Looking for a Dolby Atmos Soundbar with 7.1 / 9.1 Speaker System. Budget around 500 euro.

testlink

testlink

testlink

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I have a 50" TV which is in a small living room. I had an Onkyo AV Receiver + 5.1 Speaker system (HT-S4505) earlier. But very difficult to manage as all the speakers were wired . Also the sound quality was not that good (boomy bass and bad dialogue clarity).


So I am thinking about buying a good Dolby Atmos Sound Bar with 7.1 / 9.1 channels. I am an music and movie lover.


Req#1 My budget is around 500 euro. I would like crisp clear dialoges with deep bass.


Req#2 I would need the system to produce all the channels with out using rear speakers or using wireless rear speakers. Prefer a sound bar system with just the soundbar + 1 subwoofer, capable of producing multichannel sound effects.


Req#3 I have a couple of devices like Android TV Box, BluRay Player, etc which i would need to connect these systems with the soundbar. So there should be atleast 2 or 3 HDMI IN ports.

Req#4 It needs to be futureproof


Can you please help me to select a system I should go for. Thanks...
 
1) Deep bass? Buy quality dedicated subwoofer. 12"+ 500W+ low tuned cabinet
2) Using virtual DSP trickery is not surround sound, it'll just use angled drivers to bounce sound around the room
3) You can use your TV as a hub but not all TV's pass DTS and HD formats, so you'll need a soundbar with plenty of HDMI inputs . These aren't that common. Plus as HDMI spec changes, your soundbar is then obselete. A AVR on the other hand has six+ HDMI inputs and two outputs, and when HDMI spec on the AVR is obselete (ie HDMI 2.0 to HDMI 2.1, and you specifically need VRR 120hz 4K) you just change the AVR, leaving the speakers, subwoofers alone not needing to throw the lot away.
4) Soundbars aren't future proof. AV seperates are.

I think you know what my answer is. lol
 
hornetstinger said:
1) Deep bass? Buy quality dedicated subwoofer. 12"+ 500W+ low tuned cabinet
2) Using virtual DSP trickery is not surround sound, it'll just use angled drivers to bounce sound around the room
3) You can use your TV as a hub but not all TV's pass DTS and HD formats, so you'll need a soundbar with plenty of HDMI inputs . These aren't that common. Plus as HDMI spec changes, your soundbar is then obselete. A AVR on the other hand has six+ HDMI inputs and two outputs, and when HDMI spec on the AVR is obselete (ie HDMI 2.0 to HDMI 2.1, and you specifically need VRR 120hz 4K) you just change the AVR, leaving the speakers, subwoofers alone not needing to throw the lot away.
4) Soundbars aren't future proof. AV seperates are.

I think you know what my answer is. lol
Click to expand...

Thanks...
 
Mine is a small living room with TV placed at the corner. So a wired rear speaker is not suitable for my house. So I prefer go via the soundbar route.

I have seen many posts saying that the dialogue / vocals are not good with JBL BAR 9.1. Is it true? This was the main reason I got rid of Onkyo S4505 AV receiver system. So cant make the same buying error again.

Would any one of you suggest any other soundbar around the same price or less ? Or with this price in mind Euro 719 (as of 21/11/2022) this is the best I could get?

If an AV Receiver solution, I would need to go for wireless rear speakers. Any AV Receiver + Speaker system that you suggestin this case?
 
I was particularly impressed with the Polk Signa 4 soundbar and sub I purchased from Richer Sounds. Its quality and price was great. Have a look at the reviews on Youtube. Saying that, I have since moved on to a Denon 7.1 with Qacoustic 7000i speakers.
 
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I recently replaced the old stereo amp/speakers with a JBL 9.1 and couldn't be happier with the sound (centre clarity is better as there actually is a centre channel..) however there is only one input, which has to be used as using ARC back from the TV introduced sync delay.

The 9.1 is simple. Next to no options. Unsure how this performs when positioned in a corner either.

Is the TV in corner thing a throwback to CRT days?
 
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Fubsy said:
I recently replaced the old stereo amp/speakers with a JBL 9.1 and couldn't be happier with the sound (centre clarity is better as there actually is a centre channel..) however there is only one input, which has to be used as using ARC back from the TV introduced sync delay.

The 9.1 is simple. Next to no options. Unsure how this performs when positioned in a corner either.

Is the TV in corner thing a throwback to CRT days?
Click to expand...

If your TV doesn't support all formats it'll downmux to pcm two channel
 
Yes, I should add my TV does support all audio formats up to Dolby Atmos, just when sent to the 9.1 via the TV introduced some delay. It's fine with the Google TV plugged straight into the soundbar.

I mention this because the OPs requirements for multiple inputs means the JBL shouldn't be a consideration because it only has the 1 input and my experience using the TV as the source was far from ideal.
 
testlink said:
Can you suggest an AV Receiver + L+R+C Speakers and Rear wireless speakers as an alternative to JBL BAR 9.1 please?
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There's Yamaha and Denon AVRs.

Monoprice THX subs are good value for money and quality products.

Not sure about wireless rears with regular AVR how they would work.
Fubsy said:
Yes, I should add my TV does support all audio formats up to Dolby Atmos, just when sent to the 9.1 via the TV introduced some delay. It's fine with the Google TV plugged straight into the soundbar.

I mention this because the OPs requirements for multiple inputs means the JBL shouldn't be a consideration because it only has the 1 input and my experience using the TV as the source was far from ideal.
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Are you sure, which model is it?

Yeah using TV as a source isn't ideal, ARC may not always work, and means limited to inputs on the TV, not TV + AVR (or AVR)
 
hornetstinger said:
Are you sure, which model is it?

Yeah using TV as a source isn't ideal, ARC may not always work, and means limited to inputs on the TV, not TV + AVR (or AVR)
Click to expand...

TV is a Sony Bravia KD65XF9005. (confsuing it with my LG C1, which does support Atmos, my bad).

Using Google TV plugged into the TV and using it as the source to the SB via ARC the SB displays "Dolby Atmos DD+" and plays as expected but with a few ms delay, switching the TV to PCM output reduces the delay somewhat, but then you lose the Atmos support.

If I cut out the Google TV, and use the now dated built in TV OS (Android TV, version 9...) there is no delay outputting to the SB.

I'm fine using the SB HDMI input and then into the TV as I only use the one input, but if using a console or Bluray player I would definitely be cautious. Maybe the JBL Bar 1000 is better, but then it's £100s more atm.
 
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JBL BAR 9.1 is priced 719 euro in all the Irish retail stores.

If I go for JBL 9.1 which has only 1 HDMI IN can I use a HDMI switcher (with remote) to connect multiple devices (Android TV Box, BluRay player etc) to this soundbar?
 
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