Howdy, I'm looking for some recommendations on sound bars. I'm not exactly what features are important to a sound bar other than amplifying the sound(do some have Bluetooth? Other things like that), so any help is appreciated! And yes, I know google has a lot of good information, but a lot of what is out there is just propaganda for their sponsors and what not. Budget it $250.

Thanks!

Interested to hear recs, also.

I'm looking for something to add to a master bedroom TV that will provide better/clearer dialogue and also Bluetooth connectivity. Room is average size. Don't want a subwoofer.

A sound bar without a sub just sounds weak to me, and I would never recommend it to anyone.

I would save your money and stick with the TV's built-in speakers if your budget is $250. I tried several soundbars over that price without a sub, and I returned them all.

I then bought a JBL with the sub, and used that for a few years. I thought it sounded fine, but never truly loved it.

I recently got a Sonos Arc along with the sonos sub. Damn... so much better than my old JBL. Loving my sound, now.

DallasTeleAg said:

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A sound bar without a sub just sounds weak to me, and I would never recommend it to anyone.

I would save your money and stick with the TV's built-in speakers if your budget is $250. I tried several soundbars over that price without a sub, and I returned them all.

I then bought a JBL with the sub, and used that for a few years. I thought it sounded fine, but never truly loved it.

I recently got a Sonos Arc along with the sonos sub. Damn... so much better than my old JBL. Loving my sound, now.

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His budget is $250, great advice.

+1 for Sonos setup. Worth saving up for.

Their Beam soundbar is great for a bedroom TV; coupled with a sub is a fine living room kit.

Edits because I'm not good at multitasking with TexAgs integrated!

PatAg said:

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DallasTeleAg said:

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A sound bar without a sub just sounds weak to me, and I would never recommend it to anyone.

I would save your money and stick with the TV's built-in speakers if your budget is $250. I tried several soundbars over that price without a sub, and I returned them all.

I then bought a JBL with the sub, and used that for a few years. I thought it sounded fine, but never truly loved it.

I recently got a Sonos Arc along with the sonos sub. Damn... so much better than my old JBL. Loving my sound, now.

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His budget is $250, great advice.

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It is perfectly good advice for any type of technology to save a little longer and invest in something worth it. I'm sorry, but $250 for soundbar will get you a cheap piece of technology.

If you refuse to ever spend more than $250, then buy whatever. I have basic bluetooth speakers that cost that much

Also, if you are spending any money on a soundbar without a sub, then I would consider it pointless; but hey, to each their own. (That's called advice)

Here, go with a Sony:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-2-1-channel-320w-soundbar-system-with-wireless-subwoofer-black/6336505.p?skuId=6336505

To me, this is like saying you want to buy a gaming laptop for modern games, but don't want to spend over $600. Do gaming laptops exist in that price range? I guess. But you haven't quite hit that magic number where value and quality start to meet. I would tell that person to save up a little money and get closer to a budget of $1,000 to truly make the investment worth it.

Sonos Playbar + sub is IMO the best you can get.

I also have 2 play 1s (old school ones) in the room.

Sonos is badass. And sounds great. Wouldn't recommend anything else until you get up to your true home theater set ups with receiver (def tech, Martin Logan etc as an entry, to much higher end systems)

**** I just read budget.

The Sonos beam is great and sometimes goes on sale for $350.

Any sound bar below that will be the same, just pick one. I have been interested in checking out the new Roku one. As it also doubles as a media streamer for less than $200 and you can add rears to it later for like $150. Have not heard it yet tho

You'd probably get more responses in the nerdery.

Thank you all.

I really like the Polk s2. Good bang for your buck option.

For better/clearer dialogue check out ZVOX. Works great.

I do Smart Home and AV for a living.

I strongly agree with previous post that if you are not going to spend a pretty reasonable amount then just stick with the TV speakers.

I do not think they sound bar is worth getting into until you step up into the Sonos range.

