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[RCU005]

With next generation incoming, I have been thinking that I would be a good time to get a home theater system. When I had the PS3, I used to own an all-in-one 5.1 Home Theater from Sony, and it was pretty good for what it was. I know there has always been very expensive systems that are so good, but for the money I can spend, all these all-in-one systems were good enough.

However, once I started searching, there seems to be a trend for sound bars. WHY?

When I first heard about Dolby Atmos, and that cinema theaters were beginning to put speakers in the ceiling, I thought it would be pretty cool to do that at home. However, now that the audio is object based and 3D, we now have to deal with sound bars? Again, WHY? This was the time where you would want to have 9.2, 10.2, 15.2, not a sound bar!

Sony no longer sells all-in-one systems, and the few that I've found are 1080p only. Many other brands do the same. Bose sells them, but they are like 5,000 dollars.

It's been so bad, that I prefer to spend 300-500 on very good headphones, than buy a sound bar.

What do you think about this tend? Do you like it?

 

[TaySan]

Not in my household. No sound bar can match a decent home theater setup.

 

[Nymphae]

I am the most low rent motherfucker, it's all about the content for me. I have a 60" TV and I use that to play games, but I watch all video content on a 24" monitor off to the side of the TV. I use an Anker bluetooth portable speaker with like a 50 ft cord for the audio (bluetooth is flaky), all works good enough for me.

 

[Insane Metal]

I don't have the money nor space to have a decent HT, so a soundbar does the job for me.

 

[Dural]

I have a front living room with a 65" tv and full sound system that is used mostly for gaming and a back family room with a 65" tv and large atmos soundbar that is used for watching tv and movies. While the full sound system is great, the soundbar is no slouch and way more convenient.

 

[Master Of Illusion]

I don't have a full surround setup, but my set of Bose 601s trounce the living shit out of every modern speaker sub-$3k.

I can't imagine downgrading to a fucking soundbar.

 

[V2Tommy]

People who use soundbars are the same people that stretch 4:3 content into 16:9.

 

[TheUsual]

I prefer a soundbar for the convenience. I just moved to my 4th apartment in a decade so it makes sense as well. Once I settle down with a house someday I will think about surround sound again. Last time I had that setup was when I lived at my parent's house.

 

[YCoCg]

A Soundbar is easier and quicker to set up, of course it still doesn't beat separate speakers, but the average soundbar CAN be on par with a lot of 2.1 set ups and will easily beat the crap out of any TV speakers.

 

[Ulysses 31]

They're usually much better than TV speakers so I don't get the negative attitude towards them.

 

[teezzy]

Home theater system > Headphones > Soundbar > TV Speakers

There's variance of quality within each category, but I'd put my 5.1 with vintage Polks against any soundbar in a metrics test.

 

[ClanOfNone]

Soundbars have come a long way, but I don't see how even a top shelf model would compete with a decent surround system.
I got a pretty decent Yamaha soundbar with a separate subwoofer and it sounds great.

 

[teezzy]

Soundbars are chill for like apartments and bedrooms and stuff.

I've got a small 720p tv and budget $60 Taotronics soundbar in my bedroom and it's a very solid experience. You really cant go wrong.

 

[888]

I've had full HTs for decades, soundbars for a few years. At BEST a soundbar is a good upgrade from TV Speakers or for smaller room use like a Bedroom etc. A true HT system (Not all in ones, they suck) will deliver way more power and direction obviously but the sound will have far more depth and clarity to it. There is a bit more buy in costs but usually Receivers will last 5-10 years unless you buy them in between technologies.

For Example I had Onkyo Receivers over the past two decades. I have had 3 in 20 years now. My current one is Atmos and 4K HDR supported. I had Polk Audio floor standing speakers and surrounds/rears for 10 Years. Recently dumped them for Klipsch Ref Premiere 8000F fronts and Klipsch Ref Premiere 504C center. That was a massive upgrade even with the same Onkyo. Added in wall speakers as well as ceiling speakers for Atmos for next to nothing after I moved.

My neighbor texts me from across the street saying he's jealous while I am watching movies or listening to music and can hear it from there. Obviously not good for apartments.

If you have the right room and money do it, very worth it if you really enjoy watching movies and playing games.

 

[lethial]

I invested pretty deep into the Sonos infrastructure but I bought a house where I'm doing a home theater room and I think I'll go back to traditional speaker setup. I love the wireless capability but nothing beats a true 5.1/7.1/Atmos setup imo.

 

[Rest]

Home theaters have always been niche. I've been in two houses in my entire life that had them. Neither one had it hooked up.

Sound bars exist to supplement the speakers on flat panel TVs. Flat TVs don't have room for any kind of speaker cabinet in them, so can't output sound at the same quality that CRTs could. Sound bars are a compromise solution to supplement the limitations of modern TVs. The "surround sound" features on them are marketing fluff, they don't and can't replace actual surround sound.

 

[Jesus Carbomb]

Home Theater

 

[Super Mario]

Depends on the setup. As with any subject, the elites will rush in to tell everyone why the mainstream choice is inferior.

Soundbars are easy to setup, way less wires to be ran, and to many people, perform just fine, The technology has come a long way.

