Sound Bars for LCD Television and DVD.?

Question

For those that have experience with sound bars for replacing a component home theatre sound system or a home theatre in a box, what was your experience with the quality for listening to TV, DVD and Music?

I don't want to have cables cluttered about my living room so am thinking about a sound bar.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

apparently ok  for  video sound  but  not great  for  music according  to  video link below.

most  video surround  units  that  are  purpose  built  do a less  good  job with  with  music but  in my  experience  as  an audio video  salesman for five  years most  people don't  seem  to  care as much  for subtleties in sound  quality in  music but  want  the  realistic  surround  effect of  every explosion on  the tv.

give  the  people  what they  want.

I have  an ipod with songs that  are  recorded at  1/15 the  bit rate  of  cds and  they  sound  fine  for that  purpose  but  it is  not a patch  on real  cd quality  audio  on  a decent  system.  Neither  type  of  system is suited  to  both types  of  media. i would  not  risk  explosion  sounds  on  a decent  pair  of  speakers (polk or  kef  for  example) nor  do  i find  a home theatre  room  to  be  a very relaxing  music  environment anyway.

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker...

Answer 2

Sound bars are alright for smaller rooms, but have a narrow and somewhat shallow surround sound listening area because of their design.

On the other hand, a system like the Bose 3-2-1 would work much better in a larger room due to the fact the speakers can be placed further apart. Just make sure that if you get a 2.1 surround system that simulates a 5.1 that both speakers are at the same height and distance away from you, and are mounted above where your ears are while sitting.

Answer 3

These were recently reviewed in Home Theater magazine. Read the reviews and decide for yourself.