Considering ditching 5.1 for a soundbar; suggestions?

[hilde45]

I just built a basement room meant for both TV/media and 2 channel listening. At first I thought I'd split the room and have my two channel at one end, the TV and 5.1 system at the other. I'm having second thoughts. The room is about 27 feet long, and if I divide it, then the most I can get from the front wall is about 12 feet. Feels a bit cramped.

If I do decide to put everything on one wall, I really need to get rid of my 5.1 system and go with a soundbar and sub — for movies.

I know soundbars are not audiophile things, but I'm wondering how many of you bit the bullet to economize space, ditched the 5.1 and what did you get as a good soundbar? I'm thinking I could spend up to $1k. (I would cut my losses by selling my Klipsch R/L and Center channel speakers.)

 

[the skipper]

I could see ditching the 5.1 system but I think a standard two channel system with separate speakers (and a subwoofer) would be more satisfying than a sound bar sounds like a job for a vintage receiver,

 

[hjames]

NEVER - I get great joy out of our 7.1 system, even on TV shows in 5.1 mode - can't imagine a Bose bar giving me anywhere NEAR that much please.
And its not Marvel Comic Universe fare with big booms - even with nature films like Meru (2015)
Renowned alpinists Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk attempt the impossible climb: the Shark's Fin on Mount Meru,
a 21,000 foot peak above the Ganges River in Northern India and the ultimate challenge in the high-stakes world of big-wall climbing.

FWIW, I did drop the Center channel after trying a number of matching or high quality centers ... our room is narrow and it just savaged the front imaging.

I just built a basement room meant for both TV/media and 2 channel listening. At first I thought I'd split the room and have my two channel at one end, the TV and 5.1 system at the other. I'm having second thoughts. The room is about 27 feet long, and if I divide it, then the most I can get from the front wall is about 12 feet. Feels a bit cramped.

If I do decide to put everything on one wall, I really need to get rid of my 5.1 system and go with a soundbar and sub — for movies.

I know soundbars are not audiophile things, but I'm wondering how many of you bit the bullet to economize space, ditched the 5.1 and what did you get as a good soundbar? I'm thinking I could spend up to $1k. (I would cut my losses by selling my Klipsch R/L and Center channel speakers.)

Why 2 systems in the same room? Why not share the system with the front mains for your 2 channel fare, and use the whole dealeo for movies and TV?

 

[Tom Brennan]

My advice is if possible to go out and listen to some. I had a Logitech soundbar some years ago and it was quite adequate for music and dialogue (and that's the vital sound of a quality movie, the dialogue) but I'm sure modern soundbars from would easily surpass the thing. My brother uses a Vizio soundbar that came with a small subwoofer and the sound is good and when watching a movie no attention is given to the sound but instead to the movie which means the thing is doing the job.

Yamaha soundbars are readily available and have a good reputation but I never heard one.

That's the best I can do for you.

 

[swechsler]

This video review of the Sony HT-A7000 from Techmoan was just released today. TL;DW: he was very impressed with it, but it's expensive and hard to find with today's shortages. Here's a review from What HiFi. They loved it as well.

ETA: didn't initially see OP's budget; this is way above it. Still might be worth a watch, though.
ETA2: maybe not way above it. Amazon has it in stock for $1300.

 

[JoeESP9]

Why 2 systems in the same room? Why not share the system with the front mains for your 2 channel fare, and use the whole dealeo for movies and TV?

I've often wondered why many don't choose the same approach. Maybe it depends on how one starts the journey. For me HT surround was/is just an addition to an IMO very good stereo system. But then, I've been piping TV audio through my system since the middle 1970's. Back then I used a Pioneer TVX-9500 for TV audio. From there I moved to Dolby surround, then Pro Logic to Dolby Digital.

As for the incorrect assumption that HT needs different equalization than stereo it's a load of BS. For those who actually check and measure things they know that what all the auto equalization utilities in HT receivers attempt to do is exactly the same thing as manually correcting a system for flat in room response. Flat is flat. That doesn't change because the source is different.

 

[Swokie63]

As for the incorrect assumption that HT needs different equalization than stereo it's a load of BS. For those who actually check and measure things they know that what all the auto equalization utilities in HT receivers attempt to do is exactly the same thing as manually correcting a system for flat in room response. Flat is flat. That doesn't change because the source is different.

I'm just not really into surround, even though that's what I've been doing for a living for about 2 decades..
The limited amount of time I actually watch tv, it's audio is coming out of a 2.1 sounbar..
I absolutely agree with your comment, Yamaha's ypao almost always trims the sub down(i've seen it take it to -10)..
I tweak things based on customers requests after ypao.. they almost always want more bass..

ETA.. my soundbar is set flat...

 

[twiiii]

M&K used to make an excellent sound bar with an external sub woofer, but you will need amps. Klipsch makes a strong sound bar with separate sub that has some significant dynamic range. I imagine with all the digital processing you will want the one taking advantage of the latest digital tricks.

