Hi-Fi/Soundbar

TomProx

TomProx

TomProx

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Joined
17 Sep 2012
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Scotland
Afternoon guys,

So my new TV arrives tomorrow (LG 55UJ670V 55") and i was looking into getting a sound bar/Hi-Fi system for it.
I'm not very clued up on this as I've never had either, so was wondering if anyone could give me any recommendations? Current budget is £0 - £400.

Thanks in advance.
 
Samsung HWMS650 is available from RS, its £475 but has £200 cashback at the min. For the cash its a decent sounding soundbar.

Yamaha YAS207 seems to review well and can be had for £299

Try and listen to both if you can but for your budget id say there both safe bets.
 
I can vouch for the Samsung, I've had mine a little while now and I'm very happy with it. The rear speaker kit is decent too.
 
:( that smasung looks nice but £200 cash back is only when buying a uhd tv through them at the same time.

are surround sound/atmos bars actually any good an delivering that sound?

Been looking at options for unobtrusive speaker set up and other than inwall speakers haven't found anything, and that would require a lot ofwall chasing for cables.

Sound exciters look really interesting hide in art, but sound to good to be true and still have issues with cables.

Really leaves the Les optimal but easy soundbars.
 
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Arcam Solo Plus

£300 and will blow these ones with eleventy thousand micro speakers out of the water.

Love mine and have it paired with a sub for excellent music and film SQ. It fills our 7x6m open plan kitchen area easily .
 
Glaucus said:
:( that smasung looks nice but £200 cash back is only when buying a uhd tv through them at the same time.

are surround sound/atmos bars actually any good an delivering that sound?

Been looking at options for unobtrusive speaker set up and other than inwall speakers haven't found anything, and that would require a lot ofwall chasing for cables.

Sound exciters look really interesting hide in art, but sound to good to be true and still have issues with cables.

Really leaves the Les optimal but easy soundbars.
Click to expand...

Most of the single-point surround soundbars just have a few speakers pointing in different directions and then hope for the best that some of that sound bounces of an adjacent flat surface. The result is, as you'd expect, very much dependent on the room having reflective surfaces in just the right places, and all the angles lining up just perfect, to create some kind of effect. Ironically, it's the rooms that are worst for acoustics (the ones with too many reflective surfaces for clean and precise surround) where the pseudo-surround sound bars manage to fill the space with sound.

Yamaha's YSP-speakers use smarter technology. They create beams of sound that can target several specific reflection points around a room. It creates virtual speakers. ATMOS up-firing speakers use the same principle of reflected sound, but the difference is that it's passively targeted rather than the Yamaha's which is more akin to shining several search lights. Of all the sound-bounce/-reflected technologies Yamaha's YSP speakers are the most effective thought.

Artcoustic and similar companies make the "sounders" as you call them. Whether disguised with an art panel speaker grille, or something more "on show", the good ones are simply shallow speakers but designed from the ground up to minimise the natural compromises inherent in a reduced-depth design. KEF and Monitor Audio both make reduced depth speakers for AV and surround duties. Worth a look.
 
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