When my wife and I finished renovating our house in early 2022 I had to make a big change in our Home Theater because we were relocating the position of the television on a console. I had to replace my old B&W CC6 center channel, ASW-650 subwoofer, and Magneplanar MG-I L/R combo, with an Onkyo AVR that I had been very happy with. It was a simple 3.1 setup that was all we could do in living room. Nevertheless, it was very enjoyable.
I had to simplify my setup because of space considerations and decided a high-end soundbar was the only way I could go. I was able to finagle and negotiate the purchase of two small subs instead of one big one. That decided, after a bit of research, I decided on the GoldenEar 3D Array XL soundbar plus two ForceField 3 subwoofers, and a Pioneer AVR.
Almost two years later I can say I made the right decision. The sound on my new 3.2 system has been excellent, very involving. Sporting events are fantastic with this combination, as are movies and episodic tv shows. I don’t watch modern movies that much — because they all suck. But when I watch a modern movie with a surround soundtrack, the sound is spectacular. I buy physical media (Blu-rays) for anything that’s good enough to keep.
I have always known that a Home Theater is a very different animal than a high-end two-channel system. Even though I took great care in selecting these components, the content that is reproduced in a Home Theater is very different from that reproduced in a two-channel system. Music in our living room, when played, is streamed for parties, or for background, so the reference standard I have in my two channel system is not really a fair apple-to-apples comparison. That said, the GoldenEars are fantastic, really great sound, and highly recommended.