Do soundbases provide surround sound?

[iburnell]

Reading WHF review of Soundbases. Bit confused. Are they supposed to offer a surround experience like a soundbar i.e watching a movie?

 

[Al ears]

As far as I am aware they, along with soundbars, offer pseudo surround sound through some sort of DSP processing.

Soundbars are normally accompanied by a seperate sub.

 

[mmg]

Neither a soundbar nor a soundbase will give you real surround sound. They use techniques that give the impression of a wide soundstage, but you will never hear sounds coming from behind you. The only way to acheive true surround sound is with multiple speakers.

Soundbases are very similar to soundbars. A soundbase is placed under the TV, while a soundbar is placed in front of the TV. Soundbases are deeper, I find they can generally produce more bass, while soundbars often (but not always) have a subwoofer for the bass.

 

[mightyquin]

They seem to me to be a marketing gimmick, although if you just want a bit better sound quality from your telly then I guess they offer a neat solution as the TV sits on top and there's not too many wires.

I can't really see anyone who buys What Hifi magazine buying a soundbase though.

 

[chebby]

I can't really see anyone who buys What Hifi magazine buying a soundbase though.

I don't see why not. Many people don't have every TV in their home attached to an AV or hi-fi system.

Similarly I don't have every radio in the house playing through it's own hi-fi system. (I use a couple of decent Ruark portables outside of the living room.)

A smaller TV in a bedroom or spare room or conservatory or study could well benefit from a compact solution like a soundbase to improve it's sound.

 

[jonathanRD]

I can't really see anyone who buys What Hifi magazine buying a soundbase though.

I don't see why not. Many people don't have every TV in their home attached to an AV or hi-fi system.

Similarly I don't have every radio in the house playing through it's own hi-fi system. (I use a couple of decent Ruark portables outside of the living room.)

A smaller TV in a bedroom or spare room or conservatory or study could well benefit from a compact solution like a soundbase to improve it's sound.

I agree - I have mentioned this option to my Dad who watches films in a bedroom - not sure my mother would let him install a 5.1 speaker set-up - so a soundbase maybe the best compromise.

 

[bigboss]

I can't really see anyone who buys What Hifi magazine buying a soundbase though.

If that was the case, then What Hi Fi wouldn't be testing them!

 

[Al ears]

Indeed. I am seriously considering a soundbase for my TV in the bedroom because its speakers are compromised by the 'super-flat' design and sound extremely thin.

 

[spiny norman]

They seem to me to be a marketing gimmick, although if you just want a bit better sound quality from your telly then I guess they offer a neat solution as the TV sits on top and there's not too many wires.

I can't really see anyone who buys What Hifi magazine buying a soundbase though.

In which case, isn't the latest issue a bit wide of the mark? Or is it part of the marketing, d'you think?

 

[Andy Madden]

Hi iburnell.

A soundase just offers a different way of improving the sound from your TV. Not everyone has a shelf under there TV for a soundbar nor are all soundbars slim enough to sit in front of a screen wothout obstructing it. They can't offer proper surround sound and i certainly wouldn't look to buy one if surround sound is what you're really after. It's an emerging market but plenty of manufacturers are using them as you can see from our test! I can imagine that number's only going to increase over time. Oh, and we're actually doing a soundbar test in the April issue of the magazine, if that's of interest?

 

[toyota man]

I will be buying a sound base for our telly in the bedroom as the sound from it is a bit thin and a sound base wouldn't take up any room and will add some body to the sound I am going to listen to the cambridge one that what hifi reviewed its only £200 and will I am sure boost the sound without going OTT

 

[pauln]

How long before some lateral thinking TV manufacturer makes a TV with a built in soundbar? Imagine it, a TV with decent speakers. And before someone says "yes but, what about all those people that don't want to pay for built in speakers because they are going to buy a surround sound receiver and speakers" - well, I wonder just what percentage of TV watchers (in real life as opposed to a hifi forum) actually have 5.1 or more surround sound? Not many I would guess? In fact, I don't personally know anybody who has more than two speakers hooked up to their telly!

 

[mmg]

TV's used to have (semi)decent speakers, until everyone decided they didn't want a frame around the television. Then manfucaturers placed the speakers at the back of the television, causing the sound to be terrible. Now people have to put a soundbar in front of the tv to have (semi)decent sound again.

High-end brands like B&O and Loewe still have their speakers in the front, so they don't need a separate soundbar or soundbase.

 

[chebby]

High-end brands like B&O and Loewe still have their speakers in the front, so they don't need a separate soundbar or soundbase.

Yep. Two sets of these (left and right), actively driven too...

(It's on my 'Lottery list'.)

 

[xander]

Whilst on the subject, does anyone know if a pair of rear speakers + a subwoofer can be connected to any of the many makes of soundbar or soundbase? Due to practical reasons I have to give up my beloved 5.1 surround system in favour of a soundbar but hoped that I can still utilise the rear speakers, they don't have to be wireless.

 

[mmg]

None that I know of, except for the Sonos PlayBar, only you need Sonos components as rear speakers. The excelent Canon DM50 does have a sub out.

 

[Andy Madden]

Hi Xander. Some soundbars do have a subwoofer out, but none i've come across give you the option of adding speakers the way you're looking too. Have you considered the Philips HTL9100? It has a subwoofer and detachable wireless surround speakers.