What are your thoughts on sound bars? I'm probably going to be buying a house in the next year or two so it may be easier to get one of those until that time.

I heard some ones at the studio that were from both MartinLogan and B&W in the $1,500-$2,000 range that sounded pretty damn good.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

download that book i posted. It has a whole chapter or 2 on home theatres.

Sound bars are pointless for surround. A gimmick. Like pressing surround effect on like an mp3 player. They sacrifice functionality for looks. I understand why people get them but they are pretty awful. It also only gives one position were sound is ok.

They are ok for those that don't really have an ear for audio. They can't reproduce what they claim.

ALso, if you go for surround, i would recommend getting the same speakers so they match. Again it is a spectrum. My girlfriend is ok with her laptop. Most people are fine with 200$ speakers. They don't have to be the same size, but it is a good idea to have them matched. Just read the book.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest

Last edited by Looney4Clooney on Dec-06-2012 at 02:57

quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney Multiple subs can help

Yeah no shit.

quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney download that book i posted. It has a whole chapter or 2 on home theatres. Sound bars are pointless for surround. A gimmick. Like pressing surround effect on like an mp3 player. They sacrifice functionality for looks. I understand why people get them but they are pretty awful. It also only gives one position were sound is ok. They are ok for those that don't really have an ear for audio. They can't reproduce what they claim.

The ones I listened to at the store sounded pretty great. Then again I am going from just using the TV speakers. Maybe I just don't have an ear for audio.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

quote:

Originally posted by srussell0018 The ones I listened to at the store sounded pretty great. Then again I am going from just using the TV speakers. Maybe I just don't have an ear for audio.

it takes years to develop your ears so it isn't something you should have or can't get. I would research the pros and cons of sound bars vs bookshelf styled speakers vs tower styled speakers. Collate enough references and go to different sites as many tend to be populated by people that take things a little too far praising 20 000$ cables and other snake oil bull shit.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest

Another thing to mention is that the only sound input that can be used on my tv is optical cable. I don't know if that matters at all, I'm pretty clueless on this subject.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

Well consider 5.1 , 6 speaker setup;.

Each speaker needs an audio input. The dvd/bluray is digital and you need a device to take the audio information and correctly divide into the appropriate streams which then need to be converted from digital to analog audio. Then that signal needs some form of amplification either from the speaker ( active speakers ) or an amplifier ( passive speakers )

Usually, people will buy a receiver that takes care of the digital part and a seperate amplifier to power the speakers. You can get this all in one unit including a dvd/blu ray and video output which is probably the simplest but probably better to get a separate unit for the video

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest

Thank you for all who replied. A lot of it is over my head, but I got a general impression of what would sound best. I think since I'm 25 and still live in an apartment I'm not going to go all out until I buy a house, but a lot of insight has been gained for future reference.

Cheers.

Especially you L4C

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.