Sound Bars

[N2gaming]

Hello Group
As I was at Target the other day to pick up a new set of ear buds I ended talking to the guy who was working there and anyway we start talking about how cheap the TV monitors are now compared to just 5/6 yrs ago

and then he tells me just like the new sound bars and I went, Huh! so he takes me over to where they have a few on display and I was pretty impressed with the sound, btw, he was NOT trying to sell me one as our talk was about a lot of things in the electronic world and the great changes that have occurred.

So anyway, I thought I would come here where the true experts are and ask, are sound bars a valid replacement for an already existing 5.1 surround sound system?? Thanks, Jake

 

[Kartajan]

For the enthusiast, no.

For certain use cases, such as basic functionality in a more casual environment, yes.

 

[shortylickens]

If you NEED to save space, (not want to, need to) then yeah I guess its an acceptable compromise.

But if you actually care about the audio reaching your ears I still think its better to find a giant, heavy amp and big ugly speakers.
Even cheap gear like Onkyo is better than some kind of cute, compact solution that's also harder to repair, not to mention you cant move them around your room if you want perfect surround separation.

 

[bigboxes]

In a space limiting environment, sure, they'd be an upgrade on many crap sounding TVs that fire sound downward. But like shorty said, you want good sound you're gonna need some strong clean power and something that can be positioned and move some air.

 

[DaveSimmons]

They're good for giving your parents better than the TV's sound, since they don't need to learn to control an AV receiver.

They're acceptable if you don't care enough about sound quality to want a real 5.1 - 7.1 setup.

 

[bigboxes]

and just because you have 5-7 speakers and a subwoofer doesn't mean you have good sound. Many of those packaged 5.1-7.1 sets are garbage.

 

[frowertr]

Most soundbars are garbage. But not all of them. I have this in my house. Its got plenty of power. Not as good as larger towers of course since the three channels are closer spaced.

 

[Kartajan]

Most soundbars are garbage. But not all of them. I have this in my house. Its got plenty of power. Not as good as larger towers of course since the three channels are closer spaced.

Passive soundbars don't really count as a soundbar- ...thus your need for the Denon AVR-X series...
Although I am envious of the assumed quality of your "center + front speaker" setup.. Do you have similarly graded speakers set up for full- on atmos surround?

 

[frowertr]

Passive soundbars don't really count as a soundbar- ...thus your need for the Denon AVR-X series...
Although I am envious of the assumed quality of your "center + front speaker" setup.. Do you have similarly graded speakers set up for full- on atmos surround?

I run a 5.1 setup so for the surrounds I have two in-ceiling Paradigm speakers. Had to go full on WAF here. Im going to add two more in-ceiling for Atmos/DTS:X.

 

[Greenman]

Bit of a necro, but I'd like to revisit this.
I've been using a bottom of the line Vizio sound bar with a cheap sub woofer left over from a system I tossed out ten years ago. It's been good enough for me, and goes along with the low end 65" TV that I think looks spectacular. The sound bar input plug broke, so I'm looking at yet another cheap sound setup. Vizio has a 36" bar and small sub for under $150 that gets pretty good reviews, do any of you have it? I'd like to hear from an actual owner of one before I spend this months coffee money on it.
Yes, I'm cheap. I'm also old, grumpy, and hard of hearing.

 

[Aikouka]

Bit of a necro, but I'd like to revisit this.
I've been using a bottom of the line Vizio sound bar with a cheap sub woofer left over from a system I tossed out ten years ago. It's been good enough for me, and goes along with the low end 65" TV that I think looks spectacular. The sound bar input plug broke, so I'm looking at yet another cheap sound setup. Vizio has a 36" bar and small sub for under $150 that gets pretty good reviews, do any of you have it? I'd like to hear from an actual owner of one before I spend this months coffee money on it.
Yes, I'm cheap. I'm also old, grumpy, and hard of hearing.

If I remember correctly, the soundbar that I got for my mom is a Vizio soundbar, and it sounds fine for what it is. My biggest complaint is that it lacks the proper sound positioning of a separate speaker setup, which is understandable. To give you an idea, I was helping my mom setup a Harmony remote, and I thought the soundbar wasn't on due to it sounding like all of the audio was coming from the TV.

 

[Greenman]

If I remember correctly, the soundbar that I got for my mom is a Vizio soundbar, and it sounds fine for what it is. My biggest complaint is that it lacks the proper sound positioning of a separate speaker setup, which is understandable. To give you an idea, I was helping my mom setup a Harmony remote, and I thought the soundbar wasn't on due to it sounding like all of the audio was coming from the TV.

I ended up buying the Vizio. Well worth the hundred bucks. I'm not into home theater enough that I need positional sound.

 

[Binky]

I really like soundbars in a minimalist environment, like our master bedroom where the TV is on a swing arm and the soundbar attaches to it, and swings with it. The TV "signal" on that location is also fed by a Rpi3 attached to the TV, so it's a really sleek way to set it up. It has only two power cords and one network cable running up to the TV. But...in the living room I'm not sure that I could deal with the limitations of the sound(bar).

 

[nOOky]

No, soundbars are not a replacement for any decent proper surround setup. Yes, they can be good enough for most people who don't know or care. For example my co-worker thinks his 60" Vizio cheapie monitor is the best thing out there is for $598. He can't tell the difference between it and my older Panasonic 60" plasma, but I can, and that's all that matters. I think a soundbar is fine for bedroom or basement televisions.

Home theater is an expensive hobby anyway, and most people I know don't really care about proper speaker placement or calibration much less quality, it's all about volume.

 

[WhiteNoise]

I like soundbars too! I use one in my living room. Our Sammy hangs over the fireplace and the sound bar is mounted on the wall below it. Almost looks like it is part of the TV. For me it is just a slim, space saving way of improving on the TV's built in speakers. It has a small sub which resides behind the entertainment rack.

I have a 7.2 system in my home theater room so I most certainly do not need another big system in my living room. The soundbar gets the job done and sounds great. The sub puts out plenty of mostly clean bass and is more than adequate for our needs. I also have two book shelf speakers on stands in this room but they are tied to the HK for music. I don't see the need to use that amp for TV viewing.

I use a Samsung sound bar & sub kit.

I'm a big audio/video guy and been in this hobby for many years. I know the difference between SQ and SPL. I'm an SQ guy. I also have tons of audio equipment...way more than average and I still think that a decent soundbar is fine if it meets your requirements. It can't replace a proper 5.1-7.2 or greater system but if you just want better sound than your TV can do then it is a good call.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I fall into the school of thought that a 2.1 sound bar is your best option. Anything beyond 2 channel becomes a tangled mess.