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patty
13th August 2008, 10:53 PM
Just interested to know if anyone has had any experience with the "new Sound bars" out now Yamaha do one also Phillips (well they are new to me as i have never seen them before) but probable have been out for donkies years has anyone seen these in action and are they worth the money!!

SilentButDeadly
20th August 2008, 02:59 PM
Patty.....they've actually been around for a few years now. I've never heard one. However, most reviews suggest they work as advertised.....which comes as something of a surprise.

Word of warning though......they rely on walls to work, especially back and side walls. Therefore they WILL NOT work in an open plan area. Windows are OK. Soft furnishings and curtains will also impede performance because they absorb reflections from the thing.

GraemeCook
20th August 2008, 04:21 PM
Patty, I listened to a Yamaha sound bar in a local audio shop's sound lounge for about ten minutes. My main reaction was one of amazement as to how they got the trhree-dimensional sound from a long narrow box. Sort of like electronic ventilliquism.

Its virtue being the single box would be easier to place in a lounge than five normal speakers, but not as compact as the Bose mini speakers.

On reflection, I thought the sound was good middle range surround sound, perhaps lacking a little in detail and bass extension. Fairly good value for money for surround sound, but definitely not as good as stereo speakers of comparable cost. Depends on whether your prime interest is music or film.

Again, I caution that this opinion is from a single short audition, with a very strong gee-whiz reaction that would have affected my objectivity. Suggest you go to your nearest audio shop and have a listen.

Or, if Soundman's there, he'll probably give a much more elegant and informed view.

Cheers

Graeme

soundman
22nd August 2008, 12:34 AM
Wot? who? where?...... Oh me

I do not know the product nor have I heard one.

But I assume this is one of those slim line horisontal systems that is either mounted below or above your TV or flat screen.... and it pretends to be more than it is.....probably sucessfully.

Any of these sort of products are designed to appeal to people who want the sound but not the speakers.

They are getting very clever with this sort of stuff and the devious things they do to get the results seem to work.

However

You can not suspend the laws of physics. You can not get a BIG sound out of very small speakers........slight of hand can make it appear that way quite sucessfully..... but the result will not stand up to close scrutiny.

Bose were one of the first to try to sell the idea of tiny speakers, and they did quite well....... thise lifestyle systems sounded pretty damn fine........UNTIL....... you heard them next to something properly decent.
Then the bass was artificail and lacked depth and extension, the overall response was not smooth or anywhere near flat, and the top end... well.... it ran out of puff well within a heathy hearing range.
Then if you cranked em up loud, they were far from impressive.

All of the speaker systems that try to be something they cant be suffer from the same limitations of physics.

Oh most of these systems perform best in moderatly absorbent rooms..... get lots of drapes or soft furnishings in there with them and they don't have the substance to cope.

Should you buy one.... HMMM

that depends on your expectations.

If you are expecting full on HIFI or home theatre sound.... I would say no.

But if you want something compact for just general nice listening with a bit of extra life & depth........ hey this is what these things do well.

But dont expect it to kick you in the chest with bass and don't expect accuracy.

cheers

GraemeCook
25th August 2008, 10:19 PM
Right on cue, Soundman, and spot on, too.

Patty, Those sound bars will certainly sound much better than the speakers in your TV.

After that you have to balance out decor, sound quality, cost, stereo vs surround. Only you can do that - I still think the best way is to go down to an audio store and have a listen to a number of systems. Even Harvey Norman now has reasonable sound lounges.

Happy hunting

Graeme