Is it the BEST option there is? No.

 

[The Pleasure]

Home Theater

Boo this man.

 

[TGO]

I've been thinking about upgrading my equipment, I have a Sony Home theatre System from 2013 and while it's still works fine the Blu-ray player has started playing up with some discs.
Sadly I have a choice of just replacing what I've got because that's all that is available
Or going the AV Receiver route
Which is the only way I'm gonna get proper upgrade to real 7.2 + Dolby Atmos and DTS-X
But then I have to invest in a separate Blu-ray player and speakers, unless I used my current Tall boys and centre, surrounds and Sub.

 

[lachesis]

I liked the real surround system - I had 7.1 in living room, 5.1 in master bedroom. When I built the house, I put the in-wall wires for that specifically.

But after divorce, I moved to a smaller house and thought of doing all that wiring (especially the satellites) was big turn off... so I sold off most of my AV equipment and settled with a high end Sony Atmos Soundbar with wireless sub, and got a better TV. (LG C7 65" OLED).

Sound is pretty good, but even though it touts a Atmos, surround sound it's not really that great. My old setup when there's a surround going on, it really felt real - but not with my current soundbar.

However, I like how clean and minimal my setup is - and actual sound quality itself is pretty decent - and not really sure if I want to go full HT again in near future.

As per the headset... since I'm by myself literally half the time (50/50 custody) - I have very little use for any private listening as the whole house is my fort. When my daughter is with me, I'm too busy taking care of her to do any gaming or movie watching etc.... but I'm definitely interested in how the surround sound space is replicated in good quality headset.

 

[Kenpachii]

replaced my surround set with a soundbar ages ago and never looking back. 1 bar 1 box in a corner wireless and boom done.

Best shit ever. I do think its going to make the surround sets nich sooner or later for sure. It's to much of a hassle.

 

[poppabk]

I prefer a home theater system but generally go sound bar as it gets close enough without being a pain to set up.

 

[Jesus Carbomb]

Boo this man.

It’s true tho. Most aren’t spending thousands of dollars on a home theater setup just to watch the Tiger King and YouTube clips. People like their media consumption to be cheap and easy.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

Nothing replaces having actual full range speakers behind you IMO- but from my last days of college to when I had an actual house not sharing walls with people, a sound bar did the job.

 

[All Hail C-Webb]

We're in an apartment, so have an Atmos Sound bar with rear speakers.
Atmos doesn't work because of our high ceilings, but it still sounds amazing.
If we get a place with a media room, I'd like to try a full system, but for now, sound bars are sufficient for us.

 

[jshackles]

I'm old and kinda hard of hearing. Sound is probably the least important aspect of watching TV or playing video games, for me. It's always just a matter of whether I can hear the sound or not - and I'm always happy when I can hear it. But my ears don't really work well enough any more to differentiate the subtleties of a high end vs low end sound system. So I use a sound bar. On my PC I use headphones.

 

[Woo-Fu]

The only thing a soundbar is better than is tv speakers.

I tend to recommend them to people who want more volume, don't care about fidelity and don't want to spend a dime more than they absolutely have to. These are often people who couldn't deal with an HT setup even if they had it so it works out.

They're not replacing HT in general, they are fitting in between TV speakers and HT in the upgrade path for some people.

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

I do not think soundbars have replaced the HT. I think soundbars are the solution for the casual film or game enthusiast who may not have the money/room/desire to have a full HT. They have their place but for anyone who wants a full HT they will never replace it.

 

[Flying Toaster]

Whatever happened to good old stereo. I picked headphones but honestly my home setup is right channel left channel. Sound bars will never replace home theater for me if I had to choose because full bass in my belly rumbling surround will always be best.

 

[Tesseract]

headphones or buds, jack in wherever possible

tried theaters and bars over the years with mixed tho usually on the poorer side of results

 

[Moogle11]

I still have my 5.1 system set up in my office/man cave. I don't really use it much though. Surround on Comcast TV sucks, and isn't great on the streaming services (and we mostly watch things in the living room TV that just has a soundbar), we rarely watch Blurays anymore (put most of ours in binders a couple years ago and haven't even unzipped them since) and unless I'm home alone I do my gaming with headphones so I can have it loud with out bothering the wife while she's working in the next room or trying to sleep upstairs above me.

So really the only time I take advantage of it is gaming if my wife's gone, or the rare time she or I watch a Blu-ray. If I had it to do over again, I'd have probably just ditched the 5.1 set up when we moved a couple years ago and got a soundbar for this TV too. I still may as I need to upgrade to a 4K TV at some point and will want HDMI 2.1 which would mean either also needing a new receiver--or trying to run audio from the TV to the receiver rather than the other way around, and I've tended to have audio-video sync issues with that type of set up.

I'm not an audiophile in the slightest. Just need something better than the crappy speakers on thin HDTVs. The novely of surround sound mostly wore off for me years ago.

 

[Sebastian Suola]

The sound bars have replaced the shitty ”all in one” surround setups. Both are and were always shit. I mean sure there might be ok soundbars but they are gonna be so expensive that you might as well buy real speakers.

