Soundbar, talk to me

PostSoundbar, talk to me by **False** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:53 am

Some people at work have all got new speakers and stuff for home and Im feeling left out so Im getting a soundbar for my PC/music.

I dont really want to spend over £100 which doesnt seem too difficult as they all seem to be pretty heavily price cut on Amazon.

Want 2.1 with a wireless sub if possible, bluetooth a must. Sound quality is obviously imperative, but as its less than a hundred quid concessions will clearly be made. I have good headphones for absolute sound clarity anyway.

Seen this one popping up all over the place, dont know if anyone has one; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-HT-CT60BT- ... s=soundbar

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by KK » Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:20 pm

As a coincidence T3 reviewed soundbars this month. They all cost a fortune, but the Panasonic SC-HTB480 (£200) reviewed well.

T3 wrote:

This nearly sounds as good as it looks. The bar employs a cunning low profile triangular design, which enables it to tuck neatly under a flatscreen TV, yet accommodate relatively large drive units. It's partnered with a more conventional looking subwoofer. Connections include HDMI and digital optical audio, but there's no 3.5mm minijack. Pairing to mobile devices via Bluetooth is easy thanks to built-in NFC. Power output is rated at an optimistic 250w. It plays loud, while a Clear mode creates the illusion of a centre speaker - good for Live sports.

Panasonic scores with this dapper 2.1 system. 4/5.

Coming in under that, and in your price bracket at £70, was the Sond Audio ETBT201Y

T3 wrote:

With curved edges and soft touch buttons the diminutive ETBT201Y looks posh, but it offers only a single 32.5mm minijack input and supports basic Bluetooth, with NFC connectivity. A non-removable cloth grille obscures 2 forward firing speaker vents, and there's a 75cm downward firing woofer to add oomph. For such a diddy offering, the 30w Sound makes a rather fulsome noise. But the woofer bottoms out early. Ultimately consider this cheapie as a nifty audio boost for small TVs, monitors and maybe even tablets.

Small and pretty, but it's not a star performer. 3/5

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **Poncho** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:25 pm

I've got that Sony one and it's fantastic. For the price, I'd be surprised if you found anything else as good.

I bought it primarily for films so I wouldn't be confident in saying how it holds up for music.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **Fatal Exception** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:28 pm

Imagine not having an actual surround sound setup.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:54 pm

Thanks for those KK, my only problem with them is that Im after some a bit more 'conventional' looking. Its going to be sat on my desk in front of my monitor and I dont really want some weird curved giant pebble thing.

Poncho wrote:I've got that Sony one and it's fantastic. For the price, I'd be surprised if you found anything else as good.

I bought it primarily for films so I wouldn't be confident in saying how it holds up for music.

Good to hear. What inputs etc does it have and how many channels? Are the bluetooth and NFC decent or low range affairs (nfc is obvs short range)?

Fatal Exception wrote:Imagine not having an actual surround sound setup.

Ive spent thousands on surround sound going years back and I dont want it anymore.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:05 pm

https://www.avforums.com/review/sony-ct ... view.10157

The HTC-T60 is best suited to movies – in particular – and TV, rather than music. It’s quite ‘trebly’ so can make acoustic music sound sound harsh, although you can never accuse it of lacking clarity. The other downside of that is that it can be quite fatiguing to listen to over extended periods.

Hmm.. shame. Still, if I order from amazon and its gooseberry fool I could just return it..

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **Floex** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:07 pm

If you're only going to spend an £100 on a soundbar, what's the point?

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:08 pm

My budget is flexible, but £100 appeared to be around the bite point on the fairly limited selection on amazon. Any less and its budget brands, any more and the price seems to escalate. Also every one on there seems to be around £100 with an average of about £80 discount.

As I said in my OP, this is not going to be my primary listening solution. I already have very good headphones with a DAC etc and they are my weapon of choice. Sometimes I just want to play music out loud with a sub backing it up if Im mobile though. Probably a 1 in a 100 days kind of use case.

