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Sound Bars, Worth Buying?

11K views 96 replies 18 participants last post by  billsharpe 
#1 ·
I never thought I'd be expressing a positive viewpoint about sound bars. I've always liked AVR sound systems. Back in 2013 we were vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland. Stayed in a condo that had several Samsung LCD TVs. One of them had a dinky little Samsung sound bar attached to it. I was amazed by the sound quality.

Fast forward to Xmas last year. I bought a 4K TV that had a pretty terrible sound system and didn't want to put any huge speakers on it for various reasons. I bought a Samsung soundbar (my grammar checker just told me "soundbar" is correct???) from Costco, just to see if I could get just a bit better sound out of it than I was getting from the TV. Paid ~ $189 for it. Marked down from $249 (or $289). Put it on and it works so well I don't see the need for another AVR system. It has a wireless Bluetooth subwoofer. The subwoofer works well too.

The soundbar is a 2.1 system. It doesn't give the same "immersion" feel the AVRs do, but it's sufficient and I don't sit there wondering what I'm gonna do to "fix" the sound issue. Not an issue at all.

The other day, I got mail from Costco. The usual letter with all the deals. Found the soundbar for $20 less than what I paid. Got that money back on my credit card. Now the soundbar cost me $169. Not bad for something that works so well.

All in all, we're satisfied with the soundbar. I'm still surprised, but happy.

Rich
 
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#2 ·
I saw this 5.1 soundbar in the Best Buy ad on Sunday. Seems like it would be perfect for a bedroom or even a den setup where a dedicated AVR and speakers aren't needed. Wireless subwoofer and the rear speakers are wired to the sub so if you place the sub near the back, definitely less wire to run/conceal.

VIZIO - SmartCast™ 38" 5.1-Channel Soundbar System with Subwoofer
 
#3 ·
A;most every time I go to Costco, I see someone walking out with soundbars--usually Vizio, but often Samsung. I noted today that Woot has a Klipsch Blutooth soundbar system for $279.99, (regular $799.00).
 
#6 ·
In looking at Consumer Reports ratings of soundbars, of the 20 models they tested in the the sub $350 class, the 5.1 Samsung HW-K550 stands alone. At $330, it got rated Best Buy, and was the only soundbar system under $350 rated very good in sound quality, beating LG, JBL, Sony, Vizio and Yamaha.
All told, they rated 52 soundbars, ranging from 2.0 to 5.1 surround. The $1300 Definitive Technology 5.1 system was third from last, with only fair sound quality.
 
#7 ·
I never thought I'd be expressing a positive viewpoint about sound bars. I've always liked AVR sound systems. Back in 2013 we were vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland. Stayed in a condo that had several Samsung LCD TVs. One of them had a dinky little Samsung sound bar attached to it. I was amazed by the sound quality.

Fast forward to Xmas last year. I bought a 4K TV that had a pretty terrible sound system and didn't want to put any huge speakers on it for various reasons. I bought a Samsung soundbar (my grammar checker just told me "soundbar" is correct???) from Costco, just to see if I could get just a bit better sound out of it than I was getting from the TV. Paid ~ $189 for it. Marked down from $249 (or $289). Put it on and it works so well I don't see the need for another AVR system. It has a wireless Bluetooth subwoofer. The subwoofer works well too.

The soundbar is a 2.1 system. It doesn't give the same "immersion" feel the AVRs do, but it's sufficient and I don't sit there wondering what I'm gonna do to "fix" the sound issue. Not an issue at all.

The other day, I got mail from Costco. The usual letter with all the deals. Found the soundbar for $20 less than what I paid. Got that money back on my credit card. Now the soundbar cost me $169. Not bad for something that works so well.

All in all, we're satisfied with the soundbar. I'm still surprised, but happy.

Rich
Rich -- do your DIRECTV remotes control the soundbar? And what about when you watch streaming (Roku or Apple TV)? Or are you using a programmable remote (e.g. Logitech Harmony)?
 
#8 ·
I'm getting ready to move into my new house in a bit and have been considering a Soundbar myself. But I thought to go to a passive soundbar and still use the AVR. Unfortunately the pricing really sucks on them, and still leaves the rear speaker issue as wireless speakers aren't all that wonderful.

