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Will a soundbar come close?

post #1 of 22
10/23/12 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
What I am wondering is, will a soundbar (3 channel, L/C/R) come close to producing the front stage of towers and a center. We are going to be redoing our living room by installing a gas fireplace insert and building a stacked rock wall in the corner to hold it. Going to mount the TV above the fireplace and with it being in the corner, no room for towers.

I've gone from Polk 50's with CS1 to Polk 70's with CS2. To my current setup which is, BIC Acoustic, (2)PL-89, (1)PL-28 and (4) PL-66. My receiver is a Onkyo 7.2 with 115x7 and THX certified. As far as subwoofer(s) goes, I have a PL-200 and a F-12.

Is there a soundbar available on the market that will create the sound I'm looking for? I plan on changing out the surround speakers to match.


Thanks for any help, I'm new to the soundbar world.
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post #2 of 22
10/23/12 at 2:02pm
Don't know if an LCR bar can come close (enough) for you, but you might want to read through this thread on the BIC FH56 bar. In addition to good info on the soundbar, there are some links to other LCR bars that you might want to look at.
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post #3 of 22
10/23/12 at 4:42pm
It depends on your budget. For better sounding LCR bars I'd look at Triad, Atlantic Technology, James Loudspeaker, and other better brands. If your budget is lower than Episode, Def Tech, etc. BIC is good for very inexpensive as well as Dayton. Either way it is tough to match speakers that can be wider apart and have better room placement over a bar.
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post #4 of 22
10/23/12 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 
I'd be ok with spending 1k on a soundbar but I'd want it to sound as good as I have now. Have you heard the higher end soundbar's? What about Pinnacle? I have a 64" Samsung so the size of the soundbar really doesn't matter.
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post #5 of 22
10/23/12 at 9:22pm
I have heard many of the sound bars as well as measured and calibrated systems with them. With a $1k budget I'd look at the mini or micro LCR 3.0 by Triad. Not only do they sound great but you can get them a custom width to match your TV and help getting the speakers further apart. The Pinnacle QP15 would be a good match for your TV but might be discontinued and more expensive than the others. I still like the Triad better but if you can find the Pinnacle QP15 cheap, go for it. With that size TV I wouldn't look at small sound bars. No one has come up with a way to beat physics, having the speakers wider helps with soundstage. Wider is better, small works for people that don't want their speaker bar wider than their TV:eek:

Look at the Triads mentioned and:
Atlantic Technology FS-5000
Leon Speakers Horizon series also custom sized. I've only hear these at trade show so can't comment on them personally.
James Louspseaker SPL5QLCR also custom sized. Only heard demo of this but sounded good.
Episode Soundbar 50 - Have used the smaller ones of this series. Good sound but a step down from above. But less expensive too.

I don't know too many larger speaker bars. Most manufacturers make them smaller to accomodate a greater number of TVs.

Hope this helps.
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post #6 of 22
10/24/12 at 12:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randall.White View Post

What I am wondering is, will a soundbar (3 channel, L/C/R) come close to producing the front stage of towers and a center. We are going to be redoing our living room by installing a gas fireplace insert and building a stacked rock wall in the corner to hold it. Going to mount the TV above the fireplace and with it being in the corner, no room for towers.
I've gone from Polk 50's with CS1 to Polk 70's with CS2. To my current setup which is, BIC Acoustic, (2)PL-89, (1)PL-28 and (4) PL-66. My receiver is a Onkyo 7.2 with 115x7 and THX certified. As far as subwoofer(s) goes, I have a PL-200 and a F-12.
Is there a soundbar available on the market that will create the sound I'm looking for? I plan on changing out the surround speakers to match.
Thanks for any help, I'm new to the soundbar world.
If you're in So Ca and be interested in the Yamaha 5100 I'm considering putting it up for sale if you want to demo. I'll pretty confident it will match or blow your current set up away. I bought it from amazon early this year and used it with much excitement as it was pretty awesome about once a week for action movies on my epson PJ but like most of my toys I don't use it much after few months. It's just sitting in the living room as I use my 47" LED in the bedroom for 99% of the time. The wireless subwoofer thingy that comes with it is still sealed and never used.
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post #7 of 22
10/24/12 at 7:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randall.White View Post

