Soundbar Advice Please

[admin_exported]

Having recently bought a 40" Z series (which I am delighted with) and now awaiting delivery of the BDP S5000es Blu-ray player, I need some extra speaker power.

Unfortunately (in this situation) I have a wife. This means ruling out a separate receiver and speakers because she doesn't want them everywhere. Didn't know what to do until I saw the B&W Panorama but, having just read the review in June's issue, it doesn't seem the way to go (which I am relieved about in a way seeing as it costs more than the TV!). Looking at the other recommended options, none of them have HD which is where I need advice.

Will I get the full benefit of the S5000's audio capability connecting via the digital optical socket or does it really need to be connected via HDMI? The player decodes every format (I think?) but will it transfer everything correctly this way?

I will also want to connect Sky HD to it. Does this affect the choice in any way?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, no response so far I'll try rewording the question.

Take it as read that I can't go for an AV receiver and speaker package (much to my disappointment - I know that would give the best results). Which product would give me the best audio results from the Sony S5000 Blu-ray player?

The choice seems to me to be a sound bar or integrated sub/receiver package.

 

[Anonymous]

Have you tried taking your wife to a hi-fi shop and getting a demo of some equipment you are interested in. You never know she might like it and you can win her over. The salesman can give her a cup of coffee and smooth her over. If you spend money then she was there and all is good. If not, then blame the salesman.

Everybody has home theatre these days don't give up.ÿ

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Do you have a hi-fi set up in the same room?

Start by running a phono to the hi-fi to show how much difference a proper set up can make to the sound from your TV.

A sound bar could be your best option if there's no way you can persuade her to upgrade to a full separates system. AFAIK none of the current soundbars can decode true-hd or dts hd. Highest up the scale you can go is DD. The sound from your SKY+HD will be best coming from the optical or digital coax out.

To have such high quality source equipment then use the inbuilt TV amplification is criminal...

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Anonymous]

adamshaw:

Have you tried taking your wife to a hi-fi shop and getting a demo of some equipment you are interested in. You never know she might like it and you can win her over. The salesman can give her a cup of coffee and smooth her over. If you spend money then she was there and all is good. If not, then blame the salesman.

Everybody has home theatre these days don't give up.

Thanks for the suggestion Adam but I'm afraid that won't work for two reasons. Firstly she isn't remotely interested in the equipment (she's currently more concerned that the TV stand looks like a piece of furniture instead of a really useful AV stand that would actually have space for the STR-DA5400 which would solve all of my problems. Grrrrr!) and secondly she may find out the actual cost of the equipment I've bought so far instead of my ADJUSTED cost

and that, my friend, is bad for everyone.

 

[Anonymous]

Cofnchtr:Hi, Do you have a hi-fi set up in the same room? Start by running a phono to the hi-fi to show how much difference a proper set up can make to the sound from your TV. A sound bar could be your best option if there's no way you can persuade her to upgrade to a full separates system. AFAIK none of the current soundbars can decode true-hd or dts hd. Highest up the scale you can go is DD. The sound from your SKY+HD will be best coming from the optical or digital coax out. To have such high quality source equipment then use the inbuilt TV amplification is criminal... Cheers, Cofnchtr.

Thanks for the reply. I do have a hi-fi in the room so I will give that a try.

With regard to the soundbars, the S5000 does all of the HD decoding so I just need the soundbar to accept the sound in the correct way. The B&W only has digital inputs not HDMI so will this lose the HD sound? The Yamaha YSP-40D has HDMI inputs so would this preserve the HD sound from the blu-ray properly? Sorry if these seem stupid questions but I really am a noob when it comes to home cinema.

The real issue with the AV receiver was that she finally agreed to let me go HD only if she could choose a TV stand she liked. This seemed like a small compromise, how bad could the stand be? Well, the space available for AV equipment could be 15.5cm high and all of the AV receivers I would consider are higher than this

add to that the fact that there is only space for 2 pieces of equipment and we end up in my current dilemma.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Just a thought, but how about either one of the Sony RHT-G stands with soundbar built-in, or one of the new Yamaha models along the same lines...?

 

[Anonymous]

I had thought about that Andrew but ruled it out as it doesn't meet her "furniture" guidelines. However, after looking at the alternatives it would seem to be the best solution by far. Gets me a reasonable speaker system, she sees no cables or speakers anywhere, it looks stylish (in my opinion!) and it is the perfect height (the stand she has bought, we both agree, leaves the TV too high).

I have forwarded your suggestion to the Digital Home Affairs Committee for their comment

Thanks and fingers crossed.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Good luck with the DHAC, robspot - having seen the Yamaha racks twice, once on Hamamatsu last Autumn, and more recently at the UK launch, and heard the smaller of the two in action at the factory, I reckon the pictures don't do them justice. They look pretty elegant, though of course this is a matter of taste, and the one I heard sounded pretty impressive on first listen.

 

[Anonymous]

The YSP-40D has HDMI but cannot accept or decode the HD sound formats, you can only get DD or DTS. As you can imagine this has annoyed a lot of people who bought it thinking you could get the HD audio. I read in a US forum that both Yamaha and B&W have said they didn't include HD audio capability because the improvement would not be noticeable when using a soundbar. I'm a bit skeptical of this explanation myself. I bet they'll both have updated products in a year or so.