If you are doing a standalone soundbar the Sonos Arc or even the play bars if you can still find them are great.

If you plan to pair a subwoofer with it skip the Sonos. Their subwoofer combination is too expensive.

I like to use the Martin Logan Cadence paired with a reasonable subwoofer. The sound bar is a few hundred dollars more but when paired with a reasonable three to four hundred dollar subwoofer it is vastly superior as a package. The Martin Logan soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer kit.

CrackerJackAg said:

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I do Smart Home and AV for a living.

I strongly agree with previous post that if you are not going to spend a pretty reasonable amount then just stick with the TV speakers.

I do not think they sound bar is worth getting into until you step up into the Sonos range.

If you are doing a standalone soundbar the Sonos Arc or even the play bars if you can still find them are great.

If you plan to pair a subwoofer with it skip the Sonos. Their subwoofer combination is too expensive.

I like to use the Martin Logan Cadence paired with a reasonable subwoofer. The sound bar is a few hundred dollars more but when paired with a reasonable three to four hundred dollar subwoofer it is vastly superior as a package. The Martin Logan soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer kit.

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Do you have any recommendations for getting clearer dialogue without increasing volume of music/sound effects?

The problem I have is I do most of my tv/movie watching after the kid goes go to bed, and the dialogue using my tv speakers is always difficult to hear, so I turn it up. Then there will be some sound effect or music all of a sudden that will be WAY louder than than dialogue was with booming base and I have to quickly mute or turn it down so it doesn't carry through the whole house and wake anyone up. And I end up making constant 8-10 level volume adjustments up and down the whole time I'm watching anything.

Do you have any recommendations on a setup that will maintain clear discernible dialogue at low volumes without shifting into movie theater mode when there's music/effects?

Anybody have any thoughts on using a Sonos Amp and installing in wall speakers instead of a soundbar? Trying to decide between that solution, or just one of the Sonos soundbars. Our tv location is in a tight spot where I don't have a great place to put a soundbar but could hide the speakers to the right and left in wall.

John Francis Donaghy said:

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CrackerJackAg said:

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I do Smart Home and AV for a living.

I strongly agree with previous post that if you are not going to spend a pretty reasonable amount then just stick with the TV speakers.

I do not think they sound bar is worth getting into until you step up into the Sonos range.

If you are doing a standalone soundbar the Sonos Arc or even the play bars if you can still find them are great.

If you plan to pair a subwoofer with it skip the Sonos. Their subwoofer combination is too expensive.

I like to use the Martin Logan Cadence paired with a reasonable subwoofer. The sound bar is a few hundred dollars more but when paired with a reasonable three to four hundred dollar subwoofer it is vastly superior as a package. The Martin Logan soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer kit.

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Do you have any recommendations for getting clearer dialogue without increasing volume of music/sound effects?

The problem I have is I do most of my tv/movie watching after the kid goes go to bed, and the dialogue using my tv speakers is always difficult to hear, so I turn it up. Then there will be some sound effect or music all of a sudden that will be WAY louder than than dialogue was with booming base and I have to quickly mute or turn it down so it doesn't carry through the whole house and wake anyone up. And I end up making constant 8-10 level volume adjustments up and down the whole time I'm watching anything.

Do you have any recommendations on a setup that will maintain clear discernible dialogue at low volumes without shifting into movie theater mode when there's music/effects?

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Save your money and turn on the captions, that's what I do

Olds gonna old.

Full disclosure: I'm not an audiophile and I have no designs on building a full theater with Dolby Atmos sound in my basement.

I got this to go with the 85 inch tv I picked up on Black Friday:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/VIZIO-V-Series-2-1-Home-Theater-Sound-Bar-V21-H/135450949

To my ears it works great.

John Francis Donaghy said:

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CrackerJackAg said:

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I do Smart Home and AV for a living.

I strongly agree with previous post that if you are not going to spend a pretty reasonable amount then just stick with the TV speakers.

