**The Soundbar Owners Thread**

[Richdog]

So, after doing a LOT of research on't tinterweb, I have just ordered one of these babies, the Sony HTC-T260. I am looking to have a semi-temporary solution until I decide if my I can be arsed wiring up my new apartment with full 5.1 and AV receiver (I know SQ is way better with that setup, but im currently feeling lazy, and sick of the wires), and it is the most consistently highly reviewed soundbar I could find, and the price is also entry-level, despite the sound reportedly punching way above it's weight.

I'm just curious as to whether you can stream sound to it via bluetooth for a laptop while the laptop is simultaneously outputting a picture to a Plasma? ^

So, any other owners here? How do you find it?

 

[Richdog]

Really, no owners whatsoever? Pretty surprised to be honest!

Anyway I received mine this morning, so will set it up this evening and report back on Saturday after I've had a good listen, and I have a good home theatre rig (Pioneer VSX-LX70 and Quad Lite 5.1's) to compare it to. Of course I know it won't be as good, but I am sick of all the wiring and mess.

Really looking forward to the Bluetooth feature to stream from phone and laptop.

 

[Hades]

I'm looking for a soundbar and this one looks fairly good, especially with the bluetooth. I'd be interested to hear your opinion on it now that you've had it for a few days.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

samsung make a similar soundbar which may be cheaper, take a look at their official site

 

[Richdog]

I'm looking for a soundbar and this one looks fairly good, especially with the bluetooth. I'd be interested to hear your opinion on it now that you've had it for a few days.

Verdict so far: It's freaking awesome! Ok, so its not on the level of my old setup, but its still good. Compared to TV speakers its light years ahead... the wireless sub is powerful (a bit too much imo) but the wireless feazure is great. Music certainly sounds alright too.

The Bluetooth is just an amazing feature, I can stream the sound from my laptop directly to the soundbar and it sounds awesome. Really, the convenience and awesomeness of this cannot be overstated.

Looks-wise its a little different but still good. Build quality seems good.

Thi is the best value soundbar there is imo, the Samsungs just arent as good, many reviews confirm that.

 

[-BA-]

If you want more posting in the thread I would suggest it being more of a **Soundbar Owner's Thread**. They are a fairly specific item and not the preference of many home cinema enthusiasts. To limit it to one brand and one model of that brand is never going to attract much attention.

 

[sja360]

unless im blind i dont see what sound bar are you talking about in this thread???

 

[-BA-]

Seems the title did get renamed

It was a Sony one but not sure which.

 

[Tolmekian]

The one originally mentioned in the title was the Sony HT-CT260.

Thanks for your verdict Richdog, we're moving house soon and looking to upgrade in the audio department; this is looking promising. Decent price, good reviews

 

[Richdog]

Updated first post with the model name as I did indeed get the title changed to something more general (wise suggestion -BA-).

The one originally mentioned in the title was the Sony HT-CT260.

Thanks for your verdict Richdog, we're moving house soon and looking to upgrade in the audio department; this is looking promising. Decent price, good reviews

Reviews are very good wherever you look, it's definitely a solid choice. If you've never had the Bluetooth feature before you will wonder how you ever did without it.

 

[Sliver]

I'm thinking or buying my first Soundbar soon. I came across a review of a Sony HT-CT660 :

http://hometheater.about.com/b/2013/04/26/sony-announces-ht-ct660-sound-bar-system.htm

My TV is a 46' Samsung and knowing next to nothing about Soundbars, I thought maybe the HT-CT660 could be a good choice ?

Any thoughts ? Would the smaller HT-CT260 be a better choice ?

 

[Richdog]

I'm thinking or buying my first Soundbar soon. I came across a review of a Sony HT-CT660 :

http://hometheater.about.com/b/2013/04/26/sony-announces-ht-ct660-sound-bar-system.htm

My TV is a 46' Samsung and knowing next to nothing about Soundbars, I thought maybe the HT-CT660 could be a good choice ?

