Soundbar suggestions

[Claudius-07]

Good day all. I just recently moved into my new home. Currently the basement is unfinished and my future project for where my current entertainment system will go. In my older home, that's where the whole system was. However, in the interim, sadly, everything is going into my new living room upstairs, which was never meant to have a 60" TV, and a vast amount of components, 7.2 sound system, cables up the yingyang yada yada. My wife is hating it.

I have decided to simply mount on the wall a small TV but my wife and I still want to be able to watch movies etc while it takes me a while to finish the basement. Are there any decent soundbars that I can get to go with the TV on the wall? I dont want a huge 5.1 or 7.1 system, no reciever... nothing. Just the TV and a soundbar. I tried sampling some at a few local electronic stores and man do they sound tinny and hollow -- mind you maybe the settings were not correct, not sure. One of the salespersons told me if I want the best got to go for a $1500 Bose soundbar... GOD... I really dont want to do that. Anyhow have any suggestions as to a model that is decent and has HDMI input at least?

 

[JackBurton]

The salesman is a moron, but that's not surprising. If you want a great soundbar, look no further than Yamaha's YSP-4100 and YSP-5100. Fantastic soundbars, and I dare say THE best soundbars available! IMO, if you don't like how these soundbars sound, you probably won't like any soundbars. Pair it up with a wireless subwoofer, and you should have a setup that meets your sound requirements and your wife's aesthetic requirements.

If you want strictly a soundbar with no subwoofer, I'd recommend the B&W Panorama. It has better low end response than just a Yamaha YSP-4100 or 5100, but with a sub, the Yamaha steals the show.

But like with all speakers, demo them first to see which sounds best to you.

 

[Soccerman06]

How much do you want to spend, because if theres no limit you could always buy from a premium brand like paradigm.

 

[JackBurton]

How much do you want to spend, because if theres no limit you could always buy from a premium brand like paradigm.

The Yamaha and B&W are better than the Paradigm soundbar. The Paradigm Millenia 20 Trio is actually almost half the price of the Yamaha 5100 and B&W Panorama. So if you want the best soundbar, again, I'd go for the Yamaha or B&W.

 

[NutBucket]

Doesn't his "no receiver" requirement rule out most of the high-end sound bars?

 

[JackBurton]

Doesn't his "no receiver" requirement rule out most of the high-end sound bars?

Nope. The point of a soundbar is for a minimalistic design, hence no receiver. They pretty much act like a receiver though as they have several inputs and most are able to decode the HD audio formats. Some will even upscale the resolution to 1080p (480p>1080p). All you need for these soundbars (Yamaha and B&W) are a TV and a source. The sub is optional, but definitely recommended.

 

[Claudius-07]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions JackBurton and others. I am looking online at the Yamaha's you listed. Currently that I can find around town, none of those are available to sample and listen to.

You are right, I am looking for a TOTAL sleek design and look but as usual, I want my cake and eat it too, and as you stated I want something that can still decode HD audio etc. If possible I did not even want a sub but I know how one, a good one, makes all the difference.

The Yamaha's 4100 and 5100 are right at the top of what I want to spend. Anyhow great suggestions, I want to stick to those for now but will keep the Paradigm in mind as well

 

[Soccerman06]

Never realized a soundbar could cost $2000. Honestly if you spent that much you could buy some excellent bookshelfs.

OP, chances are you wont find these anywhere near you without going to a dedicated dealer.

Edit: read this, http://www.scribd.com/doc/28935805/Guide-to-Surround-Sound-Speaker-Systems . It has a few soundbars and some other options you could consider.

 

[kwrzesien]

You have several lower price options too. The Yamaha YAS-101 is very basic single-piece system (built-in sub to bar) and is cheap. I haven't heard it, but don't expect much.

I heard an Energy Elite in the store yesterday and was completely impressed, the wife even had the salesman "unplug" the wireless subwoofer and it still sounded great. Runs about $599 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=AKR88PAWTQVN2

 

[Fallen Kell]

Personally I loved the Polk soundbars the best. But you need to have seating area in the middle of the soundbar. Polk's SDA technology is still the best out there when you have the right setup. That said, if you can't sit in front of the soundbar (between the speakers), it doesn't work as well and you would be better off with something like the Yamaha. If you can find someplace to demo, I highly recommend listening. You would be amazed what it does. They have models which even include a wireless sub (which would be needed with all soundbars).

 

[Claudius-07]

Well after a few tries, some possible compromises, I decided to get this:
Yamaha YHT-S400BL

It's totally NOT in the same league as what many of you have recommended. I decided on this since I already spent a huge amount on my original and real HT which is now in the basement. As soon as I complete the work in the basement, that will be the place to properly watch movies. I am more than satisfied for something like this for my living room making my wife happy, no wires or mess etc. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Syborg1211]

I was in a similar situation where my media room in our new house was a little too small for the full 6.1 setup I had. I was able to convince my wife to let me spend a lot on a soundbar by explaining there would be no wires and no clutter anywhere. I own both the YSP-4100 and YSP-3050, and I love them both. Yamaha makes great stuff, and the sound beam technology is the real deal. It's still kind of disorienting to hear background noise from a movie coming from my right or from behind and looking and seeing no speaker there.

Let us know how the YHT-S400BL works out for you.

 

[Claudius-07]

Update:
So the Yamaha YHT-S400BL came in, the new wall mount, wall plates etc., all arrived. Spent the better part of Friday doing the work. At first when I took the sound bar and subwoofer, which also acts as a receiver out and plugged the wires in to test it, the sound was HORRIBLE. One thing I noticed right away was that you can if you wish, attach different speakers to the system. In other words, the sound bar has 3 distinct set of wires to it and has in theory 3 speakers inside it. I grabbed 3 of my current discreete speakers, the center and two front sides and hooked them up. That made it sound very good. I expcected that since my speakers sounded great before.

Anyhow after making a few tweaks and realizing I am trying to keep the wiring and size to a minimum, I decided to just hook up the soundbar with no other speakers, the way it was intended. When I finally mounted it under the TV and got everything else squared away, it sounded very good. Stupid me, the unit sitting on my dining room table sound like CRAP but under the TV properly positioned with the woofer at the bottom, it's actually quite darn good for its size.

It's a clean install, all wires are hidden and I've set the internal options to my liking. In fact it has way too much "thump" and had to play with that.

For what it cost, it was a very good deal and I am very happy and so is my wife.