Harman Kardon SB 30 - Page 3

I have a 65 where the new SB would go.

The vizio is under my 46.

You might be right.

Some soundbar designs deliberately go for a wide soundstage. The idea of the rear speakers is good, though, but its a matter of finding such a device where the implementation produces an overall expansive sound field.

Weirdly, due to the peculiar acoustics of my living room, the surround mode of my TV occasionally, with certain material, produces sounds "behind" me when I'm seated right in the middle. That's why I'm intrigued by the HK.

I'll be interested in his further impressions as well.

I only know, by speaking with someone at Harman Kardon, that the SB30
is a much more sophisticated design than the SB16, which was not meant to truly emulate a 5.1 system.

I could connect my SB directly to my BD player to get DTS. However, my home was not pre-wired with an optical cable and would need someone to come out and run the cable behind my stone wall.

The SB 30 does provides a solid surround effect but it doesn't really project isolated sounds from behind you. Not sure any SB is going to accomplish that.

I'm using a PS3 as my BD player, which is connected to my Samsung UN55B8500 via HDMI. I use my TV's optical output to connect the SB 30. My home wasn't pre-wired with any optical cables so I can't currently connect the SB 30 to my PS3 or HD DVR unless I run a cable long the outside of my wall. I do want to test it though as my TV doesn't pass through DTS.

You might get a big jump in sound quality if you run an optical directly from your PS3 or the HD DVR to the SB30.

Cheers
Davyo

Yea I'm sure the sound quality will improve if I connect it directly to the source. I'll try it out tonight to see how much of a noticeable change there is. I'm sure it will sound amazing and I'll have to pay someone to come out and fish the wire behind my wall..sigh.

Yeah after owning this bar for a week I wasn't impress at all, sound just like my $100 computer speaker. I had it hook up with a coax digital out from my HDTV, so I thought the soundbar is receiving digital signal and that's the best sound I could get from this bar. After looking at the manual I notice it recommend using bitstream output, which my tv didn't allow, only PCM output. So I connected the soundbar to my direct tv box and had it set bitstream out, wow its like day and night different in surround sound effect from all the movie and show I watch now. Now I absolutely just love the realism surround effect come out of this bar, it sound so much more crisp and clear with digital bitstream output.

I have an older, but excellent, RPTV that has a digital audio out...a single plug fits into the port, and is used to connect to a digital DVR or receiver. I'm wondering if this would allow me to take advantage of the bitstream connection to the SB30. It seems that this is the way to go with the unit if a good result is to be realized.

Yes, setting the directv to digital out is bitstream and turning it off will be pcm.

Harman Kardon is touting this new SB 30 with Harman Wave and Virtual Surround technology as the best thing for films, TV shows and games on their website.

What about music? I listen to music too. I can't believe they would have considered people who listen to music on this thing.

Received mine last night.

The only other soundbar I have owned is the Sony HT-CT150. I found that model to be great for the price, but I had made the decision to return it and build a larger system.

In my new home, my pioneer avr and energy speakers are going down in the theatre room. I wanted something for the tv in the living room that wouldn't require too much wiring to keep the wife happy. After a lot of reading, I decided to take the plunge on this one.

Not only do I love it, but it received the wife's approval. She loves the look and the sound. Likewise, my father in law was over today and he commented on its great sound as well, from about 20 feet away.

It compliments our 50" LG very well. I have only had minimal time to test, but everything has been crisp and clear. The harmonwave feature is very impressive. I did find the sub a bit boomy, but believe I will be able to live with it. The soundbar itself can get quite loud, but maintains its excellent quality.

I only have two small cons - not really complaints per say. 1. The volume control is a bit laggy and I find that I sometimes have to raise my hand higher in the air for the remote to hit the bar. When it does, LED lights have a sequence they go through from left to right for volume up and vice versa for volume down. You have to wait for the sequence to finish before you can adjust more. Somewhat of a pain when I need to quickly adjust.

2. This kind of ties in with above. I haven't found the Dolby volume to be terribly accurate. A few times I still had to adjust the volume to compensate for overly loud tv commercials.

Overall, very happy and we will be keeping up.

How's the surround effect? And did you connect it to analog or digital bitstream?

Congratulations on being an early adopter!

How does the SB 30 do with music?

Does anyone have any comparisons or comments with ZVOX 580?

I seen this soundbar on Crutchfield last week. Seems interesting. I wonder how it would compare to my BA TVee 30? I have been concidering having a 5.1 in wall system installed and moving my soundbar into the bedroom.

