Soundbar or bookshelf speakers

Bluntwrapped · 31 Jul 2017 at 11:24

Hi guys,

I am looking to buy a new TV and I'm considering a few options for external speakers.

I bought a pair of Ruark MR1's a few weeks back and I've been so impressed with them I considered getting another pair for connecting to my existing and new TV when I have it.

My only concern is constantly jumping up and down to adjust the volume while watching something with low dialogue then loud explosions, it really does do my head in

I want to stop this if at all possible.

Would a sound bar with a center speaker help? Up until now I haven't done a huge amount of reading so I'm not sure what is available and how it would compare to a stereo set-up.

Is a surround soundbar likely to produce more consistent levels across various films/series than down mixing from the TV to stereo?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

FurryLemon · 31 Jul 2017 at 12:01

3.0 (left-center-right) setup if you have no interest in a sub powered by a budget AVR (200-250).

beachBOYken · 31 Jul 2017 at 12:59

I own a Yamaha ysp2700 soundbar and before that had an AVR with a 3.1 speaker setup.

I must admit Im much more happy with the soundbar, I feel it gives me just as good and in a way better sound than what I had, and with regards to low/high sound differences, I would say its a lot better.

Ive not had to turn the volume down at all with loud explosions, like I had to with my old setup, I remember having to always turn it down due to loud explosions and then turning it up again with quite dialogue scenes.

Bluntwrapped · 31 Jul 2017 at 13:51

Thanks guys this was really helpful. Looks like I'm going to be looking for a 3.1 soundbar then.

Yamaha YSP-2700 looks amazing, but that price! I was hoping to find something decent for less than £300.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a decent 3.1 set-up coming in at £300 or less?

beachBOYken · 31 Jul 2017 at 14:03

Bluntwrapped said:
Thanks guys this was really helpful. Looks like I'm going to be looking for a 3.1 soundbar then.

Yamaha YSP-2700 looks amazing, but that price! I was hoping to find something decent for less than £300.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a decent 3.1 set-up coming in at £300 or less?

The ysp2700 is a 7.1 virtual surround bar which works quite well in the ideal shaped room

You could always look at the Yamaha 2500 which is almost the same I think but does not have 4K/HDR pass through.
Should be relatively cheaper.

Bluntwrapped · 31 Jul 2017 at 16:45

Cheers again.

As you said the 2500 is pretty similar. It has the passthrough but no mention of HDR. Looks like it was discontinued when the 2700 was released.

Still really expensive with few places having any in stock. Likely more than I'm able to spend.

Outside of Yamaha and Sonos are any of the others worth a look?

FurryLemon · 31 Jul 2017 at 17:57

Bluntwrapped said:
Thanks guys this was really helpful. Looks like I'm going to be looking for a 3.1 soundbar then.

Yamaha YSP-2700 looks amazing, but that price! I was hoping to find something decent for less than £300.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a decent 3.1 set-up coming in at £300 or less?

No such thing as a 3.1 soundbar. Soundbars are just a row of small lackluster speakers in a plastic casing. Speakers are better, get speakers. The AVR will have a nighttime mode which will keep explosions and dialogue qt the same level.

nicknack35 · 31 Jul 2017 at 21:29

The Ruarks are very good. Maybe buy a sub if you get another pair and let the sub control the explosions in films. The Ruarks are near field speakers if your sat bit away from them then explosions will always sound louder then speech we use ours in the bedroom and never have a issue with what your having. but they can dig deep for there size

bigcee · 1 Aug 2017 at 00:30

Currently having a similar dilema.
Was going to go for soundbar, but having listened to the well reviewed Samsung ms650, Bose soundtouch and the £1k bluesound bar, I'm all over a pair of £200/£300 bookshelves (possibly Dali zensor 1s, Kef q100s or at a push concept 20s) on stands either side of the TV supported by the sub on low volume.

nicknack35 · 1 Aug 2017 at 10:14

bigcee said:
Currently having a similar dilema.
Was going to go for soundbar, but having listened to the well reviewed Samsung ms650, Bose soundtouch and the £1k bluesound bar, I'm all over a pair of £200/£300 bookshelves (possibly Dali zensor 1s, Kef q100s or at a push concept 20s) on stands either side of the TV supported by the sub on low volume.

If its a Soundbar your after have a Demo of the Dali Kubic One its great for movies and music pair it with a sub. It has 2 optical so one for TV and another if you wish to connect Chromecast Audio 1 USB and other connections we didn't have a lot of room for 5.1 or biggish setup so wanted something close to a Hi Fi sounding and the Dali does a great job of it even though Dali don't call it a Soundbar more of a sound system

signs · 1 Aug 2017 at 12:05

real speakers all day long

Bluntwrapped · 1 Aug 2017 at 14:03

Thanks all.

The Q acoustics 2000i 5.1 bundle looks pretty nice. Pricing up everything individually makes the £399 bundle seem like pretty great value.

It's not quite as minimal as I'd like and the sub does look massive. I'm not sure my neighbors would be too impressed. I'm in the top floor flat of my block lol. I was tempted to go for this but I will keep looking for now.

I'm not overly fussed about having a sub at all to be honest or rear satellite speakers. After listening to my Ruarks the bass is actually great, more than enough for me.

Are there any there three channel (left, right and centre) active separates out there without the need of rear satellite speakers, or a sub?

