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Pictures/suggestions of soundbar placements?

post #1 of 10
1/25/11 at 6:10pm
Thread Starter 
I have a Panasonic TC-P50S1 TV, a PS3 for Blu-Ray, and a Scientific Atlanta 8240 DVR box (from Cox). I am interested in getting a soundbar. Right now I am leaning towards the Sony CT150 or CT350 because they are so slim, yet get good reviews.

Right now, the PS3 and DVR are in the cabinet underneath the TV. We have to leave a cabinet door open in order to use the remote for it. I am planning to buy an IR extender to take care of that issue. The PS3's remote is bluetooth, so there is no problem with the door being closed.

My question is where to put a soundbar and its subwoofer. Here are a couple pictures of our TV area:





I could push the TV back a few inches and have the bar rest in front of the TV stand. It could possibly fit on the TV stand, but then would tilt down a bit and might not sit steady. In either case, it would most likely block the IR receiver on the TV.

I don't think putting the subwoofer under the TV in the cabinet would be ideal, but it certainly would be the easiest. We could put it behind the chair, next to the lamp, but then we'd have to run speaker wire, which kind of defeats part of the reason to get a soundbar system, eh? There is room directly behind the TV for the sub...but would there be any issues with having it so close to the TV? No matter where I put it, I will have to use the IR extender to be able to use the remote for it.

Suggestions? And I would love to see pictures of your soundbar setups...

Thank you!
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post #2 of 10
1/25/11 at 10:13pm
Have you considered a Zvox soundbar? Would fit nicely under the tv
stand - although not sure if the alcove would affect the bass quality.
It would be a clean and simple solution.
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post #3 of 10
1/26/11 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestion. I had not considered a setup like the Zvox or Yamaha series that the TV actually sits on. I should think about it, although my initial impression is that would make the TV too high. I might put something underneath the TV that would raise it up to the height of one of hose boxes to see if we could live with it being higher up.
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post #4 of 10
1/26/11 at 1:46pm
That's a very nice looking wall setup. With the TV pushed back a few inches, the Sony bars would fit nicely right in front of the pedestal and would not block the TV's IR, but....placing the subwoofer could be a challenge. If you didn't mind always having the cabinet doors open, then putting the sw in the cabinet would work. With the doors closed I think you'd lose much (most) of the sw sound. As for placing it elsewhere, keep in mind that all connections are on the sw so no matter how you connect things you've got cables running to it.

The JVC TH-BA1 is highly regarded by members of this forum and it has a wireless sub. The problem for you with that one is its height. I think you'd have to raise the TV up somehow so as not to block part of the screen as well as the IR.
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post #5 of 10
1/26/11 at 6:50pm
Ever thought of on top of the TV?

That is a really nice wall unit. I dont think the look of a soundbar sitting under the TV would match the rest of that setup (just my opinion) and not look very clean.

If it were me I would push the TV back a bit and then find a cabinet maker to put a matching shelf across the middle section above the TV (a good guy can match stain and wood perfect so will look like was original). Then just sit the bar up on the new shelf.

Another option for top mount is this: http://www.amazon.com/Soundbar-Brack...6096109&sr=8-1 or u can try to make something similar yourself. Basically they use the mounting points on the back of the flat panel that are normally used for wall mounting.
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post #6 of 10
1/26/11 at 7:10pm
My first impression was to use some blocks of wood to raise the TV up, then put the soundbar on the shelf below the TV and put the subwoofer behind it.

Alternately the Sony soundbar is very thin and light so it could be attached to the top of the screen itself fairly easily.
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post #7 of 10
1/27/11 at 2:09am
YEA,,,, like possumgirl said, push that TV back just an inch or two and you got plenty of room for the Sony bar,,, it wont block your panels sensor.

As to the suggestion from one poster of getting a Zvox,,,, dont,,,, I had a Zvox and have owned the Sonys,,, the Sonys blow away the Zvox !!!!!

Mounting the Sony on top or above your panel is also a great idea,,, get the brackets, or, the Sony bar can be mounted on top of your panel with a few strips of velcro,,,,, I have done that and it works well.

The JVC is also a great suggestion because it has the wireless sub,,, for you set-up that would be my FIRST choice for a soundbar, you really should go with a wireless sub for your set-up.

If you get the JVC get the mounting brackets and mount the JVC just above your panel.

Or, the Panasonic soundbar with wireless sub is not a bad sounding bar, I had one for a few days, while it does not sound near as good as the JVC it does match well with the Panasonic panels if you have the ARC feature on your Panasonic.

Cheers
Davyo
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post #8 of 10
1/27/11 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, everyone, for all the input. And for the nice words about the setup.

Moontz, my wife said a similar thing about having the bar underneath the TV not looking quite...'right'.

I am intrigued about mounting the bar above the TV, either on a shelf or physically on the TV itself using the brackets. I see the JVC bar weighs almost 8lbs and Sony 350 around 5.5lbs. Would mounting either of those on top of the TV cause it to be unbalanced/tipsy?

For the Sony sub, there is room directly behind the TV. That is, if it were turned length-ways parallel to the TV. The wireless sub does intrigue me and would offer more flexibility in placement.

I like the Sonys because of all the HDMI connections. But hate that they are all on the sub rather than the bar. Then the JVC has the wireless sub, but no HDMI connections. Bah!

Do any of your have pics of what the JVC or Sony bars look like mounted on your sets? I just roamed around the soundbar bracket website and saw this:



That looks pretty clean, actually.
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post #9 of 10
1/27/11 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stw View Post

Thanks, everyone, for all the input. And for the nice words about the setup.

Moontz, my wife said a similar thing about having the bar underneath the TV not looking quite...'right'.

I am intrigued about mounting the bar above the TV, either on a shelf or physically on the TV itself using the brackets. I see the JVC bar weighs almost 8lbs and Sony 350 around 5.5lbs. Would mounting either of those on top of the TV cause it to be unbalanced/tipsy?

For the Sony sub, there is room directly behind the TV. That is, if it were turned length-ways parallel to the TV. The wireless sub does intrigue me and would offer more flexibility in placement.

I like the Sonys because of all the HDMI connections. But hate that they are all on the sub rather than the bar. Then the JVC has the wireless sub, but no HDMI connections. Bah!

Do any of your have pics of what the JVC or Sony bars look like mounted on your sets? I just roamed around the soundbar bracket website and saw this:



That looks pretty clean, actually.

That looks good and would work. Any of the soundbars attached to the TV will make it more top heavy and more prone to tipping. Most of these TV's have that problem anyway. Most TV stands have a hold in the back where you could run a wood screw to the shelf beneath to prevent tipping from anything other than someone grapping and pulling on it.
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post #10 of 10
1/27/11 at 9:17pm
Quote:
Any of the soundbars attached to the TV will make it more top heavy and more prone to tipping.
My big Sony came with some hardware to connect it to the wall behind it to keep it from tipping. I think if you have small children in the house, or if you live in an area that might see earthquakes, then this is a good idea. It would help with the soundbar-on-top thing too.
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