The Official JVC TH-BA1 Owners Thread - Page 4

I will try tonight with my logitech harmony and see if I can get it to work. I had a panasonic soundbar only and could not get it to work that one.

The Comcast remote can be used. When programming use the code for JVC under Audio Amp i.e. 30331, and assigned it to the AUX button. The only thing is you have to change between AUX and Cable when adjust volume and changing channels on the cable box. And I also have it programmed on my Harmony One.

Picked up the BA1 at Frys yesterday. They had a sign that said $249 and another sign that said $299. I asked and they said the price was $299, that the $249 was a typo. I insisted and they gave me a new unit for the $249 price.

Set up was quick and painless except for setting up my DirecTV remote to operate the volume. I searched the DirecTV site and used the code provided, but it wouldn't work. Turns out I had to "erase" my tv code first, then use the jvc code. Everything works now, except that I have the bar sitting on the media console in front of the tv. Unfortunately, this blocks the tv's remote sensor, so I either have to raise the tv about 1.5 inches, or put the bar above the tv. I know it'll sound best above the tv, but the WAF will surely suffer if I do mount it there.

One easy solution is to purchase an IR remote extender. Amazon sells a good one under their name for about $40 and it works flawlessly.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

Haven't looked at the website yet. How does it work?

A remote extender has one IR receiver (extremely sensitive) that you place anywhere (approx 1-1/2" x 1/2"). This plugs into a signal distribution amplifier that has small cables with an IR flasher at the end of each. The IR flasher is sticky. You stick this over the IR receiver of the device you wish to control. The devices all know which signal means something to them. I actually use this to control both my TV and soundbar. Wires for the IR flasher are so small it is super easy to hide with very high WAF.

I got it to work with my logitech harmony. It controls everything the jvc remote controls.

I understand that this remote extender has to be able to control more than one device, but it seems overkill for me. I only need something that can "move" the IR sensor on my tv about 2 inches so that it is not hidden by the BA1 cabinet. Something like a simple one-IR-sensor "repeater" would be just the ticket, but I don't know if those exist. I may just raise my tv about 2 inches. Any ideas about what to use under the stand that would work to raise the tv without looking ugly? I could use a couple of two-by-fours covered in black cloth..is there anything a bit more elegant out there?

Has anybody had problems with the soundbar interfering with wi-fi signals in the house? We've been seeing very poor connectivity with our home wireless, but when I unplugged the soundbar, the wireless connection was back to full strength. Can the wireless sub cause this?

Don't know if the wireless sub can cause this. Someone mentioned in one of these threads that changing the channel on your wireless router may help.

I wouldn't be surprised. Most wireless networks and the sub (I believe) run on the 2.4GHz frequency band (bluetooth as well, for that matter).

I have not had any issues at all with interference on the wireless channel. I have changed my router to channel 11, which in my area is the best one to use.

I checked the JVC website and am I right in assuming you can only connect the sub wireless, there is no wired capability? Thanks (hoping to stay away from wireless sub.

Correct. Only connection from soundbar to sub is wireless. It does work flawlessly for most people. Installed in my home theater over the weekend and worked first time and have had no difficulty since then.

I will post some early first impressions in the next day or two.

I know that most of you have read glowing reviews on this unit from Davey and several others and originally I was only going to add a few extra observations. However, after spending the past three days listening to this unit, I am going to do more or less a full review. If anyone is still on the fence about this unit, make no mistake, you can a whole lot worse for a whole lot more money.

Following are a list of attributes/criteria that are important in selecting a good unit for reproducing home theater sound. I will try to keep these in the order which are most important to me and my wife, who has been tolerating my obsession with high end audio for the past 35 years. For that she will probably receive a place of honor among the saints in heaven.

1. Clarity. Highest marks yet for a sound bar or HTIB less than $1,200. All sounds come out crystal clear. No hangover or coloration of the sound. This is something that $1,000 to $2,000 speakers try hard and sometimes (too many times) fail to achieve.
2. Dynamics. As good as my Vizio SB200 which was much better than the $1,600 Yamaha YSP or the Sony CT-100. On some program material, the unit sounded more dynamic than I remembered the content from the theater. However, since sonic memory is a poor source of reference, I will chalk that up to being too engrossed in the movie while watching in a real cinema.
3. Voices. Excellent reproduction of voice. This was one of the two factors (the other being dynamics) that kept the Vizio in my home theater for the past eleven months. I had assumed that adjusting the center channel level would have a great affect on voice. In my family room, this had little affect. I think after a small amount of experimentation I settled on either +1 or +2. Still extremely respectable at zero.
4. Absolute Volume. Who knows. This unit will play loud enough to fill my 40' x 20' living area with 16' cielings. My better half had me back off the volume above 30 as she was afraid the gunshots from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" would give one of our condo neighbors a heart attack. Plus get us a nasty letter from the homeowners associaation. To listen to this unit at full volume is to invite a major case of hearling loss. Huh?
5. Overall Frequency Response. Pretty good. I ran a couple of slide tones through the system. The bass output is mostly gone by the time you get to the lowest octave. Treble response is missing in the uppermost octave (like I could still hear those frequencies if they were there). I few rough jags in the upper mid / lower treble. Does any of this matter? For movies, not a damn bit. For music, I need to do a little more listening to some accoustic instruments before I make a judgement there. Will keep you posted.