I used digital bitstream. The surround effect is pretty impressive. I have Energy RC-10s in my basement setup as surrounds. Its no substitute for surrounds, that's for sure, but still great. The soundstage is wonderful and "full."


I have not tested with music. I still have a lot of unpacking to do before I will be able to test.

How is the remote? Are you able to program your TV remote to the SB30?

I was reading a receiver review (don't remember which) and the person said that the Dolby volume control thing put a huge damper on sound quality. After turning it off a few days after purchase he noticed a gigantic difference in quality. So, I'm just wondering if the Dolby volume feature for commercials can be turned off on the SB 30, or if it's a permanent feature.

Also, how do good sound bars like these compare to full 2.0 systems? Does the benefit of a centre channel from a sound bar outweight the loss of power/quality you get from full blown speakers? Pretty much the only Canadian source I have for this model is selling the SB 16 for the price of the SB 30, so when the SB 30 comes in stock I won't really be interested in the price. I need a living room system and could make a 2.0 work (albeit a VERY tight squeeze). Cost-wise I'd prefer a sound bar, but sound bar reviews all say "not as impressive as my real stereo...but it's OK for what it is". If I'm going to spend $1000 on "OK" I might as well spend more and get a real 2.0 system. Sorry for the drama, but what do you guys think about 2.0 vs good sound bars?

You should get much better dialog with a soundbar vs 2.0 stereo without having to crank the volume

Geeze,,,,, I really need to get the SB30 to compare it to my Bose bar,,,,,,,, perhaps HK will see my post and knowing I'm such a soundbar geek they will send me one to demo

Cheers
Davyo

I have not found any way to do this.


There are 3 settings for Dolby volume and one is off. I will give this a shot tomorrow to compare.

Depends on the system I'm sure. I have Energy RC-10s hooked up to my computer upstairs and they sound great, but I can't compare much because I only use them to listen to music. I am very impressed with the quality of this piece. If your budget was 1k I would say you are better off getting something like a pair of Energy RC-70s from vanns (assuming you already have an AVR).

For me, this piece works well because the wife doesn't mind it either. It's minimalistic yet very sharp looking and unobtrusive compared to something like floor standing speakers. The wireless sub is a great bonus to as I was able to place it behind us without the need for a cable going to an AVR.

The sb30 easily program with my directv remote, but beware this sound bar remote is only good up to 30-35 feet, which this was a big problem with me.

My Sony RF wireless headphones are particularly hissy/noisy at my new home on all 4 radio channels vs. last place I was at. Do you guys think this would translate to a problem for a wireless sub, since they both use RF and I'm already having problems w/ headphones?
Note to manufacturers: Include a wired option for those that don't want/need the wireless portion!

Too bad the SB30 does not program to your tv remote. I guess you could just get a universal remote. I still want to demo this. Maybe this summer

If you have an AVR, and space is one of your most important considerations, you might want to look at the Cambridge Audio Minx systems. The speakers are the size of soda cans, and can come in a system with a subwoofer. You can get the simplest system version, which is 5.1, for under $1000. For about $1400 you can get a more powerful version, wherein the satellites have two unique drivers, rather than one.

The size of the speakers is so small that they can fit in any environment, yet systems based on them produce a huge soundstage. Part of the reason they produce big sound is from the unique BMR driver. Rather than getting a 5.1 system, you can just get the satellite speakers and a subwoofer for a 2.0 system, but at the price I'd get a 5.1, and use it any way you like.

I've been reading reviews on the Minx, and following the thread on the Speakers forum, for some time. I like the idea of a soundbar, but it seems that none of them can produce a full surround effect.

I recently set up some really old Paradigm Mini Monitors (I also have an old set of Energy w/ centre I could use...except the centre may be 1-2" too tall in front of my tv). It looks very cluttered now, but sounds good except for the fact that both of my receivers aged poorly and need replacing (no digital inputs). I also recently discovered high end mail order tower speakers that I'd wanna try if I were to keep a 2.0 setup. So I'm trying to figure out the best move (mainly for music)...expensive 2.0 I can't really afford, or sound bar that makes the living room presentably clean and improves movie viewing. I need 1X digital optical (PS3), 1X digital coax (PC) & 1X analogue (digital tv)...so the HK SB 30 would be perfect if I actually had a way to buy/try one in Canada.

NOTE: Someone mentioned earlier that wireless subs are a great feature that maintains a sound bar's clean setup, but I noticed a few Paradigm subwoofer models on the Paradigm site that let you place them wirelessly (transmitter hooks to receiver). Just wanted to state that money can get you wireless subs in a regular theatre setup...