Help with a decent soundbar.

[johntmanic]

Hi people,
We’ve just moved into a new place and there’s no way I can set up my 5.1 speaker system here.
The missus has given me the green light to buy a decent soundbar so I need your help.
I currently have a LG OLED B7 tv and I’ve been looking at the LG SN9YG potentially with the rear surrounds and also the Samsung Q950T soundbars.
I’ve been looking at both reviews but they all sound all over the show for both. I’ve heard that the LG one doesn’t have a centre speaker and makes things sound odd for example.
I’m looking something for films and Xbox (but I do have half decent headphones for gaming so not essential).
Does anyone have any of the above or any recommendations on what to get?
Thanks a lot.

 

[M1k3H]

I’ve had a Sonos Playbar for 6 years now. Very happy with it. Positive is you can slowly add until you have everything. I got the surrounds (Play 1s) 4 years ago and the sub last year. The Playbar has been discontinued and replaced with their new atmos bar, i believe it’s called the Arc.

 

[Junglist]

My friend has the same TV and he went for the Sonos Beam at the front and two IKEA/Sonos speakers for the rear. Works really well

 

[Psycho Sonny]

My dad has the top end Samsung soundbar that cost him £1500.

My mates dad has the full Sonos package and it's not only double the price it sounds terrible in comparison.

I've heard both multiple times.

And my dad was round yesterday and he said my physical 5.1 setup was much better than his albeit he does have a living room 4-5 times the size of mine so the size of his room isn't helping at all but even still mine at low volumes blows his away. His only shines at high volumes.

If it has to be a soundbar then get the Samsung.

Otherwise wire through the walls and get brackets or ceiling speakers and go for a proper set up.

 

[Simmz]

I'm pretty sure you are just anti Sonos, as you slate every single Sonos post that pops up. I'm not saying it's the best system, but if you want simple setup that won't break and just works, then go for Sonos. The Samsung has its issues still and if you are comparing just the Soundbar itself with no rears and sub, I'd actually say the new Sonos arc performs better as you can do away with the sub anyway in smaller rooms.

Johntmanic, how much are you looking to spend?

 

[Junglist]

Yeah there's probably better sounding things out there but I was impressed enough to decide I'm going down the same route but will be getting two Play Ones instead of the ikea speakers for the rear.

The Arc is supposed to be really good but a bit out of my price range as couldn't afford that and the rears

 

[lucid]

I’ve been looking at the LG SN9YG potentially with the rear surrounds and also the Samsung Q950T soundbars.
I’ve been looking at both reviews but they all sound all over the show for both. I’ve heard that the LG one doesn’t have a centre speaker and makes things sound odd for example.

If I had a top 10 for audio quality then LG would be at No.11 if it's lucky. It's not a brand synonymous with audio quality. This used to the case with Samsung too, but things changed when the brand acquired Harman Kardon as part of the package of companies under the Harman International deal.

I think Samsung saw the writing on the wall for budget surround systems. It moved its offer upmarket and put real effort in to breaking in to sound quality territory with the help of Harman's R&D labs. It has paid dividends too. For a mass market TV brand it does better than many of its peers in this sector. I'd have a Samsung sound bar before a high-end Sony one.

Reviews are a bit of a mixed bag. They should only really be used for making a shortlist rather than for the final purchase, but I'm sure you know that.

What's always at the back of my mind with reviews is the impatiality of the reviewer: Is the brand being reviewed is an advertiser in a mag or on a web site? Also, the credibility of the reviewer. I give a lot more weight to the reviews in Stereophile than I would say What Hi-Fi and a hundred Amazon customer reviews. Someone with no real experience of audio gear could well be blown away by the first bit of better quality gear they hear even if it's mediocre by peer standards simply because they've little else equivalent to compare it against.

As a Sonos dealer I'm not impartial, but I will say that there are a lot of reasons to buy it, but sound quality isn't top of the list. It's good, and the acoustic tuning app that they've had for a while does make a sizable difference too; but Sonos is more about convenience and the Sonos ecosystem for multiroom music.

Something else that's becoming a big factor is whether the review is simply a me-too in order to attract clicks.

If I have a favoured brand it's Yamaha, particularly now that their MusicCast adds a lot of the functionality such as wireless rear speakers, multiroom music and app control that were Sonos strong-points for years. With a Yamaha YSP sound bar I can beat Sonos sound quality and still most of the features of a good AV receiver such as multiple inputs and HD audio processing.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

I have the LG SN9 with rears and tbh it sounds great. I had a Sonos with sub and rear speakers and tbh I thought it sounded awful compared to my YSP 2700 I had at the time. I also tried the Q90r and was not impressed. I was expecting the SN9 to be crap but it has far exceeded my expectations. I even sold my YSP2700 in favour of the LG something I said I would never do.

