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New TV speaker setup advise

Sagath

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Looking at replacing an old Sony 5.1 setup thats being held together with ductape (literally) and isnt very friendly (read: is proprietary with speakers, which are whats busted).

The wife is a fan of getting a 'soundbar' for space reasons, and she doesnt like the look of bookcase speakers up front. I also dont think (open to correction here) that I require a receiver/amplifier. Based on that I did some basic research (rtings.com & google mostly) and am currently looking at the Samsung HW-Q90R on the (REALLY) high end, or the Vizio SB36512-F6 on the lower end. Obviously I'm open to other options, but mostly soliciting advice of what I should and shouldnt be looking for.

I'm not an audiophile by any stretch although I do want good sound for movies/tv. Current equipment plugged in to the receiver is my Nintendo Switch & nV Shield.

Also, I see some options out there of mounting the soundbar to the TV? Quick google search doesnt really explain what I need to look for to do this (a-la VESA) but the wife would LOVE that, I'm sure.
 

Izerous

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One thing to watch for is configurability of the sound on premade units like that. I picked up a LAP340? i think is the model number and trying to watch an action movie was impossible. Turn of the vocals to hear dialog then have to turn it down once guns and explosions start happening.

Will also want to make sure your TV has an optical out or something to connect it to but I assume you probably covered that already.
 

Lpfan4ever

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A receiver and speakers is obviously the best sound quality, but the newer Vizio stuff is best bang-for-buck in the 5.1 soundbar game. I don't know how much I'd invest into the half-assed Atmos though. Tiny speakers firing at your ceiling from below your TV might not really be worth the money over a setup without it. Plus, with the VESA mount, now your TV is in the way.

As for how to mount it to a TV, there's brackets that mount to your VESA holes on the TV and line up with the back of the soundbar. You could run into rattling and whatnot since you're hanging a bunch of vibrating weight off of some metal brackets that are bolted straight to your TV. Definitely not ideal.

One thing to watch for is configurability of the sound on premade units like that. I picked up a LAP340? i think is the model number and trying to watch an action movie was impossible. Turn of the vocals to hear dialog then have to turn it down once guns and explosions start happening.

Will also want to make sure your TV has an optical out or something to connect it to but I assume you probably covered that already.

My older Vizio was decently configurable for that, hopefully the new ones are the same or better. As for input, at this point everything should be ARC compatible. Is your TV ARC compatible @Sagath?
 
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Prickly007

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she doesnt like the look of bookcase speakers up front.

Have you asked about tower speakers? lol

My only advice is to buy at Costco/Costco.ca for their easy return policy, and don't spend that much. 7.1.4 and the like soundbars, I got the impression*, are more marketing than anything else.

Like Lpfan said, soundbars are inferior to speakers.
 

JD

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Part of me would say get something from an actual speaker company especially at the $1800 price point of that Samsung.

Even this combo is cheaper than the Samsung:
https://www.paradigm.com/en/soundbars/pw-soundbar
https://www.paradigm.com/en/ported/defiance-v10 (you can find cheaper/better 10" subs too, just sticking to their site as an example)
And you can add wireless rear speakers if the wife approves

I'm not certain about those subwoofers in the Vizio/Samsung/etc systems, they don't look beefy enough to me to really give you that deep thud that you feel through your body.

If you're sticking to the sub $500 price point though, then yeah, those Vizio ones should be alright.
 

Sagath

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A receiver and speakers is obviously the best sound quality, but the newer Vizio stuff is best bang-for-buck in the 5.1 soundbar game. I don't know how much I'd invest into the half-assed Atmos though. Tiny speakers firing at your ceiling from below your TV might not really be worth the money over a setup without it. Plus, with the VESA mount, now your TV is in the way.As for how to mount it to a TV, there's brackets that mount to your VESA holes on the TV and line up with the back of the soundbar. You could run into rattling and whatnot since you're hanging a bunch of vibrating weight off of some metal brackets that are bolted straight to your TV. Definitely not ideal.My older Vizio was decently configurable for that, hopefully the new ones are the same or better. As for input, at this point everything should be ARC compatible. Is your TV ARC compatible @Sagath?

Agree about the 'half assed Atmos'. I can live without it, so its not a 'requirement'. The mounting is the same idea, not a requirement, more I was like "oh, wife might like this", but putting it on the mantle will be fine. TV is the TCL R6 series. 1x ARC HDMI it says.
Part of me would say get something from an actual speaker company especially at the $1800 price point of that Samsung.

Even this combo is cheaper than the Samsung:
https://www.paradigm.com/en/soundbars/pw-soundbar
https://www.paradigm.com/en/ported/defiance-v10 (you can find cheaper/better 10" subs too, just sticking to their site as an example)
And you can add wireless rear speakers if the wife approves

I'm not certain about those subwoofers in the Vizio/Samsung/etc systems, they don't look beefy enough to me to really give you that deep thud that you feel through your body.

If you're sticking to the sub $500 price point though, then yeah, those Vizio ones should be alright.

I listed the Samsung for the great RTings review it had. Its the 'best' soundbar setup according to them (out of all the ones they've tested of course) even over the 'actual speaker company' Bose 700 series. For the record, Everything is benchmarks with me, rather than branding, along the same lines as the 'name brand TV's' discussion that occured a bit ago regarding TCL not being a 'real brand'. I'm not trying to be argumentative, more that if RTings has facts/review that say the samsung is great, I would simply try to find a review against the Sammy & Paradigm you recommend before being pulled one way or the other. I'm easily swayed, it just needs to be backed up :)

And of course, if there are good options and I dont have to spend 1800 (triple+ the price of the TV...) and can get great options for 600 I'm fine with that. I've always been a bang/buck guy, outside of CPU's and GPU's ;)
 

JD

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Nothing against your TV choice, but I'd agree, don't spend 3x the cost of your TV. I think the $500 range soundbars would suffice but ideally I'd say try to find an audio store nearby that you could possibly listen to some in a quiet room and not on the sales floor.
 

Lpfan4ever

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Vizio SB3651 is $200 at Costco right now. At least I've seen it at two stores here in Calgary.
 

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