# Soundbars, any recommendations?



## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Ok I’ve just bought myself a great new tv in the Black Friday sales a Philips 55PUS6703/12 - 6700 series Ultra Slim 4K UHD LED Smart TV. The picture is absolutely spot on, the ambient lighting makes it so much easier on my eyes and I fact in the last 3 evenings I’ve not had a single headache which I used to get with the previous tv. My only niggle is the sound is quite weak, perfectly good for ordinary tv but when watching movies or listening to music you really have to almost max it. So I’m considering a sound bar, I’ve never owned one before, I have a 5.1 surround in my downstairs lounge but didn’t really want speakers everywhere in my upstairs snug hence the sound bar option. I would like to spend no more than £200-£300.


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## bigalc (Aug 7, 2014)

http://homeavdirect.co.uk/denon-dht-110

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/soundbars.html?p=2

Try these


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

bigalc said:


> http://homeavdirect.co.uk/denon-dht-110
> 
> https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/soundbars.html?p=2
> 
> Try these


Richer sounds is my go to shop for all my AV and that's where I just bought my TV on Friday. There's so many to choose from, just so unsure what to look for and would love to hear from personal experiences.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

When I was looking - i was deciding between the large Bose soundbar and Sonus soundbar - as these were both easily available and I could listen to them, ended up with the Bose as for me had the slightly better sound I was after, but I'd have been happy with either...


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## ikon66 (Jul 23, 2008)

Get a Sonos beam if you can up your budget a bit. Alexa enabled, stream from iPhone and easy to upgrade to 5.1 with a sub and 2 rear speakers


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Mate, have a look at either the Canton DM60 Or the Cambridge Audio TV5 v2 From Richer Sounds. Both are within your budget, and no sound absolutely incredible.

I have the Canton DM55, and its outstanding. I was in with them on Saturday, with a view to upgrading, and had a listen to both. Really outstanding. The bass from the Cambridge especially is simply outstanding for a unit of that size.

Cooks
















Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## danwel (Feb 18, 2007)

Go and get a Sonos one they are amazing. Yes they are a premium price but they really are head and shoulders above the rest.

The have just released slightly more budget friendly option in the form of the Sonos Beam and i think with the sales if you are lucky still they can be had for 349 or less


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## nbray67 (Mar 22, 2012)

We have a Samsung HW-K650 and imo, it's garbage.

Yes, the bass is great with the separate subwoofer but the sound is very sketchy at times, with this I mean, the surround sound on it is woeful.


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## Laurie.J.M (Jun 23, 2011)

I'd spend a bit extra and get the Sonos Beam, being a soundbar is only one of the things it can do, it's got Alexa support and obviously has all the music streaming features you get in the rest of the Sonos Range. You can also add extra Sonos speakers and the sub to turn it into a full surround system.


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## ffrs1444 (Jun 7, 2008)

Just bought the LG Sj3 from Argos sounds great £130


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## AS_BO (Sep 29, 2013)

I've got a Yamaha YAS 207, £280 ish from Richer Sounds and it's incredible. Really wide sound stage due to the DTS Virtual X and Dolby decoders. Separate Subwoofer is wireless, has Bluetooth and 4K HDMI passthrough with ARC. Highly recommend


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## fretfret (Jul 31, 2009)

Sonos Beam, absolutely great sound bar.


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## oneflewover (Jul 25, 2017)

I have the Polk Audio with Alexa built in. Sorts all my audio needs. Radio, TV and Amazon music. 
https://www.richersounds.com/polk-command-bar.html


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## stealthwolf (Sep 24, 2008)

AS_BO said:


> I've got a Yamaha YAS 207, £280 ish from Richer Sounds and it's incredible. Really wide sound stage due to the DTS Virtual X and Dolby decoders. Separate Subwoofer is wireless, has Bluetooth and 4K HDMI passthrough with ARC. Highly recommend


I was looking a the YAS207 last year and got put off by the reviews (on Amazon) complaining about the crossover at low volumes, and the sub not kicking in at certain frequencies, but all works well when the volume is loud.

Did you have this issue?


