Question about soundbar's...

[jvoorhees]

Hey y'all... My wife and I are currently in the midst of building our new home... and it will have a home theatre room down in the basement... but for now I was wondering about setting up a TV, Blu-Ray, 360 and PS3 in our living room... its not gonna be big enough to have 5.1 surround... so I was wondering about a soundbar....

Anyone here have one? If so how are they???? What brand is recommended?

We could probably get the speakers in the living room... but it might get a bit crowded... and this will be the room we'll be in when company is over...

Cheers in advance!

[Johnny Vinyl]

I'm not a fan of them, if it can be avoided. However I do recognize that in some applications it may be the only realistic (read WAF and aesthetics) option.

If, like you say, it's a room when company is over and you just want some basic sound...why not! I don't have a TV in the bedroom, but if I did I'd consider one. Better than just the TV speakers, right?

John

[jvoorhees]

Yeah thats what I was thinking.... I mean for the time being... we'll be spending most of our time in there too... until the media room is done downstairs... so I mean for watching TV, playing 360/PS3 and watching Blu's... we dont need anything super fancy.... but yeah its better then just having sound from the TV I guess...

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by jvoorhees

Yeah thats what I was thinking.... I mean for the time being... we'll be spending most of our time in there too... until the media room is done downstairs... so I mean for watching TV, playing 360/PS3 and watching Blu's... we dont need anything super fancy.... but yeah its better then just having sound from the TV I guess...

And that's when you want to spend the money for a proper HT setup!

John

[Steve]

Instead of a soundbar, why not just set up a 3.0/3.1 system? No need for huge speakers, but separate mains and center would be an improvement over a soundbar. You may or may not want to add a small subwoofer. Many soundbars come with a subwoofer of some kind though. What kind of budget are you on?

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Avoid a soundbar! Since you are building a proper HT room, save the money for putting towards that. Good things are worth waiting for. Using a soundbar in a room that isn't ENGINEERED FROM THE FLOORPLANS to work with a soundbar makes it highly unefficient at creating the "surround sound experience."

[jvoorhees]

I thought about doing a small set up with say just the fronts... but really not a ton of room.... Here's a photo of what the room in the showhome looks like... we're gonna be mounting a 40-42" tv above the fireplace... so there's just enough room to say get a small soundbar on the mantle... I dont want to put the tv in the corner like this one either... as it looks cluttered

Let me know what you think...



Cheers!

[skygreenleopard]

If you're on a REALLY LOW budget and can stand a 2.1 system, you might be able to get away with PC speakers and a sub if your TV has a headphone jack, or buy an RCA-to-stero 3.5mm converter- just plug and play. It's a REALLY low-end solution but you can get some analog stereo sound that sounds great depending on what speakers you get. Some guys on this thread will hate me for posting this, but I think it's a valid solution if you loathe your TV's speakers and need some good sound to get by.

If you can't return what you're buying as a temporary solution, spending $100-$150 on some great PC speakers is much cheaper than a $300-$600 soundbar that won't give you as good sound, though that depends on what kind of soundbars/speakers you're thinking of getting. Of course, you won't get the pseudo-surround sound that many soundbars promise or HDMI/lossless audio on Blu-Rays, but to be honest lossless on a soundbar isn't 5.1 Home Theater quality anyway so why even bother?

This depends on how stingy you are, though, and how long you'll be in the temporary space. If it'll be a year or more, maybe a starter upgradeable system with a good receiver may be in the works for you, and start off with some L/R speakers, maybe even a center channel if you have room, then add surrounds once you have the finished room. However, if you don't even have room for this, or if it's just a couple of months, I personally think 2.1 PC speakers with a sub might be your best bet. Just need to find some that look nice and match your TV though, as even many good quality ones look plasticky or ugly compared to some nice studio monitors.

Hope this helps, and keep us updated on what you decide.

[sandman6662]

I would'nt put the TV above the fireplace , you will regret it, Do you use the fireplace ? If not think about taking it out or building over it and put your home theater in the living room, Just a thought,

[Driver_King]

Or you could have it mounted on over the fireplace with a swivel mount so you can angle it down to help prevent neck pain. If you are looking at a sound bar, I'd only look at this for the price.

[SlmShdy1]

Originally Posted by sandman6662

I would'nt put the TV above the fireplace , you will regret it, Do you use the fireplace ? If not think about taking it out or building over it and put your home theater in the living room, Just a thought,

I hate TV's over the fireplace. I'd rather have it at eye level.

A nice alternative to a soundbar would be, like fireman325 said, a 3.0 or 3.1 system. Get some speakers that can be bi-amped so you can get a fuller experience.

[Bluubyu]

I have a Yamaha YSP-800 that I was using in my bedroom with a sub and it produced amazing sound, I then moved it into the livingroom when I bought my A950 as I didn't have a a/v set-up yet. While it sounded better in the bedroom it didn't actually sound that bad in the livingroom. If your going to buy one I would add a sub to it, Yamaha makes some very nice soundbars.