I do not think they sound bar is worth getting into until you step up into the Sonos range.

If you are doing a standalone soundbar the Sonos Arc or even the play bars if you can still find them are great.

If you plan to pair a subwoofer with it skip the Sonos. Their subwoofer combination is too expensive.

I like to use the Martin Logan Cadence paired with a reasonable subwoofer. The sound bar is a few hundred dollars more but when paired with a reasonable three to four hundred dollar subwoofer it is vastly superior as a package. The Martin Logan soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer kit.

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Do you have any recommendations for getting clearer dialogue without increasing volume of music/sound effects?

The problem I have is I do most of my tv/movie watching after the kid goes go to bed, and the dialogue using my tv speakers is always difficult to hear, so I turn it up. Then there will be some sound effect or music all of a sudden that will be WAY louder than than dialogue was with booming base and I have to quickly mute or turn it down so it doesn't carry through the whole house and wake anyone up. And I end up making constant 8-10 level volume adjustments up and down the whole time I'm watching anything.

Do you have any recommendations on a setup that will maintain clear discernible dialogue at low volumes without shifting into movie theater mode when there's music/effects?

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A good Soundbar will help with this. Sonos warms up the sound my distorting the second harmonics. This sounds nice but some people, including myself, thinks this muddles the vocals a bit.

Still dramatically better than TV speakers.

Companies like Martin Logan (sorry to keep going to that but they are my preferred soundbar) use electrostatic tweeters and they are stunningly accurate but not as warm as a SONOS. It's more accurate sound though.

Last option is to forgo the sound bar, purchase an AVR like a Denon X2800 and place a good center channel under the TV and four speakers in the ceiling. Go as nice as your budget will let you go on the center. Vocals come from it and there is even a vocal enhancer setting in the AVR. Add a sub and you are good to go.

That option can run you in the same kind of price point as a high end soundbar. That's why I typically view soundbar as a last resort option sure to some type of restriction that doesn't allow traditional speakers.

Denon $499-849
Mid Range Speakers $500-800
Subwoofer $300 or so
Cable $99

Sonos Arc - $799
Sonos Arc with Subwoofer $1500

Martin Logan Cadence with Subwoofer $1449

https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/cadence

I know we've blown OP's budget out of the water, but I have to align with my Sonos brothers. I have the Playbar + subwoofer in a large room and it's badass. This particular room's configuration was not compatible with 2.1, so this was the next best option. Not disappointed.

My FIL has a Sonos sound bar and subwoofer as well, but I don't recognize his. It's smaller than mine and black. Looks like a flat pancake. It also sounds great though.

I have a Martin Logan center channel in a 5.1 setup in our "media room" and I don't like it at all. I have the voice issues not aligning with environmental sounds the other poster mentioned. I have to crank the volume up some times to the point where I can hear the ML center hitting its limit and cracking. It's not an issue all the time but with some movies/shows it is. Planning to replace it at some point.

Yeah, when I was looking at purchasing my new TV, I was going to forego the Sonos from my AV guy, but he was adamant. I was already spending so much on the TV and figured I could just reuse the JBL I had been using.

Boy am I glad I bought the Sonos. The sound quality is fantastic.

YouBet said:

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I know we've blown OP's budget out of the water, but I have to align with my Sonos brothers. I have the Playbar + subwoofer in a large room and it's badass. This particular room's configuration was not compatible with 2.1, so this was the next best option. Not disappointed.

My FIL has a Sonos sound bar and subwoofer as well, but I don't recognize his. It's smaller than mine and black. Looks like a flat pancake. It also sounds great though.

I have a Martin Logan center channel in a 5.1 setup in our "media room" and I don't like it at all. I have the voice issues not aligning with environmental sounds the other poster mentioned. I have to crank the volume up some times to the point where I can hear the ML center hitting its limit and cracking. It's not an issue all the time but with some movies/shows it is. Planning to replace it at some point.

