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Soundbar anyone?

jomari

jomari

War Never Changes
Famous
Got this via walmart yesterday, since i am staying over at inlaws, i thought i could get one, since my sony one is 'connected' to the tv upstairs, i had the opportunity to purchase an inexpensive soundbar again,

Walmart is having this on clearance for 89.00 bucks.

89.00

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-HW-K...=1495174282&sr=8-6&keywords=samsung+sound+bar

its got a wireless subwoofer too, and quite frankly, tops over my sony soundbar. i was going to bring the sony over to their place, but decided to play with this there instead. Father in law might want it and i get brownie points.

hope this works for someone in need of an inexpensive speaker system.
 
Nice find. If it were a little shorter, I would consider replacing the Boston Acoustics sub/sat speakers in my kitchen, as that system is super flaky.
 
im just glad i got it for the money. its built for a 38 inch i believe. all i know is that its as long as my dresser mirror.

this is the one i originally have for our bedroom,

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-HT-CT18...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=58XJ54DKDMBMZ3YDTS1X

and it worked substantially well. the subwoofer is passive (no power outlet going into the unit), and since i have it on a shared wall with my bedroom next door, it works fine.

the nice thing about this unit, the samsung's subwoofer is powered, and can be placed near the sitting position for better 'effect'.

is it up to par with a 5.1? of course not.

one thing i liked about the sony, it has four independent speakers on the sound bar, a small quarter size tweeter, then a more oblongated speaker probably driving the lower frequencies. the samsung, has one, and i am assuming an integrated tweeter. too bad it aint horns, but then again, for the price point right.
 
so, when i finally set up this rig in the bedroom i find out two things,

1. its great at OPTICAL input, and sounds great. that being said, any other input, its volume is way too low. you have to crank it up pretty high compared to optical input, sadly, the volume dictates throughout all inputs, meaning if my optical setting is 15/50 and i have to crank it to 30/50 (yes that drastic), imagine if someone decided to go optical on it, blasting the viewer i bet isnt what its intended to do.

2. the unit turns on each time it detects a signal via optical. nope, no hdmi setting since its not hdmi of course! and tried to turn off the optical from the tv, but thats sort of inconvenient.

im trying to remember the third one, but i just woke up.

anyways, thought id let you know before anyone buys it.

id rather stick with my sony sound bar with the main reason above keeping the volume at a consistent level. it works great at what i want it to do, and after playing with it the other day, heck the sub aint that bad either. i just got pampered by an active sub versus a passive one. its a bedroom setup with a shared wall with the neighbors, so it serves it purpose.

yamaha has a soundbar at costco on their next run for 119.99 i believe. i love yamaha soundbars, they were my first ones i recommended and purchased for friends.
 
jomari said:
so, when i finally set up this rig in the bedroom i find out two things,

2. the unit turns on each time it detects a signal via optical. nope, no hdmi setting since its not hdmi of course! and tried to turn off the optical from the tv, but thats sort of inconvenient.
Click to expand...

thought id get back on this, i read through the manual, and apparently can turn off the auto turn on function of the soundbar.

other things i learned,

1. it allows you to modify the sound via internal equalizer
2. you can change the subwoofers levels, and more in depth with its samsung app. (i didnt download it)

still nice, i changed my optical cable, and of course, a significant difference compared to the one from the box. (it was significantly smaller, thinner)
 
jomari said:
i changed my optical cable, and of course, a significant difference compared to the one from the box. (it was significantly smaller, thinner)
Click to expand...

Wait ... Are you saying that you heard a difference between two digital optical cables or just that the new one was more robust?
 
Towen7 said:
Wait ... Are you saying that you heard a difference between two digital optical cables or just that the new one was more robust?
Click to expand...

i guess so. essentially toslink is either going to work or not. but i guess i got bothered by how thin the included optical cable was, thus the change. i wanted a more robust cable.
 
