Sound Bar for TV?

[FirstNissan]

I just ordered a 42" LED TV. My living room is about 15X15, its a rental apartment. I want to get some surround sound type of system going here, but have a limited budget of about $150. Since its a rental, I dont want to mount any speakers.

Ive been looking at soundbar's. Are they any good? Im no audiophile, but I want clarity and some bass. Will the soundbar alone work for me, or do I need to get more equipment?

Thanks!

 

[Eddie]

Sound bar quality can be quite good in the higher end versions. Why not go to Best Buy and listen to some. My BB had several set-up for customers. Ed

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
Ive been looking at soundbar's. Are they any good?

Not in the price range that you mentioned. I bought a Boston Acoustics sound bar (included a small sub) which was highly rated for under $300, and honestly it sounded really bad. The clarity just wasn't there and the bass was very muddy and uneven. Ended up returning it and picking up a Polk bar. It cost around $500, but it sounds much better. Still not as good as dedicated 5.1 setup, but I had to do it for aesthetic reasons to please the better half. This isn't our main HT setup anyway.

In your price range, your best bet would be to pick up a cheap used receiver and a pair of decent sized bookshelf speakers next to the TV. You won't get massive bass, but at least you'll get clear sound which will be significantly better than what'll come out of a $150 soundbar.

 

[johnachak]

I got a great sounding Yamaha soundbar but it was $249 before tax. it is sweet...Amazon had it...

 

[bepperb]

TV speakers are so horrible even a 100 dollar soundbar might be better.

Personally I would just use the TV and save up until you can get something better, even if that's just a receiver and a pair of good speakers. Really you could get a decent receiver for 150 bucks and some bookshelf speakers for another 150 and be way ahead. If you listen to music this is most definitely the way to go.

 

[EricF]

I got a soundbar from radio shack (of all places). the speakers in my flatscreen weren't even good for a cricket chirping! they were bad, and mfgr put out a patch for the TV, which didn't do anything.
The soundbar we got just booms nicely! it has a remote, and inputs as well as a mini clock and FM radio.
The sound is almost to that of my panasonic surround sound.. (minus the surround).
I have it mounted to the wall, it doesn't weigh very much and is about 3' long.

 

[Smoky14]

I'm disappointed with my sound bar, I expected more than I got for a high end bar, Samsung, it is better than the TV speakers but that the beat i can say for it.

 

[Schmoe]

Don't waste your money on a sound bar. Quality equals price in this genre.

 

[Jocephus]

For $150 I wouldn't waste the money.

I bought a Samsung one for our bedroom...gave it away after I bought a Polk Sound Bar.

I bought a Boston Acoustics refurb teepee for my garage for $199. It's fair...wouldn't recommend it but don't dislike it either. My TV is wall mounted and I like the wireless sub. (yeah...my wife makes me go to the garage when I pull out a cigar...it was only a matter of time before a Lazyboy, fridge, and a TV popped up in there)

The "home theater in a box" stuff out there will give you a far better bang for the buck. I know you said you don't want to mount speakers etc...however, those will give you the best sound quality

 

[MrHorspwer]

Count me into the Polk soundbar club. I own two of them.

I got sick of massive speakers hanging around my house. With young kids, we were past watching movies at "reference audio levels" and built-in audio just sounds... terrible.

I bought the first Polk system for our primary television in the family room and was pleased as punch. I tried to cheap out on the second one in the basement, where I play video games and watch football. I purchased a Sony unit that had fantastic connectivity (HDMI switching with three inputs) but ended up going back to the store because of sub-par sound quality. I swear, the Sony unit had absolutely no low-pass crossover on the sub. Watching the news, I was getting distinctive lower mid-range audio from the news anchors *voices* coming through the sub. Football? Forget it: A constant low rumble from the to muted background crowd noise.

Lesson learned? Cheap soundbars suck. For $150, I would look for an eBay stereo or 5.1 receiver from a reputable brand and a set of small Polk (or equivalent) bookshelf speakers that can be easily placed (not mounted).

 

[Ed_T]

I just bot this one at BestBuy for $250 plus tax after scouring the review on Amazon and Newegg:

http://www.gosale.com/5794119/yamaha-yas-101-front-surround?gclid=CNH3kN7rm7ECFYio4AodGGIHgg

I miss the 5.1 (died). This bar is decent. Not sure what you'd get in your price range.

 

[Ranger1]

I tried the cheaper $250 Boston Acoustics sound bar. It was too small and quiet for the very large room it was going into. And the remote control did not work at a far left/right angles from the TV, thanks to the sensor sitting behind the grill. But, the sound quality was fine.

If good sound quality versus money spent is your PRIMARY concern, check out units from the 3 companies below. AND pick the correct speaker size to match the room size.

(The other usual suspects you find in local stores - in my opinion - are not worth the money, unless you need a fancy / special feature too, like bluetooth.)

For about $200, check out sound bars from Vizio (http://www.vizio.com/), which can be found at Walmart, BJ's, and Sam's Clubs...or their websites.

For a little more more money, also check out Zvox (http://www.zvoxaudio.com/).

And finally...for also Energy Speakers (http://www.energy-speakers.com/soundbars/).