Unexpected Bonuses

1. Surround mode. Both are very good. If you have read my comments on artificial surround through most soundbars, you know that I am far from a fan of this. To my ears, on my three previous soundbars, the artificial surround sounded processed. It took away dynamics and clarity which were of higher importance. In fact my previous disappointment was enough that I used the other soundbars as 2.1/3.1 systems only. Both surround modes on the JVC are good enough that I have watched three entire movies this weekend with surround turned on.
2. Volume leveling. This works better than on the Vizio. Seems to bring the lower volume settings higher, not sure about the higher volume content as it still came through very dynamic and loud.
3. Sub-Woofer. Totally thrilled. This is the fastest woofer I have heard since I sold a pair of DCM TimeWindows to some good freinds back in 1985. Most people when evaluating low frequency response look at extension (how deep in the bass register will the unit play) and volume (how loud will it play bass / can it rattle the windows). Well this unit does not play all that low and I have no idea (and don't care) how loudly it will play those low frequencies. But it has the best rapid transient response for low frequencies I have heard in years. When you hear the crack of a gunshot, or a bass drum, thunder, you hear that instant attack of the sound. I have a number of classical pieces with extreme low frequency, fast transient material that I intend to try out over then next few weeks.
4. Transition from soundbar to sub is seemless. That can not be said of any of the three units I previously have owned (still own).
5. Digtal decoder. Excellent. I took Davey's advice and set my Blu-Ray to bitstream and let the JVC decoder handle the output. I could definitely hear the difference. I have done similar experiments between PCM/Bitstrean/Analog/Digital outputs and have had a very hard time latching on to any sonic signature associated with these until now.

Negatives - so far only the cabinet. Originally the unit was placed directly in front of my HDTV where the shiny top reflected what was playing on TV. Also, the unit is nearly 5" tall. Depending upon your personal setup, this could be problematic in mounting or positioning the unit. The appearance is rather low tech, similar to the Yamaha sound projectors. I mounted the unit on the shelf beneath the TV that previously housed my Comcast HD-PVR and Blu-Ray player. These are now behind cabinet doors much to the delight of my wife.

I am not quite the soundbar junkie that our esteemed colleague Davey is, but have had my share of units over the past four years. This unit is definitely the most impressive soundwise. Highly recommended for those whose rooms do not lend themselves to multiple speakers.

Am I going to keep it. The answer is a definite, probably. I have been made aware of some smaller speakers from Definitive Technology (ProMonitor 800) which with the proper subwoofer could replace my soundbar and home audio system. My preference is to have the two systems in two different rooms. To me music listening is a much more private experience and I prefer to do away with distractions and listen deeply. However, my better half would like to be rid of speakers that are as tall as she is and have her sunroom looking better (I think it looks great with my speakers).

Will post my impressions sometime next week on the JVC with strictly musical content.

I've been looking to ditch my Onkyo 5.1 HTIB in favor of a cleaner setup.This thread just sold me on the JVC over the CT150. For now I will only need to hook up my XBOX360 and HD DVR to the sound bar. Would I be better off hooking them up directly to the sound bar or passing the sound through my TV and using the optical OUT? Any degrade in sound quality if I decide to pass through my TV? Thanks in advance.

Reading through the reviews in this thread, the general impression is, the sound quality is better, if dolby digital or DD DTS signals are fed to the soundbar.

I currently own a CT150. But I am seriously considering returning it and get the TH-BA1 instead.

Thank you. In for 1.

I got my ba1 soundbar today, but i'm having a lot of trouble getting my directv remote to control the volume. I was wondering if you could do a quick walk through for me on how to erase the current code and then get the directv and ba1 programmed again. I would really appreciate it. Also, are you having to change the remote mode from directv to av1 or av2 to change the volume on the ba1?

Thanks!

Just a few further updates for those interested in the JVC TH-BA1.

I have now been playing with this for about 10 days. Still as impressed as ever, especially the speed of the woofer. This is a quality that is not to be underestimated. There are a lot (a whole lot) of medium price high-end speakers between $2,000 and $3,000 whose bass drivers do not have the quick rise time and impact (up to its limits anyway) of this little 6" woofer.

