Soundbar advice

[wazzickle]

Looking for a soundbar to replace my current, subpar sound set-up.

Samsung HW-K950 looks pretty good, with glowing reviews on other sites, and within my price range. Only problem is that I'm not sure how to set it up within my area.



Image not working in the forum atm so click here if you can't see it: http://i65.tinypic.com/2hex0uc.jpg

The soundbar is 1.2M wide, but the bench on which I'd like to place it is only a metre. Is 10cm overhang on either side going to be a problem, for example in terms of sound quality, let alone how it looks?

Alternatives include: wall brackets, included in the box, but with the double drawbacks of being underneath a wall-mounted storage unit which could affect the sound, and one side being blocked off by a section of wall, again potentially impacting sound quality. Leaving it on the floor is not an option for several reasons, so that leaves buying another bench or storage unit on which to place it. Thoughts?

[b0redom]

LG SJ9 Dolby Atmos Soundbar ? Currently massive discount at John Lewis. Sort of tempted myself TBH.

[wazzickle]

Yeah I saw that was discounted, but have seen some questionable reviews, it needs to be a decent update on my current set-up for that kind of money.

[wazzickle]

Having said that, the reviews on JL for the HW-K950 look very scary, I might swerve that too, and choose the Sony HT-ST5000, for which the length is still an issue.

[peterb]

Depending on budget, SONOS have just released the Sonos Beam - a “budget” sound bar for smaller rooms. IIRC about £350 to £400 - but Sonos stuff is pretty good!

[Dashers]

My only advise would be to swap your shelves with your TV

Don't you get neck ache?

[wazzickle]

Got impatient, the Sony HT-ST5000 has just arrived from john lewis. Gonna put it on the bench.

My only advise would be to swap your shelves with your TV

Don't you get neck ache?

Nah my sofa is like 4-5m back, it's the perfect height.

[Millennium]

Physics, hey, just use a proper sound system! Soundbars are ok but Bose proved that even with a lot of effort you can only get a certain amount of pleasure from something small (and MinX too ,,,,, .... )

[XeNoNF50]

Got impatient, the Sony HT-ST5000 has just arrived from john lewis. Gonna put it on the bench.



Nah my sofa is like 4-5m back, it's the perfect height.

Good choice, I have the same one! Bought it for it's compatibility with pretty much all the audiovisual formats and it's sheer power. How you finding it?

[jimborae]

Depending on budget, SONOS have just released the Sonos Beam - a “budget” sound bar for smaller rooms. IIRC about £350 to £400 - but Sonos stuff is pretty good!

Really? I would argue that most Sonos kit from an audio quality perspective sounds pretty crap. The only reason we have Sonos speakers in our home is a from a legacy, convenience perspective. Have never been impressed with their soundbars considering how much they cost. The price of their subs is eye watering too.

[Biscuit]

...Bose proved that even with a lot of effort you can only get a certain amount of pleasure from something small

[wazzickle]

Good choice, I have the same one! Bought it for it's compatibility with pretty much all the audiovisual formats and it's sheer power. How you finding it?

The sound is great, far clearer and sharper than my old system, but unfortunately the HDMI connection to my PS4 pro isn't very stable and cuts out for a few seconds once every few minutes which is very annoying; solution is to ignore the hdmi but that means having to fiddle around with tv -> soundbar bluetooth settings each time i want to use the PS4.

[XeNoNF50]

That is rather odd. Are you connecting it directly into the soundbar or through the TV via HDMI ARC?

[Jonj1611]

The sound is great, far clearer and sharper than my old system, but unfortunately the HDMI connection to my PS4 pro isn't very stable and cuts out for a few seconds once every few minutes which is very annoying; solution is to ignore the hdmi but that means having to fiddle around with tv -> soundbar bluetooth settings each time i want to use the PS4.

Strangely enough my soundbar does that (Panasonic), its connect to the ARC hdmi on the TV, doesn't matter whether I am watching a UHD or Sky the same thing will happen. Every now and again it will cut out for a second or two. TV is a Samsung 4k.

[wazzickle]

That is rather odd. Are you connecting it directly into the soundbar or through the TV via HDMI ARC?

It's a known problem with this TV, but manifests slightly differently when plugged in directly - before a firmware update it would cut out for a few seconds once every 10-30 minutes roughly, then after the firmware update it would only ever cut out once or twice each time after the tv is switched on, but then settle down until the next time I turned it on; with the PS4 pro plugged into the soundbar, it cuts out more regularly, in a slightly different way visually, and it doesn't settle down after the beginning. Makes no difference which HDMI input it's in, whether directly into tv or via soundbar.

[wazzickle]

TV is a Samsung 4k.

Yar me too.