General Soundbar Questions - HTST5000 mainly - Blu-ray Forum

nbxfan · 11-04-2020, 06:25 AM

I am going from an in ceiling system in my previous place with AV Receiver down to a sound bar as a compromise at this point. I have been researching and looking at sound bars and at a loss overall. My current TV is a Sony XBR-79X900B which has huge visible speakers on both sides. Sound is pretty good and not sure if a soundbar would be an improvement or not but would like to at least simulate some better surround sound if possible.

I do not have a place to put rear speakers unless they are wireless and can be hung on the ceiling but, even then have an awkward area with angled walls that is a combo living room, dining room. So looking mainly for a sound bar with just a sub. Else would look at a samsung set up like the Q series with the rear speakers.

Considering the Sony HTST5000 but, as it is now at least a couple years old concerned that a newer model will be coming soon and this will end up outdated. For the price not sure if that makes it a smart option. Also, as I am used to a receiver hook up not sure how this all would end up hooking up. Do you wire everything to the soundbar and then use the ARC HDMI out to the TV to control everything or do you hook everything up to the TV and then send the sound from the tv to the soundbar?

Are there better sound bars now available that would be recommended without the rears? Something else I should be considering? I have looked at the Sonos Arc, the Sennheisser Ambeo (curious to see if that goes down at all for Black Friday and I have not been able to find anywhere with this hooked up to hear it myself) and the Bose soundbar 700. This is just not in my wheelhouse of knowledge and to me the HTST5000 sounds the best of what I’ve heard.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

oddbox83 · 11-04-2020, 01:49 PM

How long is the compromise for?

Because a good soundbar is an awful lot of money, especially when you have one of those Sony's with the better speakers anyway.

You also describe an awkward layout - that will severely limit how convincing any rear effect from a front-soundbar will be as the bouncing side-firing effect (like the HTST5000) won't work the same as an even, square room.

If you'll be in a position in the near future to go for something better, I'd wait.

nbxfan · 11-04-2020, 04:24 PM

I would say it's a permanent compromise. Even getting to the point of a sound bar has been an uphill battle. The room itself is more open than anything but, has one wall on the left rear that comes in at a 70"ish" degree angle for the kitchen. This is the concern for any rear speakers at this point because where that wall comes out would be where a rear speaker should go.

oddbox83 · 11-05-2020, 02:00 PM

Maybe look at some 3.1.2 bars that you can add rears to later if you want?

One of the higher end ones will have better calibration options to help compensate for awkward layout. I know the Amebo does.

I’d agree the HTST5000 is getting a bit long in the tooth anyway.

sdmggs · 11-10-2020, 08:46 AM

Hey all!
I’m a new member on blu-ray.com but have been on often as a guest for a year or so now and love it. I just had a question about a Samsung Q70T Soundbar I recently purchased. I have a Samsung M8500 UHD player connected to it, and have it set on Bitstream unprocessed for the audio output. The soundbar recognizes and plays Dolby atmos tracks from uhd discs no problem, but it doesn’t recognize DTS X soundtracks from any of the discs with DTS X I’ve tried. Any ideas why Dolby atmos would be working just fine but not DTS x ?

oddbox83 · 11-10-2020, 01:41 PM

I've read the Q70T specs and if the player is set to bitstream (is the player set to bitstream for every audio format? Just wondering if there is a DTS option hidden away) then it should be working as that bar does handle full DTS. Does it play other DTS formats fine, or is it downsampling to 2.0?

sdmggs · 11-10-2020, 07:27 PM

Thanks so much for the reply and suggestions! I combed through the settings last night and couldn’t find anything specifically related to DTS, and yes it appeared to be downsampling because neither of my rear speakers were engaged at all. However, after a few hours of a lot of looking through settings and testing different discs all unsuccessfully, I went to bed, then woke up this morning and tried the same discs again and it perfectly recognized and displayed DTS X on the soundbar, and my rear speakers were engaged as well. So, as cliche as it sounds, it seems as though possibly it just wasn’t recognizing DTS X on its first try (as last night was the first time I’d tried discs with dts x) and needed to be turned off for awhile and then back on. I’m going to watch a DTS X disc in full tonight so will report back if there are any issues again, but it seems as though maybe it just wasn’t recognizing DTS x on its first try and needed to be turned off and on again. Thank you again for the response and help!!

