New to Home Theater, need a AVR? Or just Soundbar..?

[xkaijinx]

Hi everyone, I had a Sony Soundbar which is not ACR compatible to my current Samsung HDTV.

So I am not able to take advantage of HDMI, which now has me looking to purchasing a more robust home theater system than what I had.

We watch alot of movies and would enjoy a vivid sound experience, our TV is internet ready which we stream Samsung Apps from either Netflix/Hulu/Pandora. Also play XBox on the TV, and stream movies from my laptop to the TV over wifi network.

My question is do I need to purchase an AV Receiver? Or a Soundbar would be fine? Or would I need both?

It sounds to me that an AV Receiver is more of a 'hub' that I connect all of my devices into and it would amplify the sound, as well as allow me to plug in my iPod to play music from, and I can plug my TV into that.

If that is true, than it sounds like I would need an AV Receiver and a sound bar in order to get the most out of everything.

If you could clear up the confusion for me it would be great!

I currently have a Samsung UN46D6050.

I was looking at purchasing:
Amazon.com: Onkyo TX-NR616 7.2-Channel THX Select2 Plus Certified Network A/V Receiver(Black): Electronics

And if I need to purchase a soundbar any recommended soundsbars etc.

Thanks

 

[markw]

Sound bars don't mate well with receivers. It's either a sound bar (which includes all needed amplification and speakers) or a receiver and separate speakers.

If you simply want somewhat better sound than your TV's internal speakers can provide and don't care about surround sound, then a sound bar can provied an economical, compact solution.

If you want the "full" home theater eperience, what with big sound from all around you and deep, wall-shaking bass, then you want a receiver and separate speakers. These also have more flexibility and leave room for growth.

Which direction do you want to go but, more importantly, what are you planning on spending?

 

[mjcmt]

If you like the neatness and compactness of a soundbar, yet desire the connectivity of an AVR make sure you choose a passive soundbar, as some have the processing and amplification built in. A better passive soundbar is the Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 which uses Polk's SDA technology, they have been developing since the days of their early Polk Audio SDA 1.2 originals. Then pick an AVR of your choosing. Furthermore you can, at a later date, change out your soundbar for a 5.1 speaker system if you choose.

 

[panteragstk]

Sound bars don't mate well with receivers. It's either a sound bar (which includes all needed amplification and speakers) or a receiver and separate speakers.

If you simply want somewhat better sound than your TV's internal speakers can provide and don't care about surround sound, then a sound bar can provied an economical, compact solution.

If you want the "full" home theater eperience, what with big sound from all around you and deep, wall-shaking bass, then you want a receiver and separate speakers. These also have more flexibility and leave room for growth.

Which direction do you want to go but, more importantly, what are you planning on spending?

Polk used to have a "5.1 or 7.1" sound bar that was passive and had a wireless sub with it. It had a place to plug in all 5 channels and was supposed to "reflect the sound off the walls" for a true 5.1 experience. Meh. It was better than TV speakers, but it pretty much stopped there. It was also around $500.