Soundbar vs 5.1 physical speakers

[413x]

Asking for a friend

He has moved into a new house and has a decent TV. But uses the internal speakers (lol)

He was round mine and blown away by my setup (monitor audio rx6, rx Center, rx fx dipole rears.
Ive also now got a xxls400 sub.

Obviously this takes up a lot of space. And he asked about sound bars. I have absolutely no idea if sound bars can compete.
To be honest I dont know anyone personally with anything like what I have


Compared to my setup above.. Can a sound bar even compete? I know they have clever positioning etc but unsure of if its a gimmick.

Opinions?

 

[413x]

I was hoping (after spending so much) and expecting that to be the consensus. I will get an idea of his budget and suggest something

Thanks

 

[413x]

I'll this to him.

Incidently I also have a yamaha av receiver driving mine!

V1067 if i remember correctly.