# Sound Bar for TV



## mighTy Tee (Jul 10, 2002)

Looking to replace the Home Cinema Surround Sound which is playing up and like the idea of a compact Sound Bar. I am willing to throw good money at a good system (have looked at a friends Bose SR1 which is about £1200) but see there are other good options - possibly Yamaha at a lot less to about the same price.

Anyone got any good recommendations?


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

The nw Bose is what I am saving up for Richard.......do love gadgets bud


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## CWM3 (Mar 4, 2012)

Its all down to personal preference, but I was underwhelmed by the Bose, and went for the Yamaha YSP 2200, its not as good as a full surround sound, but for 95% of the time does a very good job, and is a neat clutter free solution, and around 500 cheaper than the Bose and gives a better result IMO


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

Never even considered the Yamaha, need to find a shop that has both to compare I think


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## phope (Mar 26, 2006)

When I looked a couple of years ago, none of the sound bars at the budget I set (up to £500) sounded great, so bought a pair of KEF FiveTwo series 11 speakers, plus a hidden subwoofer

http://www.kef.com/html/us/showroom/hom ... index.html


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## CWM3 (Mar 4, 2012)

Gazzer said:


> Never even considered the Yamaha, need to find a shop that has both to compare I think


Gaz, I think the biggest issue is how it sounds in the room you are going to use it in, so difficult unless you can get a home trial. I based mine on showroom demos, and loads of reviews and user feedback. Had it a year now and have been pleased.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

CWM3 said:


> Gazzer said:
> 
> 
> > Never even considered the Yamaha, need to find a shop that has both to compare I think
> ...


agree completely on this but how on earth do i set up a mock front room to test it lol............it will be that massive ugly vase for bullrushes mrs gaz bought that will kill it i bet.


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## RazMan (Aug 28, 2012)

I tried a number of Sound Bars but was underwhelmed by all of them. In the end I just bought a little active subwoofer and found that it did everything I needed, which turned out to be a bit more bass. It will of course depend on your own setup but my TV is a 53" Plasma so I guess the speakers are not too bad to start with.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Sonos are about to launch a Sound Bar

It's what my new 3DTV will be gracing when decided what panel to get


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

http://www.tv-soundbar.com/shop/

browsing here at mo.........its a minefield!!


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## bigsyd (Jul 9, 2008)

BOSE = BUY OTHER SOUND EQUIPMENT i have installed some monster home cinema systems in my time and for the money that Bose charge you can do a hell of a lot better
there biggest marketing ploy is for the lady of the house...small speakers... but you get small speakers in a phone and how bad do they sound trying to play music :roll:
get youreself some Mark Levinson Monoblock Power Amplifiers and Bowers & Wilkins speakers and make the fooker SLAM 8) :lol: .....sorry thats me on one lol


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## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

I have a Yamaha sound bar that cost 200 quid from Richer sounds. It connects via optical digital and sits lovely on a glass shelf above my TV. It has an option for an external sub but thb its pretty bloody loud and fills the room. I also have Apple TV and use the internet radio a lot and its rather good for music.


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## Hilly10 (Feb 4, 2004)

I am quite into my home cinema and have a good set up, but sound bars completely let me down I have never heard a good one yet. They are not bad for a second TV ie in the bedroom etc. I have been looking at them or our new TV in our bedroom we had a nose at the new Bose solo it left me cold. Until you get up to £800 or £900 connectability to read all the Dolby True HD and DTS sounds is non existent


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## RazMan (Aug 28, 2012)

Daft innit - we spend all our hard earned cash to buy the flattest screen that we can find and then realise that the old monster TV that we took down to the tip had far better sound! So then we go out and buy some monster speakers to make us feel a bit better :roll: :lol: :evil:


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

If you don't want to spend a fortune on a 'premium' brand I can recommend one of these:

http://www.orbitsound.com/

I bought it to connect to a Panasonic TXP42G used in the lounge. It's a vast improvement over the Panasonic speakers and sounds great. It's got 6 forward facing speakers and 2 sideways facing speakers at each end. Apparently, the sideways facing speakers are a unique design (I'm not sure if other manufacturers do this now). It's a bit hard to explain but when you listen to it the sound doesn't seem to be coming from the soundbar itself, but seems to be all around in mid air. It does a good job playing music too separating the stereo channels - you can almost see the instruments if that makes sense!

I still have an old traditional Arcam HiFi with remote speakers and to be honest I can't really listen to it now. After using the soundbar the Arcam just doesn't sound right anymore.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

Matt B said:


> I have a Yamaha sound bar that cost 200 quid from Richer sounds. It connects via optical digital and sits lovely on a glass shelf above my TV. It has an option for an external sub but thb its pretty bloody loud and fills the room. I also have Apple TV and use the internet radio a lot and its rather good for music.


Matt thanks for the pm mucker........as i don't often venture into town i didn't realise we had a richer sounds store :? so going in later to buy that 2nd option yammy with the dog attached m8. fankyou mr pattinson........jam sandwich please


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## Phage (Sep 25, 2011)

I'd be interested in the model of that soundbar, so I can look it up.
Cheers


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

Phage said:


> I'd be interested in the model of that soundbar, so I can look it up.
> Cheers


http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format ... 2758996614

that was what matty sent me.........and am going in later to pick up


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## Phage (Sep 25, 2011)

Cheers ! Will check that out. Please would you let us know how you get on with it ?