 

[Jack Keck]

I bought a Vizio soundbar from Costco for my TV in the living room, where the simplicity of use was infinitely more important than sound quality. I paid $150 or so for it. The surprise is that it sounded just fine. It gave just enough boost to the anemic sound of my TV. When the time came to replace it, I got a JBL that fit into the stand I had at the time. The Vizio had to be placed above the TV. I even listen to music through the sound bar. I'm happy. My technophobe wife can use it because it turns on with the TV.

I recommend soundbars for non-audiophile purposes.

 

[blhagstrom]

Wife won’t put up with HT stuff all over a room.
So I don’t bother, but I do keep a sort-of 5.1 connected in MY area just to do a movie now and then. I mostly go for the center channel and the sub. The fronts and surrounds are just whatever is handy at the time.

We discovered all the apps on a new smart TV a year ago and stream whatever looks interesting when we do TV. For that, I tossed a vintage integrated into the room and a pair of decent speakers so we can get some SOUND.

Works great. So great that family wanted something like it. When we went to the other house with a dumb TV, we miss the volume.

My side business produced some commercial recycle gear and I got some Crestron speaker bars. They have audio sensing run off simple stereo pair RCAs. They are excellent!

Crestron gear is mostly off the radar in the secondary market so you should be able to score it cheap. They have really nice commercial indoor outdoor auditorium speakers too. I had to trade them away to move them. Totally unappreciated stuff.

 

[whoaru99]

.... Yamaha's ypao almost always trims the sub down(i've seen it take it to -10)..

The trim should take to the necessary level, and that will be relative. In one system I have a old Yamaha but it has YPAO none the less. If I turn the knob on the sub higher, YPAO sets the trim lower. If I turn the knob on the sub lower, YPAO sets the trim higher. In the end, the actual sub output level is the same though.

While in theory it shouldn't matter as long as the trim isn't out of range, I tweak the sub's level control until the trim level is generally within +/-3dB. In my other systems I do the same for the level controls on all the amps, although I do allow a somewhat wider trim span if it means the level knobs on the amps would be way out of whack with each other. For my main system all the amplifier "gain" knobs point straight up to 12 o'clock which gives me trims of +/-2dB on all the speakers except backs, which are +5 and +5.5dB. Sub level is adjusted so that processor trim is +1dB. LOL. Yeah... I know...

 

[JoeESP9]

I'm just not really into surround, even though that's what I've been doing for a living for about 2 decades..
The limited amount of time I actually watch tv, it's audio is coming out of a 2.1 sounbar..
I absolutely agree with your comment, Yamaha's ypao almost always trims the sub down(i've seen it take it to -10)..
I tweak things based on customers requests after ypao.. they almost always want more bass..

ETA.. my soundbar is set flat...

Flat response is just that. A different source doesn't magically change the sound in the room.

I used measurements to confirm the YPAO settings in my bedroom. For my main system the auto Eq on my Emotiva UMC-200 is within 1dB of what I get from measuring using a calibrated mic, REW, a laptop and a DSP to adjust things.

I'm aware that many want more bass than a flat in room response produces. Usually that overly loud bass makes music sound boomy and ill-defined. I've been using an analog linear equalizer or a DSP to flatten my in room response since the early 1980's. The amount of bass I get from a flat measured in room response is more than adequate for music and movies.

 

[sKiZo]

My Onkyo AVR went belly up and I replaced it with a Samsung HW-T650 3.1 bar. The center channel is in the bar itself, and I added the bluetooth rear satellites. The bar comes with a nice powered bluetooth sub, so you only need AC connections for power.

No regrets, eh ...

 

[avionic]

I ditched 5.1 a long time ago.. Inherited a fairly new 70 " SONY with a matching sound bar and subwoofer. I don't really use it much.

 

[Swokie63]

Flat response is just that. A different source doesn't magically change the sound in the room.

I used measurements to confirm the YPAO settings in my bedroom. For my main system the auto Eq on my Emotiva UMC-200 is within 1dB of what I get from measuring using a calibrated mic, REW, a laptop and a DSP to adjust things.

I'm aware that many want more bass than a flat in room response produces. Usually that overly loud bass makes music sound boomy and ill-defined. I've been using an analog linear equalizer or a DSP to flatten my in room response since the early 1980's. The amount of bass I get from a flat measured in room response is more than adequate for music and movies.

Most of the time that my tv is on, I'm 'watching' AMHD or Pandora Premium..

I don't have equipment to measure things, but the little soundbar reproduces a pleasing sound..
The bass, listening to Adagio in G minor(London Philharmonic Orchestra) for example, is just right set flat..

I call the overly loud bass 'muddy', maybe if I used boomy and ill-defined they(the customers)would give it more thought, but they want what they want..
I respect ypao and audyssey, they get it pretty damn close IMO, but sometimes I have to tweak a channel for various reasons or various customers.. not so much for myself..

 

[JoeESP9]

"The customer is always right", regardless of how it sounds.

However, I know a few who initially wanted excess bass. After a while they have cut back as even their movies sounded overblown.