I know this is heresy on this prestigious site, but I have had an experience lately and want others opinions. Normally any talk of sound bars will get you looked at like you stepped in dog poop. Well, I just bought a brand spanking new Vizio Elevate sound bar and set it up and I am very impressed with the sound. It replaced my conventional surround sound system and I have to say it quite easily gives much better sound for movies, tv and music from Amazon HD Music. It is in total cheaper than my full blown surround system and with Atmos and/or simulated surround gives you a much better sound experience. I'm blown away. My room is open on the right side and my distance to the bar is probably 12 feet. They have come a very long way in sound bars. Anyone else have any good bars or stories? For the amount of money spent, it literally is a multi-tool and does each specific type of sound reproduction pretty good to very good. I can see why they are so popular. Easy to set up and dial in, plus it sounds great.
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The wonderful world of Sound Bars
- Thread starter Spkrdctr
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I got one of these 5 years ago for £200. Still going strong- works well instead of the horror that is the tinny speakers in my Sony flatscreen. Cant say as I use it for music.
Q Acoustics M3 Soundbar with Built-in Subwoofer – Black : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo
Shop Q Acoustics M3 Soundbar with Built-in Subwoofer – Black. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk
I wouldn't underestimate the skill, knowledge, and experience of some of those designing sound bars. They apply the same advanced technologies leading loudspeaker manufacturers use. They just have to work to a different (and vastly more difficult) set of constraints.
www.audiosciencereview.com
The Technology Behind Samsung's Soundbars
COMSOL made this promotional video to showcase their acoustics simulation and analysis capabilities. (COMSOL sells finite element analysis software for general purpose scientific and engineering analyses.) The video is from their blog post on the R&D activities at the Samsung Audio Lab in...
www.audiosciencereview.com
- Thread Starter
- #4
Hmmmm I wonder if most people are afraid to admit their sound bar use? There is no shame in it. I figure probably 60% of our members have a sound bar somewhere in their house. We need them to come forward and tell us what they have and what they think of it. This is a judgement free zone. Think of it as a "safe space" for sound bar users.
We only have one soundbar that was measured using Klippel NFS.
Bose TV speaker soundbar:
Tonality (Preference) Score is 1.7 and would be 4.1 with a perfect subwoofer.
Even when you add EQ, you can't fix most of it's issues:
Tonality (Preference) Score is 3.7 with an EQ and would be 6.2 with a perfect subwoofer and the same EQ.
So far, it's not looking good.
Bose TV speaker soundbar:
Tonality (Preference) Score is 1.7 and would be 4.1 with a perfect subwoofer.
Even when you add EQ, you can't fix most of it's issues:
Tonality (Preference) Score is 3.7 with an EQ and would be 6.2 with a perfect subwoofer and the same EQ.
So far, it's not looking good.
There is no reason that a good sounding speaker can't be engineered in the format restrictions of a soundbar. And indeed, some of them are quite good nowadays. Being active they can DSP the hell out of their drivers and actually provide excellent performance with a sub. The irrational hatred of such speakers is a bit silly IMO. 
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Samsung (ex Harman) audio engineers had done some blind test of their soundbar vs some small Genelecs and the soundbar lost but was quite close:
At Samsung, a panel of trained and less trained listeners decides on the sound quality of a product, of course only after several sessions. McMullin also emphasizes that a higher number of trained listeners always provides more usable results, since they also make consistent and largely identical statements over several listening tests and over a longer period of time, and they are more critical overall. We too, a group of about ten journalists, were allowed to take part in several listening tests and understand the work. In fact, after only a few sessions, a clear consensus of subjective assessments could be seen.
After the listening test, we learned that the participating products were the HW-MS650, a competitor soundbar, and a pair of Genelec reference speakers. The Genelec speakers were consistently number 1, but the Samsung soundbar was relatively close at number 2, while the competitor product was clearly beaten. When evaluating the results, it also became clear how one's own sitting position influences perception. Ideally, a hearing test is performed with just one person positioned in the sweet spot. Due to the high expenditure of time with ten people, we were divided into groups and the deviation based on one's own seating position could be easily read from the result diagram.
Source in German language: https://www.areadvd.de/tests/xxl-sp...nien-zu-besuch-im-samsung-audio-research-lab/
At Samsung, a panel of trained and less trained listeners decides on the sound quality of a product, of course only after several sessions. McMullin also emphasizes that a higher number of trained listeners always provides more usable results, since they also make consistent and largely identical statements over several listening tests and over a longer period of time, and they are more critical overall. We too, a group of about ten journalists, were allowed to take part in several listening tests and understand the work. In fact, after only a few sessions, a clear consensus of subjective assessments could be seen.
After the listening test, we learned that the participating products were the HW-MS650, a competitor soundbar, and a pair of Genelec reference speakers. The Genelec speakers were consistently number 1, but the Samsung soundbar was relatively close at number 2, while the competitor product was clearly beaten. When evaluating the results, it also became clear how one's own sitting position influences perception. Ideally, a hearing test is performed with just one person positioned in the sweet spot. Due to the high expenditure of time with ten people, we were divided into groups and the deviation based on one's own seating position could be easily read from the result diagram.
Source in German language: https://www.areadvd.de/tests/xxl-sp...nien-zu-besuch-im-samsung-audio-research-lab/
JayGilb
Major Contributor
I've heard some really good soundbar+sub combos at friend's houses, compared to the tinny crap coming from the average flat screen.
Small powered monitors+sub combos can be great sounding and have a small footprint.
Small powered monitors+sub combos can be great sounding and have a small footprint.
ZolaIII
Major Contributor
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The 7 Best Soundbars - Spring 2024: Reviews
The Samsung HW-Q990C is the best soundbar we've tested. This premium 11.1.4 setup is the next generation of the Samsung HW-Q990B and offers even better sound quality than its predecessor.
www.rtings.com
Nope, it does it all inside of the box.
- Thread Starter
- #14
That is a pretty crappy sound bar. I think the new high end stuff might be better.We only have one soundbar that was measured using Klippel NFS.
Bose TV speaker soundbar:
View attachment 228900
Tonality (Preference) Score is 1.7 and would be 4.1 with a perfect subwoofer.
Even when you add EQ, you can't fix most of it's issues:
View attachment 228901
Tonality (Preference) Score is 3.7 with an EQ and would be 6.2 with a perfect subwoofer and the same EQ.
So far, it's not looking good.
- Thread Starter
- #15
Thanks for the link. My new Vizio Elevate did very well. It really sounds amazing.Scroll down to the table, pick music as a key and see measurements per each.The 7 Best Soundbars - Spring 2024: Reviews
The Samsung HW-Q990C is the best soundbar we've tested. This premium 11.1.4 setup is the next generation of the Samsung HW-Q990B and offers even better sound quality than its predecessor.
- Thread Starter
- #16
I would like to hear that set up. But my Vizio is only 33% of the price of that one (on sale at Sams Club). So, it would have to sound much better to make the jump. But if it is an awesome bar, I'm sure over time, the companies will offer near the same capability cheaper. Sound bars have really come along way in the last 5 years! Wow!
Matthias McCready
Active Member
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I don't... (yet?)
I only have 1 TV; which is mostly used to run a computer/media server. I don't have great volition to own a 2nd TV at this point, so I don't think I will get one anytime soon.
For what they are I haven't minded the brand "Sonos" when out and about.
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