The sound from the sub is ferocious for its size. certainly packs a punch ,
really impressed with the overall package actually definitely happy with the buy
Spec me a sound bar
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really impressed with the overall package actually definitely happy with the buy
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I am so gutted I missed out on this offer.
Soundbars seem to have come on leaps and bounds.
Reddit still seems to be quite stingy about them but everything I read seems to suggest the Q990F gives decent separate systems a run for their money these days.
I’ve always thought in most homes soundbars are a better solution.
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Probably a good idea to play music on a soundbar in stereo /2.1 mode as that is where any soundbar weaknesses will show up.
I doubt that soundbar will give "decent separate systems" a run for their money sure it'll be good enough but more to a AV separates, soundstage, build quality, standardised components , ability to change with any other brand, add, more hdmi IO, more power, pre out for sub, and can re purpose speakers in another system as you upgrade.
Like comparing consoles to PC's.
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I don’t listen to music on my AVR. I have a Sonos for that.
What you’re talking about is totally impractical for most homes.
While I'm not a fan of Sonos myself I can see the appeal, and I do feel Hornet massively overestimates requirements in all the wrong directions at times, but I do actually think this might be him attempting to be reasonable for once believe it or not.
Attempting being the main term, because he's talking about things that don't really make too much sense as I'm not aware of anyone talking about using their home cinema/soundbar setup to listen to music.
I love a good AVR system but they're stupid costs vs quality now unless going higher end, and the deals for very respectable soundbars such as have been mentioned in this thread puts them at less than the cost of an entry level AVR alone. Personally for pure movie/gaming surround I'd take a £500 or less multi-channel/surround soundbar like a Q930 + over a £400-500 basic 5.1 AVR + Speakers for added cost to the AVR every time.
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Explain how device with more hdmi input and output and standardised components , better build quality is impractical for most homes
If my speakers blow up I can simply buy any standard passive speakers connect back up.
If a subwoofer blows up I can replace it with any standard subwoofer
If my avr blows up I can replace it with any standard avr
I can listen to music on my AV system and it'll sound better than a soundbar. Also when you mention Sonos I have a wiim streamer connected to my AV system so can listen to that.if I want to change the streamer I can. Add a bd player, Kodi box etc as it has enough hdmi inputs.
Sonos speakers wont have the sound quality either I presume you're talking of the portable rechargeable speakers?
Soundbars are good but they won't come close to seperates proper system, sorry
Also you have options on speaker design. White, wood and different veneers, gloss, bookshelf, tower, the number of speakers, inwall, onwall, subs either sealed or ported, driver size, single/dual driver etc. different sound signature, whether you like it soft on treble or bright harsh speakers
Also as audio codecs change you are stuck. You have to ensure your TV passes all the codecs, because if it doesn't you only get pcm. I plug it direct though AV pre, so it doesn't matter what the TV arc/e-arc and codec support on that is. I updated from Dolby digital /dts 7.1 AV pre amp that didn't even have hdmi, to Atmos/DTS X 9.3.4 AV pre amp, keeping all my speakers, amplifiers , cables in place. Didn't need to throw the lot away. Also I added extra speakers and amps to go from 7.1 to 9.3.4
Then choice of speakers with built in upfirer or place on top of speaker upfirer, or on wall height speaker or in ceiling.
Then choice of multiple subs if needed typically avr support two, I have option to go four all synced with subwoofer dsp box.
Someone with a avr and stereo speakers could go
2.1
3.0
3.1
4.0
4.1
5.1
Plus 7.1 and above.
I'd say long term seperates is worth it, you don't need to go OTT like I've done
But something like wharfedale diamond 5.1 htp or q acoustic 3020i system good first system and gives you expansion choices later
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I’ve got a Yamaha AVR from over a decade ago and a speaker set and a sub. Probably cost me overall somewhere around £700.
Don’t get me wrong, it does sound good but I’ve listened to a few soundbars recently and in all honesty I am not sure I could tell the difference.
As I said I don’t use it for music, I have a Sonos speaker that I AirPlay to and that works fabulously.
The clutter, wires, mess etc. that my AVR causes has always annoyed me. I don’t think I’ll get an AVR again. I would suspect that a recent soundbar will sound better to the average listener than my current kit.
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I guess my prior post is the last time I give you the benefit of the doubt and throw you a bone.
Simply put: 99% of homes do not need it, whatsoever. Everything you're talking about is utterly irrelevant to almost every other human being on planet earth looking to increase their home user TV experience.
Thanks for asking.
Entry level AVR's now are around the £500 mark just for 5.1, it's silly money compared to what you could pick up back then and then you need to buy speakers on top. There are some iffy £200-300 AVR's starting to appear but they offer zero of the supposed benefits such as room correction etc that Hornet often mentions.
I legitimately think you need to be hard into the cinema hobby with a dedicated room, proper acoustic treatments etc to genuinely benefit from an AVR setup vs a good modern soundbar system in most homes.
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Do you have a wife?
Do you know what an utter pain running wires around the living room is?
Bookshelf speakers look horrendous in a clean living room, I’ve yet to see anyone do it in a way that doesn’t look silly.
No doubting your setup I’m sure sounds way better than mine but for me and the average consumer, I think soundbars are better.
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I guess my prior post is the last time I give you the benefit of the doubt and throw you a bone.
Simply put: 99% of homes do not need it, whatsoever. Everything you're talking about is utterly irrelevant to almost every other human being on planet earth looking to increase their home user TV experience.
Thanks for asking.
Not a doubt in my mind that this is why sound bars are so popular, because they’re good enough and get the job done for most.
