Soundbar Recommendations?

[BigDumbWookiee]

So I'm looking for a decent soundbar. A subwoofer would be nice but isn't an absolute necessity. The short of it is, I dont really care to crank up my movies and I'm not much of an aural person myself (sorry speaker guys, Im just more visual). So I don't need best of the best, just something that produces sound better than TV speakers. I fully realize and don't expect to get top 5.1 or 7.1 surround quality, just looking for something that bridges the gap between tv speakers and low-mid range home theater sound systems. Any recommendations? Prefer to stick in the $300 or less range.

[Bad8511]

If you absolutely have to, I was in the mall this weekend and the Sony Style store had one for $299.

[Bad8511]

One thing I forgot to mention. I picked this bad boy up last weekend and it's amazing! You can put it right next to your bed and it's wireless! Best $50 bucks I've spent in a long time.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...reless+speaker

[FreddieFerric]

If you have the budget for it I'd have a look at the Def Tech.

http://www.definitivetech.com/Produc...r/default.aspx

[Bad8511]

Originally Posted by BluRayFred

If you have the budget for it I'd have a look at the Def Tech.

http://www.definitivetech.com/Produc...r/default.aspx

Wow! That's a little more than the $300 he wants to spend.

[erict]

Sony CT-100 soundbar. I own one and love it and the best part is you don't need a receiver. Best value for $300 hands down.

[Irrob]

Originally Posted by BluRayFred

If you have the budget for it I'd have a look at the Def Tech.

http://www.definitivetech.com/Produc...r/default.aspx

Jezus, the guy said $300 or less.
For your price range, Sony is probably the way to go. Boston Acoustics and Polk have decent soundbar systems just above your price range.

[MCT]

Originally Posted by erict

Sony CT-100 soundbar. I own one and love it and the best part is you don't need a receiver. Best value for $300 hands down.

+1, this is what I have right now and let me tell you, that sub is no joke. None whatsoever. It will have the neighbors banging on the floor above you in no time. I just got the Sammy 1600 Blu Ray player that has onboard DTS-MA/TrueHD decoding, and now its even worse for those guys up there

[FreddieFerric]

Sorry, I was half asleep still and didn't register the budget. Still, they sometime show up on e-bay and other forums for a price in his neigborhood. Also, he said he would "prefer" to stick to around $300, but did not say it was an absolute necessity.

[Twitch9]

Yamaha makes the best sound bars IMO they where the originators of the whole technology.

Yamaha ysp-900 and you can usually find a deal where they throw in a Yamaha sub to go with it for around $300

I have installed this model at a clients home and have to say it sounds incredible for what it is. It's hard to place the surrounds and really imitates a full surround system very well.

[neos_peace]

No offence to anyone seriuusly

But i thought sound bars were taboo for home theater's of any kind.

feel free to ignore my comment.

[Bluubyu]

Yamaha soundbars are a nice choice for bedroom set-ups.

[MCT]

Originally Posted by neos_peace

No offence to anyone seriuusly

But i thought sound bars were taboo for home theater's of any kind.

feel free to ignore my comment.

they are, but when you live in a relatively modest-sized condo (970sf), it may not be wise to have a setup that can piss off even the most quiet neighbors who live upstairs. Once I move out of this damn shithole and get myself an actual house where I can live in peaceful seclusion, I will ditch my surroundbar and get something real.

[Badboyztn]

I just left Sam's Club and they have a Vizio soundbar with a wireless Subwoofer for $249.


http://www.vizio.com/

[md99]

Originally Posted by neos_peace

No offence to anyone seriuusly

But i thought sound bars were taboo for home theater's of any kind.

feel free to ignore my comment.

They are great for those who are confined to a small area. Saying that, anybody who buys a 5.1 soundbar is going to be disappointed, they simply do not offer true surround or anything like it.

I went for a Q-acoustics QAV 3 channel (left, right & cenre) bar and its a fantastic and ingenious piece of kit. There are seperate back speakers available so it does offer true surround sound but my room isn't suitable so I didn't get them.

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Q-Acoustics-Q-AV/
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...roduct_ID/4009

[esko1]

I say go with this one http://www.walmart.com/Sony-HT-CT100...tem/ip/9447379 i have one and its perfect for a small room. definetly worth the money.

[X400]

yamaha

mirage

make some nice soundbars

[xneox]

Originally Posted by neos_peace

No offence to anyone seriuusly

But i thought sound bars were taboo for home theater's of any kind.

feel free to ignore my comment.

I think it depends on why you're buying it.

Looking for the easy way out & still expect a good, enveloping cinematic experience? Not so much.

Looking to get a huge overall sound upgrade over the speakers that came in 99% of tvs, but don't really care so much about true surround? Maybe you already have a theater room & this is just going for the flat panel in the family room..? I can see a soundbar being the best option here, and may do it myself someday for this application, when the family room tv is upgraded to a flat panel.

[blue comet]

Yamaha .. I have the ysp 1100 with a matching subwoofer. .. skirts the line of a 5.1 system in the proper room.. Yamaha has an advanced technology built into these models that no other company comes near ,,

[SeanMF]

Originally Posted by Bad8511

Wow! That's a little more than the $300 he wants to spend.

Amazon had these for around 50% or so off awhile ago. It wouldve put the ssa-45 around his price range. Thing is you need a receiver to use dt speaker bars.