Not buying one myself, don't see the point of a soundbar this price… But I'm sure someone out there sees it as a deal.
They're usually ~$1200, RRP $1499
CamelCamelCamel.
Worth it over a Bose Smart Soundbar 600 though? That's the part I can't justify, the 600 was ~60k Qantas points on sale and you got a $100 gift card too. Otherwise around ~470 cash on sales.
What soundbar have you got at the moment, and have you listened to any of the good ones?
It’s light and day.
It's more the concept I don't understand - you need different size speakers for different frequencies, surely they can't be better than an actual 5.1? Or are they made to be paired with a sub?
@Dyl: Soundbar is never better than 5.1 sound quality wis.
Bat can you hang 5.1 nice and clean under TV? :)
It will be far better than inbuilt tv speakers that's for sure! Way too much money for a basic bar though
My bluetooth speaker is literally better than my TVs inbult. As in I use it for this.
Is a subwoofer included or does this have it all?
Neither.
I'm not sure about an internal woofer, but they recommend buying the Bass Module 700(external sub), which is another grand.
Was this the model that users had reflective issues with?
Like you’d walk to your living room and it would blind you and make you walk into a wall?
The reason they have black curtains in cinemas is to prevent the light from bouncing off the walls as it effects the overall appearance of the display.
This would maybe be worth it in an apartment or renting, if you really like your sound, own your home, and have the room a proper surround Atmos system isn't really that much more once you add the subwoofer.
BUT just FYI.
I recently bought the Polk Audio S4 Signa S4 from Kogan for only $399 for the bedroom, as the speaker on my 13 year old Samsung TV finally blew. Comes with wireless subwoofer. I have to say, even though it DOESN'T do Atmos ON THAT TV (TV only has ARC, not EARC, so can only do DD), the sound is still crazy good for a $399 device.
May be a better option if your needs are moderate?
For those low level soundbars, a decent bookshelf speaker will perform far better obviously at the $399 price, but we buy soundbars for looks/ease of installation.
I was recently considering some Edifier bookshelves for this exact reason.
Polk's not THAT bad (reviews are actually pretty good) and West Coast HiFi and other retailers actually say they're pretty good too. My in-ceilings are Polk (granted at a higher price point)
Searching for best home speakers also brings a lot of Polk up with positive reviews.
I'm well aware they're not Klipsch or anything like that but I haven't won lotto yet :)
Just out of curiosity what do you think of Krix? I'd never heard of them until my dad got sold an Atmos system based on these and I was very surprised by how good they sounded. Apparently Australian?
Krix are an excellent brand. Made in Adelaide with excellent customer service. You do not need to be worried about getting them fixed under warranty. My brother has three different sets of Krix speakers in different rooms, and although they are at least 10 years old, they still sound very good. Maybe look at the second hand market because they can be quite pricey. They're top of the range bookshelf sells for about $8500!
I second omblygombly, Krix are excellent home theatre speakers, in my opinion one of the best.
Sure there are better floor standers for audiophiles listening to music, but for TV and movies etc for me Krix is the winner and they are locally made. A lot of movie theatres in Aust, and also overseas now are fitted with Krix speakers.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/bose-smart-soundbar-600 is usually the cheaper alternative to this (and more sensible imo)
It was on sale for 60k Qantas points stackable with a choice of a $100 gift card
I have to say, even though it DOESN'T do Atmos ON THAT TV (TV only has ARC, not EARC, so can only do DD)
Shouldn't it still be able to do Atmos in DDP? I thought the bandwidth from EARC vs ARC only made a difference when you're trying to run uncompressed audio at TrueHD.
You could be right but this is a Samsung AU55D7000 from 2011.
On TV mode it will play DD
On the very crude video apps from 2011 that support it it will play DD. Often the files literally make the TV crash and it resets though LoL. Seems it needs very particular codecs sadly.
DD+/Atmos is a pipe dream on that TV I think.
