Soundbars

[fuhrdog]

After getting some new furniture, i have no room for my current home theater setup. I've always had a nice home theater but am going to downsize to a soundbar and sub.
Anybody have one they would recommend to someone used to having a full system? I realize i will take a hit on the sound fwiw. I'd prefer to stay in the 750 to 1000 range.

Thanks

[revo]

For many years I had a surround sound setup with Bose speakers and a Sony 7.1 receiver. I had upgraded my receiver from a 5-channel to 7-channel a few years back, but when I bought a new TV I realized it just wasn't working properly. And it became terribly confusing to get everything to work right, and all those danged wires! So when we moved to our house in PA, I decided to do away with it and buy an LG soundbar with 2 wireless rear channel speakers, and wow, I couldn't be happier with it. Honestly, it works just as well, if not better, than my very expensive former system.

[Gregg]

For many years I had a surround sound setup with Bose speakers and a Sony 7.1 receiver. I had upgraded my receiver from a 5-channel to 7-channel a few years back, but when I bought a new TV I realized it just wasn't working properly. And it became terribly confusing to get everything to work right, and all those danged wires! So when we moved to our house in PA, I decided to do away with it and buy an LG soundbar with 2 wireless rear channel speakers, and wow, I couldn't be happier with it. Honestly, it works just as well, if not better, than my very expensive former system.

Do you still use the Sony receiver?

[TranaGreg]

For many years I had a surround sound setup with Bose speakers and a Sony 7.1 receiver. I had upgraded my receiver from a 5-channel to 7-channel a few years back, but when I bought a new TV I realized it just wasn't working properly. And it became terribly confusing to get everything to work right, and all those danged wires! So when we moved to our house in PA, I decided to do away with it and buy an LG soundbar with 2 wireless rear channel speakers, and wow, I couldn't be happier with it. Honestly, it works just as well, if not better, than my very expensive former system.

my story is similar - former 5.1 setup, downsized to a Paradigm soundbar + sub & loved it - until some problems cropped up (specific to the brand) - after trying unsuccessfully to figure it out I scrapped it & moved to a Samsung HW-MS650 which I've been loving (built in sub and it's still great sounding). Depending on what/how you watch you might consider a soundbar with Dolby Atmos (in the end I decided against it - the higher end model that I was looking at was the Sony HT-ST5000 - significantly more expensive but audiophile worthy)

[revo]

Do you still use the Sony receiver?

I don’t use either the 5.1 or the 7.1 receivers, but we’re finishing our basement and I might once it’s done (although I doubt it).

[fuhrdog]

I currently have a Denon 7.1 with all JBL speakers. I've looked at the Sony 5000 Tranagreg mentioned as well as the Yamaha 5600 and the JBL 9.1 but they all have enough flaws from reviews that makes me unable to decide. I'm just struggling and am going to try and suffer with nothing until a big sale comes or I finally can make a decision.

[revo]

I currently have a Denon 7.1 with all JBL speakers. I've looked at the Sony 5000 Tranagreg mentioned as well as the Yamaha 5600 and the JBL 9.1 but they all have enough flaws from reviews that makes me unable to decide. I'm just struggling and am going to try and suffer with nothing until a big sale comes or I finally can make a decision.

I give it a week until you give in and buy something. If you’ve had surround sound for so long, there’s no way built-in TV speakers will work for you!

[fuhrdog]

I give it a week until you give in and buy something. If you’ve had surround sound for so long, there’s no way built-in TV speakers will work for you!

My son said I wouldn't last a week either

[Gregg]

My son said I wouldn't last a week either

Your son is revo?!

Kidding aside, do today's tvs have enough power to drive the sound bar and speaker systems? I have not bought any equipment in ten years. I always feel like my surround is a bit lacking. I have high end speakers and pretty good receiver.

[TranaGreg]

Your son is revo?!

Kidding aside, do today's tvs have enough power to drive the sound bar and speaker systems? I have not bought any equipment in ten years. I always feel like my surround is a bit lacking. I have high end speakers and pretty good receiver.

connections are all hdmi, to the tv & to the soundbar, and of course the soundbar has it's own power supply so no issues there

[Gregg]

connections are all hdmi, to the tv & to the soundbar, and of course the soundbar has it's own power supply so no issues there

What drives the back speakers? Both for hard wire and wireless?

If I wanted to keep my hardwired back speakers could I still use them with today's tv and sound bar?

[TranaGreg]

What drives the back speakers? Both for hard wire and wireless?

If I wanted to keep my hardwired back speakers could I still use them with today's tv and sound bar?

I don't think so; there are soundbars that work wirelessly with their own surround speakers (I don't have this) but I haven't seen any that allow you to use others speakers. And yes, each would need its own power.

[revo]

What drives the back speakers? Both for hard wire and wireless?

If I wanted to keep my hardwired back speakers could I still use them with today's tv and sound bar?

The Rear Speakers have a second box they connect into which uses bluetooth to connect to the main unit. The rear box has its own power source, and the rear speakers do indeed use wires to connect to it. But there's no wire from the main system/TV to the rear box.

Since the rear speakers are wired to the rear box, you probably could use your own speakers. I haven't tried that, though, but it's not a bad idea.

[BuckyBuckner]

I've been rethinking my sound set up since I've bought a Samsung smart TV. I have not been able to get the sound from the apps to go through my receiver and my very nice Orb speakers. It's frustrating so maybe a sound bar is the way to go for me. I also like the idea of trimming down the amount of devices and such that I have in the living room. So the soundbar connects directly into the TV and there's no need for the receiver, right?

I was intrigued by the Samsung soundbar that TranaGreg mentioned. I could potentially get wireless rear speakers too, was looking at this; Samsung SWA-9000S Rear Wireless Speaker Kit. That's also something I could do at a later time. Do any of you know of a way to get a wireless setup for rear speakers to connect to the soundbar where you don't have to buy speakers? Where I could use my Orb speakers? Is that a thing?

[revo]

I've been rethinking my sound set up since I've bought a Samsung smart TV. I have not been able to get the sound from the apps to go through my receiver and my very nice Orb speakers. It's frustrating so maybe a sound bar is the way to go for me. I also like the idea of trimming down the amount of devices and such that I have in the living room. So the soundbar connects directly into the TV and there's no need for the receiver, right?

I was intrigued by the Samsung soundbar that TranaGreg mentioned. I could potentially get wireless rear speakers too, was looking at this; Samsung SWA-9000S Rear Wireless Speaker Kit. That's also something I could do at a later time. Do any of you know of a way to get a wireless setup for rear speakers to connect to the soundbar where you don't have to buy speakers? Where I could use my Orb speakers? Is that a thing?

Correct, the receiver is no longer used. The soundbar connects directly to the TV.