 

[jpaul]

I was expecting the SN9 to be crap but it has far exceeded my expectations.

umm - quite a recommendation : did you need to do any tweaking to ensure voice/mid channel is sufficiently prominant ? or, do you change modes much ?
- stll looking for solutions for the parents, and that's on their list.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

umm - quite a recommendation : did you need to do any tweaking to ensure voice/mid channel is sufficiently prominant ? or, do you change modes much ?
- stll looking for solutions for the parents, and that's on their list.

I ran the auto calibration and adjusted the bass & treble. The mid channel is fantastic and can be independently adjusted if needed. Voices are very clear it’s one of this parts I like most about it tbh...

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I'm pretty sure you are just anti Sonos, as you slate every single Sonos post that pops up. I'm not saying it's the best system, but if you want simple setup that won't break and just works, then go for Sonos. The Samsung has its issues still and if you are comparing just the Soundbar itself with no rears and sub, I'd actually say the new Sonos arc performs better as you can do away with the sub anyway in smaller rooms.

Johntmanic, how much are you looking to spend?

there are multiple posts above all slating sonos sound quality too. are they all anti-sonos too?

my mates dad spent circa £3k on his sonos set up so no it's not just the £700 bar it included the £800 sub and 2 £350 rears too.

£3k and it sounded crap for the money. i'd say a £600 yamaha soundbar was better.

 

[Junglist]

Sonos stuff sounds perfectly acceptable to someone like me. Big upgrade over TV audio which is basically all I've ever used

Not everyone requires audiophile quality. Just a bit of kit that works easily and is convenient.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Samsung's top end soundbars with rears are the best I've heard out of the mainstream stuff, however, their product support is awful. The EARC updates they promised for older bars still haven't been delivered and I believe there are even issues with their latest bars and LPCM.

 

[Simmz]

there are multiple posts above all slating sonos sound quality too. are they all anti-sonos too?

my mates dad spent circa £3k on his sonos set up so no it's not just the £700 bar it included the £800 sub and 2 £350 rears too.

£3k and it sounded crap for the money. i'd say a £600 yamaha soundbar was better.

I see one person saying it sounded awful in comparison to a Yamaha.

I'm not talking about the Soundbar anyway, as that came out in 2013 and back then was perfectly adequate.

However the Arc is a major improvement. Annoyingly it does need trueplay tuning to get the most from it, but with codes floating around you can nab that and two play ones for around £850 which on a price point I think it tops most things (soundbar wise).

Like you said a wired system will always be better, I am not even going to question that.

As it is now though, more and more people are moving aware from wires and going wireless, just like they are with disks and turning to streaming.

Hopefully someone will pinpoint that market and come out with 10/10 soundbar at a good price point. Although I haven't heard a Sennheiser Ambeo so maybe that could be red hot sound wise, but then you are talking over £2000 for it.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Does Sonos do all the codecs yet?

That's a good reason to avoid them

 

[MOOGLEYS]

It was the Sonos sound-bar, sub and rear speakers I had not heard the newer Sonos systems so cannot comment on them. I have had a fair few setups in the last few years and the LG ticks more boxes than all of them, tbh I don’t really have any complaints at all which is unusual for me....lol. I have the bar, sub and rear speakers. Dolby Atmos stuff sounds fantastic and the sound is rich and powerful. It also supports just about every audio version out so you are covered on that front as well as E-Arc which works flawlessly on my C9 tv.

 

[lucid]

Does Sonos do all the codecs yet?

That's a good reason to avoid them

There's a lot of users out there who will only ever have their soundbar hooked up to some kind of audio out on the TV, and then use the TV as a source switch. They either don't know or don't care about audio codes.

I haven't seen the latest trade figures, but recall seeing that of all the different brands and models available, Sonos playbar was the single biggest selling product in the soundbar market. For what was a £600 unit, and against all the £50-£100 products it competes against, it tells me - and possibly you - that those of us primarily concerned with flexibility and compatibility and sound quality are very much in the minority.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

There's a lot of users out there who will only ever have their soundbar hooked up to some kind of audio out on the TV, and then use the TV as a source switch. They either don't know or don't care about audio codes.

I haven't seen the latest trade figures, but recall seeing that of all the different brands and models available, Sonos playbar was the single biggest selling product in the soundbar market. For what was a £600 unit, and against all the £50-£100 products it competes against, it tells me - and possibly you - that those of us primarily concerned with flexibility and compatibility and sound quality are very much in the minority.

I know they market themselves very well.

They also have the partnership with IKEA which is probably the biggest and most popular home furniture store in the world.

Their marketing as well as being the first to market with an easy to use wireless solution has got them to where they are.

However there are better options available for cheaper. Which is why I never recommend them. Unless you already have Sonos speakers in other rooms and want to integrate your TV set up into your home Sonos set up.

