Surround sound or soundbars the future?

SoundG159

Newbie
New Wammer
Nov 26, 2016
5
0
0
I'm interested to hear everyones thoughts about whether they feel surround sound/home cinema still has a place or if the modern soundbars are fulfilling enough to give an audio experience that will do films justice. 

I currently have an Orbitsound BAR A60 in my dining room and am looking to hear people's opinions about their current setups or what they've read online.

Thanks!

 

Naimkiller

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 10, 2015
854
89
48
Hampshire
AKA
Shan
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I guess it comes down to room size are room is small and we used to have full surround if there was a corner or space  it had a speaker!  but it was to much in the end and sold it all, 

Now have for av set up dali kubik one sound bar with rel t7 sub more than enough, though i do miss surround just not the cables!!   :pop:

 

Sam Vimes

Well-Known Wammer
Wammer
Nov 25, 2016
1,003
1,510
148
North Yorkshire
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Though I love my two channel hi-fi, I never quite got to loving an AV set up in the same way. I have had a 5.1 set up (totally separate from my hi-fi), but it rarely got used. The reality is that I'm just not that interested in home cinema. All I really require is something to make a TV sound reasonable. With the vagaries of broadcast TV (fluctuating levels between ads, films and normal programming), I want a level of processing to iron them out. I'd never accept such processing in a hi-fi set up.

I ended up with a soundbase rather than soundbar or soundbar and sub. I find that it has the performance of comparably priced soundbars but is that bit more unobtrusive. Only on the rare occasions that I play a DVD/Blu-Ray film do I actually miss the 5.1 surround system at all. I don't miss it enough to consider going down that road again.  

 

manicatel

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 12, 2009
1,235
305
128
Herts/Essex border
AKA
matt
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Soundbars/soundbases can massively improve the speakers built in to a tv & give a taster of what a proper multi-channel set-up can give, but they can't really equal it.

For a lot of people, especially in smaller rooms, that may well be enough.

A proper AVR with 5.1/7.1 or Atmos  will easliy outperform any soundbar set up, but the box-count & wiring may be enough to put off a lot of people.

Both have their uses.

 

MFAV

Wammer
Wammer
Jul 17, 2015
190
43
48
Yorkshire
AKA
Rob
We have installed several sound bars over the years from ones that have come supplied with a TV up to carefully chosen systems. The general rule that we have come up with is that if you have a TV , most of the speakers on them are not that good..and adding anything is going to give you a level of improvement .

Some of the better after market soundbars..with internal amplification are very good. The Harman Sabre 35 is fantastic and to us looks great..but it is still just a soundbar .When you start to look at the separate passive soundbars there are some very good units out there that perform very well with Tv and can offer a good level of sound on hifi providing there is careful matching with a good sub  

 
G

Guest

Guest
I'm interested to hear everyones thoughts about whether they feel surround sound/home cinema still has a place or if the modern soundbars are fulfilling enough to give an audio experience that will do films justice. 

I currently have an Orbitsound BAR A60 in my dining room and am looking to hear people's opinions about their current setups or what they've read online.

Thanks!
Was going to offer my 2 penurth until I noticed its from someone who hasnt bothered to log in again since this 1st post on 26th November.

 

rabski

Everything in moderation
Staff member
Dec 2, 2006
32,873
1
26,119
173
Kettering
AKA
Richard
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Soundbars/soundbases can massively improve the speakers built in to a tv & give a taster of what a proper multi-channel set-up can give, but they can't really equal it.

For a lot of people, especially in smaller rooms, that may well be enough.

A proper AVR with 5.1/7.1 or Atmos  will easliy outperform any soundbar set up, but the box-count & wiring may be enough to put off a lot of people.

Both have their uses.
I would generally agree. However, I have heard some really excellent soundbar systems and some really dire 'full' setups.

As always, proper integration is the key. No matter how good the processor, it will struggle if speakers are mismatched. And any system will fall to bits if the sub doesn't do the job properly.

 

Chumpchops

From the safest places come the bravest words.
Wammer
Oct 3, 2014
2,183
1,573
148
Bristol
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I love my Samsung h751 sound bar with wireless sub.   Is it as good as full on 5:1?   No, but it's good enough at its price point.

The ditching of hefty AV amp Denon and 5 speakers plus sub and cables, has been liberating.

In fact the Samsung is more than good enough and with faux surround (projecting speakers) still gives a spacious and satisfyingly full sound that is immersive.   The designers of the latest gen projection soundbars are very clever at spreading the sounds. 

