Soundbar help

335d Rocco · 08-23-2015, 10:25 AM

I've just bought a new Sony 55" tv and I want a soundbar to go with it but I'm unsure which to go for, the ones I've looked at are the Sonos Playbar, Bose Cinemate 15 & Sony HT-NT3.

The one I'm leaning towards is the Sonos Playbar but it's been out for a while and I don't want to buy something that's going to be replaced soon

Budget is no more than £600

Any help appreciated

Somerset Jim · 08-23-2015, 05:59 PM

Have you considered the Cambridge audio TV5. It had very good reviews and comes in under budget. I'd imagine if you called richer sounds they would give you a demo for you to listed to it.

DriverLDN · 08-24-2015, 05:37 AM

The Sonos Playbar is fantastic, I've use this product and use to sell the brand. Their a great company. The Playbar itself sounds great for such a small unit, the build quality is very solid and the bass delivery is excellent. The Sonos App is also really good as well as you can play music over wirelessly through the app. This includes your own music library or the likes of SoundCloud, Spotify etc. There is a network loop through as well so you can just borrow a Ethernet from another device if its around. There is also a companion subwoofer you can buy to beef up the bass response a bit more as well.

misterS3 · 08-24-2015, 08:29 AM

I have in my house and work over 20 sonos bits of kit. But i don't have the soundbar.

It's not the best bit of kit as a soundbar.

I have a Yamaha i have in my bedroom which is fantastic and pass through all the commands from my PS3 etc. . I'll try and remember the model name.

The Sonos isn't DTS etc. But it is a sonos so good if you are likely to listen to music in that room and not watch the TV and have an existing Sonos system.

What i tend to do is match up reviews with what some hi-fi shop (start with Richer Sounds but plenty of independents too) has on sale.

misterS3 · 08-24-2015, 08:30 AM

I have the Yamaha YSP-2200 which cost me £550-600.

DriverLDN · 08-24-2015, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misterS3

I have in my house and work over 20 sonos bits of kit. But i don't have the soundbar.

It's not the best bit of kit as a soundbar.

I have a Yamaha i have in my bedroom which is fantastic and pass through all the commands from my PS3 etc. . I'll try and remember the model name.

The Sonos isn't DTS etc. But it is a sonos so good if you are likely to listen to music in that room and not watch the TV and have an existing Sonos system.

What i tend to do is match up reviews with what some hi-fi shop (start with Richer Sounds but plenty of independents too) has on sale.

Agreed, I tried the Sonos for music and stereo TV and it was great. Yamaha however have always been class leaders in getting a pseudo surround sound from their sound bars. They were also one of the first people to do this kind of thing back when they released at YSP-800 years ago. You can also get some pretty good deals on the one misterS3 has mentioned.

335d Rocco · 08-24-2015, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Somerset Jim

Have you considered the Cambridge audio TV5. It had very good reviews and comes in under budget. I'd imagine if you called richer sounds they would give you a demo for you to listed to it.

Thankyou for the recommendation, looks great value with great reviews as well, but I'm looking for something I can put on the wall as I'll be fixing my tv to the wall, but if I have a change of plan then the Cambridge is something I'll go back and look at

335d Rocco · 08-24-2015, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bhavik

The Sonos Playbar is fantastic, I've use this product and use to sell the brand. Their a great company. The Playbar itself sounds great for such a small unit, the build quality is very solid and the bass delivery is excellent. The Sonos App is also really good as well as you can play music over wirelessly through the app. This includes your own music library or the likes of SoundCloud, Spotify etc. There is a network loop through as well so you can just borrow a Ethernet from another device if its around. There is also a companion subwoofer you can buy to beef up the bass response a bit more as well.

A good thumbs up for the Sonos, part of the reason I'm favouring the Sonos is due to the fact you can add to it over time, just gotta consider if I want to pay £599 for the sub further down the line, a bit overpriced imo but all the rest of their stuff seem competitively priced.

I've already downloaded the app on my iPad, think my mind is made up but just want to see some alternatives

335d Rocco · 08-24-2015, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misterS3

I have the Yamaha YSP-2200 which cost me £550-600.

Thanks, it's got good reviews but it can't be wall mounted which is something we want

Somerset Jim · 08-24-2015, 05:11 PM

The alternative would be a bowers & Wilkins A5 or A7. They can be wall mounted with a mount and I use the A7 in our bedroom with amazing results. We also have the A5 in the kitchen and it is very good at imaging and bass but the A7 bass is amazing for the size of the unit.

If you don't have an iPhone then you'll probably steer clear but we do and they ability to play music as well as the TV through the speaker is a great option to have.

misterS3 · 08-25-2015, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uk 330d

Thanks, it's got good reviews but it can't be wall mounted which is something we want

Are you putting your TV on a wall mount/bracket above a fire....what i've done is use a granite shelf to protect the TV from the heat and then the Yamaha (in my case centre speaker) sits on that, and you hide the sub away in a corner (all the AVforums people will be going mental at the idea of not placing your sub somewhere to give the best sound!)

