Soundbar Conundrum

[Jonnyboy Rotten]

Hey guys/gals

I have been looking for a few years for a compact way of getting good sound from the TV but also from our phones/spotify etc. I have always assumed soundbars weren't that good and we don't have room for a surround sound system.

However I went round a mates the other day and he had a Polaroid branded soundbar which had bluetooth which was great inside, but then when we went into the garden he simply unplugged the mains and plugged it into his shed and it sounded great even outdoors. I asked him how much it was and he said £50 from Tesco! I had no idea you could get such full sound with bluetooth for that money and being able to take it with you into the garden for a BBQ is the icing on the cake. I thought he was going to say it cost a couple of hundred!

My question really is that I have been looking around and for between £50 and £90, new and second hand, you can have the option of a separate subwoofer with some brands (LG and Phillips I think). I was wondering if you decide to not use the sub when you take the unit outside etc, would the sound lose something or would the soundbar re-adjust the eq levels to compensate.

The reason I ask is that some models don't have a sub with them but they have the option to add one. So that would make me think that they have adjusted EQ otherwise they would probably sound rather thin and tinny if they were designed for a sub but didn't have one or with too much bass* and muffled if you added a sub without changing the EQ?

I'm not really looking to spend much more than £50-80 so the "I think you might need to increase your budget a little" won't really be that helpful as I have heard this little polaroid jobby that was pretty impressive! But any help or recommendations would be appreciated!

*I realism this is not the best forum to be talking about too much bass!

[HowieBass]

You've already auditioned a soundbar and liked what you heard, both inside a room and outside (which you can't really do inside a large shop). I think the next move might be a trip to Tesco?

[Dazed]

If buying hifi gear it's always worth a visit to Richer Sounds.

I got a soundbar last year. I'd recommend one with a sub, this difference in bass definition is incredible.
There's obviously a loss in low end when the sub is off. The soundbar doesn't reconfigure when the sub is disconnected though.
It sounds like you're happy with the Polaroid one you've heard, in a real world setting , not a warehouse tescos or sterile listening room so maybe the decision is made?

Edited August 8, 2014 by Dazed

[KiOgon]

I bought a Samsung smart TV which sounded OK on it's own in the shop, but when home it was 'a bit lacking' so I got the Philips soundbar with separate sub, about £85 IIRC. It certainly improves the overall sound but it's such a hassle to turn on, the tiny remote seems next to useless, then every time you have to fiddle about to get the output from both, (TV & bar), balanced. It varies from channel to channel, practically impossible with the HD channels, we end up reverting to standard to avoid the sound problems.

Having said that - never sure if it's the TV, the broadcast, or the bar that's mostly to blame it could even be me

Edit: Yes from Richer sounds

Edited August 8, 2014 by KiOgon

[dannybuoy]

I got my mum a Samsung one recently to go with her Samsung TV. It turns itself on and off with the TV, it senses it via the HDMI connection. Sometimes it pays to match the brand of the sound system with the TV! Also, you should turn the TV speakers off when using a soundbar, don't try to balance them.

[Pukie]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1407495722' post='2521092']
Sometimes it pays to match the brand of the sound system with the TV! Also, you should turn the TV speakers off when using a soundbar, don't try to balance them.
[/quote]

Exactly...while mixing and matching can get you a better sound, it can also be a right PITA... you set the surroundsound up and forget to turn the TV down, or you want to catch a quick item and find you have no sound because the surround sound is not switched on etc, etc.
by matching brands you find that one system automatically controls the other , I [i]think[/i] Sony bravia-link and Panasonic viera-link also do this.

[KiOgon]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1407495722' post='2521092']
I got my mum a Samsung one recently to go with her Samsung TV. It turns itself on and off with the TV, it senses it via the HDMI connection. Sometimes it pays to match the brand of the sound system with the TV! Also, you should turn the TV speakers off when using a soundbar, don't try to balance them.
[/quote]Yes point taken about matching the brand but I believe the Samsung model was more than I wanted to pay

The sound bar + sub on their own sound worse than the TV so the fiddly balancing - to me - is the only way to get a 'decent' sound

[timmo]

I bought mine from Richer sounds. It has no Sub, but the bars are bigger than the ones that come with the sub apparently. I get plenty of bass from it. The reason i got one without, was because my tv is on the party wall. Someone i work with says they can`t have it on in their house because the neighbours complain, so i went with that.Plus a recommendation from Richer Sounds person

[MiltyG565]

Soundbars are great, especially for TV, which usually have tiny, cheap speakers installed in them. Go for something with a good bass response (although cheap, bassy speakers tend to ruin the higher frequencies). I spent a weekend at a place that used a Bose sound bar. Bose tend to be over-heavy with bass response, IMO, but that's fantastic for outdoor or wide open spaces, but the thing is that they engineer it so that the bass doesn't cloud out the treble, and vice-versa.