Soundbars - waste of money?

18cc

You might also want to consider running costs for example what is the cost of having a soundbar on for the number of hours a year you watch TV versus the cost of having a hi-fi system on

almillar

Just a get a DAC with optical in, and connect to your stereo via a 3.5mm to coax stereo cable.
Will sound far better - you can find a DAC on Ebay for under a tenner.

That seems to make a big assumption that the TV has optical out, but that the stereo doesn't have optical in. And we know nothing about what set top boxes etc OP might want to connect...

Panasonic Viera 58DX750B LED HDR 4K Ultra HD 3D Smart TV, 58" With Freeview Play/freetime

Nice!

I guess that will then depend on what i'm prepared to spend so let's say a budget of about £200.

You'll get an improvement in sound from £50 upwards (or even less!).

Let's make sure we get something with the right connectors, which will dictate price a certain amount, then you can spend as much as you like! Do you have Sky, PS3 BD player under the TV?

You might also want to consider running costs for example what is the cost of having a soundbar on for the number of hours a year you watch TV versus the cost of having a hi-fi system on

Really? Want to share the maths with us about how much a soundbar costs to run vs a HiFi?!!

spadoosh

Ive got a bose sound bar. Its currently under my bed. I tried it, for the faffing of having two remotes (and the soundbar is one of those credit card style remotes that inevitably spend most of their life down the side of the sofa) and the waiting for it to kick in for the benefit of hearing a whole new depth to the voice of a newsreader it just wasnt worth it for me.

Bear in mind it didnt cost me a penny.

Although, that said, Id say it depends on the tv more than anything. If youve spent £1k on a tv, youd expect it to have decent enough standalone speakers, if you bought my MIL's £150 tv youll need to buy a soundbar or be willing to accept tinny noise not heard since the Apollo programme.

cajef

motorguy wrote: »

Investing in a full on HiFi system seems like a sledgehammer to crack a walnut

But in my case I already have a decent Teac sound system which we use a lot so spending more on a sound bar would be just a waste of money, especially as you would need an expensive one to get the same sound quality.

motorguy

cajef wrote: »

But in my case I already have a decent Teac sound system which we use a lot so spending more on a sound bar would be just a waste of money, especially as you would need an expensive one to get the same sound quality.

Cool. However what you specifically have was relevant to the point that was in hand / the O/Ps question, because....?

Exile_geordie

Ive got a sont one from Argos with subwoofer and i plugged the optical in from the telly and its great for £80 odd i think it was

donnajunkie

My dad got this one and we are very happy with it.
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6873396

Like anything else they will vary in quality and what they offer.

JustAnotherSaver

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Try adjusting the sound settings on the tv. Speech setting should help you hear whats being said or try flat setting. Movie settings seem to turn everything up giving a noisy and confusing soundstage.

I know how to watch a TV but that's about it :rotfl:When you start getting in to the technical settings it's way over my head i'm afraid.

chrisw99 wrote: »

When our neighbours went on holiday and left us the key to feed their hamster, I did a few experiments, had it blasting away a live concert, couldn't hear anything next door, tried it higher at next feed time, still couldn't hear anything. It got to the point where it was painful in our own house, ornaments wobbling off the shelves, and still couldn't hear anything that I thought - great, no longer need to worry about how loud to have it before the neighbours complain!

When we can hear them farting we don't have that same luxury as yourself :rotfl:

coffeehound wrote: »

Have you tried moving the TV away from the wall a bit? The sound is worse the closer they are to the wall. If you havent already, its worth going into the sound menu and switching off all effects and see how that sounds first, then try out the suggested sound enhancements one at a time. Richer sounds website indicates which products have won which awards which can indicate the good buys.

It depends how far away from the wall we're talking. As it currently is it's still a good bit from the wall. I'd have to measure but i'd say 0.5mtrs or so.


Our room is approx. 7mtrs long by 3.5mtrs wide so it's actually a little narrow, and with the sofa opposite the TV there's not a great deal of walkway once you start bringing one closer to the other.

JustAnotherSaver

motorguy wrote: »

Soundbars - especially at the price point the O/P is proposing - offer a fantastic sound upgrade over the standard internal speaker. Wholly worth doing.

Investing in a full on HiFi system seems like a sledgehammer to crack a walnut - and also i'd suggest you're not going to get that much of an advantage by spending the same amount on a HiFis system over what would be a very good sound bar at that price.

It's been a while since i've heard the term HiFi system but to me i always saw them as fancy & bulky radios?


I'm guessing they've slimmed down a lot in recent years like everything else but still fancy radios.


To be honest we just have a small DAB radio in the kitchen to listen to as we cook and that's about it.



Then there's the space that a hi fi system would take up ....?

almillar wrote: »

Let's make sure we get something with the right connectors, which will dictate price a certain amount, then you can spend as much as you like! Do you have Sky, PS3 BD player under the TV?

Currently have BT TV but that'll be getting switched out for Sky once my deal with BT ends next month.


I have a PS4 which i use to watch DVDs. The fact that this has ended up being its only use means i'll be looking to sell it in the very near future and replace with the blu-ray player i have in the bedroom.


We have a Wii U under there also but don't use it a great deal (though we wont be getting rid of this .... Mario Kart )


I know we've a Now TV thing connected somewhere in all that but if i remember right that was only because there was a freebie deal on it and also only because my wife couldn't watch one of her TV shows after we cancelled Sky a year ago.

EssexExile

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

It's been a while since i've heard the term HiFi system but to me i always saw them as fancy & bulky radios?

Therein lies the problem about asking questions like this on the internet. Some people will pay thousands to get the right sound & others couldn't tell the difference between a hi-fi set up & a crystal set (ask your grandad what a crystal set is).