What I am wondering is, will a soundbar (3 channel, L/C/R) come close to producing the front stage of towers and a center. We are going to be redoing our living room by installing a gas fireplace insert and building a stacked rock wall in the corner to hold it. Going to mount the TV above the fireplace and with it being in the corner, no room for towers.
I've gone from Polk 50's with CS1 to Polk 70's with CS2. To my current setup which is, BIC Acoustic, (2)PL-89, (1)PL-28 and (4) PL-66. My receiver is a Onkyo 7.2 with 115x7 and THX certified. As far as subwoofer(s) goes, I have a PL-200 and a F-12.
Is there a soundbar available on the market that will create the sound I'm looking for? I plan on changing out the surround speakers to match.
Thanks for any help, I'm new to the soundbar world.

If you like your BIC Acoustech Speakers I would go with the BIC FH56 BAR. This is going to sound the closest to the speakers you have now. If I was going to buy a sound bar it would be that one. Plus with that bar your PL-66s would be a good match.

Will it sound as good as the PL-89 and PL-28 of course not but it should sound pretty darn good.
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post #8 of 22
10/25/12 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobL View Post

I have heard many of the sound bars as well as measured and calibrated systems with them. With a $1k budget I'd look at the mini or micro LCR 3.0 by Triad. Not only do they sound great but you can get them a custom width to match your TV and help getting the speakers further apart. The Pinnacle QP15 would be a good match for your TV but might be discontinued and more expensive than the others. I still like the Triad better but if you can find the Pinnacle QP15 cheap, go for it. With that size TV I wouldn't look at small sound bars. No one has come up with a way to beat physics, having the speakers wider helps with soundstage. Wider is better, small works for people that don't want their speaker bar wider than their TV:eek:
Look at the Triads mentioned and:
Atlantic Technology FS-5000
Leon Speakers Horizon series also custom sized. I've only hear these at trade show so can't comment on them personally.
James Louspseaker SPL5QLCR also custom sized. Only heard demo of this but sounded good.
Episode Soundbar 50 - Have used the smaller ones of this series. Good sound but a step down from above. But less expensive too.
I don't know too many larger speaker bars. Most manufacturers make them smaller to accomodate a greater number of TVs.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the response.

Do any of these soundbar's have mid bass, that a tower or larger bookshelf speaker? I've looked at Atlantic and Triad and they both look really good! Are they significantly better than Definitive Technology? I really like the sleek look of their bars but if those ones blow it away. I'll pick one of them.

I asked in the "speaker" forum, if I could get a smaller sub to make up the mid bass. I don't have a problem running multiple subs.
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post #9 of 22
10/26/12 at 4:41pm
The sound bars do a decent job at mid-bass. However 4" drivers are not going to have as much mid-bass punch as 5" or 6" drivers in your towers especially if you enjoy playing loud. I would go with a higher crossover of 100 or 120hz for these sound bars. Make sure you have sub that can extend that high to get more seamless integration. Some of the big bad subs don't like going much over 80hz with good linearity.
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post #10 of 22
10/28/12 at 1:23pm
I've been checking out soundbars recently and some may be interested in one model I've found. The Outlaw Audio has released a 43" long model that measures down to 43 Hz at -3db. Not cheap, but then at 43 Hz and being self powered, you might not need a sub in some applications.
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post #11 of 22
10/28/12 at 4:35pm
The outlaw is the same as the Atlantic Technology and I've heard a demo. It seems very good but I'd still get a sub with it for most applications. I haven't had a chance to play with one in person yet but I will in a few weeks. It would be nice if they made a passive version.
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post #12 of 22
11/2/12 at 10:32am
I have the Atlantic sound bar. As the specs imply, it extends sufficiently deep to satisfy and not leave you feeling like something is missing. However, I did try adding Atlantic's 8" active sub, and it does make a nice difference if the low frequency content is in the sound track. I think the sub has the most benefit for movie sound tracks where LF content is more prevalent and unnaturally manipulated for effects. For music, especially acoustic, I think be benefit of the sub would be less frequently heard and harder to justify.
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post #13 of 22
11/5/12 at 10:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsisk54 View Post