So for the great room I'll probably continue to use an AVR setup, but use ceiling speakers for the rears. Should work fine as the setup is for tv/movie viewing.





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#12 ·
I'm getting ready to move into my new house in a bit and have been considering a Soundbar myself. But I thought to go to a passive soundbar and still use the AVR. Unfortunately the pricing really sucks on them, and still leaves the rear speaker issue as wireless speakers aren't all that wonderful.

So for the great room I'll probably continue to use an AVR setup, but use ceiling speakers for the rears. Should work fine as the setup is for tv/movie viewing.

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You can't beat an AVR setup, I think. That said, I'm still surprised at how good the sound is on the Sammy soundbar.

Rich
 
#9 ·
FWIW- I purchased my first Vizio 38" 5.1 soundbar for our RV almost 2 years ago, and it works awesome. Have it connected to a Vizio TV and run our DirecTV to it. Typically you just set the TV speakers to OFF and the soundbar takes over, works with my DirecTV RC66RBX remote. Since then, I bought one for my parents and my sister.

Black Friday 2016 the 38" 5.1 version was marked down to either $129 or $139 with free shipping. I got my sister got the 42" 5.1 version on Black Friday at Sam's for $177 with free shipping. They are pretty impressive and easy to connect, and all the settings are easily adjustable. The rear speakers are wired to the subwoofer, and the sub is wireless to the soundbar. Bluetooth works well too off my iPhone for music.
 
#13 ·
FWIW- I purchased my first Vizio 38" 5.1 soundbar for our RV almost 2 years ago, and it works awesome. Have it connected to a Vizio TV and run our DirecTV to it. Typically you just set the TV speakers to OFF and the soundbar takes over, works with my DirecTV RC66RBX remote. Since then, I bought one for my parents and my sister.

Black Friday 2016 the 38" 5.1 version was marked down to either $129 or $139 with free shipping. I got my sister got the 42" 5.1 version on Black Friday at Sam's for $177 with free shipping. They are pretty impressive and easy to connect, and all the settings are easily adjustable. The rear speakers are wired to the subwoofer, and the sub is wireless to the soundbar. Bluetooth works well too off my iPhone for music.
Do you happen to have a Samsung 4K TV working with the soundbar?

Rich
 
#16 ·
Yeah, it is hard to rationalize, let alone justify, spending that much on a soundbar system. Especially since I have perfectly good speakers to match up with my AVR. I'm almost certain I'll just move my current speakers over and use ceiling speakers for rears of a 5.1 theater. I would love 7.1, but there really isn't much out there in 7.1 and the design of my great room doesn't lend itself to doing it.
 
#19 ·
Looking at the room where my JS8500 lives I can see nothing but speakers. Four tower speakers, a center speaker that is almost a horizontal tower speaker and a big 500W subwoofer. It looked much better without the speakers. And all those wires. Soundbars are a lot neater.

Rich
 
#22 ·
I don't run the 4K thru my Onkyo, I run it straight from my Sammy to the Vizio, then run audio from the Sammy to the Onkyo.

Also, Sam's club has a sale right now that ends tonight on a Vizio 45" 5.1 soundbar with free shipping for $299 regularly $399 if anyone is interested.
 
#23 ·
After watching my wife blow thru a small fortune on our granddaughter's dance equipment I figured before we went broke I would buy something for myself and I ordered a Samsung accessory speaker set for the 45C soundbar (that's Costco's version of the 450 soundbar. Only ~ 100 bucks. Two 3 ohm speakers and subwoofer. Subwoofer seemed to do nothing and the speakers put only stereo out. In the process of sending it back. Read the reviews and did more research...thing is just for stereo. Nuts.

Rich
 
#24 ·
I have the Samsung KW950 Atmos sound bar and am very pleased with it. It is 5.1.4 and the only one that I know that is. The sound bar has the usual L/C/R speakers, but also two height speakers, the wireless rears also have a height speaker in each one. It isn't as good as a discrete AVR system, but it is excellent in its own right. Not cheap though.


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#25 ·
I have the Samsung KW950 Atmos sound bar and am very pleased with it. It is 5.1.4 and the only one that I know that is. The sound bar has the usual L/C/R speakers, but also two height speakers, the wireless rears also have a height speaker in each one. It isn't as good as a discrete AVR system, but it is excellent in its own right. Not cheap though.

