Sound bar v Soundbase

[Lord Tyrion]

I'm looking at getting a sound bar for my tv. Budget is limited as is space due to size of the stand. Advice seems to be minimum 100w. I have some options but one thing thrown up is a sound base. These are a more compact version of a bar. Anyone got one, what do you think of them?

There seems a decent one in Currys for £74. Are bars just better? I know av forums will give me answers but I don't want sound nerd answers, I want normal people answers.

 

[MadAdey]

I've got a YAMAHA soundbar with bluetooth sub and it is fantastic. It sounds just as good as most lower to mid range 5.1 surround sounds and you do not need all those speakers around your room.

I looked at the sound bases to match my TV and I thought they were a better option to the standard TV speakers, rather than a serious sound upgrade.

 

[GreiginFife]

I will try to be as un-nerdy as possible. Unless your room is about 100m2 then you are never going to need 100W RMS.
If you have space then neither bar nor base will be better than actual speakers and amp. If space is limited go with the largest that will fit is my real person advice.
Not all bases are smaller than bars, in fact most were designed for the TV to sit on.
Each has advantages and disadvantages depending what you want from it. You are only going to get "better" sound with either but in no way "good" sound. Hell, I run a set up of Onkyo amp and Dali speakers and that is still not classed as "good", getting there but not quite there.

Yamaha YAS series are good value for money and will be better than the TV, as Ade says there is a YAS that has a BT sub that packs a bit of punch for its size.

Apologies if this isnt what you were looking for but its one thing you might end up spending on and regretting more than if you had drunk ebay purchased a set of Cleveland VAS irons.

 

[Beezerk]

I've got a Sony xt3 and it is THE BIZ, quite expensive but well worth the money.

 

[MadAdey]

I will try to be as un-nerdy as possible. Unless your room is about 100m2 then you are never going to need 100W RMS.
If you have space then neither bar nor base will be better than actual speakers and amp. If space is limited go with the largest that will fit is my real person advice.
Not all bases are smaller than bars, in fact most were designed for the TV to sit on.
Each has advantages and disadvantages depending what you want from it. You are only going to get "better" sound with either but in no way "good" sound. Hell, I run a set up of Onkyo amp and Dali speakers and that is still not classed as "good", getting there but not quite there.

Yamaha YAS series are good value for money and will be better than the TV, as Ade says there is a YAS that has a BT sub that packs a bit of punch for its size.

Apologies if this isnt what you were looking for but its one thing you might end up spending on and regretting more than if you had drunk ebay purchased a set of Cleveland VAS irons.

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/digital-sound-projector/yas-203/

This is the one I have. It sure does pack some punch, my daughter managed to knock a clock off the wall with the bass on this thing. You can really turn it up and it doesn't distort at all. Yes it isn't a true surround sound, but the virtual surround on it is amazing. I use the bluetooth on it to play my music from my phone too.

No, I do not work YAMAHA or getting a commission, I just think that people should give these sound bars a chance.

 

[Simbo]

Iv just bought this one

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tvs-entertainment/soundbars/1403816/evolve-audio-sb-2501-review
Available for £140 on Amazon now.
Fairly decent set up and way louder than needed for an average living room. The sub box is wireless which is brilliant and iv hid mine away behind the couch and fitted the sound bar underneath thE TV.
It's also pretty good for the wireless Bluetooth connection to stream music from your phone

 

[GreiginFife]

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/digital-sound-projector/yas-203/

This is the one I have. It sure does pack some punch, my daughter managed to knock a clock off the wall with the bass on this thing. You can really turn it up and it doesn't distort at all. Yes it isn't a true surround sound, but the virtual surround on it is amazing. I use the bluetooth on it to play my music from my phone too.

No, I do not work YAMAHA or getting a commission, I just think that people should give these sound bars a chance.

As I said, Yamaha represent food value for money in the soundbar stakes, all I am pointing out is to define what the OP wants from the sound and work from there rather than just go out and buy something that looks good or fits the space and then doesn't live up to expectation.

People should definitely give sound bars and bases a chance, no one is saying they shouldn't. Only that they shouldn't expect peak performance from them in comparison to a full system.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Been out for the day, thanks for the posts. Made the mistake of going into a Bose shop. Stood drooling at various items that are way out of budget. Back to reality. I absolutely get and understand that what I am looking at is not going to be cinema standard. My wife is not going to accept various speakers, one bar or box has taken long enough to be on the table. I understand it will be a compromise but hopefully it will beef up the sound and add some depth. I accept I will not have sound flying around the room, coming at me from all angles.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Been out for the day, thanks for the posts. Made the mistake of going into a Bose shop. Stood drooling at various items that are way out of budget. Back to reality. I absolutely get and understand that what I am looking at is not going to be cinema standard. My wife is not going to accept various speakers, one bar or box has taken long enough to be on the table. I understand it will be a compromise but hopefully it will beef up the sound and add some depth. I accept I will not have sound flying around the room, coming at me from all angles.

My Lord, have you considered this, as it meets the criteria I have bolded in the quote;

http://homeavdirect.co.uk/q-acousti...sound-system?gclid=CLnJvKf1ytACFZIaGwodTNIKAA

http://www.whathifi.com/q-acoustics/q-tv2/review

I have one, sound is a vast improvement but all you see in addition to the TV is the two long speakers either side of it. Bolt the bracket to the back of the TV, clip the speaker to the bracket and away you go. You will need to turn the TV volume off & you have another remote, but it got past the Minister for Home Affairs, whose attitude is that hi-fi should be heard and not seen, why seems to be a similar position to Her Ladyship's…….

Again, I don't work for them, just a satisfied customer.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

BiM - Interesting option. I'll look into that one, thanks.