Best Soundbar for $$

[stormdlp]

Title says it, any ideas? Got a crappy LED TV with NO sound pretty much, but tired of wiring surround sound.

 

[weez82]

Dont wire the surround sound. If you already have a receiver and speakers then use them. You can setup a 2.0 or 2.1 setup (assuming you already have the gear?). Soundbars suck

 

[boomhower]

I have used sounbars and the lower end ones do pretty much suck. Better than built in speakers certainly but still extremely lackluster. It sounds as you already have some equipment. A basic 2.0/2.1 set-up will be way better than a cheap sounbar.

 

[KeithP]

Maybe a Zvox? They have a 30 day money back guarantee.
http://www.zvoxaudio.com/

-KeithP

 

[MustISO]

You could go for a 2.1 setup which could be fine but if you want a good sound bar I would suggest looking at the Energy, Polk or PSB, Klipsch sound bars. They are not cheap but they do a good job. Sound and Vision recently reviewed some higher end sound bars.

 

[mshan]

I just took a chance and ordered one of these from Amazon ($228 shipped with Amazon Prime membership):

http://slickdeals.net/f/6108026-Viz...4-228-for-Amazon-Prime-Members-Free-Shipping?

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/vizio-s4251w-b4/4505-7868_7-35560754.html

 

[Rio Rebel]

That one looks good. I made the mistake of an impulse buy with an LG with bluetooth, and have been very disappointed in the fullness of the sound. It's hardly better than the tv speakers alone.

On the other hand, we bought a cheap tv (Element) for my daughter's room, and it comes with a built in JBL soundbar, and the sound is outstanding. Of course, the picture quality is weak, but the sound is awesome for a tv.

 

[Phantom9309]

I like all the 2.1 suggestions

 

[soulcougher73]

I just bought this.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

I can let you know what i think once i get it. Coming from a real HT room with 5.1 hopefully i wont be too disappointed.

 

[kalrith]

I run a 3.1 system, because I haven't gotten around to installing the surround speakers at my new house. I wouldn't replace it with a sound bar unless space was an issue.

Last time I checked (years ago), the old Polk sound bars were the best. You can still find them on the Polk FS forums, but they require 100 posts before viewing threads: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?34-For-Sale-(FS)-Classifieds

 

[Fallen Kell]

Yeah the Polk ones were by far some of the best technology at the time. All the others rely on attempting to reflect the sound off a floors/ceilings/walls to attempt to make the sound appear to come from the side or behind you. Polk's system used straight up wave interference to cancel the audio sound from the other channel so that when something was in the rear right, they canceled out the frequency waveform from going to your right ear with a second driver spaced approximate the distance between human ears and 180 degrees out of phase so that when the signals combined when they hit your ear, they cancelled, resulting in the sound only going to your right ear and not even heard in the left.

 

[rsbjr]

I recently just moved to an Apt where 5.1 solutions were not applicable. I got this sound bar based on some research. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HT-CT660-46-Inch-Wireless-Subwoofer/dp/B00C25I5TE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375208643&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+660 it is really good. There are some stupid functionality issues that I am not happy with (HDMI input locations), but they are minor and overall performance is good.

However, I was told that this was one of the best for the money. http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YSP2200...ds=yamaha+2200

Good luck.

 

[funboy6942]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281080636320?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I was thinking of getting this because its supposed to sound good and has dts and dd decoders and hook up for a sub too