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Best soundbar w/ wireless sub for the money?

post #1 of 15
5/28/10 at 8:07am
Thread Starter 
hey guys,

i'm brand new to soundbars and was wondering what's the best sound bar for the money? i'm lookin to spend under $400-$500 for one. this will be goin under a 46"-50" LCD. thanks in advance and hope to hear from u guys. i'm lookin to pick up a new LCD and soundbar w/ wireless sub soon.
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post #2 of 15
5/28/10 at 5:35pm
What features do you need? Will you want HDMI inputs? If so that reduces your choices.
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post #3 of 15
5/28/10 at 6:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by houstoned View Post

hey guys,

i'm brand new to soundbars and was wondering what's the best sound bar for the money? i'm lookin to spend under $400-$500 for one. this will be goin under a 46"-50" LCD. thanks in advance and hope to hear from u guys. i'm lookin to pick up a new LCD and soundbar w/ wireless sub soon.

Hi houstoned, my answer to you would be there is no best soundbar. For instance, I wanted a simple, small, and aesthetically pleasing soundbar with wireless sub for a bedroom. Purchased the Polk SDA IHT and have no regrets. However, if I'd been buying a soundbar for the family room, I would have gone with a different model. Everyone's requirements are different. You may find the following link useful: http://reviews.cnet.com/2795-6740_7-...rColumnArea1.1
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post #4 of 15
5/29/10 at 4:13pm
Look at the Vizio or something in the $200 range. None of them are as good as a 5.1 setup.
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post #5 of 15
5/31/10 at 10:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by l3ftonm3 View Post

What features do you need? Will you want HDMI inputs? If so that reduces your choices.

what are the benefits of having this feature?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cornhulio View Post

Look at the Vizio or something in the $200 range. None of them are as good as a 5.1 setup.

i keep hearing good things about the vizio soundbars. is there a better recommendation in the $300-$500 range with a wireless sub?
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post #6 of 15
6/1/10 at 4:04am
Thread Starter 
main use: PS3 games, blu ray movies, HD cable (HDMI). i think i have narrowed it down to 2 choices.

a) Sony CT150 - great aesthetics, nice HDMI connectivity
b) JVC TH-BA1 - reading alot of reviews praising it's sound quality

are there any particular reasons to sway towards one more than the other? how and where do u guys recommend me place my subwoofer? any guys with personal experience wanna chime in, please feel free. any information would be greatly appreciated.
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post #7 of 15
6/1/10 at 10:50am
Sony ct-150 does not have a wireless subwoofer. If you only have 2 devices, the cable box and ps3 to hook up to the tv with hdmi you can look at the pioneer HTP-SB300. It only has 2 hdmi inputs.

http://www.pioneerusa.com/PUSA/Produ...HTP-SB300.Kuro
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post #8 of 15
6/1/10 at 4:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by l3ftonm3 View Post

Sony ct-150 does not have a wireless subwoofer. If you only have 2 devices, the cable box and ps3 to hook up to the tv with hdmi you can look at the pioneer HTP-SB300. It only has 2 hdmi inputs.

http://www.pioneerusa.com/PUSA/Produ...HTP-SB300.Kuro

dang, thanks for the correction. so the sub in the sony ct150 is wired? if so, was the sub made to be positioned in front of u? if the best position for the ct150's sub is in front of u then i still might consider gettin it. i really like how it looks.

if my 2 sources (ps3 & HD cable) are already HD, would a soundbar without HDMI really make a difference? the pioneer HTP-SB300 doesn't have the best reviews for it's sound quality. i want something with at least decent sound quality. the JVC th-ba1 has great reviews for it's sound quality, but doesn't have any HDMI input/outputs. that's a sacrifice i'm willin to make if it's JVC th-ba1 vs. the pioneer sb300.

so...sony ct150/350 if HDMI input/output do matter and JVC th-ba1 if HDMI input/outputs don't matter. how do those 2 choices sound?
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post #9 of 15
6/1/10 at 5:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by houstoned View Post

dang, thanks for the correction. so the sub in the sony ct150 is wired? if so, was the sub made to be positioned in front of u? if the best position for the ct150's sub is in front of u then i still might consider gettin it. i really like how it looks.

if my 2 sources (ps3 & HD cable) are already HD, would a soundbar without HDMI really make a difference? the pioneer HTP-SB300 doesn't have the best reviews for it's sound quality. i want something with at least decent sound quality. the JVC th-ba1 has great reviews for it's sound quality, but doesn't have any HDMI input/outputs. that's a sacrifice i'm willin to make if it's JVC th-ba1 vs. the pioneer sb300.

so...sony ct150/350 if HDMI input/output do matter and JVC th-ba1 if HDMI input/outputs don't matter. how do those 2 choices sound?

