Soundbar setups...

[CrippsCorner]

Yo.

Does anyone run a soundbar directly in front of their TV? I didn't want to go that route at first but I think it's going to be the best setup I can manage for the time being... just wondering if anyone could share photos and what you think of them in general

 

[Mr Plums]

You could aways get a double din toaster/tv setup?

 

[Adamm.]

They are pretty good I put a thread up think I got an LG one. I'll try remember to take a pic later. You can hardly notice it whereas some of them are huge and unsightly.

 

[adamlstr]

I bought a Samsung HW-F751, which was meant to be really really good. (http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-hw-f751-review)
It promised valved ampage, plenty of sound quality.. etc etc. It was like listening to 64Kbps MP3s.

It sounded like utter shite. Soured me against soundbars completely, I put my 15 year old Bose back in its place.

 

[DannyR]

It's weird, soundbars used to be great, and you can still buy good ones, but EVERY new cheap sound bar is crap.

They've made them all slim and you can't bend physics to change how speakers move air!

 

[MrDave]

This

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd...-hw-h450-wireless-sound-bar-10002041-pdt.html


Goes loud, sounds 100x better than the telly, has bluetooth for choonz. Very happy especially for the price.

 

[DannyR]

But the size of it, the speakers in it must be tiny, you've got all treble at the front and then bass from the sub, no mid level frequencies.

They don't even list any frequency range for it anywhere, I bet the fronts don't go below 250hz!

 

[Ben]

My soundbar was a cheap Samsung jobby and I can honestly say it sounds a lot better than the TV did (Samsung 42" F series iirc)

 

[Ray Gin]

Good thread. I'll post a pics of mine shortly. I actually need some help from someone who knows a thing about this stuff (i.e not me) I have mine wired to the TV because I didn't want it connected via bluetooth, but even when it's wired I can only get any audio out of it when it's connected via bluetooth. Meaning I have to go into network settings - bluetooth and pair them, every time I turn the b*stard on.

 

[Knuckles]

The gfs sisters guy has one. Tbh it sounds great, it goes very loud, it's very clear and the bass is excellent. It's fairly chunky but as its wall mounted below the tv it doesn't look excessive.

I'll try and find out the model for you

 

[Ray Gin]

Sub is now on the left of the TV stand like so

@DannyR I know you're an expert on this. My BT box, PS4 and soundbar are all wired into my TV. The soundbar is connected into the digital audio port on the TV via an optical cable (i think) but I can't seem to find where to pair the 2 in the settings anywhere, which means I have to resort to bluetooth.

 

[DannyR]

A friend got that sound bar the other day and I gave him an optical cable and he just plugged it in and it worked.

You don't need Bluetooth, just plug into the digital audio out of the TV into the digital audio in on the soundbar. Then select the correct input on the soundbar.

 

[coleman]

I have a JBL SB200 which I think is really good,although quite bulky the sound the thing makes is excellent and we use Bluetooth a lot to play music from our phones through it.

 

[CrippsCorner]

It's weird, soundbars used to be great, and you can still buy good ones, but EVERY new cheap sound bar is crap.

They've made them all slim and you can't bend physics to change how speakers move air!

I appreciate that mate, but this is really just a temporary solution to make it sound better than the standard TV speakers. I hoping to move out of a rented place and buy next year and then I've got my heart set on something like the B&W 685 S2

 

[Herr Flick]

Which one would people recommend?
I have a Samsung TV, 3/4 years old so not bothered about it being the same make etc.

Just want the best out of these 3.
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd...5ebk-2-1-wireless-sound-bar-10126269-pdt.html
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd...g-nb3540-wireless-sound-bar-22083938-pdt.html
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd...-nb3530a-wireless-sound-bar-21328899-pdt.html

Will just be on the TV stand, no fancy install etc.

 

[CrippsCorner]

I went for this in the end, gets really good reviews across the board!

http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/htx-22hdx-35463.html

 

[charltjr]

Nice, you'll not go far wrong with anything from Onkyo as a general rule

 

[CrippsCorner]

Yeah it does the trick nicely, although I will say it doesn't actually sound quite as good as my Acoustic Energy system.