Soundbar advice

[jonobrain]

Hello

I was hoping someone might be able to help me choose a soundbar... Im really struggling. It is for a farily large (but not huge) open planned back room which is square, on the left side is a rectangular lounge area on the right an open planned kitchen. It is one room only seperated by a corner sofa.

The soundbar main requirment is to provide much better sound than from my 50" Panasonic Plasma for both regular/movies TV (SKY HD Box) and gaming (PS3/PS4). It would be a bonus if it could also be used for Music, Im happy though if this is just done via something like an Apple TV it doesn't have to be wireless streaming.

I tried an Orbit Sound but returned it as I hated the fact it had to be turned on seperately when watching TV and you had to use a completely seperate remote.

I don't want a full 5.1 system, it is always just going to be soundbar and sub.

The list I have narrowed it down to is:

Bose Cinemate 1SR - £130

This is my max budget. The demo sounded amazing, my concerns are price (is it a rip off), in reality how well does the remote work as you have to use the BOSE remote. I have also read very mixed feelings towards BOSE.. to me the sound was amazing, but people say they use very cheap components.


Sony HT-ST3 Sound Bar - £600

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/hcs-cinema-surround-kit/ht-st3

This looks decent and I believe would integrate nicely with my TV so I could just use my current Sky remote. But i'm worried the sound won't be great.

Sonos Playbar - £1200

www.sonos.com/PLAYBAR

This looks good and I would stretch and get the sub. My worry is the sound has to come from the TV and have read that because my TV only passes through stereo the sound won't be great. Will this matter if I am never going to add the extra rear speakers... I like the idea of having Sonos in other rooms, but its not a requirement... I also worry the Sonos won't be as good sound as you are paying for all the streaming kit, realisticaly anyone compared it to something like a BOSE?

Monitor Audio ASB-2 - £1000

I don't kow much about this, but reviews seem to be really good.

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Really appreciate any help... I want it to be wife/kid friendly so easy to opperate ideally turning on when the TV does and using the same TV remote... or if the BOSE remote is good and can control SKY/TV I don't mind that either.

Thanks

Jono

 

[Big Chris]

What about the winner of the 'soundbar product of the year', the Philips HTL9100?

It's £600. has detachable wireless speakers for when you want actual surround. a wireless sub. A couple of HDMI inputs as well as a couple of digital and analogue inputs. It even has Bluetooth.

 

[jonobrain]

Hello

Thanks for the reply. I did look at it but was put off by the reviews:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-HTL9100-12-Subwoofer-Detachable/dp/B00BBUUDS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383759407&sr=8-1&keywords=Philips+HTL9100

Also not so sure about the speakers having batteries in them.

 

[theflyingwasp]

The yamaha ysp 2200! It's a soundbar/digital sound projector .£649 check out the reviews you won't find a bad one,the sound off these things are awesome for small rooms.

 

[John Duncan]

I've heard a couple of Yamahas and thought they were fantastic, so would be my obvious choice. I would want to hear the Philips though, because it's such a genius idea - battery powered wireless rears that you can put away when you don't need them? Even Mrs JD would go for that...

Even the sub is cute!

 

[Son_of_SJ]

The soundbar main requirment is to provide much better sound than from my 50" Panasonic Plasma for both regular/movies TV (SKY HD Box) and gaming (PS3/PS4).

Sorry jonobrain, this is nothing to do with soundbars, and it won't be what you want to hear, but be very careful about using your Panasonic plasma for gaming. You risk getting screen burn if you game too much, apparently that's true even if you have pixel orbiter switched on. I myself don't game, so I'm know this only from the horror stories of those who have gamed too much on a plasma, as opposed to LCD/LED, set.

 

[KeithT]

I've got a Yamaha 2200 and would highly recommend it for movies.

I don't think quite so much of it for live music dvd's though.

 

[jonobrain]

Thanks for the replies everyone.... Added another potential to the list:

JBL Cinema SB400
Seems to get very good reviews and is very cheap - £299.

 

[MakkaPakka]

I would find it hard to look past that Philips with the detachable speakers - why pay £600 for just a soundbar when you can have a soundbar and surround whenever you feel like it. The reviews you mention are 'niggles' no one is actually saying the product doesn't sound good or work well.

 

[H0phead]

Hello

I don't want a full 5.1 system, it is always just going to be soundbar and sub.

The list I have narrowed it down to is:



Sonos Playbar - £1200

www.sonos.com/PLAYBAR

This looks good and I would stretch and get the sub. My worry is the sound has to come from the TV and have read that because my TV only passes through stereo the sound won't be great. Will this matter if I am never going to add the extra rear speakers... I like the idea of having Sonos in other rooms, but its not a requirement... I also worry the Sonos won't be as good sound as you are paying for all the streaming kit, realisticaly anyone compared it to something like a BOSE?

Really appreciate any help... I want it to be wife/kid friendly so easy to opperate ideally turning on when the TV does and using the same TV remote... or if the BOSE remote is good and can control SKY/TV I don't mind that either.

Hello all, I ended up here because I'm in a similar situation to Jono with regards to the setup I'm after and was also looking at the Sonos offering but without a sub which I'm looking at £600 http://www.simplysoundandvision.co.uk/acatalog/Sonos-PLAYBAR.html

Space is an issue and clarity and ease of use are the main concerns. We're running an LG LCD TV with tinny sound and lack of clarity. We're often having to turn the volume up loud to hear dialogue but quickly slam it down as soon as any sound effects kick in, such as gunfire, engines, explosions etc. The TV's also used for gaming late at night where the volume can't go up too loud for fear of annoying the neighbours but I'd like to be able to hear some of what's going on.

Has anyone else had much experience of Sonos playbars?