In all honesty, if you have no intention of spending fortunes, constantly upgrading/swapping out as your budget grows, arranging your room to suit your audio etc. then buy the best reviewed soundbar you can find in your budget - it will be more than good enough for what it sounds like you want.
2.1 or 5.1?
- Thread starter Richie
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True.
Although I feel weakest point in soundbars is the subwoofers. With the Q, it distorts on every setting but the lowest. Usually small driver (even for a sub) and ported high up, and small cabinets. Speaking to someone who just bought a soundbar he says the subwoofer distorts, I asked him what model the soundbar is, I replied "sell it and buy seperates" should have seen his face haha- the sub is designed for that system, and he's just bought the system.
and when I heard someone at work selling his soundbar, the bar wasn't bad, but again the sub was just a distortion boom box.
Just seen a Yamaha AVR for £50, I think 371 model or something like that. That'll do. Spend rest on speakers, then get a subwoofer later.
Although I feel weakest point in soundbars is the subwoofers. With the Q, it distorts on every setting but the lowest. Usually small driver (even for a sub) and ported high up, and small cabinets. Speaking to someone who just bought a soundbar he says the subwoofer distorts, I asked him what model the soundbar is, I replied "sell it and buy seperates" should have seen his face haha- the sub is designed for that system, and he's just bought the system.
and when I heard someone at work selling his soundbar, the bar wasn't bad, but again the sub was just a distortion boom box.
Just seen a Yamaha AVR for £50, I think 371 model or something like that. That'll do. Spend rest on speakers, then get a subwoofer later.
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"Yamaha RX - V371. Dolby 5.1AVR Amp"
£50
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 loudspeaker
Following in the footsteps of my August 2005 review of the B&W DM603 S3, the second stop of the Bob Reina British Invasion Tour is the latest revamping of Wharfedale's affordable Diamond series.
www.stereophile.com
Less than £200.
If you can up your budget just a touch, then you could get a nearly new Denon X1800H for £314 (2 year warranty) LINK and also a pair of used Dali Zensor 5 floorstanding speakers LINK for £150 which will sound great and go down to about 43Hz, so whilst not subwoofer vibrating levels it will still give some deep audio and can create a phantom centre.
If you want a centre further down the line, then Dali Zensor Vokal is a good speaker and can be had cheap at less than £100 LINK
When you said you are well outside your wheelhouse, just how outside are you meaning? I was brand new to the whole AVR thing last year, but it turned out pretty straight forward and I'm glad I jumped in. The Denon has a supplied microphone you connect and it auto calibrates everything.
If you want a centre further down the line, then Dali Zensor Vokal is a good speaker and can be had cheap at less than £100 LINK
When you said you are well outside your wheelhouse, just how outside are you meaning? I was brand new to the whole AVR thing last year, but it turned out pretty straight forward and I'm glad I jumped in. The Denon has a supplied microphone you connect and it auto calibrates everything.
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yeah but in situation I'd get a really cheap 1080p AVR with ARC/E-ARC support (E-ARC if possible) use the TV's E-ARC output, connect all devices to the TV, then spend the rest on the speakers. Once he's fully got all the speaker he feels he will need, ie 2.0, 2.1, 4.0, 4.1, 5.0 or 5.1 then look for a new AVR.
All AVRs will be UHD as standard these days, the Denon outlined by @ninjag will be good, future-proofed value...
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Yes but you'll be paying the extra for that (and AVR's have gone up a lot in last few years), if you can get a 1080p AVR working (only use it for audio, not video pass through) you could get one really cheap- and that'll do fine. Then spend rest on the speakers. Once you've got all the speakers and sub then look for a new AVR.
@Richie You can often get Samsung's flagship soundbar offering for a really good price around this time of year when they announce their new model.
I've already seen people get the Q990D for around £500 with cashback, and you'd be hard-pressed to buy anything new that offers the same level of immersion for that price. If you're willing to go down a level, the Q930D can be had for around £300 with cashback.
I've already seen people get the Q990D for around £500 with cashback, and you'd be hard-pressed to buy anything new that offers the same level of immersion for that price. If you're willing to go down a level, the Q930D can be had for around £300 with cashback.
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How far behind you should rear speakers be as a minimum? Those both come with rear speakers
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Couple of meters.
Ideally you'd like a couple of feet, but many people use them directly behind and to the side of their sofa and are happy with them.
Sorry to jump in on the OP’s thread, but where from for that price?
The last time Samsung offered £400 cashback in December, a number of different retailers were involved.
The best thing to do is to set an alert on HUKD. The new models should be out within a month or two, so expect to see more deals on the current ones as retailers look to clear stock.
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Yeah I unfortunately don't have that option
Is the Q800 Series the same as the 900 but without rear speakers or is that too much like common sense to be true?
EDIT: Unless you can use the 930/990 without rears (mebbe a setting to turn them off and it reverts to a front only style setup)?
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You can use them without the rears and you've then got them there if your situation changes. Have you got absolutely no space to mount them on stands or even a wall bracket? Like I said, ideally you'd want them further out but they'll still work well enough like the below:
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Ah... Yeah I have pretty much that kind of space actually, cheers
Then I would recommend other types of speakers, for example bipoles.
Hey, not sure if you missed my post. I suggested the Sennheiser Ambeo Mini. Down from £700 to £399.
Sennheiser Ambeo Mini review: huge Dolby Atmos from a compact soundbar
The Sennheiser Ambeo Mini takes on the Sonos Beam as the biggest little soundbar around
Sennheiser Ambeo Mini soundbar review
The original Ambeo soundbar was a sonic revelation. Now Sennheiser hopes to impress with its smallest model yet. Steve May downsizes his Atmos addiction Intended for everyday living rooms and multimedia spaces, Sennheiser's Ambeo Mini wouldn't look out of place beneath a 42in or 48in screen.
www.homecinemachoice.com
Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini: Compact Device with Adaptive Features
Experience premium audio with the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini, featuring advanced sound calibration and virtual surround technology in a space-saving design for your home entertainment
hometheaterreviewpro.com
I find the bass quite powerful as well, but what is nice is you can always add on a wireless sub later.
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Hey, not sure if you missed my post. I suggested the Sennheiser Ambeo Mini. Down from £700 to £399.
Sennheiser Ambeo Mini review: huge Dolby Atmos from a compact soundbar
The Sennheiser Ambeo Mini takes on the Sonos Beam as the biggest little soundbar aroundwww.techradar.com
Sennheiser Ambeo Mini soundbar review
The original Ambeo soundbar was a sonic revelation. Now Sennheiser hopes to impress with its smallest model yet. Steve May downsizes his Atmos addiction Intended for everyday living rooms and multimedia spaces, Sennheiser's Ambeo Mini wouldn't look out of place beneath a 42in or 48in screen.Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini: Compact Device with Adaptive Features
Experience premium audio with the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini, featuring advanced sound calibration and virtual surround technology in a space-saving design for your home entertainment
I find the bass quite powerful as well, but what is nice is you can always add on a wireless sub later.
One of the Amebeos allow you to use a regular subwoofer as it's a regular subwoofer pre out. Probably worth it as it saves you buying overpriced sennheiser sub. Plus if you really wanted that allows you to go multiple subs with minidsp