Yea I have read the Pioneer reviews but I think its unfair when the reviewers are comparing it to systems that cost twice the money. CnetUK liked it though but say its surround modes aren't great which unless you get the yamaha ysp-4000 I doubt any soundbar will give good surround.

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/accessorie...9305278,00.htm

As for the Sony no one knows yet how it sounds since its so new. But like I said it is wired. So expect a single 10ft speaker cable to run from the subwoofer to the soundbar. The JVC looks good but I am hesitant to recommend any soundbars that do not have hdmi inputs since I think they should be standard by now. At this point you need to decide what you think you need and go from there. If ya get it from a large retailer you can always return it.
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post #10 of 15
6/1/10 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by l3ftonm3 View Post

Yea I have read the Pioneer reviews but I think its unfair when the reviewers are comparing it to systems that cost twice the money. CnetUK liked it though but say its surround modes aren't great which unless you get the yamaha ysp-4000 I doubt any soundbar will give good surround.

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/accessorie...9305278,00.htm

As for the Sony no one knows yet how it sounds since its so new. But like I said it is wired. So expect a single 10ft speaker cable to run from the subwoofer to the soundbar. The JVC looks good but I am hesitant to recommend any soundbars that do not have hdmi inputs since I think they should be standard by now. At this point you need to decide what you think you need and go from there. If ya get it from a large retailer you can always return it.

yea, i'm definitely gettin it from a reputable seller so i don't have to worry about returns/exchanges. if i go with the sony ct150/350 then i wouldn't mind if the sub was wired cuz the sub is supposed to be positioned in front of u. the sub would sit next to my TV stand so the wire would be hidden out of sight, with the other wires.

could u please tell me the true benefits of havin a soundbar system that has HDMI inputs vs one like the JVC that doesn't? the JVC th-ba1 has rave reviews (for a soundbar), and cnet rates it as their top soundbar, sound quality-wise, within it's price range. if my 2 sources (ps3 & HD cable) are already HD, then would i even be able to take advantage of the HDMI upscaling? if the HDMI feature adds nothing for me, other than convenience, then i will probably hop on the JVC th-ba1 for it's great sound quality reviews.

thanks so far for all yur info! it's much appreciated.
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post #11 of 15
6/1/10 at 11:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by houstoned View Post

yea, i'm definitely gettin it from a reputable seller so i don't have to worry about returns/exchanges. if i go with the sony ct150/350 then i wouldn't mind if the sub was wired cuz the sub is supposed to be positioned in front of u. the sub would sit next to my TV stand so the wire would be hidden out of sight, with the other wires.

could u please tell me the true benefits of havin a soundbar system that has HDMI inputs vs one like the JVC that doesn't? the JVC th-ba1 has rave reviews (for a soundbar), and cnet rates it as their top soundbar, sound quality-wise, within it's price range. if my 2 sources (ps3 & HD cable) are already HD, then would i even be able to take advantage of the HDMI upscaling? if the HDMI feature adds nothing for me, other than convenience, then i will probably hop on the JVC th-ba1 for it's great sound quality reviews.

thanks so far for all yur info! it's much appreciated.

The benefits would be like you said 1 connection running to the tv for video and audio. With the JVC you will need to run 2 optical cables and 2 hdmi cables. With the Sony its only 3 hdmi cables. The other benefit of the Sony is that it can support Dolby TruHD over HDMI. The vast majority of people on here say it doesn't matter to have that support since its only a soundbar, To me I feel like having that ability to output the HD codec from the bluray player to get all the benefits of what I bought is important.