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I remember when you bought it. No wires, huh? That would interest me. The unit I'm returning had wired connections to what they called a subwoofer and the wires looked like hell in the living room. The subwoofer did nothing that I could hear. I do wish Amazon would make their descriptions a bit more clear. Why would someone buy extra stereo speakers? Looking at the Amazon offering now I can see it is a stereo unit. Reading the reviews and answered questions didn't give me much help.

Rich
 
#26 ·
There are 2 HDMI inputs and one HDMI output, all up to snuff for 4K, but no wires to sub or rear speakers. Atmos encoding sounds wonderful with it for those blurays that provide it. I've heard that Vudu even has some movies with Atmos encoding.

My setup is all Samsung, KU series 65" tv, 8500(?) 4K blurays and the soundbar. I do have both my Hopper 3 and ATV4 attached too. No problems with any of it so far.


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#27 ·
There are 2 HDMI inputs and one HDMI output, all up to snuff for 4K, but no wires to sub or rear speakers. Atmos encoding sounds wonderful with it for those blurays that provide it. I've heard that Vudu even has some movies with Atmos encoding.

My setup is all Samsung, KU series 65" tv, 8500(?) 4K blurays and the soundbar. I do have both my Hopper 3 and ATV4 attached too. No problems with any of it so far.

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Sounds interesting. I gave it some thought last night. The only thing that bothers me is the price.

Going with Samsung audio devices when you have a Samsung TV is the right move I think. My new TV set doesn't get along well with my ATV4. I have to unplug the ATV4 to watch content on the TV apps at times. I do have a Sony AVR on my other set, they don't get along unless I use optical cables. Drives me crazy and nothing I do helps.

Rich
 
#29 ·
Yup, first thing my son asked me too. Pretty sure I have it set for automatic updates and I've never had to do a manual update. I do check it for updates from time to time and always get the same answer, no update available you have the latest...words to that effect.

Rich
 
#32 ·
I just read the review by Michael Trei in the May 2017 Sound and Vision Magazine for the new Polk Magnifi Mini Soundbar. They have scored it as a "TOP PICK". If you have a smaller room or bedroom this is the ticket, because it not only sounds awesome it retails for a whopping $300. It weighs less than 4lbs and measures 13.4x3.2x4.3. It contains 6 speakers and comes with a outside sub.
 
#33 ·
I just read the review by Michael Trei in the May 2017 Sound and Vision Magazine for the new Polk Magnifi Mini Soundbar. They have scored it as a "TOP PICK". If you have a smaller room or bedroom this is the ticket, because it not only sounds awesome it retails for a whopping $300. It weighs less than 4lbs and measures 13.4x3.2x4.3. It contains 6 speakers and comes with a outside sub.
My son just bought a Polk soundbar. Price was discounted to $199 from better than twice that figure. He had to buy a new stand to accommodate the soundbar. It is too high for any of our TVs, blocks the bottom of the screen. Probably accounts for the discount. Sounds good. He asked me about Polk speakers before he bought it, can't say anything bad about them. We've got Polk speakers on two of our AVR systems. I'm gonna check the one you listed out. Thanx.

Found the Polk soundbar on Amazon, read the negative reviews which contain some really comical reviews. Found this one written by a guy who sounds like he knows what he's talking about:

Having some prior experience with Polk and their "more bang for the buck" reputation, I was excited to get this unit up and running upon arrival. However, shortly after doing so I was disappointed. The unit lacks any REAL punch and is limited by volume as well. The sub output was marginal at best and is in need of more equalization capabilities. The overall clarity (particularly in the middle range) was muffled and lacked definition. The "VoiceAdjust™ technology" had me tweaking things much more often than I wanted too with each source of input that I tested it with. I own a $79 Visio soundbar (no sub) connected to one of my smaller flat screens and as far as clarity goes (hearing subtle parts of songs, movie soundtracks, etc.), it's very apparent the quality of sound exceeds the Polk system and this simply should not be the case. The 2.1 Klipsch system on my computer that goes for $140 hammers this Polk soundbar/sub into the ground. On a side note, I had a hard time getting the optical cable (used my own and not the cheapo they provided) to stay in it's slot and it kept falling out with any movement of the soundbar unit. This appears to be a flaw in the design as the port is tilted downward toward the floor. I get this is not a high-end system going for over a grand, but at anywhere from $230-300, this unit falls short in my humble opinion. Unfortunately, I'm returning it and looking for a better value for the money.

