What do you think of soundbars compared to speakers?


I'm interested to hear your thoughts about the benefits of modern day soundbars compared to the days of surround sound speakers and other inventions.

For me personally, growing up in the surround sound era, it was a neat little thing to have surround sound to show off to people when they came round to watch a movie or tv show. However, I think nowadays soundbars are my personal preference purely because of a lot less clutter and also multi functionality with the fact a lot of them can also play music etc through bluetooth. 

What do you guys think? Do soundbars create enough of a room filling audio for your tastes?
soundg159
I have both, each in a different room.

Soundbars  "work" in that they improve on the tinny sound produced by internal TV speakers and are comparative compact, fast installation, and thus convenient add-on as an initial step up from the crap cheap TV internal soeakers 

However, soundbars simply don't compete performance-wise with a quality build 7.1 surround system.... not even close.... full stop.
A good sound bar and subwoofer is better than the inexpensive speaker system that comes with todays flat screens.
One doesn't have the additional expense of the compoientry, speakers and set up space.
Soundbars with a subwoofer can fill a room but cannot compete with a quatity system as akg_ca stated.

Do skateboards of today compare with the cars of "the car era"? Sure cars provide more speed, more safety, more comfort, room for passengers and amenities, but I often prefer the lack of clutter in my garage from having just a skateboard. And on a smooth road, it's quieter. Okay, I jest a little harshly...Cheers,
Spencer