Like I said though at this point picking between the two is difficult since no one has reviewed the new Sony yet.
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post #12 of 15
6/2/10 at 3:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by l3ftonm3 View Post

The benefits would be like you said 1 connection running to the tv for video and audio. With the JVC you will need to run 2 optical cables and 2 hdmi cables. With the Sony its only 3 hdmi cables. The other benefit of the Sony is that it can support Dolby TruHD over HDMI. The vast majority of people on here say it doesn't matter to have that support since its only a soundbar, To me I feel like having that ability to output the HD codec from the bluray player to get all the benefits of what I bought is important.

Like I said though at this point picking between the two is difficult since no one has reviewed the new Sony yet.

do u have any personal experience with the sony ct100 and the JVC th-ba1? my main concern with goin the soundbar route was that the provided sub wouldn't have enough of the low end i wanted. cnet says the ct100 has a "potent sub". i might try to find some time and go check out a best buy that has a JVC unit set up. hopefully the subs that come with the JVC th-ba1 and the sony ct150 are good enough for my needs. if they aren't, i'll have to shell out some extra dough and go with a guy that's sellin a BNIB sony ct500 off ebay. i just don't know if spendin around $450 is justifiable for a sound bar though. what do u think? i don't really have any space restrictions. i just wanted a minimalist setup that requires very little power.

p.s. - sorry for all the questions. u've been a big help!

edit: amazon has the sony ct150 for only $226 right now, so i might hop on this deal right away.
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post #13 of 15
6/3/10 at 7:41pm
anyone know if you purchase sound bar which has wireless sub whether you could substitute a higher quality sub which is set up for wireless? the transmitter in these sound bars are usually on the 2.4 frequency. so for example a martin logan dynamo uses same freq.
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post #14 of 15
6/8/10 at 3:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by l3ftonm3 View Post

The benefits would be like you said 1 connection running to the tv for video and audio. With the JVC you will need to run 2 optical cables and 2 hdmi cables. With the Sony its only 3 hdmi cables. The other benefit of the Sony is that it can support Dolby TruHD over HDMI. The vast majority of people on here say it doesn't matter to have that support since its only a soundbar, To me I feel like having that ability to output the HD codec from the bluray player to get all the benefits of what I bought is important.

Like I said though at this point picking between the two is difficult since no one has reviewed the new Sony yet.

I'm going thru this debate now too as whether I need the soundbar to have HDMI... The way I'm understanding it, my soundbar won't be supporting HD sound anyhow since its virtual surround so thats somewhat a non-issue. In the example of two devices it would be

Soundbar w/o HDMI
1 HDMI cable each from D*TV and DVD to the TV
1 TOSLink from the TV to the Soundbar

Soundbar w/HDMI
1 HDMI cable each from D*TV and DVD to the Soundbar
1 HDMI cable from the Soundbar to the TV.

Same amount of cables, just switching which kind between the Soundbar and the TV. Assuming your running the cables inside the wall its not really much of a difference.

If I understand correctly the TOSLink can run the 5.1 signal for the Soundbar to work with but not HD Audio (which the soundbar isn't going to play impressively anyhow)

What am I missing?
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post #15 of 15
6/8/10 at 7:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scorpioatl View Post

I'm going thru this debate now too as whether I need the soundbar to have HDMI... The way I'm understanding it, my soundbar won't be supporting HD sound anyhow since its virtual surround so thats somewhat a non-issue. In the example of two devices it would be

Soundbar w/o HDMI
1 HDMI cable each from D*TV and DVD to the TV
1 TOSLink from the TV to the Soundbar

Soundbar w/HDMI
1 HDMI cable each from D*TV and DVD to the Soundbar
1 HDMI cable from the Soundbar to the TV.

Same amount of cables, just switching which kind between the Soundbar and the TV. Assuming your running the cables inside the wall its not really much of a difference.

If I understand correctly the TOSLink can run the 5.1 signal for the Soundbar to work with but not HD Audio (which the soundbar isn't going to play impressively anyhow)

What am I missing?

The toslink can run 5.1 however it it depends on what your tv outputs. A lot hdtv optical out only run in stereo mode.
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