I actually prefer the skinny toslink cables because they are more flexible and are less obvious to look at.
 
jomari said:
yamaha has a soundbar at costco on their next run for 119.99 i believe. i love yamaha soundbars, they were my first ones i recommended and purchased for friends.
Click to expand...

So, after playing around with the other soundbar, it made me realize that it was great, but bass was a bit too much, or too little. no mids to 'hear'

this was the soundbar i was referring to,

https://www.costco.com/Yamaha-ATS-1...al-Built-In-Subwoofers.product.100308390.html

and it was a pretty good deal considering. but it ran out of stock, so i bought this instead,

https://www.costco.com/Yamaha-YSP-1...l-Built-In-Subwoofers-.product.100337068.html

true 5.1 (yeah... sure) BUT i did like and appreciate the built in subwoofers. man, it was fun listening to stuff with it. did a firmware update via usb, almost bricked it, but came through.

I am happy with it. the other soundbar? bringing it home soon...
 
Groovy.
I'm still happy with the Yamaha YAS-106 that I got at Costco. I use it on my semi-portable system. But I added a separate subwoofer. Not because I needed to, just because I could. I keep telling myself that I need to mount a shelf for it on the cart's base. I'll get around to it eventually.

IMG_0023.JPG
 
Towen7 said:
Groovy.
I'm still happy with the Yamaha YAS-106 that I got at Costco. I use it on my semi-portable system. But I added a separate subwoofer. Not because I needed to, just because I could. I keep telling myself that I need to mount a shelf for it on the cart's base. I'll get around to it eventually.

View attachment 6968
Click to expand...
Tom,

While that has to be the grooviest "semi-portable" system I've ever seen, it has me wondering how many screws were needed to hold the stand together properly, and whether you used them all or not?

Just looking out for you - and helping to prevent the "Great Gear Slide - Part Deux".

Jeff
 
JeffMackwood said:
Tom,

While that has to be the grooviest "semi-portable" system I've ever seen, it has me wondering how many screws were needed to hold the stand together properly, and whether you used them all or not?

Just looking out for you - and helping to prevent the "Great Gear Slide - Part Deux".

Jeff
Click to expand...

I've learned my lesson but ... while all screw were indeed used, the sound bar is "attached" to the vertical posts with with hook and loop fasteners (aka Velcro).
 
i think thats why i stuck wtih yamahas, giving you the option to OP your system. this is also why im sometimes racking my brains trying to figure out doing a y adapter to use for the main system and the 2 subwoofers i have at home.

oh well, time to get another sub. :D

wife looks forward to the simplicity of the system. unfortunately, i am itching to upgrade to an atmos system.

yes, there are soundbars with atmost, but at almost 2k its definitely a bit pricey with my existing system.
 
towen, quick favor, any chance you still have a picture of that rig you have in the kitchen with the cable box stuck on the back? im still trying to find that thread and/or the picture itself.

might as well go lazy and ask if you have it handy. thank you!
 
jomari said:
towen, quick favor, any chance you still have a picture of that rig you have in the kitchen with the cable box stuck on the back? im still trying to find that thread and/or the picture itself.

might as well go lazy and ask if you have it handy. thank you!
Click to expand...

I'll try to remember when I get home. I had a little 19" in the kitchen with the U-verse box velcroed to the back. On this rig I have a U-verse box and a Rocku attached with zip ties on the back.
 
thank you towen.

where was it velcroed tho, i noticed my uverse box runs a bit hot, so im assuming the vents need to stay open on top, so you use the bottom?

thanka again in advance.
 
It was a wireless box. It was velcored to the back of the TV with the bottom of the STB against the back of the TV. I've since moved that STB to this TV. It's hard to see because it's black on black but that's it at the top right. It's front panel faces up and I havent had issues with it receiving IR signals. There's an old Roku underneath with its front edge face to the TV's side. Also I issues with it working.

IMG_0020.JPG
 
thank you sir! mucho appreciated!

the velcro we are talking about, 3m command strip kind? or is it true velcro from home depot kinda strength. the kind we use for those mosquito net door thingies?
 
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