Edit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-Audio ... io+minx+tv - this one reviews well but unforunately as it it designed to sit under the screen I dont think its really usable for me. Shame.

Double edit - http://www.whathifi.com/bose/soundlink-mini/review - Having a read about it, this kind of thing might be a better solution for my use case. Primarily a bluetooth speaker, but with an option to provide a wired feed if needed. Id prefer optical over 3.5 though if its even a thing in this sector.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:03 pm

Ordered this http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00D ... ailpages00

Prime will have it sent here tomorrow so Ill see what its like. There was a Cambridge Audio Go which reviewed quite well too and didnt have the standard Bose price premium, but reviews pointed that the Bose has a loud and bass led sound which suits my requirements so Ill see how I get on.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **Fatal Exception** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:05 pm

£170 for a tiny blueooth speaker

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:25 pm

Too much for your povvo blood?

Everyone at work has been buying Sonos since we have a 20% work discount atm, but even then they are £200-odd a pop. To make a 5.1 setup you need a £500+ soundbar, a £500+ sub, and 2x £200+ satellites.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **Fatal Exception** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:56 pm

A 5.1 setup for lazy people :lol:

You could get such an awesome separate system for that money.

A soundbar has no place in a 5.1 setup. To me what you are doing is paying over the odds for an inferior setup.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:58 pm

I suppose they like it for the versatility. From what I hear it casts the sound pretty well, too.

Still - not for me. Ive had enough of surround for now.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **Hesk** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:24 pm

My dad's got one of those Bose soundbars and, while I wouldn't get one myself, it kicks out some surprisingly decent sound. Fills a room nicely, with a reasonable bass response (as long as you position it well).

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **That** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:55 pm

Out of interest Falsey, how come you've fallen out of love with surround sound? I seem to recall you thinking it was pretty great a couple of years back (might have been someone else though).

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **Johnny Ryall** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:30 am

Yeah dude I thought you'd have been all about the 5.1 at the minimum. Soon as I get my own crib and my finances in order I'm getting a nice receiver and at least 5 speakers.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:04 am

Ive had surround sound for years and years as I said, but I just never really use it anymore. You spend a lot of money on them and sure, they sound great, but their use case is limited for me at the moment.

Especially when you do it properly and have an amp and all that, with all of its added complexity. Its just a lot of clutter and added hassle involved that Im a little bored of right now.

I think just for the occasional times I want something loud rather than my headphones then a decent bluetooth speaker will probably fill that niche. When I move out Ill no doubt get another 5.1 setup for movie purposes as well.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:13 pm

This Bose thing is very nice, quite a suprising strength to the sound for such a diddy thing. Perfect for under my monitor.

Only had a quick blast in the office, with a bit of Buttery Biscuit Bass, but Ill crank it right the strawberry float up at home tonight and see how it fares.

Only issue, charging dock has an input on the right hand side and my plugs are on the left, so Im going to either have a wire across my desk or Ill have to dock it under the desk and undock it when Im using it.

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **JiggerJay** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:17 pm

Falsey wrote:https://www.avforums.com/review/sony-ct60bt-ht-ct60bt-soundbar-review.10157

The HTC-T60 is best suited to movies – in particular – and TV, rather than music. It’s quite ‘trebly’ so can make acoustic music sound sound harsh, although you can never accuse it of lacking clarity. The other downside of that is that it can be quite fatiguing to listen to over extended periods.

Hmm.. shame. Still, if I order from amazon and its gooseberry fool I could just return it..

I have this, it's really good for the price, the only downside is it's not as loud as it probably should be, it doesn't help that I'm pretty deaf anyway, but the quality on this is pretty freaking awesome for £80 odd

PostRe: Soundbar, talk to me by **False** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:53 pm

So I plugged the Bose in at work to test it out

Drove home

Pulled it out of the box

Plug still in desk at work

Soundbar, talk to me

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