Expensive Soundbar VS Cheap

SpellowHouse · 4 Dec 2025 at 16:17

I currently have a Sony s2000. It's fine apart from one thing, and that is the bass is rather muddled. What I would like is an upgrade that improves the clarity at that low end of things. I know it's possible, I have a hifi that is perfectly clear at low frequencies. Just I am not sure it's possible with a soundbar. I want an all in one soundbar. I'm not interested in quantity of bass, rather in the quality of it. But what I am not sure is whether buying something more expensive I am going to get that extra clarity. All the reviewers talk about more drivers, better surround and so on, but few ever seem to talk about simple sound quality. Can anyone tell me, is it worth paying more, or am I chasing a dead horse here? I would be happy paying £800 or so if I actually get that improvement.

radderfire · 4 Dec 2025 at 16:21

Go to a shop and listen to one?

SpellowHouse · 4 Dec 2025 at 16:25

radderfire said:
Go to a shop and listen to one?

Alternately save the petrol and just ask on a forum.... oh, wait......

radderfire · 4 Dec 2025 at 17:01

SpellowHouse said:
Alternately save the petrol and just ask on a forum.... oh, wait......

Quality of bass is subjective. Therefore, you will only get what you are looking for if you have listened to it yourself.

As for whether you will get what you want by paying more, the answer is always not necessarily. Some low priced products can sound good (to someone), and some high priced products can sound poor.

The other thing to consider is that the TV programme audio itself may not be that good, so it's not the speaker but it's poor audio quality from the TV programme encoding.

Ayahuasca · 4 Dec 2025 at 17:08

If you only want a soundbar with no sub or satellite speakers, then I’d be looking at the Sennheiser Ambeo Plus or the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9.

If clarity is your major focus though at lower frequencies you could get a very solid stereo setup for £8-900

hornetstinger · 4 Dec 2025 at 17:18

Once you start looking into higher end soundbars you might as well start going into seperates.

I've heard a few sounbars, a big upgrade over onboard sound, and as long as they've not close to price in seperates, they're ok, but they do have their flaws and limits you in upgradability later- if new codecs come out, you want to upgrade or add another sub, add more channels, want wider LCR soundstage, you think two channel CD a bit crap- you are stuck.

SpellowHouse · 4 Dec 2025 at 17:59

Ayahuasca said:
If you only want a soundbar with no sub or satellite speakers, then I’d be looking at the Sennheiser Ambeo Plus or the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9.

If clarity is your major focus though at lower frequencies you could get a very solid stereo setup for £8-900

The Theatre Bar 9 is interesting. It goes with the TV which also happens to be a Sony. I'm less interested in value for money so it seems an automatic choice to go Sony.

No, I don't want a separate sub. Frankly, I have never heard one that is any good, and besides, I don't really have the room. For the same reason, separates are out of the question.

I suppose I could resort to a simple stereo setup. At least I know what I can get for the money. But I would rather not because I really don't have anywhere to put an amp.

hornetstinger · 4 Dec 2025 at 18:03

SpellowHouse said:
The Theatre Bar 9 is interesting. It goes with the TV which also happens to be a Sony. I'm less interested in value for money so it seems an automatic choice to go Sony.

No, I don't want a separate sub. Frankly, I have never heard one that is any good, and besides, I don't really have the room. For the same reason, separates are out of the question.

I suppose I could resort to a simple stereo setup. At least I know what I can get for the money. But I would rather not because I really don't have anywhere to put an amp.

You don't have a table in your house?

Gray2233 · 4 Dec 2025 at 18:04

SpellowHouse said:
I suppose I could resort to a simple stereo setup. At least I know what I can get for the money. But I would rather not because I really don't have anywhere to put an amp.

You can get some pretty capable mini-amps, some even have HDMI ARC support so they're very easy to set up with your TV.

The SMSL A50 Pro is one such and can be had for around £70:

SMSL A50 Pro|2.1 channel amplifier|240W output|SMSL AMP

With LPF and HPF|AV amplifier for home theater|Passive SUB Volume adjustable|75W+75W+100W output power|HDMI ARC input

smsl.shop

(I'm assuming this is safe to link, I don't believe OCUK sell speaker amps)

hornetstinger · 4 Dec 2025 at 18:06

Gray2233 said:
You can get some pretty capable mini-amps, some even have HDMI ARC support so they're very easy to set up with your TV.

The SMSL A50 Pro is one such and can be had for around £70:

SMSL A50 Pro|2.1 channel amplifier|240W output|SMSL AMP

With LPF and HPF|AV amplifier for home theater|Passive SUB Volume adjustable|75W+75W+100W output power|HDMI ARC input

smsl.shop

(I'm assuming this is safe to link, I don't believe OCUK sell speaker amps)

Yeah you could fix it to back of the TV, once it's wired up..

only issue is volume control - does that function?

