Sound Bars, Any Good?

[steve1971]

Question for one and all. I was at Best Buy yesterday and was lookin at surround sound systems and a guy pointed me over to those, what they call, sound bars. They are the ones that have 4 or 5 speakers built into one bar and they come with a subwoofer. I saw one made by Sony, Samsung, and I think I saw one by Panasonic. The question I have is are they any good? When I listened to them they seemed to be delievering very good sound and the guy said they would be perfect for a small bedroom such as where my 46inch Bravia sits. They were runnin around $299.00. The queestion for you guys is are they any good and does anyone else have one? And do they deliver good surround sound for movies? I was thinking of getting one but I would like opinions first.

Thanks guys

[Big Daddy]

A real 5.1 or 7.1 setup is much preferred to a soundbar. However, they are very useful in a small bedroom, second room, or if you live in a very small rental place. I have a dedicated home theater room. However, I have a Zvox soundbar in our family room and I am very happy with it. I don't use it for home theater applications, but for casual TV programs, it is very convient and is much better than the speakers on the TV.

Yamaha YSP-4000 for $1,800 used to have the title for the best high end sound bar (they call it Sound Projector) and Zvox 425 for $600 had the title for the best budget sound bar. The Yamaha has 42 drivers.

If you are trying to save money, Zvox has several models. Check their website.

[Another_Dude]

I think you'd be happier with the results from a set of Polk 6750s than any soundbar that BB sells.

They'll give you better front sound than TV speakers, but surround it is not.

[steve1971]

From what I have read and heard if you have this connected to your tv in a small room or den the sound is very very good. In fact CNET rates it very high. So that being said I MIGHT pick one up.

[ulri4651]

the Yamaha is OUTSTANDING! I was blown away at how it was able to simulate surround sound. of course, its the most expensive of the bunch. But well worth it!

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by steve1971

Question for one and all. I was at Best Buy yesterday and was lookin at surround sound systems and a guy pointed me over to those, what they call, sound bars. They are the ones that have 4 or 5 speakers built into one bar and they come with a subwoofer. I saw one made by Sony, Samsung, and I think I saw one by Panasonic. The question I have is are they any good? When I listened to them they seemed to be delievering very good sound and the guy said they would be perfect for a small bedroom such as where my 46inch Bravia sits. They were runnin around $299.00. The queestion for you guys is are they any good and does anyone else have one? And do they deliver good surround sound for movies? I was thinking of getting one but I would like opinions first.

Thanks guys

If you do get a soundbar, don't go around telling people that you have surround sound. Soundbars aren't surround sound because the sound doesn't envelope you the way the mix was intended to. Instead, you are dealing with audio being bounced off of walls and other surfaces. Unless your room is completely barren of objects and was engineered with the particular soundbar of your choice in mind, then there will definitely be detail loss and sound detail crossover. Basically, the potential for sound to be bouncing in the wrong direction makes me cringe at the thought of someone using soundbars versus a real 5.1/7.1 speaker setup.

Sure, you probably can't beat that price... but think about that old adage. You get what you pay for.

[Driver_King]

Originally Posted by Another_Dude

I think you'd be happier with the results from a set of Polk 6750s than any soundbar that BB sells.

They'll give you better front sound than TV speakers, but surround it is not.

Have you heard Polk's 360 Soundbar? It uses dual SDA technology digitally for the effect. It is one of the best soundbars I have heard thus far.

[DBlackGT]

I've been thinking about one of these for my bedroom. I want a clean and simple sound system so I dont think another receiver and speakers is what I'm looking for. Anyone have any thoughts on 2.1 systems maybe? Other I think the $299 Sony with 3 HDMI inputs will do

[DavidAg02]

The local Modia/The Home Theater Store had a room dedicated to surround bar applications a few months back. I had a chance to listen to several of them. They sound pretty good for what they are, but they are definitely a compromise.

Considering the price of most sound bars, it think most people would be much better off buying separate speakers. Even my $400 set of TSC bookshelf speakers sound better and more realistic than even the most expensive sound bars that were in that room.

Originally Posted by DBlackGT

Anyone have any thoughts on 2.1 systems maybe?

I think you would be much better off piecing your own 2.1 system together. Just find some bookshelf speakers that you like, match them with a sub and some speaker stands and you are good to go.

[Another_Dude]

Originally Posted by Driver_King

Have you heard Polk's 360 Soundbar? It uses dual SDA technology digitally for the effect. It is one of the best soundbars I have heard thus far.

I haven't heard it. I don't doubt that it sounds good, but if soundbars did real surround sound then we wouldn't be buying these expensive speakers to place in the back of the room.

Better than the speakers in your TV. Not surround sound. Perfectly fine for some applications.

[steve1971]

Thanks guys. Idea of getting one is scrapped!

[Beta Man]

I'd go with a 3.0 setup

[wiza_gab]

Do you have to put it on the ground ? Because I don't think it would sound good since my bed is near the TV. Can you mount it on the wall ? Like higher than the TV (which is not very high) ?

[steve1971]

Originally Posted by wiza_gab

Do you have to put it on the ground ? Because I don't think it would sound good since my bed is near the TV. Can you mount it on the wall ? Like higher than the TV (which is not very high) ?

You can mount it up on a wall above the tv if you want or put it at the base of the tv if your tv is sitting on an entertainment center like mine is. My tv sits level with my bed so thats what I would have done. The sound would have come right at me. I said the idea of getting one was scrapped until last night when I went up to my local BB and heard the Sony model. The reason why I dont go for the big speaker set up is due to the fact that I have my tv in my bedroom which aint very big so whats the point? What blow my windows out? lol. Now when I get my own place thats a different story altogether. But for now this might do the trick. The Sony sound bars get a good rating from CNET as well so it is something that I am still thining about.