One of the most maddening things. I really like the Sonos sound bar, but it turns out to have very limited inputs. You can find the problem in the reviews online. Arrrgh. :)
Best,
Erik
Best,
Erik
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?
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?
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- 29 posts total
There is a wide enough range in soundbar quality, size, and price points that sweeping generalizations aren't particularly useful. Sure, if you get a $200 self-powered internal matrix TV add-on, it will have limited power and range, but not so for the ones above $1K designed to mate with a real subwoofer that rely on an external AV processor to feed it the surround signal. Sure, there are plenty of little self-contained soundbar/sub/rear channel combos for $200-300 for people who don't want complexity and wires. They aren't up to the standards we're used to, but they're a major improvement over the built-in speakers on an ultra-thin flat panel display. On the other hand, several reputable speaker companies make some excellent-sounding soundbars. A few years ago I heard a factory rep demo of the Goldenear 3D Array XL combined with its Forcefield 5 Subwoofer. That's a $2600 rig that also needs an external surround processor and amplification. It has eight 4.5" mid/bass drivers and three folded ribbon tweeters. From the moment sound came through this system I didn't pay any attention to the form factor, because is simply sounded *right*--full-range, great tonal balance and clarity, and equally adept at music and dialogue. There are many other soundbars coming from respected manufacturers such as Focal, PSB, Paradigm (self-powered, review here), and several others that perform far beyond what we hear in the Big Box stores. |
I utilize a Paradigm soundbar with a REL subwoofer for my secondary viewing area of our home. Our everyday area is a 7.2 B & W arrangement driven by Parasound amps and separates. Although the two areas don't compare, I like the simplicity and quality of sound the Paradigm and REL provide. It does the job! |
- 29 posts total