There is a US system called the Sony CT100 that gets rave reviews on AVSforum and also on Amazon.com and that does decode the HD audio formats. You could try to import that but shipping would be quite high as it includes a subwoofer and you would be liable to VAT and customs duty. It retails for around $400.

Since the HDMI on the 40D didn't offer anything on the audio side (and I had no interest in the DAB radio which was the other major difference), I bought a new Yamaha YSP-1100 (the model before the 40D) and table on clearance for £399 and I'm pretty happy overall.The table is different to the one in Andrew's post, not quite as contmeporary looking. There's a new YSP-1100 on e-bay right now that's currently at £195. There's also a new table for £49 "buy it now" from the shop I bought my gear from. They're both in silver and look better in the flesh than they do in the photgraphs. The table is built like a tank but is on wheels if you need to move it around. There's a cable tidy on the table behind the YSP unit so a lot of the wiring can be well hidden. Definitely a two man job to put together.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that Socrates.

Well, the Digital Home Affairs Committee has delivered it's first response and it's not good. Phrases like "that's bloody ugly and doesn't match anything except the TV" and "I only agreed to the new TV if I could have the stand I want" were not what this reader was hoping for. I may have to seriously review the DHAC's position when it comes up for renewal next year! There was one glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel though as she did say "it never seems to matter what I want anyway as you always bloody buy what you want" which I read as saying it's not dead yet.

She's still determined to have a piece of furniture as a stand though. I've countered this with "well if that's what you want you'll have to put up with speakers and wires everywhere" to which I haven't really had a response.

One thing I'd appreciate people's opinions on though is this. If I can't get a decent sound system setup is there any point spending £950 on the S5000 or will the S550 at £250 do a good enough job visually. Also, given that furniture stands never seem to have enough shelf height for something like the DA5400, if I was able to get a speaker system I would have to fit 3 boxes (Sky HD, Blu-ray and Receiver) into the space for 2 so what would your opinion be on a package like this

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/5153

which is pretty much the same price I am currently paying for the S5000 alone.

Thanks once again.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd be of the opinion that the incremental improvements of the S5000 aren't worth the extra dosh unless you are using a serious surround set up. In that case the system looks pretty good value for money if you go down that route.

I understand (not certain) that some of the new Sony soundbar tables do offer decoding for the HD audio formats, and I wouldn't go beyond the S550 with such a system. Why not give the DHAC a choice between furniture/5.1 package or the Sony table with the S550, and explain what a sacrifice & saving you are making in not getting the furniture and S5000 with an even more expensive receiver/speaker package worthy of the player!

Failing that it looks like contract renewal negotiations may get a bit sticky !!

 

[Anonymous]

Forgot to say that if you cave in during said contract negotiations, and she insists on furniture with no 5.1, you could consider getting the samller Yamaha YSP-900 which should fit in a cabinet. Position it as high as you can as the beams can only be adjusted horizontally and not vertically like the YSP-1100. And of course you must add a subwoofer.

 

[Anonymous]

Robspot, can't you get something like this below? Looks quite "furniturey" and "woody" to me.

Alphason - model ABR1100, comes in many different colours/veneers.

Good luck! I feel your pain.

 

[DjP]

Is the Q Acoustics Q-AV an option? You'll need a receiver and it has a sub, albeit discrete...

 

[Anonymous]

socrates:

Why not give the DHAC a choice between furniture/5.1 package or the Sony table with the S550, and explain what a sacrifice & saving you are making in not getting the furniture and S5000 with an even more expensive receiver/speaker package worthy of the player!

That's the stance I am going to take, we'll see where it gets me

@momo72 - great looking stand but I have a feeling that anything that is actually a PROPER AV stand and not some piece of cack with an open shelf will fail her rather flimsy acceptance test. Thanks anyway, I may steer her towards that sort of thing if the opportunity arises.

@DjP - Looked at that but it doesn't really suit the shape of my lounge plus I've got the Z series TV which has the stupid perspex speaker arrangement on the bottom. Thanks anyway.

 

[Anonymous]

Well it appears that my AV needs don't top her list at the moment but it would now seem she is happy with the current stand. I've already cancelled the S5000 and will be receiving the S550 today instead (saving myself £700). I've pretty much decided not to blow any budgets for a half-baked system and will probably go for one of the Yamaha soundbars (YSP-600 is dead cheap) which will have to do for now.

One thing, I have found the HT-SS2300 on sony's UK website which would seem to be perfect for my situation but no-one seems to have heard of it, certainly not Sony Style or my local Sony centre.

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/hcs-cinema-surround-kit/ht-ss2300

It says new model on the website. Does anyone know anything about it? An internet search finds it available in the US for less than $400. Is it worth trying to import it?

It's not all doom and gloom though. We own the flat below us and when we've paid off the mortgage (note I say when, not if we will be converting the house back into one. There is a 25m Sq room downstairs that will become the new AV suite (she called it den for the children but I think she was just a bit confused) and then I will be able to let rip.