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

I have the sonos playbar and just got the sonos sub, blown away with the sound stage I know its a load of money, but the Beam is great too and I see it for £319 in the sales over the weekend, the sonos gear I have had since they started quality kit but you need to get it when its on offer as a tad over priced IMHO


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## Deathstar (Jan 13, 2013)

Sonos Beam for me, we got one a couple of months ago and were impressed.

Next is the sub and a couple of 1s.


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## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

Go to your local Richer Sounds and try out some, see what suits. I prefer AV receivers and separate speakers personally due to the quantity of inputs - I'll be looking to upgrade soon, not sure what to go for yet, likely Onkyo or Denon.


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## nbray67 (Mar 22, 2012)

Thread resurrection.

What did you end up with DLGWRX02?

I've given up with our Samsung soundbar and the 'boss' has given me the green light to replace it, took 4mths to finally win her over. :thumb:

Narrowed it down to the Sonos Beam and the Bose Solo 5.

Sonos is edging it for me as the reviews are pretty damn good and the Alexa functionality is a bonus for the Hive tech we already have.

Anyone compared either of the above?


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

nbray67 said:


> Thread resurrection.
> 
> What did you end up with DLGWRX02?
> 
> ...


Have you listened to them - if not, I'd definitely recommend it, as sound is individual and what someone else like, you might not.

Think both are good, but you really need to oyster to them...


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## nbray67 (Mar 22, 2012)

Andyblue said:


> Have you listened to them - if not, I'd definitely recommend it, as sound is individual and what someone else like, you might not.
> 
> Think both are good, but you really need to oyster to them...


Not done so yet but will definitely being doing so before committing to either.

I think predictive text might have caught you with 'oyster' though Andy.


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## Negaultra7 (Mar 8, 2016)

Bose Solo 5 for me all day long


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## ikon66 (Jul 23, 2008)

Sonos playbase n sub, you’ll never regret it


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Forgot about this.lol


nbray67 said:


> Thread resurrection.
> 
> What did you end up with DLGWRX02?
> 
> ...


I ended up with the LG sj8 very happy with it, great sound and great connectivity. Also it came with its own wall mounting brackets.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

nbray67 said:


> Not done so yet but will definitely being doing so before committing to either.
> 
> I think predictive text might have caught you with 'oyster' though Andy.


Ooops :lol::lol::lol:

Sorry mate, that'll teach me to not have my glasses on ...


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## bluechimp (Dec 21, 2017)

I have a BOSE Solo 5 and it is unbelievable. I love BOSE products and have their Soundlink too. The connectivity it second to none and so is the sound quality.


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

I have a surround sound system, how do these soundbars really compare for surround sound?

In laws have a samsung one and it's awful. I hear no surround sound at all.


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## Tricky Red (Mar 3, 2007)

Q Acoustics M2 or M3, stunning sound


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Starbuck88 said:


> I have a surround sound system, how do these soundbars really compare for surround sound?
> 
> In laws have a samsung one and it's awful. I hear no surround sound at all.


I think the size of room plays a big part, I have 7.1 down stairs and this sound bar in my upstairs lounge. When watching movies etc you can hear the noise bouncing from behind us, specially when watching more modern movies. However the room is much smaller and we sit parallel to the tv directly in front. I think it's a case of you get what you pay for, I heard some sound bars and wasn't impressed the SJ8 has lots of volume and wireless subwoofer gives plenty of punch.


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## shl-kelso (Dec 27, 2012)

I prefer the Playbar or Playbase from Sonos to the Beam, but that means it does not have all the new features of the Beam. 

If you only want better TV sound,, so no surround sound, then it’s fine, but I’d miss the bass too much so would soon want to add the Sonos Sub too if it were me. 

However you do get the option to add additional rear speakers and the Sub if you really want to expand later (but at a considerable extra cost!), provided you are only going to be feeding Dolby Digital sources to the Beam. 

I do wonder if we will see a revamp of the Sonos kit for AV use soon, they do seem to be taking a fresh look at the range - for example they are finally taking custom install seriously again with the new amp (and it’s rack-mounting kit) as well as partnering with Sonance for in-ceiling and in-wall speakers. 

So maybe we will finally see Sonos kit that can also decode DTS, or lossless surround formats and maybe even Atmos. If they do it will certainly be at a premium price though.


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