Best sound bar for $200?

[Ray Jackson]

I'm not an audiophile and my ear for sound isn't that finely tuned, so I'm not worried about the argument that sound bars suck compared to authentic surround sound speaker setups.

And I don't have the budget to spend $500-$1000 on a really high end sound bar. $200 is the limit I set for myself.

I just purchased a $200 Toshiba soundstrip from Best Buy and I like it well enough, only the warranty is only 90 days and I've read a lot of reviews about the subwoofer crapping out after a few months. My experience with Best Buy is that they will only do the bare minimum as far as returns on broken items. Their customer service is awful in that regard.

Yesterday I found a couple of sound bars at Costco for less than $200 with one-year warranties and Costco's return policies are excellent.

One is a Samsung, one is a Yamaha and the other is a Vizio that actually comes with two rear speakers, along with the sound bar and the subwoofer.

Any thoughts or recommendations on which one I should go with?

[callas01]

Would you be willing to spend $300 ish in a better setup?

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...d-ready/1.html
http://www.wavecrestaudio.com/produc...udspeaker-pair

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by callas01

Would you be willing to spend $300 ish in a better setup?

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...d-ready/1.html
http://www.wavecrestaudio.com/produc...udspeaker-pair

Not really.

I don't have a very refined audio palette and I was pleased with the sonic upgrade resulting from the Toshiba sound bar I'm testing out.

My needs are small.

...and so is my budget.

Plus I like the idea of keeping it simple. These sound bars are so simple to set up and operate.

[ImPulSive]

http://electronics.woot.com/offers/v...ef=cnt_dly_img

Sat Feb 7 2015 1-day only sale at Woot $190 Refurb
VIZIO S4251w-B4C 42" 5.1-Channel Home Theater Bluetooth Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer & Wired Rear Satellite Speakers

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by ImPulSive

http://electronics.woot.com/offers/v...ef=cnt_dly_img

Sat Feb 7 2015 1-day only sale at Woot $190 Refurb
VIZIO S4251w-B4C 42" 5.1-Channel Home Theater Bluetooth Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer & Wired Rear Satellite Speakers

They've got this out at Costco and I was really tempted by the addition of the surround sound speakers.

But I read reviews that said the speakers are pretty weak and you can barely hear the sound from em unless you're standing right in front of them.

...do you have an opinion on that?

[ImPulSive]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

They've got this out at Costco and I was really tempted by the addition of the surround sound speakers.

But I read reviews that said the speakers are pretty weak and you can barely hear the sound from em unless you're standing right in front of them.

...do you have an opinion on that?

No. I don't do sound bars, either TV speakers or full on receiver+speakers for me. No experience with that unit or any other sound bar units. Just posted it in case it was a good deal, brought price down to your $200 level. Nothing more.

[ChromeJob]

I played with all the sound bars at Costco last year and liked the Yamaha the best. Currently has a rebate....

I've seen Vizio's lame idea of customer support and wouldn't buy an egg slicer from them.