Philips HTL9100-12 soundbar

Admiral Huddy · 17 Apr 2014 at 11:13

Any one heard this in play?

The Philips htl9100

The two ends separate so they can be positioned as wireless rear speakers during movies then returned to the front for normal daily viewing afterwards. Plenty of connectors, wireless sub and bluetooth too.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/philips-htl9100

http://www.trustedreviews.com/philips-htl9100_Surround-Sound-System_review#tr-review-summary

A little expensive but seems like an ideal solution if a true 5.1 is just too impractical and very highly rated..

Thoughts?

Ekim · 17 Apr 2014 at 11:32

I have been hovering over buying one of these for a while. I'd too be interested in what people think about this. My main problem about buying this is the only place I could put the two separate speakers when in use is on the back of the sofa (its up against the wall). But wasn't sure if that'd dampen the sound or something!?

Admiral Huddy · 17 Apr 2014 at 12:03

Good point worth mentioning.

Psycho Sonny · 17 Apr 2014 at 12:54

for £700 your better off buying a yamaha soundbar with sound bouncing technology to mimic surround sound

or buying a £500 sonos soundbar and then a couple of wireless smaller sonos speakers for surround sound which can be picked up and moved into any other room in the house and used separately for stereo music, etc.

JudgeC · 17 Apr 2014 at 15:11

I was interested in getting one of these to go with my new Sony 46W905A TV and to replace my old Amp/Speaker setup but they are harder to get hold of than the proverbial rocking horse excrement.

I ended up getting a Yamaha YSP-2200 soundbar which does an reasonable job of delivering movie soundtracks in surround by bouncing sound around the room.

I think if you are after a soundbar that gives acceptable surround sound, the Philips 9100 or one of the Yamaha YSP's is the best option available at the moment.

Admiral Huddy · 17 Apr 2014 at 15:45

JudgeC said:
I ended up getting a Yamaha YSP-2200 soundbar which does an reasonable job of delivering movie soundtracks in surround by bouncing sound around the room.

I think if you are after a soundbar that gives acceptable surround sound, the Philips 9100 or one of the Yamaha YSP's is the best option available at the moment.

I had a demo of the YSP-2200 late last year.. Maybe it was the demo room at Richer Sounds but I wasn't impressed plus it's a wired sub. I've yet to find anywhere that stocks the Philips 9100 but would certainly be interested.

Ekim · 17 Apr 2014 at 16:25

Psycho Sonny said:
for £700 your better off buying a yamaha soundbar with sound bouncing technology to mimic surround sound

or buying a £500 sonos soundbar and then a couple of wireless smaller sonos speakers for surround sound which can be picked up and moved into any other room in the house and used separately for stereo music, etc.

I wouldn't be purchasing this at £700. It's possible to get 25% off direct from Philips with a voucher code which makes it £525, plus 7% at QuidCo. Phillips often do 30% off vouchers too which makes it even cheaper.

The sound bouncing tech does sound interesting though, which Yamaha model specifically?

Admiral Huddy · 17 Apr 2014 at 16:39

ysp-2200

I kind of works but there is a notable latency. That's why i like the attraction of mounting the speakers wirelessly to the rear. You get best of both worlds, quote.

Psycho Sonny · 17 Apr 2014 at 17:48

Admiral Huddy said:
ysp-2200

I kind of works but there is a notable latency. That's why i like the attraction of mounting the speakers wirelessly to the rear. You get best of both worlds, quote.

what's wrong with sonos?

unless you really want a lot of bass, which makes it crazy expensive at £500 just for the sub

HEADRAT · 18 Apr 2014 at 09:27

A SONOS PLAYBAR + SUB + 2 X PLAY:1 = £1,536! (that's just crazy money)

I've been tempted by the Philips HTL9100-12 but stock seems to be in very short supply.

Psycho Sonny · 18 Apr 2014 at 10:00

HEADRAT said:
A SONOS PLAYBAR + SUB + 2 X PLAY:1 = £1,536! (that's just crazy money)

I've been tempted by the Philips HTL9100-12 but stock seems to be in very short supply.

you don't need to buy a sub and you don't need to buy them all at once.

you could just buy the soundbar.

then 3 months later buy the 2 x play:1 / play:3 / play:5

then 6 months later buy a sub

you can expand your sonos system at your own pace

HEADRAT · 18 Apr 2014 at 11:25

I see what you're saying but that's quite an expensive solution!

Why wouldn't I just got for the Philips all in for £600?

Psycho Sonny · 18 Apr 2014 at 11:34

HEADRAT said:
I see what you're saying but that's quite an expensive solution!

it's only expensive if you don't understand the sonos infrastructure.

it's the number one wireless solution available atm.

i can have say a surround wireless setup in the living room.

then say i am having a party in the formal living room, i simply pick up and move the sub and the surround speakers and position them in the formal living room, that way people can still enjoy half the setup in the living room with the tv (the sound bar) but i now have another setup in the other room for some background music, etc.

i can have either the same material going through all speakers or create zones and have different sources for different zones, etc.

it is expensive but your paying for the amazing wireless features of it.

you could position speakers all around your home, including the toilet, should you be watching a match and then have to run to the loo at least you can still hear what is going on.

J1nxy · 18 Apr 2014 at 11:49

The Sonos has only optical input and doesn't support either DTS or any of the HD sound formats as it has no HDMI.

Have a look at the Philips fidelio e5 that looks rather interesting as well.

HEADRAT · 18 Apr 2014 at 14:22

Psycho Sonny said:
it's only expensive if you don't understand the sonos infrastructure.

I fully understand what SONOS is, it just seams like a sledgehammer to crack a nut!

If I wanted a multi room solution the I definately be considering SONOS, what I actually want is a sound bar solution with wireless rears and a sub.

We're not really comparing apples with apples, certainly not on price.

Robbo · 29 Sep 2014 at 16:04

Has anyone tried one of these then? It seems no matter where I look, it's being raved about...

It's a similar price to the Sonos Playbar, but the Sonos has no subwoofer (included).

Ekim · 2 Feb 2015 at 16:46

I picked one of these up in the end from eBay for £380.

Installed on Friday haven't had much chance to play with it yet but have been impressed with it so far. I don't have much of a basis for comparison as I was just moving from my TV speakers.

Had a quick play with the separate speakers stuff and it seemed to work well.