Soundbars vs. Surround sound?

[BOFH]

I'm thinking of replacing my aging 5.1 surround sound with a soundbar or a Sony 7.2 surround system. The soundbar is very attractive as it's cheaper and doesn't require cables everywhere.

Has anyone used a soundbar to good effect? Inputs will be hdmi from my HTPC and Xbox 360.

[Barfridge]

If you want noise, sure, go for it.

If you want actual proper immersive surround sound, yeah nah.

They can work if you have a perfect room and one person sitting in the perfect sweet spot. But for a bunch of mates all sitting around it just doesn't do what it says on the tin.

[BOFH]

I was thinking that. It might work in the current room but I plan to knock it down and build a proper theater room in a couple of years.

[Mr_Mike]

The inlaws have one and i think its a bit of a gimmick really. There is no substitute for a properly set up surround sound system.
7.2 sounds like a good idea but again unless u have the room properly set up and use a setup program with a microphone its all just wank. To get the full effect out of a 7.2 system u need a long room otherwise its just gonna be all blurred together as the centre and rear L&R channels work.
Spend the extra, get a seperate amp and a 5.2 system with tower speakers. Then position everything correctly and run the program on the amp to balance all channels. It makes a huge difference.

[RRossi]

Im half deaf and blind so really I was over all this suround sound shit anyway and from my past house I remembered all the wires and cables hanging around on the floor, it looked tacky,

I bought a Yamaha unit about 4 years ago when they were the newest thing on the block,


this one:

YSP-5100 - Sound Bars - Yamaha - Australia


it has 40 small speakers and a big ass sub, I have a microphone that sits on a stand and what you do is put it were you sit as in ear height, then set it to set up and walk out of the room,it sends sounds and bounces it off objects in the room to set up, it was cool to hear it working.


anyway for the purists its a cop out but for the clean-ness and no wires BS I love it, everyone that hears it can belive the sound quality and to be honsest I was freaked out a bit as you can hear sounds coiming from behind you but really there being trasmited in front of you,


Im lucky I use it once a month anyway so happy with the purchase 4 years on I would never go back to having speakers all over the place ever again.



RR

[Kia]

7.2. No comparison.

[Spina]

Does anyone remember the "Wide Stereo" function on 80's hifi equipment? they are just a more expensive version of this.

If its an everyday T.V for general watching, they can be the perfect solution to crappy inbuilt audio of flat screens, but if its for a movie room you will be as dissapointed as a teenager with a stutter on prom night.

[Loud]

I have a 7.1 system, which I love. A couple of things:

Find me more than a handful of DVDs that supports anything more than 5.1.
Frequencies below 100Hz are generally regarded as non-directional. Why have 2 subs, unless you're a real audiophile?

I'd be looking for a good value 5.1 system.

[Mr_Mike]

7.2. No comparison.

care to back up this statement?

[Kia]

care to back up this statement?

Uncle has a soundbar. Mate has a 7.2. Played video games on both (namely COD and Killzone 3) and the 7.2 is magnificent.

[RRossi]

at 3k its not a shit unit at all,


I think if you sat blind folded in a room you would be hard pressed to tell them apart, what I really love is the feature where the voices are clear and the back round noise isnt overwhelming,


I found alot of DVD's you had to crank the sound up just hear what was being said.

Im happy with mine and would never go back to a full suraound sound unless I had a purpose built theater room where all the cables were hidden and so on.


RR

[Mr_Mike]

Uncle has a soundbar. Mate has a 7.2. Played video games on both (namely COD and Killzone 3) and the 7.2 is magnificent.

ah k i thought u meant a 7.2 was best set up over all. Obviously a component system will out perform a soundbar.

If ur looking to build a proper room down the line then u cant go wrong with a proper system, and when i say proper i dont me pre-boxed shit from Harvey Normans. Proper quality gear, i have had my set up for 6 years now and it still sounds amazing even more so now its set up in a dedicated room. The only thing i am looking to upgrade is the amp but thats only cos current one doesnt have enough HDMI inputs or WIFI

[BERT]

On topic threadjack

I want more, or in reality better sound from my samsung led tv, I looked at soundbars but I dont want another remote

Is there one available that is controlled from the tv ?
I have looked but to no avail.

[Mr_Mike]

On topic threadjack

I want more, or in reality better sound from my samsung led tv, I looked at soundbars but I dont want another remote

Is there one available that is controlled from the tv ?
I have looked but to no avail.

Buy one then buy a programable universal remote. Some of them u can set macros so u press one button and it turns everything on and sets it to right channels. I have a Logitech one and one button would turn on TV, AMP and Foxtel. Could also be programmed to control the aircon if i wanted as it was a learning remote.

[BOFH]

On some Dvds it's hard to hear the dialogue over the effects no matter what settings you use. I've had to force the amp into 2 channel mode.