I was more saying that the recent Samsung soundbars do seem to get rave reviews from anyone who has actually tried one. If you hate the idea of a soundbar you’re never going to like it but for me I think I’ll be getting one when they go on sale next.
This reminds me of when people on here used to ask questions about WiFi and they’d always be told “run cables”. Like that is practical in every home.
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Plenty of people use their home cinema listening to music, and will be superior to soundbar, and Bluetooth portable speaker.
No different to hifi in which case it is.
My speakers are towers, I have option to run them in direct ( full range) stereo or with 2.1 bass managed, cycle between press of a button
With using wiim ultra as a streamer.
Sounds absolutely fantastic.
If you have a avr it's basically the same switch between pure direct, direct or stereo.
For new starter I'd probably say get the best stereo speakers standmount or tower depending on style, room size etc, you can with cheap used avr. If using arc/e-arc then 1080p model will be fine, add remaining speakers over time BD player streamer, stopping at your speaker channel count you want then replace av.
Another benefit of seperates is when I moved house from small single room to large room the single sealed box sub wasn't sufficient, so I replaced that with triple ported box subs ..can't do that with soundbar as it's all one unit
You don't have to get a 9.3.4 AV pre power system that's 6000W RMS either even wharfedale diamond 9.1 sound great they're £150 ish
The 930F and some of the 990 versions are often on sale/clearance etc for less than £400-500 and are a very discrete yet huge upgrade comparative to an AVR setup. The most offensive thing other than the big black bar under the TV is the satellite rears, which you can fit in much more easily than a full AVR setup without angering the spouse, it's a reasonable compromise and huge benefit.
Most people buying home cinema systems for their living rooms don't listen to music via them if they have families, a stay at home parent might while people are out and about.
An AVR for music is not the best setup, even a high end AVR when used for pure music is going to be diminished for a hardcore music fan. If someone wants a "good" surround sound home system and a fantastic music system, they would not double up. My headphone setup alone probably cost more than most peoples entire AVR setups (or at one point did) and I purchased them due to a focus on music and consideration for family and neighbours.
"AVR LOL!" is not a be all and end all and is hugely impractical for the vast majority of people.
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I’ve only really started looking again recently having moved into a new place with a new LG OLED.
The Yamaha system is at home in my parents’ home, probably loud enough even for them to hear.
But I just didn’t want the faff of having that in a flat.
As I said a lot seems to have changed, wireless surrounds (actually surrounds full stop for a soundbar) and a wireless sub are genuine innovations, where they’ve obviously done a bit of homework.
I don’t say this to be disparaging to anyone but sometimes on the internet I read stuff that suggests people either have very accommodating partners or they have no sense of taste. Making a living room be overtaken by large speakers etc. is something I would not want to have friends round to see.
I am hoping the 990F goes on sale again, looks like the pairing for me.
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Has anyone here actually used the 990F? I’ve not heard it, only some of the older Samsung units but I thought they were good.
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I've wired living, and two bedrooms with cable no different to years ago wiring telephone rj45 around the house.
What's the problem? Done in couple of hours, secure, fast, and cheap probably £30 in total. Still have WiFi but it means with wired and wireless greater amount of bandwidth...say if I'm copying 4k over the wired lan it won't effect WiFi.
I've spent some time with the aforementioned 930's and also the 990D and was very impressed with what they offered.
The best soundbar I've ever heard in general is still the Sennheiser Ambeo but it's also silly money and when I tried it was fully front facing with no rears. The physical rears do make a difference on the Samsung bars for movies and games for that matter, the ATMOS/upfiring speakers will totally depend on the room so it's impossible to judge. Ceiling height, whether or not you've artex etc will effect it so unless you've low flat ceilings and a good room shape I'd not get caught up in the ATMOS side of things.
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Wireless subwoofer is a bad idea. Sure if it's one choice but I'd ensure the soundbar has standard pre out so if the sub blows up you can use any standard active subwoofer. Or if you find it's not capable enough you can change or add a second
A couple of the sennheiser ambeos have pre outs the max definitely has it and I think the one below that. but not the mini
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You could replace the entire system three times over before spending what you're suggesting to get sub-out options.
You've also never actually given an indication of failure rates for wireless soundbar/sub systems. Without doing so you're frankly arguing supposition of what might go wrong, the only genuine argument you might have is sub-latency but that's such a non-issue it might not exist in the soundbar setups we're talking about.
The other thread was no different, some guy needed a basic 2.0 setup with a potential future 2.1 setup and you harped on about getting an AVR for a bunch of features totally irrelevant to a basic setup. Your advice could even cost people asking for that sort of information more in the long term, you're addicted to chatting about higher end AVR related stuff based upon what addicts/AV enthusiasts in AVR specific websites think is good and even then you skew the data. It's almost like you're wondering if you spent too much on your own system, and the only reason anyone believes you spent as much as you did is because you apparently were forced into posting pictures at some point.
Just stop. You're capable of offering good advice but you go on weird unrelated tangents, there's more to life. It's Christmas, be happy, stop nuking every single home theatre thread with the same needlessly extreme and complex advice. The only reason you aren't called out more is because the one known genuine industry expert/person that did it regularly quit posting here, although thankfully he's still alive and well.
You're not helping people with information overload and unrelated advice, however much you might think you are. Nobody cares about your speaker/sub setup as it's never, ever presented as a relative comparison to actually help someone.
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Are you a contrarian?
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It’s a new build flat with flat ceilings that aren’t too high. Personally Atmos doesn’t bother me.