Another option is getting a dedicated AV Amp and some small speaker kit - again depends on how big the room you've got is and if you need to hide the kit away from prying fingers (kids) and moaning other half!

This will give you best bang for you buck especially with DTS and 5.1 sound sources are you'll have real surround.

Sorry for the typical man spec creep!

I'll try and find a photo of my set up - it's pretty discrete as i have tiny living room.

bytejunkie · 09-04-2015, 03:03 AM

dont know if you'll find one, but i have a philips htl9100

wall mounts
removable speakers to make it 4.1
great sound, quite loud.

wife discovered a use case i had no idea bout recently. took the removable wireless speaker off and took it into the nursery when we were decorating. alright i thought, music as disctraction. but then she went to meet a mate and i ended up decorating with kerrang in the background.

really chuffed with the purchase.
if you trust what hifi, they rated it. http://www.whathifi.com/philips/htl9100/review

couple of years old now, which doesn't overly worry me, the TV is too and they work well together. it uses arc which means the TV wakes it up over HDMI.

08-23-2015, 10:25 AM	#1
335d Rocco Major 111 Rep 1,058 Posts Drives: G01 BMW X3 30d M Sport Plus Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Hampshire iTrader: (1) Garage List 2019 BMW X3 30d M S ... [0.00] 2008 BMW 330i M Spo ... [0.00]	Soundbar help I've just bought a new Sony 55" tv and I want a soundbar to go with it but I'm unsure which to go for, the ones I've looked at are the Sonos Playbar, Bose Cinemate 15 & Sony HT-NT3. The one I'm leaning towards is the Sonos Playbar but it's been out for a while and I don't want to buy something that's going to be replaced soon Budget is no more than £600 Any help appreciated __________________ Past: E90 330d M Sport..... E93 330i M Sport.....Past:F31 335d M Sport+.....G01 X3 30d M Sport+
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08-23-2015, 05:59 PM	#2
Somerset Jim Captain 23 Rep 617 Posts Drives: E93 M3 LCI DCT & F01 730d SE Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Wellington, Somerset iTrader: (5)	Have you considered the Cambridge audio TV5. It had very good reviews and comes in under budget. I'd imagine if you called richer sounds they would give you a demo for you to listed to it.
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08-24-2015, 05:37 AM	#3
DriverLDN First Lieutenant 47 Rep 297 Posts Drives: BMW 330i M Sport E90 2006 Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Croydon iTrader: (0)	The Sonos Playbar is fantastic, I've use this product and use to sell the brand. Their a great company. The Playbar itself sounds great for such a small unit, the build quality is very solid and the bass delivery is excellent. The Sonos App is also really good as well as you can play music over wirelessly through the app. This includes your own music library or the likes of SoundCloud, Spotify etc. There is a network loop through as well so you can just borrow a Ethernet from another device if its around. There is also a companion subwoofer you can buy to beef up the bass response a bit more as well. __________________
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08-24-2015, 08:29 AM	#4
misterS3 Lieutenant Colonel 73 Rep 1,733 Posts Drives: X70 on the way Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Glasgow iTrader: (0)	I have in my house and work over 20 sonos bits of kit. But i don't have the soundbar. It's not the best bit of kit as a soundbar. I have a Yamaha i have in my bedroom which is fantastic and pass through all the commands from my PS3 etc. . I'll try and remember the model name. The Sonos isn't DTS etc. But it is a sonos so good if you are likely to listen to music in that room and not watch the TV and have an existing Sonos system. What i tend to do is match up reviews with what some hi-fi shop (start with Richer Sounds but plenty of independents too) has on sale.
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08-24-2015, 08:30 AM	#5
misterS3 Lieutenant Colonel 73 Rep 1,733 Posts Drives: X70 on the way Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Glasgow iTrader: (0)	I have the Yamaha YSP-2200 which cost me £550-600.
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08-24-2015, 05:11 PM	#10
Somerset Jim Captain 23 Rep 617 Posts Drives: E93 M3 LCI DCT & F01 730d SE Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Wellington, Somerset iTrader: (5)	The alternative would be a bowers & Wilkins A5 or A7. They can be wall mounted with a mount and I use the A7 in our bedroom with amazing results. We also have the A5 in the kitchen and it is very good at imaging and bass but the A7 bass is amazing for the size of the unit. If you don't have an iPhone then you'll probably steer clear but we do and they ability to play music as well as the TV through the speaker is a great option to have.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

09-04-2015, 03:03 AM	#12
bytejunkie Lieutenant 161 Rep 543 Posts Drives: F31 335d xDrive M Sport Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Leeds iTrader: (1)	dont know if you'll find one, but i have a philips htl9100 wall mounts removable speakers to make it 4.1 great sound, quite loud. wife discovered a use case i had no idea bout recently. took the removable wireless speaker off and took it into the nursery when we were decorating. alright i thought, music as disctraction. but then she went to meet a mate and i ended up decorating with kerrang in the background. really chuffed with the purchase. if you trust what hifi, they rated it. http://www.whathifi.com/philips/htl9100/review couple of years old now, which doesn't overly worry me, the TV is too and they work well together. it uses arc which means the TV wakes it up over HDMI.
	Appreciate 0 Quote