Sound Bars, Worth Buying?

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

 

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).

 

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.

 

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)?

 

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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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.

 

I agree, AVR setups sound best if properly done. The problem I ran into is how to do the rear speakers, and actually I wanted 7.1 vice 5.1, but the great room design just doesn't lend itself to 7.1 at all. And wiring rear speakers has always been a PITA to figure out without having exposed wiring in all to many places Looked at wireless rear speakers, but the choices are slim to poor with many not offering a way to connect an AVR to them.

Thought about going with Samsung's ATMOS soundbar system but the cost is high on it, as well as a couple of others that are doing the same thing. Here's a link to it : HW-K850 Soundbar with Dolby Atmos

Note that it still needs the wireless rear speakers added, I think all in all with rears it comes out to around $1200. And reading at AVS there are some real issues with the firmware, and for me, Samsung is not a brand I'm fond of as their after sale support is the pits.

Sigh....

 

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.

 

No, they did not The 550 and some higher priced models, and the 360

 

I do not, sorry. Only Vizio's.

I do also have a AVR setup in our theater/sportscave (same room with all our TV's for ST), which is an Onkyo Dolby Atmos 7.1. I set this up almost two years ago when I finished the basement. But like others said, not a whole lot of content for 7.1.