I think I might need a soundbar [dun dun dunnnn]

[spadez]

Hi,

I've not been on here for a while but I could do with some help. I've moved into a flat recently. My TV sits on a cabinet which has an wide and tall opening which would be perfect for a speaker.

I'm slightly adverse to having some large floor standing speakers since they would look unsightly for my setup, not to mention the fact that I have people in the floor above me I don't need that kind of power. I already have an apple TV so I don't need anything like the sonos to do streaming.

I guess what I am in the market for is something very discreet, fairly reasonable but will still significantly improve the sound I get out of the TV. This will be a mixture of watching TV and listening to music through the TV - a bit of movies but I don't need surround sound.

In terms of my choices, it seems like a soundbar, soundbase, or some sort of active center speaker would do the job. I know generally the people on these forums hate those kinds of speakers, but are there any that do a good job that I should consider?

A few of my ideas so far:
https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/speakers/tv2

https://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/speakers/home-cinema/solo-15-series-II-tv-sound-system/?dc=large&brochure_dc=8aa38403396c4ed701396c6db5b10097

[madmac]

There's a place in the world for sound bars and I totally understand why some people use them. The best advice I can give you is to go out and listen to various sound bars and choose the one that has the best sound quality to your ears and budget.

There is no substitute for auditioning when it comes to buying any speaker!

[P-Dub]

Have to agree with Dan. Or maybe find a retailer with a good return policy to test it at home as that is the best place to audition.

I really don't like Bose. So having said that, pretty much makes me recommend the Cambridge one.

I have a sound bar in my bedroom and it does the job. If I had to do it again, I probably would go with one of the sound base setups as they look to give a slightly better frequency response. Bose has been notorious for dropping frequencies. Here is a post on the sound bar I purchased.

Good luck and let us know what you finally settle upon.

[Ovation]

Depends on budget. Yamaha and Paradigm make some very good soundbars but they are well above the average price for such things.