The Chromecast plays STEREO flawlessly BUT because it uses one of the TV HDMI (the Soundbar only supports one E/ARC port) it actually DOES NOT pass through direct from the Chromecast into the TV HDMI -> ARC HDMI port. I've tried forcing it but then I get no audio at all so it doesn't pass it through.
I've looked it all up and it seems it's a genuine limitation on that TV. Looks like my only option is a HDFury Arcana to split the audio and feed it to the soundbar via the EARC on the device but the bloody thing's $400. That's approaching "screw this get a new TV" prices :)
not sure why people would pick this over the samsung options where you get better performance, rears and a sub
Samaung for me is absolutely trash. Bought their top of the line sound bar a few years back but barely ever heard atmos effect, bar couldnt connect to the app for ages and samsung support should be avoided at all costs if you care about your mental health.
I hear rave review of last 3 years soundbars and maybe they have gotten better but my n950 was enough to never look that way.
This is the way I feel too. I even listened to my mates Sonos setup that cost nearly $3000, and the only reason I can justify people spending that much, is brand name or appearance.
Can’t comment on the N950, but the Q990 is excellent for the price.
thats a shame. we have the q990b and we love it
really depends on what you're comparing them to. there's no way you're going to get the same level of immersion from a soundbar compared to a proper atmos setup but thats the tradeoff
my comment was basically questioning why someone would choose this soundbar versus a samsung soundbar. Like this one for example:
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/868166
Yes, it is $189 more but with the Samsung you get:
- Sub
- Rears
- 2 HDMI inputs + 1 HDMI Output
- DTS / DTS-X decoding
Samsung have been rtings "best soundbar" for the past 3 years: https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/best/soundbar
Atmos is basically your typical surround sound with added vertical effects so the audio effect is engulfed in a 3D space rather than a typical one planar.
With that in mind, how would anyone expect the audio will be realistic if it's coming from one source, the soundbar in front of you? Reflecting audio from your ceiling is utter marketing buzz.
Trying yelling facing at the ceiling and see if your friend or family can tell if it's coming from the top or in front of them
I have both proper 5.1.2 Atmos in my living room (8 speakers) and Atmos 3.1.2 soundbar in the bedroom.
Chalk and cheese and as you say the bouncing of the ceiling works to an extent but doesn't hold a candle to the living room system.
However - I AM impressed with the stereo separation on the sound bar. I DOES seem to throw sounds beyond my walls and is more immersive than I would have expected. Especially hearing for example ambulances to the far right of the screen and driving across to the left is quite impressive.
But yeah. Each have their place. If you're renting soundbar is probably your only way unless you have a nice landlord. Making holes in the ceiling is not something they usually like :)
@Ramrunner: That's a nice setup in your living room. I've a 5.1.4 setup in my living room, but a pair of the Atmos are in ceiling and the other pair is set up as 'reflective'.
That's how I can really provide a first hand comparison how well 'reflective' audio will work, and in my experience, it's not great. You'd be better investing a solid 5.1 system.
I guess the Bose is a smart soundbar that comes with a built in voice assistant unlike the Samsung
The other equivalent smart soundbar would be the Sonos
I have Bose 900 (previous generation without AI features) and the sub. Sound quality and sound stage are great for music.
Perfect for listening to music and watch music videos.
Movie sound effects are pretty good on the Bose, but probably not as good as Samsung Q990 and Q930.
Still happy with my LG sound bar, I remember EKO from Big W had a copy of this sound bar for $100 Atmos and everything.
Not worth without a sub at this price.
Yeah I prefer the Bose Soundbar 600 (Around $450), even then that's a big investment.
Not yet sure how I feel about it over the classic OzBargain speaker: Logitech Z623. They're now $200+ though, they were in the past as low as $69 on sales.
I don’t see much of a point of my expensive Sonos soundbar either, I certainly hear it though.