Sound Bars Anyone?

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Sound on our Panasonic telly isn't that great and I'm thinking of going down the sound bar route. Don't want to go down the multiple speakers 5:1 cinema sound type route as room too small and my wife wouldn't have them. A Sound Bar or equivalent seems the answer. But don't really want to spend a load of money. Any thoughts on Sound Bars in general and any budget ones - say under £300.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Bose but at £400

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...ars+for+tv&dpPl=1&dpID=319634ssgmL&ref=plSrch
It's the one we have and it's superb

Or this is well under budget

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...ars+for+tv&dpPl=1&dpID=31juWEKHmJL&ref=plSrch

 

[M1ke]

A friend recently bought a Samsung sound bar with sub woofer. It was as cheap as chips, about £100 all in. The difference it makes is amazing for the price. John Lewis sell them and they also have a vast selection of sound bars if you want to try them out first.

 

[CMAC]

Sound on our Panasonic telly isn't that great and I'm thinking of going down the sound bar route. Don't want to go down the multiple speakers 5:1 cinema sound type route as room too small and my wife wouldn't have them. A Sound Bar or equivalent seems the answer. But don't really want to spend a load of money. Any thoughts on Sound Bars in general and any budget ones - say under £300.

look at Yamaha sound bars, some very very good ones under your budget

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Bose but at £400

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...ars+for+tv&dpPl=1&dpID=319634ssgmL&ref=plSrch
It's the one we have and it's superb

Or this is well under budget

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...ars+for+tv&dpPl=1&dpID=31juWEKHmJL&ref=plSrch

Cheers Phil - that BOSE one looks just perfect for me. Could sit TV on top of it or put it on top of Sky Box under the table TV is on. And my wife has heard Bose docking stations before and thinks sound is great - I might just get away with that one. But then again the Denon - reduced from £250 to £170. And good reviews. Two good shouts sir - many thanks

Nobody yet saying they are c**p - which is good

 

[CMAC]

Cheers Phil - that BOSE one looks just perfect for me. Could sit TV on top of it or put it on top of Sky Box under the table TV is on. And my wife has heard Bose docking stations before and thinks sound is great - I might just get away with that one. But then again the Denon - reduced from £250 to £170. And good reviews. Two good shouts sir - many thanks

Nobody yet saying they are c**p - which is good

of course Bose isnt crap, its also well over your budget. I can recommend bars that are well over your budget too, and the quality will reflect that.

But before you splash out £400, ask yourself what you really want it for, is it just an improvement over the tinny tv speakers? if so you wont need to spend £400.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Cheers Phil - that BOSE one looks just perfect for me. Could sit TV on top of it or put it on top of Sky Box under the table TV is on. And my wife has heard Bose docking stations before and thinks sound is great - I might just get away with that one. But then again the Denon - reduced from £250 to £170. And good reviews. Two good shouts sir - many thanks

Nobody yet saying they are c**p - which is good

Bose is superb - truly is. We have a wave and a docking station plus the sound bar in the link I posted

A little more than £300 but worth every extra penny imo
But if it's a little steep then you can't go wrong with Denon

 

[Rooter]

But before you splash out £400, ask yourself what you really want it for, is it just an improvement over the tinny tv speakers? if so you wont need to spend £400.

Exactly, £400 is over halfway to getting a new TV without crap speakers! I can stand wires or extra crap, would rather a TV with decent enough sound than a sound bar....

 

[Jabba]

A friend recently bought a Samsung sound bar with sub woofer. It was as cheap as chips, about £100 all in. The difference it makes is amazing for the price. John Lewis sell them and they also have a vast selection of sound bars if you want to try them out first.

I got a Samsung from Richer Sounds. Circa £100, Bluetooth and subwoofer and it's everything I want.

 

[KhalJimbo]

Do a watch a lot of Blu Ray films? Also is your room square with 4 walls or is it a bigger open plan room?

Reason being, Blu Ray has higher audio bandwidth so to get the best you'll want a bar that supports Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio. Also the reason they work best in square rooms is they project sound off the side and rear walls to simulate the surround effects, so elongated open plans room miss out on the surround projection.

Of course if you mainly just watch East Enders but want it louder any sound bar would do.

 

[Blue in Munich]

This works well for us;

http://www.qacoustics.co.uk/q-tv-speakers-soundbar.htm

Bolts to the back of the TV, only see two speakers down the side, sounds pretty good & they were doing a deal on them recently.

Edit: they still are;

http://www.qacoustics.co.uk/qtv2-speakers-for-you-tv.htm

 

[williamalex1]

Sound on our Panasonic telly isn't that great and I'm thinking of going down the sound bar route. Don't want to go down the multiple speakers 5:1 cinema sound type route as room too small and my wife wouldn't have them. A Sound Bar or equivalent seems the answer. But don't really want to spend a load of money. Any thoughts on Sound Bars in general and any budget ones - say under £300.

I'm disappointed too with the sound quality coming from my new Panasonic. So I'm watching with interest.:thup:

 

[Ethan]

Flat screens tend to have poor internal speakers. Nowhere to put depth in them. Soundbars are a good option. Yamaha is one of the pioneers of soundbars and make good stuff. Demon is very good too. Bose isn't bad but tend to run a bit 'bright'. Still not a bad option.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Lots of good advice and thoughts all - many thanks. Picking up on LP and CMAC - my requirement is no more than just getting an improvement over what I have. I suspected that almost any Sound Bar might give me that - we are not regular DVD or Blueray watchers - just want something a bit better. And so given what I've read (typical 30s semi square front room) I'm definitely thinking that no more than £200 will see me just fine - and so LPs Denon looks good - especially as given where our TV is I'd prefer a 'box' type rather than a long 'bar' type.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

of course Bose isnt crap, its also well over your budget. I can recommend bars that are well over your budget too, and the quality will reflect that.

I was actually thinking about possibility of cheaper sound bars being rubbish and not worth it. But clearly if I spend £100-£200 I'll get something that'll give me a big jump in sound quality

 

[Deleted member 15344]

The Denon seems perfect for your budget

 

[GreiginFife]

http://m.richersounds.com/#!/product/YAMA-YAS93-BLK

Well inside budget, has very good sound. And also has the added benefit of remote learning, so you can just use your TV remote to control it.
Got one for my inlaws and its impressive for its price.

Personally, I prefer speakers around the room. Onkyo amp and Dali speakers, no wireless nonsense for me.

 

[williamalex1]

I was considering the Panasonic SC-HTE80 base speaker board with Bluetooth , £159.95 from John Lewis. It matches my TV, and size wise it could fit in the same unit as my VCR and Virgin box.

It might suit SILH too.

Any experience, info or thoughts on this unit. ?
Sorry for the hijack.

 

[Ethan]

I was considering the Panasonic SC-HTE80 base speaker board with Bluetooth , £159.95 from John Lewis. It matches my TV, and size wise it could fit in the same unit as my VCR and Virgin box.

It might suit SILH too.

Any experience, info or thoughts on this unit. ?
Sorry for the hijack.

Have you a gramophone player and an 8 track too?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

http://m.richersounds.com/#!/product/YAMA-YAS93-BLK

Well inside budget, has very good sound. And also has the added benefit of remote learning, so you can just use your TV remote to control it.
Got one for my inlaws and its impressive for its price.

Personally, I prefer speakers around the room. Onkyo amp and Dali speakers, no wireless nonsense for me.

Go dali sensor 1s myself - but in wrong place for connecting to my TV. That is the alternative as I need a new amp. Spend money on amp and plug TV into it - but TV in front of me with speakers either behind me or to the side - dont know how that would sound