Soundbar Recommendations

[Kanoe]

Got an old(ish) TV that I want to use with a PS3 (mostly as an interface to play music from my NAS), N64 but as with most TVs the in built speakers are not really much good for music so would welcome any suggestions for a soundbar with sub that doesn't cost the earth but must have:

- L/R RCA in
- Optical in (more than 1 would be great, the TV doesn't have ARC)
- Bluetooth
- Doesn't need to have things like ATMOS or surround support, stereo is fine

Thanks

[silent]

i have recently purchased a yamaha YSA 207 soundbar and wireless sub. i'd done a lot of research and used to owe a higher priced 'flagship' one a couple of years back. i must say, for the price, £249 i paid from amazon, its really good. i have experienced no sub disconnects and upgraded the firmware the other day so its full 'virtual' surround now and its an impressive sound for its size and cost. i'm not going to say it's exceptional sounds, but for movies and tv it improves my sony 4k tv's sound no end and my ps4 pro sounds great too. it also works really well with my note 9!

a friend of mine purchased one on my recommendation, he was going to buy a flagship model, the one i used to own, but for the cash he is well impressed and glad he didn't spend the £700.

hope that helps.

only thing, i don't recall RCA in has 2 x HDMI, optical and usb from memory)

Audio Inputs 1 (3.5mm)
Bluetooth Yes
Coaxial Inputs No
Dimensions WxDxH (mm) 930 x 108 x 60
Dolby Atmos No
DTS Yes (virtual)
HDMI Yes
HDMI Configuration 1 in / 1 out
HDR Compatible HDMI Yes
Included Cables Optical Cable
IR repeater No
Learning TV volume No
NFC No
Optical Inputs Yes
Power Consumption- Normal Use 49
Power Output - Watts per CH 200W
App Control Yes
Soundbar or Sound base soundbar
Sub Dimensions WxDxH (mm) 180 x 401 x 437
Subwoofer Yes - Wireless
Subwoofer Weight (KG) 8
USB No
Weight (KG) 3
Brand Yamaha
Colour Black

https://www.richersounds.com/yamaha-yas207.html

[DanceswithUnix]

What's your budget?All the local supermarkets seem to have them on offer atm.

[Kanoe]

i have recently purchased a yamaha YSA 207 soundbar and wireless sub.

I was looking at that one too yesterday after reading around and whilst it got rave reviews from review sites it was absolutely panned on Amazon which sort of put me off.

It has 3.5mm jack and I already have an RCA to 3.5mm jack cable so that's OK.

Budget is around the £200 mark but as it will be used a lot for music need something that can handle that well not just talking.

[silent]

i was almost put off by the amazon reviews too but have suffered nothing to date that others have said. i think they are version 2 units.

[proaudio]

I can recommend the Q Acoustics M4 Soundbar. Super good quality sound with bluetooth and woofer. And it's around your £200 budget.

[Kanoe]

I pulled the trigger on the YAS207 last night from amazon for £217. Cheers all for the information.

[CountStex]

I've been using a Yamaha YSP-40D since about 2008 if not before. It set us back £800 at the time but it still producing excellent sound. Sure it only supports standard 5.1 with no HD features, but I have our TV output 5.1 bitstream (sometimes Dolby sometime DTS) from the XBOX One X or from Plex and all works perfectly. I'm not suggesting you find one of these old beasts, but I would certainly look to Yamaha again when I eventually do get around to needing a new one.

[AGTDenton]

If you need RCA still, you could get one of these mini DACs:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Tos...ords=DAC&psc=1

[Kanoe]

If you need RCA still, you could get one of these mini DACs:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Tos...ords=DAC&psc=1

It's fine as the bar has a 3.5mm Jack input and a got cables to go from RCA to 3.5mm Jack. Thanks anyway.

[silent]

nice, let me know what you think when its up and running.

[proaudio]

I pulled the trigger on the YAS207 last night from amazon for £217. Cheers all for the information.

You're welcome! Would love to see a demo video when it arrives

[Kanoe]

You're welcome! Would love to see a demo video when it arrives

It arrived yesterday and took it for a spin last night. Tried to take a video but as per usual it doesn't come across very well so will just type up some points about it.

- Sub was bigger than expected, I know the specs listed the size but didn't really appreciate it until i took it out of the box
- The sound from the bar is very crisp, at first I thought it was a bit weird but then brought in my Creative D100 next to it and the difference was immense
- I seem to prefer it will all the extra sound features turned off (Bass Extension, Clear Voice, Surround) although i dont think i tried all the modes yet so will give that some extra go, surround made things sound echo-y
- The sub doesn't seem to do much, this one has been puzzling me, I had to keep checking that the thing was paired with the bar cause it seemed to be doing nothing, even with bass extension and sub on max, couldn't really tell it was on! I need to investigate this further and try it on different surfaces, its on a very new, thick carpet and I think that this might be dampening the efforts of the sub

So overall, fairly happy with it. Although compared to my cheaper 5.1 setup in the living room (even with just stereo content) I don't think its as good. I'm glad I didn't pay anymore than I did. What it does tell me is that I need to really look after my 10+ year old main setup cause it will be a hell of a time (and costly) trying to replace it when it eventually packs up.

[proaudio]

Yeah carpet will definitely absorb some of the sub. Likely to be the issue. Thanks for the update, glad to hear there is crispyness!

[Jonj1611]

- The sub doesn't seem to do much, this one has been puzzling me, I had to keep checking that the thing was paired with the bar cause it seemed to be doing nothing, even with bass extension and sub on max, couldn't really tell it was on! I need to investigate this further and try it on different surfaces, its on a very new, thick carpet and I think that this might be dampening the efforts of the sub

I thought that with my Panasonic soundbar until I turned on Movie mode then the sub came alive, rumbling away like no tomorrow

[Kanoe]

Update: Well i have now got it in its permanent home and the results seem better. The surround does make a difference, in a good way, the bar is now lower down than it was when I was testing and with surround on seems to fill the room better than without.

The sub is now tucked behind a TV stand in a corner and is sandwiched between two walls and this seems to have helped as it now has the walls to bounce off, where as in testing it was in an open space. Its still on the carpet though.