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

Phage said:


> Cheers ! Will check that out. Please would you let us know how you get on with it ?


each to his own of course but for under 300 you gets what ya pay for, but will hopefully have it running this afty as mrs is on a dbl and i can play he he..........will report back np's


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## mighTy Tee (Jul 10, 2002)

Thanks for the replies. Richer Sounds seems to be a good place to buy as they can demo the units (hopefully)

Was thinking about these:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/sou ... sp2200-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/sou ... ma-ysp3300

http://www.richersounds.com/product/sou ... ma-ysp4300

Starting to get a bit pricey though..


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

i bought the yas101 today however they didn't have the dog to go with it.........also after discussing what i currently have in regards to tv wise and any further cables other than the optical supplied withit. get home to find the tv doesn't have a bloody optical slot......so running it through my media player only. marks out of ten compared to my current Bush 42" flat screen hdmi system......8-9. however that is only compared to the current tv sound. will be much better when the dog arrives next week so i can get the full base oomph working.


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## RazMan (Aug 28, 2012)

Gaz, does the dog roam free or is it on a lead?


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

RazMan said:


> Gaz, does the dog roam free or is it on a lead?


apparently this wooofy thing needs a lead bud.


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## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

Gazzer said:


> RazMan said:
> 
> 
> > Gaz, does the dog roam free or is it on a lead?
> ...


Hey Gaz, I am picking up the subwoofer to go with mine too


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

one thing i do like matt/guys...........it has a nifty little set of buttons for delay or speeding up the sound. great for films with a slight sync problem that may have been downloaded........not that we would or condone those actions i might add.


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## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

I have this paired to a Phillips 47 3D LCD SmartTV with Ambilight (so very cool) and a Panasonic 3D bluray player. 
I already had a proper surround system (separates) with Eltax 300w floor speakers and a 150W centre and two rear bi-polar surrounds but tbh I hated all the wires and it only got switched on about once per month - so that lot sits in the loft - except the floor standing fronts which are attached to my decks :lol: :lol:

This is perfect for everyday TV watching and movies although you do lose a lot of the rear effects however I am very prepared to sacrifice that for a much cleaner living space.


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## IC_HOTT (May 29, 2010)

Has anyone got one of the new SONOS soundbars ?


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

RazMan said:


> Daft innit - we spend all our hard earned cash to buy the flattest screen that we can find and then realise that the old monster TV that we took down to the tip had far better sound! So then we go out and buy some monster speakers to make us feel a bit better :roll: :lol: :evil:


So true. My Nokia 32" wide screen had an inbuilt sub woofer. I've got a Sony Bravia now but link in the audio to my hi-fi with some serious B&W towers either side - they take over the sound and the TV adds a bit more centre presence. That fills the room :wink:


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## Pugwash69 (Jun 12, 2012)

I pretty much ignore the sound from the TV speakers. Nothing that small can kick out the power you need to big audio. Plus when you get a projector you need your external kit!

I have a fairly energetic Yamaha 7.1 amp, although only hooked up to 5.1 speakers. I have a mix-n-match kit as a result of upgrades over the years, so an eltax shielded centre, B&W fronts, Goodmans rears, can't even remember what active sub! It's on the floor and booms. It's about my 3rd amp, as I've gone to one with DTS-HD and HDMI switching built-in. It makes it so much easier to connect sources!

My advice if you want proper sound and can hide the wires is get to somewhere like richer sounds and ask for a demo of different kit. Don't spend a fortune for a label. Don't skimp on the centre speaker because that's where MOST of the sound will come from for most sources.


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## Chubster (Feb 14, 2011)

mighTy Tee said:


> Looking to replace the Home Cinema Surround Sound which is playing up and like the idea of a compact Sound Bar. I am willing to throw good money at a good system (have looked at a friends Bose SR1 which is about £1200) but see there are other good options - possibly Yamaha at a lot less to about the same price.
> 
> Anyone got any good recommendations?


I did a lot of research after I bought my Samsung 3D TV and ended up with ....

http://www.trustedreviews.com/yamaha-ys ... tem_review

Absolute bargain.Easy to set up,just plug in supplied mic and place on stand in middle of room.
Leave the room exactly as it is when you watch TV and then you hit set up.
Exit room and listen to a few mins of bleeps n bloops (laser scans your room and angles speakers for Dolby DTS,etc)

After it has finished just slam in a blu ray dvd and sit there with your mouth open as the thud from the sub makes your ears ring and you try and figure out how the fook is an oblong box giving such amazing surround sound 

Look up review on What Hi-Fi too


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## Pugwash69 (Jun 12, 2012)

Chubster said:


> (laser scans your room and angles speakers for Dolby DTS,etc)


I imagine it plays some pink and white noise and auto-equalises. I don't recall lasers shooting from mine.


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## A8VCG (May 9, 2011)

W7 PMC said:


> Sonos are about to launch a Sound Bar
> 
> It's what my new 3DTV will be gracing when decided what panel to get


I've seen it and it looks good although the Bose is by far the best on the market and is actually really impresssive. Not to be compared with a true audiophile set up with seperate speakers / subs / amps but still good


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Cuprabhoy said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > Sonos are about to launch a Sound Bar
> ...


How much better as i'm not a lover of Bose given it's the brand that accounts for most of the cost of Bose products, not its sound quality  Already got a Sonos setup so their Soundbar should dovetail into my current setup


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## ukrickk (Apr 29, 2012)

No one has yet mentioned the Roth bar 1 with wireless sub. I've had this for a couple of years now and it's well worth a listen!

2007 2.0 TFSI


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