Finding a 300.00 sound bar?

[olddog]

I am trying to find a sound bar set up for around 300.00 for my Son in Law. Any ideas? I know-I know but he has moved into a place where this is the only option while his nice 5-1 separates sit in the garage!

 

[Adam]

There are plenty of options out there for that price. In my office, I use a pair of Presonus C4.5BT powered speakers for my TV audio. They cost about $250, but you can get the version without Bluetooth (which I don't use with my TV) for about $200. That's just an example of using powered monitors versus a form-factored sound bar. They really aren't much bigger than a sound bar, and are similar in that they don't require any external electronics to run them (just a power cord). The Presonus that I have use the stereo audio output jack on my TV, so they don't run off of HDMI or digital audio - but surround sound information doesn't do much for you in a ~$300 sound bar anyway, I don't expect.

 

[afterlife2]

They are on sale here: http://www.adorama.com/PSC35BT.html?emailprice=t&utm_source=rsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email122415Flash-VIP-Speakers&hotlink=t&svfor=5m&cvosrc=affiliate.62905

 

[olddog]

Thanks for the input. The main thing that has happened to cause this is He is the proud father of a budding and now mobile 9 month old future audiophile So he has totally redone his home to proof it, no cords or anything on the floor except furniture. The TV is now a 48 in mounted above the fire place on the wall. The mantel below is 6 foot long and as the fireplace is now not being used perfect for the sound bar. A wireless Sub down fire would be acceptable.

 

[TheWarrior]

+1 for Active Monitors, like Adam suggested!

With optical or RCA, you can connect any Pro Audio Monitor to any old DVD player and with a proper home theater subwoofer, have a complete 2.1 system with no need for preamp!

 

[afterlife2]

Room size? If it's small to medium you can get this sub Dayton 1200 with wireless kit: http://www.parts-express.com/12-wireless-subwoofer-bundle-dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120w-powered-subwoofer-sub-link--300-583

 

[olddog]

Thanks for the response. As I said the whole house has been baby proofed to where there are no racks,wires,plugs,lamps, or tables with anything that can be pulled,yanked over, or put into your mouth Thats why his nice Denon AVR with Polk 5 ways and powered sub are all in the garage along with the TT and DVD player. Streams his music in the house now. This is all temporary till the young one gets up to the "Understands NO!) stage, and everything dosent go into his mouth for a taste.

 

[olddog]

18 feet across and 12 feet deep going into a bar with an oprn kitchen behind.

 

[afterlife2]

18 feet across and 12 feet deep going into a bar with an oprn kitchen behind.

Yep will do fine there. I have an open kitchen as well.

 

[olddog]

Nice sub but as this system is gonna be a giveaway in a couple of years he does want to stay around 300.00. Marry that sub up with a 150.00 sound bar? Hmmm???

 

[afterlife2]

Remember the speakers are $89.99 After Mail-in Rebate, so under 300

 

[herbu]

olddog,
It seems we're having trouble answering your question... "What $300 sound bar?". I also don't have any experience with the long narrow ones you want for the mantle. I do have a couple of the square, flat sound bars that go under the TV. Mine are both Denon, and were $200. They have 2 cords... a power cord and an optical cable to the TV.

They are a great improvement over the TV speakers. They have mono, stereo and surround modes, but I can't tell much difference between them. They also have blutooth so I can play music from my phone wirelessly. They are auto-on, auto-off, "learn" your TV remote so you don't have to use another remote for the sound bar. In short, we like them and they're worth every penny of $200.

I know you don't have room for a square unit, but in your situation and knowing what I know about the Denon square sound bar, I would be willing to try one of their long skinny ones. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[Calvert]

I suggest you review the selection of soundbars and other small scale speakers at Crutchfield.com. They have advisors who can help you find just the right product.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-2HEqHYgESbq/

 

[olddog]

Thanks folks. The TV is up on the wall so a bar is the fit. I will do my research. I just thought someone would have some experience with them.

 

[gene]

I would take a hard look at this new soundbar from Light Harmonic, the same company that does the aftermarket audio systems for Tesla cars.

http://inspire5.lhlabs.com/

We are scheduled to review this unit in 2016 and it looks quite impressive. It's under $300!

 

[shrik87]

I am trying to find a sound bar set up for around 300.00 for my Son in Law. Any ideas? I know-I know but he has moved into a place where this is the only option while his nice 5-1 separates sit in the garage!

I did some research based on this question. For <300 $ price seems like, almost all the soundbars in this category have only 2.1 setup and in most of them I dont even see a tweeter in their specs . I might be wrong but if the specs mention only cone drivers with no mention of tweeters ,i will tend to believe that they use the cone for all the work. Also I am not including setups that include satellite speakers . Why would you want a soundbar and then have satellite speakers too? Defeats the whole purpose of a soundbar but thats my opinion and I am not always right

For a good experience you will need at least 3.1 channel setup with at least one tweeter+ 1 cone per channel and 1 cone for the sub (if its not a separate sub setup). Unfortunately you will see these only on higher end soundbars that cost more.

The closest one I could find to your price point was the Infinity TSS 3INCHR . I havent heard them but at least on paper this thing knocks out most other soundbars in its price range. You cant buy them new as its out of stock everywhere. For the price of 220$ it included (according to specs) 2 MR+ 1 TR drivers per each channel (and its a 3.1 channel) and peak power is close to a whopping 350 Watts total which is hard to find in this segment.

Dont get me wrong,you still might be able to get a good experience with these under 300 $ systems and be satisfied , so would suggest to go to your nearest dealer to listen or order something online which has a good return policy. And please look at specs. 1 cone driver + 1 dome tweeter per channel most likely will sound better than 1 cone driver per channel in my opinion.

Good luck