Soundbars vs speakers

Phil_aka_Pip

boogieman said:

You can tell you've never been married Phil. 

I haven't. Losing my HiFi or my music room would be far too high a price

Rocker

@boogieman, the location of the sideboard is the problem. Simply move it somewhere else and get the TV system setup and functioning  properly.

crunchman

Snap said:

I had a reasonably good Yamaha soundbar, cost about 400 quid about 8 years ago. It was "alright". BEtter than the speakers in the TV, average for music, but nothing like a lower end amp & speakers for music, or TV.

For me, they are only an option for anyone who is seriuosly compromised on space. Otherwise I'd get one of the many cheap hifi/AV options. You will have a long time watching and listening and getting annoyed at it otherwise.

My better HiFi is in my man cave (although I'm not sure it would be up to the requirements of @rocker), but in our living room we have a basic mini system from Richer Sounds for £299.  The main unit is Denon.  Can't remember what the speakers are.

That basic system kills the soundbar my brother in law has.  it's not even close - and it's not a cheap soundbar.

ToneControl

How about getting a desktop/countertop that matches the furniture you have bought, and use tall chrome legs to stand a short table on top of your unit, then put your TV on top of that

you need 7 inches gap, then you can lie your speakers on their side underneath it, along with a new centre speaker:

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/media/tannoy/mercury-7/7c/mercury7c-wal_small_1-large.jpg
or this
https://www.whathifi.com/tannoy/vc/overview


If that's not attractive, then wait until you are getting the new TV (no rush), then build your solution around the larger TV:
Options are to lose the unit (which you can't), or replace the speakers with taller units (since you don't like stands)
something like these:
https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/media/tannoy/mercury-7/7c/mercury7c-wal_small_3-large.jpg

How tall is that gap where you currently have your mini-fi? Could you move that to the right, and fit a real centre speaker in there. That would be a massive improvement

ToneControl

buy a pair of these: B&W 603 S2 
£250 used on ebay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-W-DM603-S3-Main-Stereo-Speakers/202107342205?hash=item2f0e894d7d:g:77gAAOSw1QpaA0wj

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/77gAAOSw1QpaA0wj/s-l1600.jpg
these would be a massive improvement

Phil_aka_Pip

@ToneControl I would - but I'd need to know how (in)efficient they were and how much o/p power I'd need to drive them

ToneControl

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@ToneControl I would - but I'd need to know how (in)efficient they were and how much o/p power I'd need to drive them

For hifi speakers, the general rule is the bigger the speaker, the more efficient
I had 15 dual concentric tannoys that could run on 12w per channel to fill a room

I have a pair of B&W 603 S2s myself
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/editorial/review-bw-dm603-s2-loudspeaker

"At 90dB the sensitivity is a shade above average so the amplifier power requirements are reasonably modest."
(most speakers are 87dB I think)

Specification

Enclosure type fourth-order vented box

Drive units two 180mm (one bass, one bass/midrange); 26mm twee

Frequency range 37Hz to 30kHz (-6d0 points)

Frequency response 48Hz-20kHz ±3dB

Crossover frequencies 150Hz and 4kHz

Sensitivity 90dB spl for 283V at 1

Nominal impedance 8 ohms

Power handling suitable for use with amplifiers rated at between 25-150W

Dimensions 850H x 236W x 306D mm

Weight 19kg

Manufacturer B&W Loudspeakers (UK Sales) Limited, Marlborough Road, Churchill Trading Estate, Lancing, West Sussex BN15 8TR Telephone 01903 750750 Fax 01903 750694

UK retail price £549.95
 

Phil_aka_Pip

Looks like a good spec. I think a Quad 303 or a 405 would be happy driving them. The suggested power being "from 25W" makes me think it may be a little unkind to ask a Radford STA25 to drive them though, but I like the 90dB sensitivity. If I ever get the Trilogy VTi working properly I think it would match them OK

