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Showing 1 of 38 conversations about:
excalibruh
117
Jun 9, 2020
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If you buy this soundbar instead of building an actual home theatre set up for potentially cheaper lmk so I know you're gullible
bfitz
671
Jun 9, 2020
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excalibruhFor the price and performance(given you have the right room) it is very very good.
You are right though, a proper dedicated system will always best this, given you have the room to set the speakers up properly
bfitz
671
Jun 9, 2020
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jafo65I have. Numerous times. In the "showroom" setting. Small footprint box like rooms. And it's fantastic. But I don't think it would translate well in larger open concept style rooms as you will lose, or maybe even not have the ability for calibration of speakers for the full surround effect.
Andoo
23
Jun 9, 2020
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excalibruhTo me this is more a financial freedom issue. I know people who have certain rooms where they either don't want the sight of floor speakers or have bedrooms where this would just be better. Give me 2,500 and I'm upgrading my floor speakers without hesitation, but man, this is a sweet soundbar I would drop some money on for an upstairs game room if I had the money to blow.
bfitz
671
Jun 9, 2020
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jafo65Yes. Numerous times in the "showroom" setting at local hifi shop. For a smaller boxlike style room where a simple solution is needed, and you have the $, it's fantastic.
However, larger open style rooms I feel would suffer. The calibration of the speakers would be off and the loss of sound would hinder the performance.
mrkoven
10
Jun 9, 2020
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excalibruhThat is a naive take, I think everyone understands a 5.1.2 is better but soundbars have justifiable use cases e.g. space constraints, etc.
01110110
12
Jun 10, 2020
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DenisMI frequent the home theater sub, the head mod can be crass at times, some of the rules are lame (like the limitations on most discussion around display calibration), and it's not always the friendliest place. That said, there are some pretty knowledgeable people there - if a particular TV or sound system or setup is getting bagged on, there's generally a good reason for it, although the condescending attitudes and pettiness that sometimes accompanies such reactions isn't helpful. It can be toxic at times and those kinds of reactions really are a disservice to visitors and newbies.
As for soundbars, if your room just has space for a screen and a soundbar, i.e., proper placement for even a 2.0 speaker arrangement and receiver isn't practical, or you don't want to run wires/aren't technically inclined, or you care more about the aesthetic of the space than absolute audio performance, then yes, get a soundbar, that is probably your best option. Rtings reviews and objective measurements have shown that some of them actually perform quite well. At the very least, it is extremely likely you'll be getting better sound than your TV's built-in speakers.
But sound performance aside, there are still some very valid arguments to be made against soundbars - I think the biggest is that they are closed systems.
Assuming the soundbar even supports a sub/surrounds at all, most of them limit you to a single subwoofer option (and a single subwoofer in general, i.e., no dual subs) and a single pair of surrounds, which are typically purpose-built for that particular model of soundbar and nothing else will be compatible - your expansion options are limited at best. Very few soundbars include any form of room correction (I think the new Sonos soundbar does, good on them, but only if you have an iOS device to act as the mic), so if your room has modes (short of being an anechoic chamber, it will), you are essentially guaranteed uneven frequency response below 300Hz - whereas most receivers have some form of room correction built-in, which can help greatly to even out bass response. Additionally, the number of inputs and sound formats the product supports the day you buy it are what you are limited to for the life of the product, so if Atmos II comes out in a few years or they start releasing 11.2.6 TrueHD tracks or whatever, getting support for those will require a total system replacement (as opposed to just replacing a single component, your receiver, and continuing to use your current speakers/subs). Similarly, if the sub or surrounds included with the soundbar manage to break at some point, unless it's still under warranty or the manufacturer carries and still sells replacement parts, there is a fair chance that you'll need to do a total system replacement.
Soundbars are the kind of solution I happily recommend for my parents' living room - simple setup, compact, relatively easy to use, nearly all of those negatives I mentioned above aren't as big of a concern for them. And I get to field fewer tech support calls about the soundbar than I do for the 5.1 home theater my dad installed in their basement. It's perfect for them, doesn't appeal much to me.
H82fail
18
Jun 11, 2020
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excalibruhI'm not sure how wanting the best sound you can get with only a sound bar is being gullible. Some people have a limited amount of space.
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