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drat01

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Anyone using a good one in VT world?

Wireless subwoofer best option etc?

Just looking for general opinions from the VT ITK's

Edited by blandy
effing apostrophe removed
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I'm using a Panasonic one (can't remember the model right now) which I'm very pleased with.

Quality varies greatly model to model though, definitely an item where there really is such a thing as a good one and a bad one.

Can't comment on wireless subs but I do know a rule of thumb has usually been, in the audio world, that wired is better. I daresay that's changed and I can't say I can particularly recall any rough comments on wireless subs from a soundbar, however.

Hit AVForums with some models and see what the anoraks have to say, they're usually pretty bang on.

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  • 5 years later...

Resurrecting this thread.

 

Anybody got any recommendations for soundbars at the moment?

I'm in the market for one. It's primarily for use with TV for TV shows, movies and gaming. Any added performance for music or anything else is just a bonus.
I regularly find myself having to put subtitles on when I'm watching TV shows or movies (just last night I watched Se7en and had to put them on) as I can't understand what people are saying. The sound effects and background noise seems louder than the actors' voices and it's hard to distinguish what they're saying.
Also I find myself having to turn the volume right up for one scene and the next scene will then be mega loud.

I've been looking at this from Samsung and this  from Sonos. They review well and aren't massively expensive. They're still around the £300-400 mark though so I'm wondering if it's overkill.

I'd rather spend a bit more and get something that will definitely do the job, but I don't want to end up paying £400 when a £200 bar would do the job.

This is new territory for me so I'm going blind. Any advice?

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1 hour ago, Stevo985 said:

This is new territory for me so I'm going blind. Any advice?

 

You got a HiFi already?

Are you going for the soundbar because you're not bothered by stereo or surround?

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43 minutes ago, Xann said:

 

You got a HiFi already?

Are you going for the soundbar because you're not bothered by stereo or surround?

Nope no hifi. I'm far from an audiophile. I have a Big Jambox bluetooth speaker for playing music. That does me fine. 

Yeah not particularly bothered by stereo or surround (although I understand some soundbars replicate stereo pretty well).

It's really just better sound quality from things I play through the TV that I'm after. If there's stereo/surround options that would do the job too then I'd be willing to look at them. But the simplicity of a soundbar appealed to me :D 

Edited by Stevo985
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Well, a sound bar is a simple solution, though £250 gets you...

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-cinema-packages/yamaha-yht1840.html

Your TV has a built in Freeview decoder? Optical out? Goes straight into the AV amp, easy.

The AV amp may have a compression mode that makes dialogue easy to hear, if not? Boost the level of the dialogue speaker - Simple things :)

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17 minutes ago, Xann said:

Well, a sound bar is a simple solution, though £250 gets you...

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-cinema-packages/yamaha-yht1840.html

Your TV has a built in Freeview decoder? Optical out? Goes straight into the AV amp, easy.

The AV amp may have a compression mode that makes dialogue easy to hear, if not? Boost the level of the dialogue speaker - Simple things :)

Thanks. Yeah TV has built in freeview (YouView actually) but I don't use it. All TV gets watched through the Sky Q box

No idea about optical out...

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5 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Also I live in a rented apartment. I can't put anything on any walls, so mounting the speakers becomes an issue if I went with surround sound.

60001068_set.jpg.2e1a325cc34763079cc24e52fedc685a.jpg

£50 for four. The Sky box doesn't look like it's got Opti out, maybe USB then? Maybe pop into Richer Sounds anyway? They carry soundbars too.

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34 minutes ago, Xann said:

60001068_set.jpg.2e1a325cc34763079cc24e52fedc685a.jpg

£50 for four. The Sky box doesn't look like it's got Opti out, maybe USB then? Maybe pop into Richer Sounds anyway? They carry soundbars too.

Yeah popping in might be the best option and see what they advise

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3 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

No idea about optical out...

https://www.avforums.com/threads/does-sky-hd-box-have-a-optical-and-coaxial-output-pls-help.1226072/#post-11849208

Quote

New Sky+HD boxes have both digital audio optical output and digital audio coaxial output for Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The HDMI output has Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

 

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4 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

Mine is Sky Q but assume it’s the same or better. 

Could be your skyq box too, one of many threads regarding audio problems with the boxes that sky just say people need to check their tv settings & just live with shit sound on some shows/channels from time to time

https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Archived-Discussions/Sky-Q-low-audio/td-p/2815167https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Archived-Discussions/Sky-Q-low-audio/td-p/2815167

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7 hours ago, LakotaDakota said:

Could be your skyq box too, one of many threads regarding audio problems with the boxes that sky just say people need to check their tv settings & just live with shit sound on some shows/channels from time to time

https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Archived-Discussions/Sky-Q-low-audio/td-p/2815167https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Archived-Discussions/Sky-Q-low-audio/td-p/2815167

Thanks but it happens on Netflix and amazon prime too and they’re not through the Sky box

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I've had the Bose Soundtouch 300 for around 18 months and have been very impressed with it both for TV and Music. It now integrates with Alexa so can do all the voice control stuff if it pleases you. You can also add a sub and surround speakers but it starts to get pricey.

I compared it with the Sonos when I was researching and it blew the Sonos away.

https://www.johnlewis.com/bose-soundtouch-300-wireless-wi-fi-bluetooth-nfc-sound-bar/p3055562

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24 minutes ago, jim said:

I've had the Bose Soundtouch 300 for around 18 months and have been very impressed with it both for TV and Music. It now integrates with Alexa so can do all the voice control stuff if it pleases you. You can also add a sub and surround speakers but it starts to get pricey.

I compared it with the Sonos when I was researching and it blew the Sonos away.

https://www.johnlewis.com/bose-soundtouch-300-wireless-wi-fi-bluetooth-nfc-sound-bar/p3055562

Thanks.

A bit out of my price range unfortunately, but food for thought.

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I have an LG SJ4 and it's grand. Very much at the lower-end compared to some of the systems you can get but it works a treat and once you've set the levels, it performs well.

 

Actually, on reflection, I think it's an older version than the SJ4 but it's about the same price bracket (circa £250).

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