I have the Atlantic sound bar. As the specs imply, it extends sufficiently deep to satisfy and not leave you feeling like something is missing. However, I did try adding Atlantic's 8" active sub, and it does make a nice difference if the low frequency content is in the sound track. I think the sub has the most benefit for movie sound tracks where LF content is more prevalent and unnaturally manipulated for effects. For music, especially acoustic, I think be benefit of the sub would be less frequently heard and harder to justify.

What did you use before the soundbar for a home theater? I'm still trying to find a store somewhat local to me that has higher end soundbars on demo.
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post #14 of 22
11/6/12 at 5:58am
Finding stores to demo is getting tougher and tougher and unfortunately I think that trend will continue in the future. It might be easier to find a store that has a decent return policy and order it to try it out at your home. That would be ideal.
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post #15 of 22
11/6/12 at 10:40am
I previously had a full-scale 5.2 Atlantic system. Several years old, but very good. Unexpected need to quickly relocate created the need/opportunity to set up a much simpler HT system. The SB-235 was a great solution for me. I had heard it at the CEDIA show, so I was comfortable trying it out.
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post #16 of 22
11/6/12 at 1:05pm
I love my BIC FH56 soundbar for my setup. Smaller room and it fits my need. Sounds great!

I have a wall of sound for my projector and im happy, very happy with it. BUt I have not run a movie with that much surround sound to say its the same as a 5.1 setup. I do have a H100 Subwoofer with it also.
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post #17 of 22
11/7/12 at 10:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wytchone View Post

I love my BIC FH56 soundbar for my setup. Smaller room and it fits my need. Sounds great!

I have a wall of sound for my projector and im happy, very happy with it. BUt I have not run a movie with that much surround sound to say its the same as a 5.1 setup. I do have a H100 Subwoofer with it also.

This soundbar doesn't match the PL-66's. If it was in the same kind of enclosure as the other BIC's I'd probably go with it. I've had quite a few friends interested in my current setup, so I'm thinking I'll sell it and buy all new stuff.
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post #18 of 22
11/7/12 at 10:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobL View Post

Finding stores to demo is getting tougher and tougher and unfortunately I think that trend will continue in the future. It might be easier to find a store that has a decent return policy and order it to try it out at your home. That would be ideal.

Didn't think of doing this. Good idea!

Has anyone heard the Paradigm Millenia 20 trio?
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post #19 of 22
11/9/12 at 12:27pm
Thread Starter 
Just spoke to Acoustic Sound design (Mike) he told me to go with Klipsch G-28 and get 3 of them. Would that offer a better sound?
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post #20 of 22
11/9/12 at 1:21pm
We happen to have 3 Klipsch G 28's here at AV Science. smile.gif
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post #21 of 22
11/10/12 at 12:18am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Peer View Post

We happen to have 3 Klipsch G 28's here at AV Science. smile.gif

How do you like them? and what are you using for surround speakers?
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post #22 of 22
3/21/13 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 
Any new soundbars come out lately that I should take a look at. I bought a Outlaw LFM-1 EX sub now and it blows the BIC subs away. I am posting my current setup for sale or am going to move it to my game room.

If there isn't a good "soundbar" what would you reccomend as a front stage?
Edited by Randall.White - 3/21/13 at 3:34pm
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