How would I downmix 5.1 to 3.0 if I buy the speakers separately?

Bluntwrapped · 1 Aug 2017 at 16:16

Sorry for the noobish questions guys and for being a noob

but I take it a AVR will automatically downmix 5.1 to however many speakers are connected?

Psycho Sonny · 1 Aug 2017 at 16:41

sonos soundbars are crap. if you want a decent soundbar then it has to be a yamaha from the YSP range and yes they aren't cheap but that is because a decent soundbar for cheap doesn't exist. the only thing that comes close i believe are samsungs range which are cheap and pretty good for what they are.

the problem with 2.0 speakers is how do you connect them up? my preference would be optical out. so then you have to look at 2.0 speakers that take an optical in which will narrow down your selection. i wouldn't use any other output from a tv.

also the type of people looking at soundbars do so because they don't have the space for speakers or don't want wires. therefore recommending speakers to someone looking for a soundbar is like recommending a lorry to someone looking at a mini van.

seperates are better than all in one soundbars. no doubt about it. but not all soundbars are crap. yamaha soundbars go up to £1500 for instance, they even do dolby atmos, etc.

Bluntwrapped said:
Sorry for the noobish questions guys and for being a noob but I take it a AVR will automatically downmix 5.1 to however many speakers are connected?

yes

Bluntwrapped · 1 Aug 2017 at 16:51

Psycho Sonny said:
sonos soundbars are crap. if you want a decent soundbar then it has to be a yamaha from the YSP range and yes they aren't cheap but that is because a decent soundbar for cheap doesn't exist. the only thing that comes close i believe are samsungs range which are cheap and pretty good for what they are.

the problem with 2.0 speakers is how do you connect them up? my preference would be optical out. so then you have to look at 2.0 speakers that take an optical in which will narrow down your selection. i wouldn't use any other output from a tv.

also the type of people looking at soundbars do so because they don't have the space for speakers or don't want wires. therefore recommending speakers to someone looking for a soundbar is like recommending a lorry to someone looking at a mini van.

seperates are better than all in one soundbars. no doubt about it. but not all soundbars are crap. yamaha soundbars go up to £1500 for instance, they even do dolby atmos, etc.

yes

Great thanks. I suppose soundbars do have their place just it seems they're disproportionately expensive compared to seperates and a amp.

Many seem to focus on virtual surround sound which I guess is what you're paying for. The rear speakers in a separate 5.1 system put many off so a soundbar is the next best thing. Seems silly to pay so much more for virtual surround but then I guess you're paying a premium for the convenience more than anything else.

The help here has been great thanks.

Looks like it'll be looking for a decent L/R and centre seperates.

Do all receivers/amps really need to be so big though? Many of the newer ones Richer Sounds have in stock look as if they were designed back when people wanted everything to be as big and in your face as possible. Big, black and ugly as sin.

Psycho Sonny · 1 Aug 2017 at 16:58

Bluntwrapped said:
Great thanks. I suppose soundbars do have their place just it seems they're disproportionately expensive compared to seperates and a amp.

Many seem to focus on virtual surround sound which I guess is what you're paying for. The rear speakers in a separate 5.1 system put many off so a soundbar is the next best thing. Seems silly to pay so much more for virtual surround but then I guess you're paying a premium for the convenience more than anything else.

The help here has been great thanks.

Looks like it'll be looking for a decent L/R and centre seperates.

Do all receivers/amps really need to be so big though? Many of the newer ones Richer Sounds have in stock look as if they were designed back when people wanted everything to be as big and in your face as possible. Big, black and ugly as sin.

they make smaller slimmer models now too. however again they are a premium for what they are.

Bluntwrapped · 2 Aug 2017 at 13:38

It's surprising how lacking the options are in terms of style and aesthetic design. It's as if some manufacturers go out their way to make their range look as ugly as possible.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/denon-heos-avr-hands-on/ is by far the best the best looking AVR design I have seen so far.

Why in 2017 do manufacturers insist on using such crappy dot matrix like displays, even on the more expensive AVR models? Am I missing something?

signs · 2 Aug 2017 at 16:05

Bluntwrapped said:
Great thanks. I suppose soundbars do have their place just it seems they're disproportionately expensive compared to seperates and a amp.

Many seem to focus on virtual surround sound which I guess is what you're paying for. The rear speakers in a separate 5.1 system put many off so a soundbar is the next best thing. Seems silly to pay so much more for virtual surround but then I guess you're paying a premium for the convenience more than anything else.

.

virtual surround is massively inferior to the real thing

aardvark · 2 Aug 2017 at 16:48

soundbars are good for what they do - i have a cheap one (£120 refurbished one - was half price) and its so much better than the TV.
But if i was spending a lot more i would always go for separate speakers - you simply can't compare the sound quality.

Psycho Sonny · 2 Aug 2017 at 17:22

Bluntwrapped said:
It's surprising how lacking the options are in terms of style and aesthetic design. It's as if some manufacturers go out their way to make their range look as ugly as possible.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/denon-heos-avr-hands-on/ is by far the best the best looking AVR design I have seen so far.

Why in 2017 do manufacturers insist on using such crappy dot matrix like displays, even on the more expensive AVR models? Am I missing something?

do you want them to focus on gimmicks? or on the sound quality and the amp?

my AVR is tucked away in a corner on the floor behind a sofa. i can't even see mine. so i don't care about how it looks.