Gray2233 · 4 Dec 2025 at 18:07

hornetstinger said:
Yeah you could fix it to back of the TV, once it's wired up..

only issue is volume control - does that function?

Should work with the TV remote if connected via HDMI.

You could easily attach it with some tape or a sticky pad tbh, thing isn't much bigger than a smart phone.

hornetstinger · 4 Dec 2025 at 18:09

Gray2233 said:
Should work with the TV remote if connected via HDMI.

You could easily attach it with some tape or a sticky pad tbh, thing isn't much bigger than a smart phone.

another option is this, you get a streamer as well (and a very good one)

WiiM Amp | Versatile Streaming Amplifier: Stream Elegance, Amplify Brilliance

Discover the WiiM Amp, a state-of-the-art streaming amplifier designed to refine the way you experience music, movie, and more, WiiM Amp combines power, versatility, and simplicity like never before. Whether you are an audiophile or a home theater enthusiast, WiiM Amp delivers exceptional sound...

www.wiimhome.com

Plus it has variable bass management and room correction- so it's worth it for that.

R4z0r · 4 Dec 2025 at 20:50

The bass on my Arc Ultra sounds great to me but I don’t have any experience of a decent separates system so I’m not sure how it would compare to your HiFi.

SpellowHouse · 4 Dec 2025 at 20:55

R4z0r said:
The bass on my Arc Ultra sounds great to me but I don’t have any experience of a decent separates system so I’m not sure how it would compare to your HiFi.

Also another option. The Arc Ultra.

It's not a question of volume in the bass, more just of quality, in particular clarity. Clear bass is expensive! But I am not sure you see whether that's what I would get, or whether I would get more of the same soundbar sound.

I know I could spend £1000 and get a nice sounding stereo, but I really don't want the faff of separate speakers, wires and the where to put the amp.

Nemiyen · 4 Dec 2025 at 20:57

R4z0r said:
The bass on my Arc Ultra sounds great to me but I don’t have any experience of a decent separates system so I’m not sure how it would compare to your HiFi.

The Arc ultra might be different to my normal Arc but I noticed a great difference in bass quality adding a sub to my setup.

hornetstinger · 4 Dec 2025 at 21:07

Nemiyen said:
The Arc ultra might be different to my normal Arc but I noticed a great difference in bass quality adding a sub to my setup.

sub hosted at ImgBB

Image sub hosted on ImgBB

ibb.co

jaybee · 4 Dec 2025 at 22:09

I used to have a Yamaha YAS-209 which was really good. We also have a Sony 2.1 soundbar/sub in the bedroom which is decent. They can be good but obviously have limitations. If buying blind, just check reviews and youtube and don't buy a cheap one. The ones I have were about £200-300 hence fairly decent. I think the £50 jobbies with no sub will sound awful.

EDIT: Sorry just read OP and checked model and realised you are already at this level.

So your "cheap" is my higher end lol. The ones that are like £700-£1000 is a big nope from me. It will never sound that much better in the scope of a single soundbar and sub limitation. Although I know someone with an Atmos one and I really wanted to hate it, but it did sound very good.

R4z0r · 4 Dec 2025 at 22:12

Nemiyen said:
The Arc ultra might be different to my normal Arc but I noticed a great difference in bass quality adding a sub to my setup.

I switched my Arc about for an Ultra, also have the sub. There’s a big difference between regular Arc and Ultra without the sub. With the sub it’s not really noticeable.

ChocAndGray · 6 Dec 2025 at 08:55

There’s a big difference between high end and low end soundbars.

The Samsung Q990F has been on sale for around £800 and gives a pretty good experience.

Edit: ah you don’t want a separate sub etc, but the point still stands on higher end systems the sound is generally better. Although you can only go so far as due to smaller drivers there’s not going to be a massive difference in bass.

For a simple stereo setup you could buy active book shelf speakers? I’d prefer that than a soundbar without rears and sub.

hornetstinger · 6 Dec 2025 at 10:51

ChocAndGray said:
There’s a big difference between high end and low end soundbars.

The Samsung Q990F has been on sale for around £800 and gives a pretty good experience.

Edit: ah you don’t want a separate sub etc, but the point still stands on higher end systems the sound is generally better. Although you can only go so far as due to smaller drivers there’s not going to be a massive difference in bass.

For a simple stereo setup you could buy active book shelf speakers? I’d prefer that than a soundbar without rears and sub.

yeah not going to get great bass with "sub" that's inside a soundbar.