If you don't plan on putting Sonos into several rooms I see no reason to buy their soundbars.

The iPhone is a decent phone albeit horrifically overpriced and locked down. It's similar to the Sonos ethos. Good marketing and being the first one to the market with an easy to use smartphone.

However I've also never owned an iPhone. Owned many iPods but never their phone or other products.

I understand many people buy iPhones and they are extremely popular. However it's the easy choice for someone who doesn't know what to buy so they buy an iPhone. Nothing wrong with that however if someone does want the best quality for the money Samsung holds the reigns now thanks to buying Harmon kardon. My LG TV has Harmon kardon speakers and I'm amazed by the TV speakers. I have my 5.1 setup in the same room and before I bought the amp people thought the sound was from the speakers and not the tvthe speakers are that good.

I'm actually amazed at how good they are which makes me understand Harmon kardon know speakers very well.

Yamaha needs to make a response. Thy have rested on their laurels. I currently have their ysp 2700 in the bedroom and it's top tier in terms of a sound bar. I managed to get it for £220 3 months old second hand guy gave me the receipt too. Which is why I cannot upgrade from it. I would need to spend £1500 to make the upgrade and Vs £200 for the sound I currently get that makes zero sense.

Plus I already have a proper set up in the living room. I hope Yamaha make a come back and challenges Samsung.

I'll be doing a garage conversion soon and I'll likely need another set up. Will either be moving the 5.1 through and turning it into an atmos set up or getting a sound bar. Got some time yet before I decide but I'll probably move the 5.1 as the lg TV speakers are that good and that TV will be used once every 6 months after the conversion most likely.

I also really like akg headphones a subsidiary of Harmon kardon. Samsung made one of the best plays they could have with their acquisition. I have now owned 2 different sets of akg headphones and they are the best for gaming.

 

[beachBOYken]

I know they market themselves very well.

They also have the partnership with IKEA which is probably the biggest and most popular home furniture store in the world.

Their marketing as well as being the first to market with an easy to use wireless solution has got them to where they are.

However there are better options available for cheaper. Which is why I never recommend them. Unless you already have Sonos speakers in other rooms and want to integrate your TV set up into your home Sonos set up.

If you don't plan on putting Sonos into several rooms I see no reason to buy their soundbars.

The iPhone is a decent phone albeit horrifically overpriced and locked down. It's similar to the Sonos ethos. Good marketing and being the first one to the market with an easy to use smartphone.

However I've also never owned an iPhone. Owned many iPods but never their phone or other products.

I understand many people buy iPhones and they are extremely popular. However it's the easy choice for someone who doesn't know what to buy so they buy an iPhone. Nothing wrong with that however if someone does want the best quality for the money Samsung holds the reigns now thanks to buying Harmon kardon. My LG TV has Harmon kardon speakers and I'm amazed by the TV speakers. I have my 5.1 setup in the same room and before I bought the amp people thought the sound was from the speakers and not the tvthe speakers are that good.

I'm actually amazed at how good they are which makes me understand Harmon kardon know speakers very well.

Yamaha needs to make a response. Thy have rested on their laurels. I currently have their ysp 2700 in the bedroom and it's top tier in terms of a sound bar. I managed to get it for £220 3 months old second hand guy gave me the receipt too. Which is why I cannot upgrade from it. I would need to spend £1500 to make the upgrade and Vs £200 for the sound I currently get that makes zero sense.

Plus I already have a proper set up in the living room. I hope Yamaha make a come back and challenges Samsung.

I'll be doing a garage conversion soon and I'll likely need another set up. Will either be moving the 5.1 through and turning it into an atmos set up or getting a sound bar. Got some time yet before I decide but I'll probably move the 5.1 as the lg TV speakers are that good and that TV will be used once every 6 months after the conversion most likely.

I also really like akg headphones a subsidiary of Harmon kardon. Samsung made one of the best plays they could have with their acquisition. I have now owned 2 different sets of akg headphones and they are the best for gaming.

I recently got the Sonos ARC and sub, sold my YSP2700, and I agree the ysp2700 is a great soundbar, I'm more than happy with my sonos now though, as I seem to stream a lot more now, so DTS is not such an issue for me. I may have considered another Yamaha soundbar but could not see anything new from them, with atmos, hdmi 2.1 and so on.
Bigger soundstage on Sonos ARC and hard hitting bass from the sub, the ysp2700 sub was used for the mids as well so I guess that's why I notice a difference with the sonos sub.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

I would honestly say the LG SN9 is much better than the 2700. I had the 2700 from launch and it was fantastic it’s still fantastic now which shows how good it is. The LG was not intended to replace my 2700 I was just curious on how it sounded I had no real intention of keeping it. But it hits way above its brand and the sound and performance is fantastic so I kept it.