11-04-2020, 06:25 AM	#1
nbxfan Special Member Member since:May 2008 Location:Anaheim, CA Blu-ray collection:246 Blu-ray reviews:12 Trading Score:8	General Soundbar Questions - HTST5000 mainly I am going from an in ceiling system in my previous place with AV Receiver down to a sound bar as a compromise at this point. I have been researching and looking at sound bars and at a loss overall. My current TV is a Sony XBR-79X900B which has huge visible speakers on both sides. Sound is pretty good and not sure if a soundbar would be an improvement or not but would like to at least simulate some better surround sound if possible. I do not have a place to put rear speakers unless they are wireless and can be hung on the ceiling but, even then have an awkward area with angled walls that is a combo living room, dining room. So looking mainly for a sound bar with just a sub. Else would look at a samsung set up like the Q series with the rear speakers. Considering the Sony HTST5000 but, as it is now at least a couple years old concerned that a newer model will be coming soon and this will end up outdated. For the price not sure if that makes it a smart option. Also, as I am used to a receiver hook up not sure how this all would end up hooking up. Do you wire everything to the soundbar and then use the ARC HDMI out to the TV to control everything or do you hook everything up to the TV and then send the sound from the tv to the soundbar? Are there better sound bars now available that would be recommended without the rears? Something else I should be considering? I have looked at the Sonos Arc, the Sennheisser Ambeo (curious to see if that goes down at all for Black Friday and I have not been able to find anywhere with this hooked up to hear it myself) and the Bose soundbar 700. This is just not in my wheelhouse of knowledge and to me the HTST5000 sounds the best of what I’ve heard. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

11-04-2020, 01:49 PM	#2
oddbox83 Blu-ray Knight Member since:Sep 2013 Location:UK	How long is the compromise for? Because a good soundbar is an awful lot of money, especially when you have one of those Sony's with the better speakers anyway. You also describe an awkward layout - that will severely limit how convincing any rear effect from a front-soundbar will be as the bouncing side-firing effect (like the HTST5000) won't work the same as an even, square room. If you'll be in a position in the near future to go for something better, I'd wait.

11-04-2020, 04:24 PM	#3
nbxfan Special Member Member since:May 2008 Location:Anaheim, CA Blu-ray collection:246 Blu-ray reviews:12 Trading Score:8	I would say it's a permanent compromise. Even getting to the point of a sound bar has been an uphill battle. The room itself is more open than anything but, has one wall on the left rear that comes in at a 70"ish" degree angle for the kitchen. This is the concern for any rear speakers at this point because where that wall comes out would be where a rear speaker should go.

11-05-2020, 02:00 PM	#4
oddbox83 Blu-ray Knight Member since:Sep 2013 Location:UK	Maybe look at some 3.1.2 bars that you can add rears to later if you want? One of the higher end ones will have better calibration options to help compensate for awkward layout. I know the Amebo does. I’d agree the HTST5000 is getting a bit long in the tooth anyway.

11-10-2020, 08:46 AM	#5
sdmggs Junior Member Member since:Nov 2020	Hey all! I’m a new member on blu-ray.com but have been on often as a guest for a year or so now and love it. I just had a question about a Samsung Q70T Soundbar I recently purchased. I have a Samsung M8500 UHD player connected to it, and have it set on Bitstream unprocessed for the audio output. The soundbar recognizes and plays Dolby atmos tracks from uhd discs no problem, but it doesn’t recognize DTS X soundtracks from any of the discs with DTS X I’ve tried. Any ideas why Dolby atmos would be working just fine but not DTS x ?

11-10-2020, 01:41 PM	#6
oddbox83 Blu-ray Knight Member since:Sep 2013 Location:UK	I've read the Q70T specs and if the player is set to bitstream (is the player set to bitstream for every audio format? Just wondering if there is a DTS option hidden away) then it should be working as that bar does handle full DTS. Does it play other DTS formats fine, or is it downsampling to 2.0?

11-10-2020, 07:27 PM	#7
sdmggs Junior Member Member since:Nov 2020	Thanks so much for the reply and suggestions! I combed through the settings last night and couldn’t find anything specifically related to DTS, and yes it appeared to be downsampling because neither of my rear speakers were engaged at all. However, after a few hours of a lot of looking through settings and testing different discs all unsuccessfully, I went to bed, then woke up this morning and tried the same discs again and it perfectly recognized and displayed DTS X on the soundbar, and my rear speakers were engaged as well. So, as cliche as it sounds, it seems as though possibly it just wasn’t recognizing DTS X on its first try (as last night was the first time I’d tried discs with dts x) and needed to be turned off for awhile and then back on. I’m going to watch a DTS X disc in full tonight so will report back if there are any issues again, but it seems as though maybe it just wasn’t recognizing DTS x on its first try and needed to be turned off and on again. Thank you again for the response and help!!

Best Blu-ray Movie Deals