How much better will a new sound bar be

[Dan51]

I have a Samsung HW - H450 about six years old. It’s a sound bar with a subwoofer attached I would like to get a new sound bar and was wondering how much improvement I will receive with the new sound bar I’m looking at the Polk audio signal s4. any comments would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[TLS Guy]

I have a Samsung HW - H450 about six years old. It’s a sound bar with a subwoofer attached I would like to get a new sound bar and was wondering how much improvement I will receive with the new sound bar I’m looking at the Polk audio signal s4. any comments would be appreciated. Thanks

That is not a question that can be answered. Sound bars are not about good sound. They are about voice clarity and NOT natural speech from what I have observed.
Modern TV's have miniature speakers facing the wall, to please the interior designers, by keeping the Bessel as small as possible.

I don't think sound bar designers are particularly concerned about speech quality, just clarity. They employ all manner of phasing and cross talk cancelling techniques to fake a sense of spaciousness. I think sound bars can only really be judged on speech clarity and NOT audio quality.

If it is improved audio quality you are after, then you need to progress away from sound bars. Lastly I'm not aware of any objective measurements of audio quality on sound bars, as I suspect it would be a waste of time.

 

[Grunt66]

I know that most members will tell you stay away from sound bars. While I have two dedicated systems in my house, I also use two soundbars as well. My wife forbids me to place a receiver and speakers in our master bedroom. I have been using a Bose 1SR soundbar for many years in the master bedroom. I also use the Bose 700 soundbar and sub in my man cave for my PC speaker. I purchased numerous soundbars at lower cost levels and I always returned to either Sonos or Bose. I believe soundbars have their place especially in the wife acceptance factor. Small foot print and ease of use. I just bought an additional Bose 700 and sub for use in the back yard with our outside system, I do however bring it inside from the elements once we are done using it.

I would recommend buying the soundbar from Amazon and if you do not like it, you have 30 days to return it. In addition, I found that Best Buy has a large selection of soundbars to listen to.

 

[Wardog555]

There is a universal hate towards soundbars around here and other home theater forums.

It boggles my mind how people can tolerate such things after having av receiver with speakers. The soundstage is just significantly different and you lose the sense of of front left, right, center as it's way too close together.

I had one myself when I wanted a real 5.1 system. I was tricked by sales people and the store demos. It sound nothing like it in real movie Content.

Hope this answers.

 

[Replicant 7]

Some better than others, but all of um aren't gonna get you good Surround sound experience. You'd do better with a All in Box setup for entry level HT experience and that's not saying a lot though of either.

 

[squaleca]

i guess you've never heared the hw 990b i guarantee you it would go to to toe if not exceed some mid range avr but yea for true high end atmos soundbars are definately limited

 

[squaleca]

There is a universal hate towards soundbars around here and other home theater forums.

It boggles my mind how people can tolerate such things after having av receiver with speakers. The soundstage is just significantly different and you lose the sense of of front left, right, center as it's way too close together.

I had one myself when I wanted a real 5.1 system. I was tricked by sales people and the store demos. It sound nothing like it in real movie Content.

Hope this answers.

its not hate its ignorance especially with the high end soundbars yea are they going to compete with a $5000 system no but there still capable of blowing people away

 

[TLS Guy]

its not hate its ignorance especially with the high end soundbars yea are they going to compete with a $5000 system no but there still capable of blowing people away

Only if they are anorexic waifs!

 

[squaleca]

question is to vauge how much better will a new soundbar be compared to what?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

question is to vauge how much better will a new soundbar be compared to what?

Better than tv speakers sure. Still junk.

 

[j_garcia]

question is to vauge how much better will a new soundbar be compared to what?

He actually listed the EXACT MODEL he wants to compare. I guess two or three sentences were too hard to read, even when it was in the first 5 words.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

He actually listed the EXACT MODEL he wants to compare. I guess two or three sentences were too hard to read, even when it was in the first 5 words.

Right?!?! Problem is, this guy is here for no reason other than to poke the beehive. There’s no interest in high performance. Just here to thumb his nose at anyone who’s invested in an ACTUAL high quality AV system since he’s clearly lazy, and one cheap SOB.
Oh yay! I bought a Prius and all you performance guys don’t know what you’re missing. I mean Whoah, I can run the 1/4 in 45eeconds, and pull like .005G on the skid pad, not to mention a top speed of 62mph. He should go rub his 2 inch dikk to pics of Liberace. And then Fukk off.