I also love the valves (pointless, yet pleasing), whilst swmbo loves the simplicity of cabling.   Set up was a doodle.

RC count reduction is always a plus too.  

I'd have gone with a Yamaha (or possibly Sonos) MI0000055314.jpg set up were it not for the Sammy price point and ease of integration with the Samsung Telly.  

Everyone in the house is also able to switch it on and toggle between inputs easily too - from one RC.

Plenty have gone from the space-consuming excesses of AV multichannel, to the relative simplicity of a sound bar plus wireless sub.   You don't hear of many making the return journey to 5:1 

 

Chumpy

Wammer
Wammer
Dec 3, 2005
14,040
112
0
Bristol UK
AKA
Charlie
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
a) buy nice tellie with good in-built sound ... oh we can't 'cos of thinnity-rip-offedness ..

b) buy nice tellie and incorporate it into your great stereo/multi-universe-dimension sys ...

c) fortunately we still have great old 2008 Pannie tellie-sound systems bought over 65 years.

d) when Pannie passes off to 512k, we shall have to connect L-R new tellie-output to Ruark mini-cubes a la R1 best portable etc FM-DAB radio ...

 or - we shall check out this Forum. Etc.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

SoundG159

Newbie
New Wammer
Nov 26, 2016
5
0
0
Was going to offer my 2 penurth until I noticed its from someone who hasnt bothered to log in again since this 1st post on 26th November.
Would still be very interested to hear your opinion barneys dad, I'm someone who tends to forget to log back in when looking at replies. Not used to all this forum stuff!

I love my Samsung h751 sound bar with wireless sub.   Is it as good as full on 5:1?   No, but it's good enough at its price point.

The ditching of hefty AV amp Denon and 5 speakers plus sub and cables, has been liberating.

In fact the Samsung is more than good enough and with faux surround (projecting speakers) still gives a spacious and satisfyingly full sound that is immersive.   The designers of the latest gen projection soundbars are very clever at spreading the sounds. 

I also love the valves (pointless, yet pleasing), whilst swmbo loves the simplicity of cabling.   Set up was a doodle.

RC count reduction is always a plus too.  

I'd have gone with a Yamaha (or possibly Sonos) MI0000055314.jpg set up were it not for the Sammy price point and ease of integration with the Samsung Telly.  

Everyone in the house is also able to switch it on and toggle between inputs easily too - from one RC.

Plenty have gone from the space-consuming excesses of AV multichannel, to the relative simplicity of a sound bar plus wireless sub.   You don't hear of many making the return journey to 5:1 
It's incredible what a little bit less clutter can do to the mind eh!

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for this samsung soundbar? Does it have bluetooth integrated?

 

Speedracer

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 2, 2014
1,628
1
1,437
183
Ferndown
AKA
Brook
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I have always prefered to go the way of a full 5.1 surround system with an AV amp in the past & turned my nose up at soundbars & the like, but since moving into a much smaller place the hassle of setting it all up & running speaker cables all over the place meant I was forced to consider them.

In the end we went with a Sony soundstage, which has an integrated sub within the unit, rather than a sound bar, & whilst I agree it isn't the same it isn't half bad either. I think it is possible to connect small wireless speakers as well so will probably try that at some point soon.

 

SoundG159

Newbie
New Wammer
Nov 26, 2016
5
0
0
I have always prefered to go the way of a full 5.1 surround system with an AV amp in the past & turned my nose up at soundbars & the like, but since moving into a much smaller place the hassle of setting it all up & running speaker cables all over the place meant I was forced to consider them.

In the end we went with a Sony soundstage, which has an integrated sub within the unit, rather than a sound bar, & whilst I agree it isn't the same it isn't half bad either. I think it is possible to connect small wireless speakers as well so will probably try that at some point soon.
So do you feel soundbars are a suitable alternative these days? In particular for smaller rooms perhaps?

 

Chumpchops

From the safest places come the bravest words.
Wammer
Oct 3, 2014
2,183
1,573
148
Bristol
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Would still be very interested to hear your opinion barneys dad, I'm someone who tends to forget to log back in when looking at replies. Not used to all this forum stuff!

It's incredible what a little bit less clutter can do to the mind eh!

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for this samsung soundbar? Does it have bluetooth integrated?
Less clutter is indeed very good for the mind.

If I recall i paid £550 for soundbar/sub bundle as add on with Samsung 4K 48" telly at PC world. 

Yes it has BT integrated, but I don't use it much.  The kids do this for their Muzak tho. 

 

Forum statistics

Threads
113,444
Messages
2,451,263
Members
70,783
Latest member
reg66

Latest Articles