2ch vs Soundbar for TV

Paulq

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Partially HiFi and AV related but am after some opinions please.

I use a 2ch system for my TV at the moment (Bluesound Node 2i/Active Speakers) and it works well for TV and music. However, I'd really like a bigger TV and don't have the room to do that and retain the speakers in a 2ch setup - there's just not enough room.

I am toying with the idea of a soundbar and wireless subwoofer which could double as a music system of sorts. In truth, I rarely listen to music on that system for very long (it's a second system - my main one is upstairs) but I just wonder how much I'd lose in terms of audio quality - has anyone gone down this route and what are your thoughts please? I know it won't be the same - just would welcome opinions on how good or bad it would be for music if I were to do that?

Thanks!

 

audio_PHIL_e

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I'd rather extend the house or buy a bigger one than live with a soundbar. 2 houses ago my next door neighbour asked me whether he should have a soundbar or a stereo with speakers each side of the telly. I took some spare stereo kit round and demoed it, he loved the sound but the Mrs didn't like the size of the speakers so he bought a soundbar. Then he spent the next pint in the pub telling me how much better my spare stereo stuff was than the soundbar, and his Mrs spent the same amount of time telling me how much better the soundbar looked. I said "I look at the telly not the audio gear, I just listen to that". I think those words were lost on her, he just gave me a resigned look. 

 

timmytiger

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Would your actives go on their sides under the TV?

A decent (that could be an oxymoron) soundbar will be 6" high so a 12" wide speaker will only raise the tv a little!

Whatever you do listen to the soundbar carefully; it's easy to spend £400 on a pretty pile of direness.

 
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Paulq

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Would your actives go on their sides under the TV?

A decent (that could be an oxymoron) soundbar will be 6" high so a 12" wide speaker will only raise the tv a little!

Whatever you do listen to the soundbar carefully; it's easy to spend £400 on a pretty pile of direness.
Afraid not and your last comment around the quality is what's making me hesitate.  It's a big trade off between size of TV and sound quality but, having said that, I haven't actually heard a soundbar thus far.

 

Speedracer

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In your position I would highly recommend the Sky/Devialet sound box. I used to have a fairly expensive for what it was Sony sound bass, which differs from sound bars by having an integrated sub, & it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I took a punt on the Devialet mainly because it is so small & neat, & it really is bloody good. Huge sound stage, on movies I hear things that sound meters away from it, bass is very deep & it has different settings, such as late night viewing which cuts off upper & lower extreme frequencies to stop the sound travelling. Honestly I was shocked how good it was in our room, & you can pick up good used ones on eBay for a couple of hundred quid or less.

 

Warszawa

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I like my Sonos Playbar but you won't get anything resembling a stereo image from a soundbar, let alone surround sound as some of them claim.

 

Frizbriz

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To clear clutter of two systems in front room I went from 2.1 Cyrus 8 and pro ac hexa with pv1 sub.

got Dali sound bar still with pv1, granted Dali as much as a starter hifi, but it concentrates on stereo no effects no surround. Sounds pretty decent, impressed how far digital amplification has come. For tv and occasional tuner duty is more than ok, touch of digititis but essentially musical and as alternative to 2.1 is more than adequate.

 

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