already so you can save here.

There are some really nice sound bars out there but this system has been exceptional and better than the best sounders we listened to including high-end Bose, Samsung, Sony, etc.

One final thought, we priced this system out online with a variety of sources. Costco was far cheaper than anywhere else (including through a nephew who works for a custom theater company). These aren’t the highest level Klipsch speakers but they are Dolby Atmos and really are a great deal for the price.

Easy there Lefty, we're all friends here.
Sure some of what you say may be true to a degree but let the OP get some opinions.
I'm with you on a full AVR setup but it is a more complicated question that just that and there are some awesome sounding soundbars out there believe it or not.
Yes they can and do sound better than a shitty or misappropriated full AVR system.
I infact am all-in on multiple full AVR systems but I have heard and compared some soundbars but systems like mine aren't for everybody.
And FWIW your Costco analysis is only partially correct as yes they get proprietary models and that includes the Sonus ARC which sans the useless Alexa component for $50 less and nothing wrong with that.

quote:

Convenience costs a lot relative to actual sound quality.

^^^ This I completely agree with you but that decision has to up to the individual.
Even more so with high end gear.
The prices are through the roof and people are paying it.
{cough} I even have an Anthem AV preamp on order for just under $4K and even gave a thought to the flagship model just under $8K.
CRAZY!!!

I'm confused. Recommendations being sought for receiver (latest hdmi/hdcp compatible)? Sub? Speakers? All of the above?

My first bet, for non-audiophile basic consumer needs would be craiglist for used low end hifi (msrp $1500 selling for $300-500). But you have to have an idea of what you prefer and reasonable prices. Just stay away from made in prc. Japan brand made in Malaysia, for example, is better. If you don't know what you're looking for, better to buy lower end new, just sticking to name brand in your price point range. Even here, you should know what you need; for example, min I would look for would be speaker connectors that allow for banana plugs, auto audio calibration system, pre-amp out for at least main speakers and sub.

Receivers are safer to buy used - as long as not abused, solid state should last quite awhile.

Speakers, I would check out if possible. Demo test is ideal but at least visually inspect all drivers for mechanical health. But again, you should know what sound type you like and limitations of your room. Bigger is not necessarily better. But if this is just for HT and not for music (other than pop, rock), speaker choice will largely be forgiving. I've seen excellent condition Paradigm center and Titans go for less than $200. Pair that with a Klipsch 12" sub from Costco and I think you'd be happy - I would be. Floor standing paradigms, add another $500.

I think you could get a very decent system for < $1000 with some luck and knowing what to buy on CL.

A little followup on my last post:


Receiver $650

Polk T Series review


Polk T50s (Front L and R) are $300 a pair.
Polk T15s (Rear L and R) are $150 a pair.
Polk T30 (Center speaker) is $100.
PSW108 (10" powered subwoofer) is $200.

For $1,400 that's a surround system that will blow any soundbar surround system out of the water and you'd be saving money. I realize that's out of your budget and you might not have the space but if you do you could start with the receiver and front speakers for under a grand and it would easily outperform a soundbar system with the option to add on the other speakers later if you so choose.

Or if you want the cheapest, best value option go with this.

It'll be an upgrade over TV speakers and while it probably won't outperform a soundbar system costing 8-12x its price I would wager that anyone who could tell the difference wouldn't use a soundbar system in the first place.

konata88 brings up a great point in that you can score excellent used equipment if you know what to look for. The only thing is that is that you need to know what to look for. I scored a Cambridge Audio 640R receiver 2 years ago for $300 when mine crapped out. Now they go for over $1000 if you can even find one.

Nakamichi soundbars with 2 subs.

I have the Sonus with the sub and 2 rear speakers. Bought at Best Buy with 36 month no interest on their credit card.
I can also play Apple Music, Spotify etc too since it has wireless connectivity.