Any thoughts ? Would the smaller HT-CT260 be a better choice ?

Well, I have a 50" plasma and the sound is fine for my room and also looks right in terms of size-wise and proportion, so its really down to you whether its worth the extra basically for the additional features like HD sound processing, HDMI etc. It is basically the same as the 260 but obviously bigger and better featured, so if you have the budget then why not, However, your TV is not the biggest, so just bear in mind if the increased size may be too much.

Seems like a fantastic device though, and I wonder if they will release some wireless rears that work with it too.

 

[Sliver]

Thanks Richdog.

I won't have my current TV for ever, so when I am ready to upgrade I will be going for a larger screen. Like I said, I don't know much about which Soundbars are good and which are pants. The HT-CT660 is 46' long, which is the same size as my TV, that was one of my reasons for considering it, thinking it would look a good fit underneath my TV.

However, as you actually have a HT-CT260, which might be ideal for me, maybe you can share your thoughts on it. I know from your earlier post you're generally happy with it but does it fall short in any way ?

Also, do you have a pic ?

 

[Richdog]

Thanks Richdog.

I won't have my current TV for ever, so when I am ready to upgrade I will be going for a larger screen. Like I said, I don't know much about which Soundbars are good and which are pants. The HT-CT660 is 46' long, which is the same size as my TV, that was one of my reasons for considering it, thinking it would look a good fit underneath my TV.

However, as you actually have a HT-CT260, which might be ideal for me, maybe you can share your thoughts on it. I know from your earlier post you're generally happy with it but does it fall short in any way ?

Also, do you have a pic ?

I have already given my opinions on the soundbar above as you have read, so im not going to repeat th info. If you have specific questions based on what I have written I would be happy to answer. Pics you can google online, as well as many reviews and user feedback to help you make up your mind. Cheers.

 

[Sliver]

I was looking for constructive criticism as I find this valuable when buying. No product is 100% perfect, and I like to know where a product falls short. Obviously, I need to keep clear of Fanboy internet reviews. Thanks. Mind made up.

 

[bledd]

I'm thinking of getting one.

If I had with with optical in, would this setup work?


Media PC, HDMI to TV
PS3, HDMI to TV


Optical out on TV to Sound bar.

Would all sound come through the soundbar?

 

[Richdog]

I was looking for constructive criticism as I find this valuable when buying. No product is 100% perfect, and I like to know where a product falls short. Obviously, I need to keep clear of Fanboy internet reviews. Thanks. Mind made up.

There are tons of objective reviews on Amazon and Best Buy etc (any item with over 100 reviews can be considered reasonably objective, as Amazon does not edit reviews and if an item is bad, then it usually gets consistently bad feedback), all you need to do is a quick search and you will find them. As for downsides, like I said bass is a little unsubtle at higher volumes and it doesnt provide true surround sound or as good quality as a dedicated 5.1 system. but for the price thats to be expected.

 

[HeX]

Tempted to get one of these: http://www.rothaudio.co.uk/docs/products_09/Sub_Zero.shtml

For £100. Meant to be a good entry level soundbar.

I don't want to spend oodles of cash, and don't need super loud or booming bass (got young kids so can't have it on massively loud at night anyway!), I just want something that'll give me better sound quality than my telly speakers, and will get rid of that horrible effect where loud noises are too loud but talking scenes are too quiet!

Opinions? Alternatives?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

there's also sound bases you can buy

http://www.zvoxaudio.com/

basically its the same concept as a soundbar, except you place your tv on top of the sound base. so it's for people who have their tv's on top of tv stands rather than wall brackets.

no idea how good they are but reviews seem really good.

 

[-BA-]

The only problem I see with these is their limitation on number of inputs. I like the idea of one of these for one of the rooms where I don't want to trail wires but theSky box and network media player would both need an optical input each. Seems to defeat the purpose and would probably have to hook up an optical switch to route sound to it.