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That doesn't sound like it's the speakers fault. It sounds like your AVR isn't properly connected/setup or damaged.

Speakers don't really go bad. I've done audiovisual for 15 years and I have maybe replaced a handful of speakers for being damaged and it's typically because they were ancient and outdoors.

CrackerJackAg said:

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YouBet said:

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I know we've blown OP's budget out of the water, but I have to align with my Sonos brothers. I have the Playbar + subwoofer in a large room and it's badass. This particular room's configuration was not compatible with 2.1, so this was the next best option. Not disappointed.

My FIL has a Sonos sound bar and subwoofer as well, but I don't recognize his. It's smaller than mine and black. Looks like a flat pancake. It also sounds great though.

I have a Martin Logan center channel in a 5.1 setup in our "media room" and I don't like it at all. I have the voice issues not aligning with environmental sounds the other poster mentioned. I have to crank the volume up some times to the point where I can hear the ML center hitting its limit and cracking. It's not an issue all the time but with some movies/shows it is. Planning to replace it at some point.

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That doesn't sound like it's the speakers fault. It sounds like your AVR isn't properly connected/setup or damaged.

Speakers don't really go bad. I've done audiovisual for 15 years and I have maybe replaced a handful of speakers for being damaged and it's typically because they were ancient and outdoors.

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Maybe so. I will say it's not nearly as bad as it used to be which I do think was an AVR issue. Used to have a Pioneer which I replaced with a Sony. That vastly improved the sound, but I do still have the occasional issue with the center channel.

Not a huge fan of this setup anyway but it came with the house. It's a 5.1 setup with Polk in wall and in ceiling speakers. The old center channel was absolute crap and I replaced it with this Martin Logan. Once I replaced my old AVR that helped immensely. I still have a full 5.1 Klipsch setup with towers sitting unused in a room from my old house that I want to swap out, but just haven't done it. Would probably just 2.1 if I put those in because it would be plenty loud for this space.

With that budget, get a used combo on Facebook Marketplace or check stevehoffman.tv.

YouBet said:

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CrackerJackAg said:

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YouBet said:

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I know we've blown OP's budget out of the water, but I have to align with my Sonos brothers. I have the Playbar + subwoofer in a large room and it's badass. This particular room's configuration was not compatible with 2.1, so this was the next best option. Not disappointed.

My FIL has a Sonos sound bar and subwoofer as well, but I don't recognize his. It's smaller than mine and black. Looks like a flat pancake. It also sounds great though.

I have a Martin Logan center channel in a 5.1 setup in our "media room" and I don't like it at all. I have the voice issues not aligning with environmental sounds the other poster mentioned. I have to crank the volume up some times to the point where I can hear the ML center hitting its limit and cracking. It's not an issue all the time but with some movies/shows it is. Planning to replace it at some point.

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That doesn't sound like it's the speakers fault. It sounds like your AVR isn't properly connected/setup or damaged.

Speakers don't really go bad. I've done audiovisual for 15 years and I have maybe replaced a handful of speakers for being damaged and it's typically because they were ancient and outdoors.

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Maybe so. I will say it's not nearly as bad as it used to be which I do think was an AVR issue. Used to have a Pioneer which I replaced with a Sony. That vastly improved the sound, but I do still have the occasional issue with the center channel.

Not a huge fan of this setup anyway but it came with the house. It's a 5.1 setup with Polk in wall and in ceiling speakers. The old center channel was absolute crap and I replaced it with this Martin Logan. Once I replaced my old AVR that helped immensely. I still have a full 5.1 Klipsch setup with towers sitting unused in a room from my old house that I want to swap out, but just haven't done it. Would probably just 2.1 if I put those in because it would be plenty loud for this space.

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I am a music audio file freak you will never hear me knock a 2.1 system.

In my cigar lounge, where I listen to all of my music, I have a really nice KEF Q Series stereo setup on a Marantz Ruby amplifier. It's 5-6k retail but man it really outperforms that price point I think.