Sound bar

wrm57 I'm a picky audiophile as well. I suspect those criticizing sound bars have not heard a Sonos ARC!

In my media room I have a traditional 7.1 set-up with audiophile center speaker, two towers, 2 15" subs and 2 surrounds. In my den I only have the Sonos ARC and the Gen 3 subwoofer. Our den is part of an open floor plan, so I don't have the luxury of 4 contained walls. The Sonos ARC fills the entire space, including the kitchen was excellent quality sound. This generation of Sonos speakers has vastly improved over Gen 1. I know, because I have both.

I'm so impressed with the Sonos ARC I'm thinking about replacing my Center Channel speaker in my media room later this month when I purchase a 85" OLED tv.

I've always used soundbars until I got my Technics SU-G700M2 and now run Toslink out of my TV to it and there's simply no comparison, at least in my system, and it's only stereo. 

Despite all the built in decoding and use of HDMI with the soundbar, it pales in comparison. Nothing like using a well sorted stereo set up with the mids and tweeter at ear level.

All the best,
Nonoise

After watching the video I'm drawing three conclusions.

1. Two distinct design applications that happen to overlap. Sound bars are designed primarily to provide higher quality audio and improve voicing in comparison to television speakers. No question sound bars are an improvement there. Audiophile separates are designed to provide the highest quality music playback and immersive movie experiences.

2. Sound bar drivers cannot yet match audiophile towers or mini's.

3. Your type of application is important. If you want a non-intrusive solution (no box speakers in the room) to improve television audio without the expense of a full home theatre set-up, the Sonos ARC is a very good alternative. Additionally, the Sonos ARC fills a room and or rooms with good music quality when entertaining guests.

Love my ZVOX soundbar/base. Heard a Diavalet soundbar last weekend that is incredible! Excuse my spelling.