AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Soundbars › Soundbar without subwoofer - any good?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Soundbar without subwoofer - any good?

post #1 of 17
5/12/10 at 12:02pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Most soundbars I've seen have a subwoofer, but I'd like to avoid having one since I don't have a good place to put the subwoofer. Also, in my case the main reason for getting a soundbar is not for e.g. experiencing impressing sounds during explosions in movies, but for improving dialog and general sound quality compared to the crappy TV speakers.

So, therefore I just wonder if there are any soundbars without subwoofer that are good?
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 17
5/12/10 at 1:35pm
There are quite a few soundbars that dont have subwoofers included. Vizio, Yamaha, Zvox are 3 companies that I can think of right now.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 17
5/12/10 at 2:20pm
definitve tech ssa-50
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 17
5/13/10 at 2:48am
Thread Starter 
Thanks! Is there anyone who has tried a soundbar without subwoofer? What's your experience? How would you rate the sound quality compared to soundbars with subwoofer?
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 17
5/13/10 at 4:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fjodor2000 View Post

Thanks! Is there anyone who has tried a soundbar without subwoofer? What's your experience? How would you rate the sound quality compared to soundbars with subwoofer?

A soundbar without a sub is really going to sound thin in most case's, I have owned many bars and just for fun have experimented with turning the sub off or all the way down, and in every case the sound suffered.

If you dont have a good place to put the sub here is an option, mount it on a wall above you,,, sounds crazy but Im thinking about tring this myself,,,, reason being, I live in a up-stairs condo, the people under me do sometimes bitch about the sub, other reason is the only place's I have on the floor for my sub, is tucked behind my couch or right under my wall mounted display,,,,, so since I am curious as to how it would sound, I plan on wall mounting my wireless sub (in a corner) almost as high as the ceiling (about 8 feet) just to see what it sounds like.

For the record Im currenty using a Vizio soundbar w/ wireless sub,,, LOVE the Vizio !!!

Cheers
Davyo
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 17
5/13/10 at 8:02am
Thread Starter 
Thanks!

If you compare the soundbar without subwoofer to the speakers on your HDTV, would you say there is still a clear improvement?

Also, is it fair to make a judgement based on how a soundbar with subwoofer sounds when the subwoofer is turned off? Aren't there any soundbars that are built to intentionally work without a subwoofer, so that perhaps they are designed with larger speaker elements since they must be able to produce lower frequencies themselves as they are specifically designed to work without a subwoofer?
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 17
5/13/10 at 10:10am
yes the soundbar itself is a step forward for most all TVs,, my Vizio (with wireless sub) just by itself was a noticeable improvement over the LCD TV,, our living room is quite large with 18' ceilings and it needed some extra punch,, I have unplugged the woofer several times just to test it out and it still sounds far better than the TV speakers,,

I'm running my bar from the audio out on my ATT Uvers box, not the TV,,

Derry
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 17
5/13/10 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

A soundbar without a sub is really going to sound thin in most case's, I have owned many bars and just for fun have experimented with turning the sub off or all the way down, and in every case the sound suffered.

If you dont have a good place to put the sub here is an option, mount it on a wall above you,,, sounds crazy but Im thinking about tring this myself,,,, reason being, I live in a up-stairs condo, the people under me do sometimes bitch about the sub, other reason is the only place's I have on the floor for my sub, is tucked behind my couch or right under my wall mounted display,,,,, so since I am curious as to how it would sound, I plan on wall mounting my wireless sub (in a corner) almost as high as the ceiling (about 8 feet) just to see what it sounds like.

For the record Im currenty using a Vizio soundbar w/ wireless sub,,, LOVE the Vizio !!!

Cheers
Davyo

Have you tried making your own sub-dude? Might be better instead of mounting it up so high.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 17
5/13/10 at 7:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by l3ftonm3 View Post

Have you tried making your own sub-dude?

Whats a "sub-dude" ?

Cheers
Davyo
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 17
5/13/10 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

Whats a "sub-dude" ?

Cheers
Davyo

SubDude - The SubDude is a subwoofer, speaker or amp riser that is incredibly effective at reducing or eliminating resonance transfer. This increased isolation results in a purity of tone that truly needs to be heard. Stop unwanted room resonance easily through the implementation of this highly cost-effective platform. Utilizing our proprietary Platfoam, the SubDude is sure to give you the extra isolation you need.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 17
5/13/10 at 10:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

Whats a "sub-dude" ?

Cheers
Davyo

http://forum.blu-ray.com/subwoofers/...er-risers.html
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 17
5/14/10 at 6:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JChin View Post

SubDude - The SubDude is a subwoofer, speaker or amp riser that is incredibly effective at reducing or eliminating resonance transfer. This increased isolation results in a purity of tone that truly needs to be heard. Stop unwanted room resonance easily through the implementation of this highly cost-effective platform. Utilizing our proprietary Platfoam, the SubDude is sure to give you the extra isolation you need.

Ahhhh,,, I thought thats what it might be,, but I have never heard the term before,,,, I always just called it "a thingy to put your sub on" .

Actually I do have a small sub stand that works well, but the other reason for wanting to experiement with wall mounting my sub is because of my couch blocking the sub,, and I am curious to see what it would sound like high up on the wall.

Cheers
Davyo
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 17
5/14/10 at 9:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

Ahhhh,,, I thought thats what it might be,, but I have never heard the term before,,,, I always just called it "a thingy to put your sub on" .

Actually I do have a small sub stand that works well, but the other reason for wanting to experiement with wall mounting my sub is because of my couch blocking the sub,, and I am curious to see what it would sound like high up on the wall.

Cheers
Davyo


Well if you mount it high up they say for an 8ft ceiling you want to have it 2ft away from the top if this helps.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 17
6/2/10 at 2:09pm
To the OP, when I initially installed my Vizio sub, I used it for about three weeks with no sub attached. Sound was nice and dynamic and a major improvement over the built-in speakers. Finally attached a Yamaha sub that was purchased for a Yamaha Sound Projector soundbar and after getting the balance right, this definitely added extra fullness and richness to the sound. But even without, the sound was much better than almost any built-in speakers included with modern TV's.

By the way, my son is still using my Yamaha Sound Projector, without sub. He and his wife love it. Much better than built-in speakers with their TV.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 17
8/1/12 at 7:30pm
I don't have floor space for a sub 7x16x17 and 23lbs is heavy for a shelf. Can I put the sub under the foot of my bed?
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 17
8/2/12 at 5:54am
I don't think it is shipping yet but I would look into Atlantic Technology's new sound bar coming out. They have been demoing it, so I hope it will be shipping soon. Has great bass with no sub.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 17
2/2/13 at 12:46pm
Philips will have a new bar in May whose specs look very good!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Soundbars

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Soundbars › Soundbar without subwoofer - any good?