Soundbars (aka The Heresy Thread)

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For those following my (mis)adventures, I got two Sony HT-Z9Fs refurbished from Liquidation dot com (B grade, with shipping and tax paid the same as I'd pay for a new one before tax). I'm going to resell one and have already ordered the rear speakers open-box from Best Buy; at the end of the day I should be ending up with a real 5.1 system for casual use (instead of the fake Atmos through listening mode trickery). I don't expect wireless to be as good as the wired system, but it should be fine for most casual listening.

Talk about a "WHEELER DEALER...." Were you a card shark in a previous life?
 
For those following my (mis)adventures, I got two Sony HT-Z9Fs refurbished from Liquidation dot com (B grade, with shipping and tax paid the same as I'd pay for a new one before tax). I'm going to resell one and have already ordered the rear speakers open-box from Best Buy; at the end of the day I should be ending up with a real 5.1 system for casual use (instead of the fake Atmos through listening mode trickery). I don't expect wireless to be as good as the wired system, but it should be fine for most casual listening.
Hey, I am positive it's a MUCH better alternative than the TV speakers!!!
 
I think that goes without sayin' KAP. But as far as doing 5.1 or ATMOS, as some of those soundbars advertise.....PURE HOGWASH unless, like ubertrout, you'll be adding two rear satellite speakers.......then you will get 5.1.
yeah but THOSE FOLKS probably do not know what listening to HiRez MCH sounds like!!!
 
Hmmm, I had hoped to be able to get a decent sounding soundbar for a guestroom TV. These have been around for a while so hard to believe there isn't anything that will work.
 
Hey, I am positive it's a MUCH better alternative than the TV speakers!!!

Yes you are right...soundbars are much better than TV speakers...in fact soundbars are excellent for 2 things...the first and most important is for areas where limited space is the issue....and if you have the money...you can get some impressive ones...yes I said impressive...but we are talking about prices starting over a grand...the next reason is for cosmetic purposes...which means you have a significant other that is driving this decision...forcing the audiophile to compromise his/her very existence for the sake of some misguided Feng Shui guidelines...the only good vibes I want in my dwelling are coming from my audio system..not some ancient ritual that is so focused on where your toilet is located in your house
 
I purchased the Sony Soundbar HTZ9F. All my big stuff went into the new room. I reworked the living room, lowering the 65" Samsung, was sitting high to accomadate the center speaker. Added the Sony soundbar, (3.1 assembly). Just needed a lazy watching area for me and my wife without all the bigness of the reference room.
I started with just the TV speakers, and they did there job, easy to hear, etc. Decided to add the Sony HTZ9F with the hopes of better clarity and the included wireless sub for addtional low end.
The clarity over the TV speakers is definately an improvement. The wireless sub is not that noticeable. There is a seperate remote for the soundbar which is a pain. Main volume one button toggle and SW Vol another button toggle, the SW vol goes to 12 whatever that means, and lowering and raising the SW vol is barely noticeable. The seperate remote, unfortunately forces me to purchase an inexpensive universal remote.
DirecTV remote, Soundbar remote, Amazon Cube remote, Samsung TV remote, having to go back and forth from HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 is just too much for my wife.
Any suggestions for simple universal remotes?
 
I have it set up fully now, and with the HT-Z9R rear speakers it isn't even that heretical - it's a real 5.1 system. It's definitely nice for movies and casual music listening, even for SACDs, but I wouldn't confuse it for a proper listening setup. Still fun, though - I'm using my living room mostly for streaming or OTA TV, where the audio is at most DD+ or Netflix Atmos, so it's not a big loss.

I have it hooked up via HDMI to my HiSense H8G and the audio return channel and HDMI remote functionality bit works perfectly. The Sony remote has some really nice bonus features (like seperate volume control for the rears and sub), but mostly I just use the HiSense remote to control everything. There's also a control app for the Sony, but it's not as full featured as the remote.
 
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