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I've just been bullied into replacing our perfectly good TV with one of these new fangled flat screen things.
As predicted, the sounds isn't as good as the old one so "we" are now looking at soundbars.
The TV is 55" and sits in one corner of the room with us sat about 13' away in the opposite corner.
The TV does Atmos but I'm wondering how relevant this is. The layout of the room stops us putting a pair of speakers behind the viewers and I've no desire to fix speakers to the ceiling. So, with that in mind, with just a soundbar sat in front of the screen on the table and a subwoofer on the floor next to it, should we be bothering about Atmos or is our set up just too compromised to get the benefits?
How about a 'sound base' with an inbuilt subwoofer, instead of a bar +sub? Much tidier.
We have recently bought a Q Acoustics M2 from Richer Sounds and it is great.
Not all soundbars need subs - Sonos Beam for example. I've just hooked up a Naim Muso - no sub needed for that...
Yeah, just bosh an M2 below it.
Not all soundbars need subs – Sonos Beam for example
Define need...of course they operate perfectly without subs so don't need a sub in that context....but with a sub (an active one) its a hell of a lot better....i mean in a different league better. Sonos are v.pricey, but you're better off with a cheaper non-sonos setup with a sub than a sonos one without.
The TV does Atmos but I’m wondering how relevant this is.
Only worth it if you can position the speakers optimally relative to your room shape. If you can't then don't bother and with a soundbar setup its a bit pointless without the rest of a full on discreet 5.1 or more system.
+1 for Q Acoustics M2
I was thinking Atmos might only work with the right room shape/layout if not the whole extra speaker thing.
As for the sub woofer, whether it's needed or not kind of falls into the same argument as to whether or not I "need" a sound bar. After all, the speakers work and it can certainly go loud enough. I believe the comment from the wife was "it doesn't need to be louder, but can the sound be bigger?".
That M2 looks good but isn't wide enough for the stand on my telly.
Sonos Beam with 2 play 1s as surrounds for me.
Same as highpeakrider here, I am planning on adding a sub when funds allow however.
SONOS Beam here. I replaced an onkyo setup which had a sub with mine and while it is missing the very low end when playing music it's amazing for TV considering its size.
No expert but did a fair bit of research a few months back and then bought a Samsung MS650, and it sounds bloody amazing.
https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/samsung-hw-ms650-soundbar
The SONOS beam seems to be getting a lot of love.
Are people happy without the sub woofer? I've read reviews that say it's not worth the extra.
Sonos Playbar and a pair of Sonos Play:1 speakers as surrounds here.
The sound is great and doesn't need a sub. Using the Sonos App to set up the speakers (Trueplay Tuning) and adjust the bass and treble has a big effect as well.
Beam and a pair of play:1s here also (no sub).
Very happy with it, but we do have Sonos all over the place so it just made sense for us.... There may well be more cost effective solutions if you're starting from scratch.
If you are spending soundbar money, do yourself a favour and get an Edifier S350db active 2.1 system. It's better than any soundbar I've listened to.
https://www.avforums.com/review/edifier-s350db-2-1-speaker-system-review.15344
I’ve got the sonos playbar, originally without sub. It’s better than the beam, it should be at nearly twice the price! After a couple of months, although it was ‘ok’ I bought the sub. It’s a stunning improvement. Out for films and. cranking up the music.
As said above define ‘need’
No expert but did a fair bit of research a few months back and then bought a Samsung MS650, and it sounds bloody amazing.
https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/samsung-hw-ms650-soundbar/blockquote >
I've got one of those..... love it. I've since got the wireless sub to go with it and it's even awesomer
I might get a sub but TBH I don’t think it needs it. Might do surround later.
What size rooms do people have? Ours is a lounge/diner with 8' ceilings so a total volume if about 2600 cubic feet.
I have a Sonos Playbar, Sub and 2 play 1's for the surround. Absolutely brilliant. The Sub is systematically dismantling the house.
I'd take a 2 channel bookshelf speaker system over a soundbar any day. With decent sized speakers you don't really need a sub.
+1 for a soundbase
we got a very good deal from John Lewis on a Sony one a couple of years ago, not the same as my old speakers & sub setup but young kids etc meant this was teh most practical way of doing things
The overall sound & bass much better than similar priced soundbars
if you have a TV cabinet underneath your TV they are well worth it
Not sorted the furniture yet. Trying to do the two in tandem so we don't paint ourselves into a corner.
I'm slowly convincing myself that 13 foot from the screen, one end if the tv pointing at a wall 60° on and the other end pointing to a bay window with a sofa in it, all these fancy atoms systems that claim to bounce sound around are not really going to work. Therefore, more inclined to spend the money on quality rather than tech.
Idea of a sound base is good, but the tv stand is about a meter wide so unless we find furniture with two shelves, it's not going to work.
If it ends up being a sound bar, it will need to be low profile to sit in front of the screen.
Thanks STW!
Something else I didn't know I needed, but now I wonder how we even heard the TV before!
Took a gamble on the Q Acoustics QM2. Happy days, just need to find some good movies to watch now.
As lowey, I have a playbar, sub and two play 1’s (with other 1’s round the house).
Turn the sub off and it’s like hookers without the coke. I wouldn’t recommend a sub to anyone with adjacent neighbours though.
My TV hasn't got Bluetooth...can any of these soundbars with Bluetooth, like the M2, allow you to daisy chain wireless Bluetooth headphones to the soundbar to let you listen to tv just through the headphones?
Don’t worry about Atmos unless you will watch Lots of stuff with Atmos, I have the full setup with speakers in the ceiling etc and only really watching ultra hd blurays does it stand out, Netflix Atmos is barely noticeable
For all the comments about subs, you will never regret having a sub, just get one
Sonos Beam with 2 play 1s as surrounds for me.
just works, would I like a sub - yes - will I get one - almost definitely no
My TV hasn’t got Bluetooth…can any of these soundbars with Bluetooth, like the M2, allow you to daisy chain wireless Bluetooth headphones to the soundbar to let you listen to tv just through the headphones?
Not aware of any that are sources as well as receivers over bluetooth.
That M2 looks good but isn’t wide enough for the stand on my telly.
How about the M3? It's 1m long..
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/soundbars/q-acoustics-soundbar.html
Have been really impressed with the Q Acoustics speakers I've got.
I'm looking at the M2 and in the same boat, my Philips has got a widely spaced foot either side so I think I'll fashion a little platform for each foot so the TV bridges over the M2. I had a look at the M3 as well but being a bar rather than a base it would obscure the bottom of the TV as it sits very low.
Denon HEOS??
That Edifier looks a lot like the old microlab offerings (i've got some bookshelf ones that are pretty punchy.. Looks to be good value though.