The are no shortcuts or cheat codes when it comes to sound. Soundbar must be the stupidest thing ever because it just needlesly limits your options when it comes to speaker placement. But it’s ”convenient” so people buy them.

I think most people would be best served with a decent pair of stereo speakers. These would work pretty well for everything from music to movies to games. They are not even that hard do set up properly. But literally no one does this.

 

[gatti-man]

Sound bars? Really? Never ever.

 

[and 3 others]

I was 100% Home Theater system during PS3 era. Had a $3,000 Bose 7.1 surround. I've seen the light though, headphones all day!

 

[Mihos]

Sound bars are great for the kid living in your basement.

 

[Dural]

The sound bars have replaced the shitty ”all in one” surround setups. Both are and were always shit. I mean sure there might be ok soundbars but they are gonna be so expensive that you might as well buy real speakers.

The are no shortcuts or cheat codes when it comes to sound. Soundbar must be the stupidest thing ever because it just needlesly limits your options when it comes to speaker placement. But it’s ”convenient” so people buy them.

I think most people would be best served with a decent pair of stereo speakers. These would work pretty well for everything from music to movies to games. They are not even that hard do set up properly. But literally no one does this.

A decent pair of stereo speakers are not going to work in all spaces, in my family room where I have a soundbar the tv is above the fireplace so it wouldn't work. The soundbar I have has 5 speakers built in; left, center, right, and two pointed at the ceiling for height channels. I could also hook up two surround speakers to the wireless sub. This setup would blow stereo speakers away for movies and games, the stereo speakers would likely win for music.

 

[jts]

They are for many people. I like my soundbar, like the sound and the simplicity of setup. And I can add optional rear speakers which would make it more akin of a HT/Soundbar hybrid.

Regardless I respect the purity of true HT and real speakers without awesome timeless sound that can just be paired with updated HT systems as time goes by. Don’t have the space or budget or time for it though.

 

[Sp3eD]

I have an average home theater setup, but use my PS4 controller and gaming headphones to listen to everything now.

Probably should just ditch the HT as all I use it for is my switch.

 

[spawn]

My living room is not that big so I stick with a soundbar and subwoofer. Plus it's easy setup. I didn't go cheap though. I went into best buy and asked the guy for the best Sony soundbar they have and bought it. It will probably last me for years.

 

[BigBooper]

No way. If you don't have space or live in an apartment soundbars do okay, but they don't hold a candle to any moderately price surround system.

 

[J-Roderton]

Low end sound bar still beats the hell out of the tv speakers though. Works for my setup at the moment just fine.

 

[MetalAlien]

I miss my HT but my Dr Dre Beatbox will have to do for now.

 

[down 2 orth]

WTF Gaf, I'm REALLY confused right now. I just bought a pair of $25 JVC wireless headphones because my old headphones died out. Until now I've only gamed with my Yamaha soundbar + sub-woofer, and headphones were only for listening to music from my smartphone. But I thought, what the hell, the new headphones sound great so I might as well give them a try with my PC. I boot up 2016 Doom and.... the headphones sound WAY better than my soundbar. Is this normal? Why the hell even bother with buying a soundbar if a way more inexpensive pair of headphones has better sound quality?

Edit: Just saw that these headphones are $450 on Amazon. Not sure how I lucked out on that one, but I'll take it.

 

[BadBurger]

A soundbar with a Bluetooth subwoofer is enough for me. I don't need something as stellar as a home theater system, nor can I tolerate the boxy sound of the speakers typically provided in TV's. So I got for something in the middle.

 

[Mistershine.]

Whatever happened to good old stereo. I picked headphones but honestly my home setup is right channel left channel. Sound bars will never replace home theater for me if I had to choose because full bass in my belly rumbling surround will always be best.

Was going to say the same thing. For a grand you can get a good entry level amp and some decent book shelf speakers.

 

[GobbledeeGoo]

They are a sound investment.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Whatever happened to good old stereo. I picked headphones but honestly my home setup is right channel left channel. Sound bars will never replace home theater for me if I had to choose because full bass in my belly rumbling surround will always be best.

Stereo is amazing. For music. However for tv shows/movies a centerspeaker isn't a bad idea. Or full 5.1.

 

[Roronoa Zoro]

WTF Gaf, I'm REALLY confused right now. I just bought a pair of $25 JVC wireless headphones because my old headphones died out. Until now I've only gamed with my Yamaha soundbar + sub-woofer, and headphones were only for listening to music from my smartphone. But I thought, what the hell, the new headphones sound great so I might as well give them a try with my PC. I boot up 2016 Doom and.... the headphones sound WAY better than my soundbar. Is this normal? Why the hell even bother with buying a soundbar if a way more inexpensive pair of headphones has better sound quality?

Edit: Just saw that these headphones are $450 on Amazon. Not sure how I lucked out on that one, but I'll take it.

I use headphones for gaming but have a soundbar and bass for movies on the other tv.

 

[Roronoa Zoro]

No way. If you don't have space or live in an apartment soundbars do okay, but they don't hold a candle to any moderately price surround system.

Hey not all soundbars are the same either. Sonos makes some crazy stuff