We have watched lots of Blu-Ray and television since last weekend and the positive experiences continue. Watched "Butch Cassidy" and "The Godfather" and "Godfather Part II" and the soundtracks were reproduced beautifully. Grandchldren's movies on Blu-Ray, "Cars", "Ratatoulie", "Up" were equally spectacular. DVD movies "Pinochio", "Lady and the Tramp" and "Tarzan and his Mate" all came through in living color as the peacock used to say.

One of the high points mentioned by the professional reviewers was how well the BA1 did with pure audio sources. My take on this is yes it does and not quite.

For acoustic music and female and male tenor voices, the sound is very good, but far from great. For orchestral work, full-bodied rock, male bass and baritone voices the best I can give it is barely passable.

Doing a little more testing, plus looking at the review from Home Theater Magazine, I think I see the problem. The subwoofer appears to be 3db down (half volume) at approx. 124hz while the soundbar itself is down by 6db at about 170hz. This puts a hole of approximately one/half octave right in the middle of the mid-bass region. Since movies will not normally have sustained content in this range, it is pretty hard to catch with video content of any type. However, with music, whether pop, classical, jazz or country, many will have a lot of sustained content in this region and it is definitely discernible.

All of that is to say that this bothers me not in the least. I had thought if audio sounded decent that this might be an excellent choice for background music when we have company for dinner. It is really not even good for background music (to my ears), but since I still have my good audio system in the sun-room, I will continue to listen in there or set the volume accordingly when I want background music for company.

But, do I like it for movies? The answer is a giant affirmative. I actually like much of what I hear better than my previous true 5.1 system from my home before we moved to the condo. The other system had more authority and would certainly play louder, but the JVC reveals certain nuances in the soundtrack that I don't remember from our home and had forgotten from the movie theater experience until hearing them again with the JVC.

This definitely stays with the HDTV for the next 10 or 12 months or until I am farily certain that there is something more impressive out there. If you are looking for good sound, this is a unit to place high on your consideration list.

And for those who are interested, the JVC does do five channels of sound.

Left and right are from the two outside speakers.

Center is mixed from the two outside speakers.

Rear channels are from the inside speakers and I am not certain, but probably out of phase with the other two to give a broader soundstage.

Nevermind, I got it figured out. I was able to program my directv remote to control the volume without having to change modes. The only downside is that you have to switch it to av1 mode to turn the soundbar on/off, but that is no big deal. It would be ideal if you were able to program the soundbar inputs to change automatically when you change the input mode on your tv, but that would be difficult with having two seperate tv and stereo brands and set ups

Spend $60-$80 on one of the cheap Logitech Harmony remotes. The Harmony allows you to create activites like "Watch Cable/PVR" or "Watch DVD/Blu-Ray". Example, when I select "Watch PVR", the Harmony powers on my Comcast DVR, sets the channel to "803" (local CBS affiliate), turns on the TV and sets the input to HDMI1 for the DVR, turns on the JVC TH-BA1 and sets the input to D1 (digital one). Channels change automatically from the DVR, sound is adjusted automatically from the soundbar. The 50" plasma TV and none of the soundbars I have tried, with the exception of the JVC, have ever changed my life. The Harmony did.

The harmony is awesome. Now my wife does not like it that much but I do. I got it on black friday last year, regular price was 99.99 and got it for 39.99. Set it all up and usually push a button and bam it is all done for me.

hey guys
received my TH-BA1 today from amazon (along with a shiny new Samsung UN55C6800 )
problem is, my subwoofer wont pair with the speaker unit!! I've followed the instructions to a T like 10 times problem...the stupid display just keeps flashing XX and i cant get the "OK"

any tips?? Amazon is sending me a replacement, but id really like to get this one to work since i already mounted and everything (hindsight, i probably should checked to make sure everything worked before wiring everything but 28 reviews on Amazon and this whole thread and NO ONE mentioned sub pairing problems...of course i am the unlucky one lol)

I was having the same problem. Try to unplug and plug back in. I had to hold the input button down longer then the 4 seconds it says.

Because of Davyo's review I pulled the trigger and purchased a JVC TH-BA1 off of Amazon (Buy.com has a sale on it right now at amazon market).

The only question I guess I have is how much can the JVC decode? My thought for the setup was going to have was PS360 HDMI > Panel Optical out > TH-BA1. Or if I should just stick the optical out from my PS3 straight to the sound bar.

For best sound, go PS3 optical to the soundbar with HDMI to the television. Set the PS3 for bitstream to pass the best signal. Sit back and enjoy.