ToneControl

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Looks like a good spec. I think a Quad 303 or a 405 would be happy driving them. The suggested power being "from 25W" makes me think it may be a little unkind to ask a Radford STA25 to drive them though, but I like the 90dB sensitivity. If I ever get the Trilogy VTi working properly I think it would match them OK

when they were new, I went shopping with my mate round loads of store, these were the best value at the time
I bought a used pair a few years ago to use with my TV, they are very good, and with the used prices now are excellent

DiscoStu

Haha! I was involved in the furniture buying too you know!  I've done the 'pile of tech' look before and I'm done with it. My living room is quite narrow and this has tidied up the look compared to what I had before and opens the room up a bit.

Nobody mentioned that I have an amp and guitar in the pic though! There's actually three guitars next to the tv unit, it's still my house after all 

@Nikc you are on the right track there,  the widths on some of the 40" and 43" edgeless TVs would fit between the speakers easier than I thought they would so looks like not quite the problem I envisaged. 

darthed1981

I'm married and I find it's all about give and take...

I give her a lot of money, and I take a lot of shit

Rocker

@DiscoStu, as I see it, your problem is that you need to make your TV, stereo system etc. an entertainment centre and not simply a place where the TV or stereo system resides.  By entertainment centre, I mean everything - TV, music, games console, sat receiver, DVD, BluRay, NetFlix, Spotify, YouTube and so on.  Also do make your stereo system into a radio [radio tuner or internet radio].  That sideboard, nice as it is, is an obstacle to creating this entertainment centre.  Explain to your family members what you are planning and within a week of its completion, there will be not a single word of complaint.  Use that nice stereo equipment for everything and not just for playing CDs.

DiscoStu

@Rocker it already IS an entertainment centre and does everything you have listed and more (you forgot Bluetooth streaming, I've got my THR10 on the shelf and there's also a multiple USB charging station in there), I just chose to house it in oak rather than black metal and glass. 

nanoman

On Soundbars I have the Sonos Playbar and Sub. Truly great sound but I couldn't recommend it in all honesty. Works for me as I have Sonos all over the house but I knew the failings before getting it; only Optical in, no DTS, proper faff to get 5.1 signal to it although do-able with a HDMI switch and a splitter for the Fire TV (as it has no optical out)

Snap

crunchman said:

Snap said:

I had a reasonably good Yamaha soundbar, cost about 400 quid about 8 years ago. It was "alright". BEtter than the speakers in the TV, average for music, but nothing like a lower end amp & speakers for music, or TV.

For me, they are only an option for anyone who is seriuosly compromised on space. Otherwise I'd get one of the many cheap hifi/AV options. You will have a long time watching and listening and getting annoyed at it otherwise.

My better HiFi is in my man cave (although I'm not sure it would be up to the requirements of @rocker), but in our living room we have a basic mini system from Richer Sounds for £299.  The main unit is Denon.  Can't remember what the speakers are.

That basic system kills the soundbar my brother in law has.  it's not even close - and it's not a cheap soundbar.

totally agree. I think the whole soundbar thing is a very expensive marketing ploy really. Yes, they are convenient, but even the expensive ones are not really that good, not compared to "proper" speakers and amp, and as you say, even cheap ones.

I'm currently researching a new AV set up. Giddy kipper central.

DiscoStu

The soundbar idea is dead. As it is, everything is interconnected and goes through my Denon stereo (the TV, PVR, Xbox) and I got a Bluetooth adaptor for it so we can stream audio apps through it from our phones. I have everything I need already and it was just a case of do I ditch the Tannoy speakers if a future new telly was too wide.

The answer is NO! I'm definitely keeping the Tannoys.

Rocker

Good @DiscoStu. Glad that you are keeping the Tannoys. Glad too that your TV installation is your entertainment centre. The more use you get from your technology, the fewer the comments about the pile of ugly boxes becomes. And you get more from it too...