Seems as if Polk isn't up to speed on soundbars when you consider the above review and my son having to buy a stand so his soundbar won't block the screen. Polk does make a point in the Amazon offering that the Magnifi Mini Soundbar does fit most TVs.

Rich
 
#34 ·
#35 ·
This sounds interesting. Has 9 speakers in it. Appears to have 6 full range oval speakers and 3 small subs for bass. It says it is new but I don't know how long it has been out.
Sound+ Premium Soundbar Home Theater - HW-MS650/ZA | Samsung US
Interesting. I've got a 450. Now if Costco just gets the 650, I can bring back the 450 and buy the 650. I'll keep an eye out for it. Or I could just order it from Amazon and bring the 450 back...hmm. Got to give this some thought.

Just checked Amazon, they have it for the same price (I won't buy anything directly from Samsung). I might just buy it. The 650 doesn't have a subwoofer, that's odd. I did see one review on Amazon, very positive.

Rich
 
#42 ·
#47 ·
I spent a full day researching sound bars and decided not to spend more than needed. I did find a couple jewels and decided on the ZVOX SB700. This bar doesn't need the separate subwoofer with a frequency response of 38-20k Hz. It came down between the smaller SB500 and SB700 with the better low end frequency and perfect fit for 65" TV.

I was a little confused about if I needed HDR and 4K pass through but that's only if you plan on using the soundbar HDMI inputs directly from the 4K source. The Sony TV already has 4 HDMI 2.2 inputs so going into soundbar first isn't necessary unlike some TV's may be limited with 1 or 2 HDR inputs.
Something else to watch out for when shopping, not all soundbars have ARC connection (most don't) and may use the 5:1 optical cable. The problem here is many TV's don't pass 5:1 through optical so you may end up with stereo only. Sony TV's do pass 5:1 but while researching I found some of the other major brands didn't pass 5:1 though optical cable so for those stick with ARC or live with stereo.
Many out there using soundbars are hooked up like this and don't realize it.
Better deals now off Crutchfield vs Amazon since they started charging tax.
 
#49 ·
I spent a full day researching sound bars and decided not to spend more than needed. I did find a couple jewels and decided on the ZVOX SB700. This bar doesn't need the separate subwoofer with a frequency response of 38-20k Hz. It came down between the smaller SB500 and SB700 with the better low end frequency and perfect fit for 65" TV.

I was a little confused about if I needed HDR and 4K pass through but that's only if you plan on using the soundbar HDMI inputs directly from the 4K source. The Sony TV already has 4 HDMI 2.2 inputs so going into soundbar first isn't necessary unlike some TV's may be limited with 1 or 2 HDR inputs.
Something else to watch out for when shopping, not all soundbars have ARC connection (most don't) and may use the 5:1 optical cable. The problem here is many TV's don't pass 5:1 through optical so you may end up with stereo only. Sony TV's do pass 5:1 but while researching I found some of the other major brands didn't pass 5:1 though optical cable so for those stick with ARC or live with stereo.
Many out there using soundbars are hooked up like this and don't realize it.
Better deals now off Crutchfield vs Amazon since they started charging tax.
Both of my Samsung TVs pass 5.1 sound thru optical. None of my Panny plasmas do that.

