Hi there,
I've moved to a new house with a pretty big living room and my TV sound just isn't cutting it. I've now reaching out to OCUK because I simply can't make my mind up about which system to choose.
So far I've got the following:
- Sonos Playbar, Play 1's and optical switcher. I primarily watch Netflix on the Samsung TV app so it's a Dolby Digital output so should be fine for "5.0" surround sound. I could then plug in my Sky box and PC to the optical switch and not have to worry about the TV not passing DD from HDMI inputs. I already have a fair few Play 1's so the outlay would be about £600. Expensive for a soundbar that's my concern.
- Stereo amp, DAC and a decent set of bookshelf speakers, Dali Zensor or something and Sonos Connect. The drawback here is I'd need an optical switch and a DAC so that's a lot of connectors before the signal reaches the amp. Would probably work out the same price as the Playbar option even with the Connect thrown in. Another drawback...no IR remote!
- Cheap AV receiver, cheapish speakers. This would be the simplest solution but there is all the faff with HDMI CEC bother. I used to have a Pioneer AV receiver and it would randomly switch itself on even though the TV was off. These things are pretty power hungry so I'd rather not make my electric bill any higher than it needs to be. I would connect my PC and Sky box via HDMI and output to TV via the ARC input on the TV. It's another remote to have but I should be able to use my TV remote for volume and on/off, presuming the CEC actually works properly!
Help me! I keep coming back to the Playbar solution as it's neat and tidy but very limited. Thing is, I kind of want a decent pair of speakers that can be had for a lot less than a Playbar.
I've moved to a new house with a pretty big living room and my TV sound just isn't cutting it. I've now reaching out to OCUK because I simply can't make my mind up about which system to choose.
So far I've got the following:
- Sonos Playbar, Play 1's and optical switcher. I primarily watch Netflix on the Samsung TV app so it's a Dolby Digital output so should be fine for "5.0" surround sound. I could then plug in my Sky box and PC to the optical switch and not have to worry about the TV not passing DD from HDMI inputs. I already have a fair few Play 1's so the outlay would be about £600. Expensive for a soundbar that's my concern.
- Stereo amp, DAC and a decent set of bookshelf speakers, Dali Zensor or something and Sonos Connect. The drawback here is I'd need an optical switch and a DAC so that's a lot of connectors before the signal reaches the amp. Would probably work out the same price as the Playbar option even with the Connect thrown in. Another drawback...no IR remote!
- Cheap AV receiver, cheapish speakers. This would be the simplest solution but there is all the faff with HDMI CEC bother. I used to have a Pioneer AV receiver and it would randomly switch itself on even though the TV was off. These things are pretty power hungry so I'd rather not make my electric bill any higher than it needs to be. I would connect my PC and Sky box via HDMI and output to TV via the ARC input on the TV. It's another remote to have but I should be able to use my TV remote for volume and on/off, presuming the CEC actually works properly!
Help me! I keep coming back to the Playbar solution as it's neat and tidy but very limited. Thing is, I kind of want a decent pair of speakers that can be had for a lot less than a Playbar.