Rich
 
#62 ·
I think I'm finally done buying audio equipment. When it comes to speakers, I am rather prejudiced. I have a pair of Acoustic Research AR-3 speakers I bought in 1960 at a Poughkeepsie Audio Society meeting. My only regret is that I didn't take AR's offer of a free upgrade of my speakers to AR-3A's They still have great sound after all these years. If I had the money and wanted a new home theater sound system, I'd certainly be looking at Definitive Technology, Martin Logan or Bowers and Wilkins. Not being that wealthy, I'm very happy with my Paradigms. As to economy speakers, I really like my Energy Take Classic 5.1 system in my bedroom. Energy speakers are a Klipsch Canada product.
I've had AVR's by Pioneer, Onkyo and Philips in the past in addition to the now 3 Yamaha receivers currently in use. Before the onset of 5 and 7 channel systems, I built a monophonic musicians amplifier from plans in Audio Engineering magazine in the late 40's or early 50's and teamed it with a Radio Craftsmen FM/AM tuner and a Jensen bookshelf speaker system. I gave them to my father when I went into the Army. I built a very good Knight kit stereo amplifier from Allied Radio in 1960. the quality of which surprised the folks from Macintosh labs when I took it to one of their amplifier clinics. I used it for many years along with a Dynakit FM tuner and preamp and the AR's. I initially had a Rek-O-Kut turntable with Shure arm and cartridge and later went to a Dual turntable, which I still have. I've had tape recorders by Eico, Magnecord and Ampex.
 
#63 ·
I got the Polk Omni SB1 soundbar yesterday and hooked it up. It came with practically no instructions or links to an online manual. I got it working, it sounds great. Cheap, little remote. About the size of a credit card. Wouldn't you think a device that originally cost almost 700 bucks would have a decent remote? Geez.

I finally found a couple You Tube videos that sort of explained the proper hookup and how to program other remotes for controlling the volume. I tried to program my remotes and didn't do well. This morning I found the online manual and got better instructions.

The subwoofer is impressive. The Samsung SBs kinda melded the bass sound into the rest of the audio, the Polk SB's subwoofer is distinctly separate. Much better.

Comparing the Polk and the Samsung 450: The 450 does more, it can hook up to my TV via Bluetooth, it has a very clear display for volume and other options on the front of the SB, the Polk just has a few LEDs that tell you what's going on--not very easy to tell anything. The 450 has a much nicer remote. Lots of better things about the Samsung, but the Polk sounds much better and that's got to be what influences anyone buying a SB, right? I think so.

I'll keep working on the Polk. I did find another Samsung model that might be better than the 450. If I become dissatisfied with the Polk (I was ready to send it back last night) I'll give that a try. I'll be back...

Rich
 
#65 ·
I've got the Polk mini in my bedroom and it is fine for that use. Since the bar is so narrow there isn't much separation.

Got the Samsung kW950 in the front room. It is wonderful! Has some upfiring speakers for Atmos support and is plenty wide for decent separation. Got its own set of quirks, which seems to be pretty standard for Samsung since the tv and 4k player from Samsung also have their own twitches.


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#67 ·
I've got the Polk mini in my bedroom and it is fine for that use. Since the bar is so narrow there isn't much separation.

Got the Samsung kW950 in the front room. It is wonderful! Has some upfiring speakers for Atmos support and is plenty wide for decent separation. Got its own set of quirks, which seems to be pretty standard for Samsung since the tv and 4k player from Samsung also have their own twitches.

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Samsung products always seem to have glitches...but you can't beat them for things like PQ. That SB you have: I just looked on Amazon, almost $1200! Frugality stops me from buying that.

Rich
 
#66 ·
The Zvox Soundbar SB700 came in today. Doesn't take the place of a full surround system but sounds very good on both movies and music. The only other soundbar to compare with is the Sony XT1 and this wins hands down.
Easy hookup 5:1 through optic cable (No ARC) and setup with Dish remote easy. If using Sony TV make sure TV speakers is off, Audio system on and select digital audio out (audio 1).

It has a feature I don't need yet for slightly hearing impaired called accuvoice, I'll recommend for anyone that struggles with understanding dialog.
 
#69 ·
The Polk Omni SB1 is settling in nicely. Now I'm looking for a remote I can use to replace the cheap credit card sized remote that it came with. I'm gonna try one of my old TiVo peanut remote and see if that is satisfactory. There is a rather interesting learning curve with the Polks, apparently Polk folks don't like to go into much detail about the features of their products. Just programming remotes is a trip.

Rich
 
#73 ·
I purchased a couple Klipsch Reference Premiere Bookshelf speakers RP-160M that sound like full blown towers, even in stereo mode blow my soundbar away. I'm so impressed by the Klipsch speakers I'm going to piece 5 or 7:1 maybe atmos receiver system together.
 
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