Replacing YSP-4000 - With What?

[Ermentrude]

I'm massively out of my depth. I bought the YSP-4000 in late 2007. It is absolutely still functional - will be going to my dad's man cave actually - but it is huge. And it is silver, which was fine with the 47" Sony I bought at the same time which was also silver. But I just bought a super thin 60" Samsung and want a soundbar that will look a little nicer while not skimping terribly on the quality. I'd like to be somewhere in the <$1000 range, including a sub woofer, but I have some wiggle room.

I've read dozens of reviews and I just have no idea if the less expensive bars will have comparable sound to my old one or if I should just bust my budget, buy another Yamaha (3300) and be done with it.

 

[agarwalro]

I'm not too familiar with sound bars, but at one time Xvox was considered best bang for buck.

Needs to be said though, in your budget one can set up an excellent 2.1 or very good 5.1 setup that will crush any sound bar (in any budget).

For example,
5x WaveCrestAudio HLV-1
1x BIC America F12
1x Denon AVR-E300
Total = $925 (estimating $25 shipping on Denon)

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Not a lot of love for sound bars around here, so I’m not sure how much help you’re going to get. My advice is to pay attention to those reviews, maybe get two or three, hang onto the receipts and return the ones you don’t like. If you’re happy with your current Yamaha I can’t imagine going wrong with another one.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Ermentrude]

Doesn't that mean ripping holes in the wall for power at the very least? I'm not that handy.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

What “that” are you referring to? I’ve seen nothing posted giving any indication that holes in the wall were required for any option suggested.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Ermentrude]

Sorry, I am legitimately clueless. The one suggestion was 5 speakers. I assumed 4 of those would have to be wall mounted, the 2 rear at the absolutely least. I have a cat and things get knocked down, the soundbar weighs a ton but even it has been flipped over a few times. Wall mounting requires pulling speaker wire and electrical as well, right? I legitimately don't know how I'd get speaker wire across the room, but I know there are wireless options out there. But that still leaves me to figure out power. I'd love to have a proper system, but the wiring is what pushed me to the sound bar in the first place. I appreciate the comments and apologize if my understanding is incorrect.

 

[Big Jake]

I've had a cat and a home theater for over 25 years, and the worst that's ever happened was tiny, tiny little rip in a surround because the cat jumped up on top of one of the speakers. My fault, she thought it would be a good place to sit and look out the window. Moving it slightly and buying her a tower next to the window solved that problem.

So it sounds like you should either stick with a soundbar or get rid of the cat, the later suggestion, I know as cat owner, is probably not an option.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Sorry, I am legitimately clueless. The one suggestion was 5 speakers. I assumed 4 of those would have to be wall mounted, the 2 rear at the absolutely least. I have a cat and things get knocked down, the soundbar weighs a ton but even it has been flipped over a few times. Wall mounting requires pulling speaker wire and electrical as well, right? I legitimately don't know how I'd get speaker wire across the room, but I know there are wireless options out there. But that still leaves me to figure out power. I'd love to have a proper system, but the wiring is what pushed me to the sound bar in the first place. I appreciate the comments and apologize if my understanding is incorrect.

Sorry for the misunderstanding, when you said “ripping holes in the wall” that sounded like something drastically beyond drilling a few holes for speaker mounts.

But you’re right, wall-mounting is a common approach to the rear speakers. The wiring doesn’t have to be in the wall (although that certainly looks better). Lots of people just run the wire up the wall to the speaker in a channel of some kind. As another option, many people put the rear speakers on stands, although IMO that works best if they are at least 10 ft from the listening position.

In my signature you can find an illustrated guide to in-wall speaker wiring that you might find helpful.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[KEW]

Sorry, I am legitimately clueless. The one suggestion was 5 speakers. I assumed 4 of those would have to be wall mounted, the 2 rear at the absolutely least. I have a cat and things get knocked down, the soundbar weighs a ton but even it has been flipped over a few times. Wall mounting requires pulling speaker wire and electrical as well, right? I legitimately don't know how I'd get speaker wire across the room, but I know there are wireless options out there. But that still leaves me to figure out power. I'd love to have a proper system, but the wiring is what pushed me to the sound bar in the first place. I appreciate the comments and apologize if my understanding is incorrect.

Before you jump into a soundbar, lets spend a bit of time looking at your situation.

Given your concerns, I would forget 5 channel for now. You can always add additional channels to a good stereo HT system later, but, baby steps!

Is your current setup just the TV and soundbar? Do you have a DVD/BluRay player in the mix? Where is your DVD player? Would you be willing to add a receiver to the area where the DVD is? I assume you have a power outlet up where the TV is mounted? Do you also have an in-wall routing for the DVD to TV cable?

Ideally, you might have a console cabinet below the TV that has a span slightly wider than the TV. In that case you could use an installation kit like this for the speakers and have a very clean install:
http://www.amazon.com/LEGRAND-Wiremold-In-Wall-Speaker-Cable/dp/B00H348RO2

The above kit is easy because it uses a hole saw to fit the grommets. It includes absolutely everything you need (though if you have a drill you can use it instead of the included manual handle). But no trips to garage looking for tools required.
If you feel overwhelmed by it, buy a kit (from Home Depot or somewhere where you can return it - link below) and get a handyman to give you a quote. Installation should cost less than $100 for two.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/CE-TECH-In-Wall-Low-Voltage-Installation-Cable-Kit-A34-KW/205114071

Give us some feedback on these thoughts and we'll see if we can get you into something with better sound than a sound bar.

Another question is how much do you like music in your home. Do you currently have another system for music?

 

[Ermentrude]

Let's see. I have my DirecTV and then I have a small but mighty media PC with a Bluray drive (it also works as a backup server for the house). I don't listen to much music in the house, but when I do it comes from iTunes on the PC over the soundbar.

I have a console under my TV which is slightly larger than the new TV. There is room that I could put more things in there.

I guess I could use the grommet kit, but where do the speakers go - on either side of the TV?

 

[KEW]

I guess I could use the grommet kit, but where do the speakers go - on either side of the TV?

Yes. Some people here will disagree, but you could also place them atop the cabinet and not mess with the grommet kit. This would put the sound source below the image, but, in my experience, the mind quickly compensates, you get caught up in the show, and you never notice it.

I would recommend front facing ports like these ($345 shipped in Black):
http://www.htd.com/Products/bookshelf-speakers/Level-THREE-Bookshelf-Speakers?kpid=Level THREE Bookshelf Speakers 7-Series&gclid=Cj0KEQjwk7msBRCJj67khY2z_NIBEiQAPTFjv5STVSBUxB80efyBve2Ip1IUPK9JqxQJEt5dBpV8wEUaAgQ78P8HAQ

Note that wall mounts for these speakers are shown along the right hand side.

A receiver like this ($330 shipped - refurbished, but by Denon plus 3 year warranty!):
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx2100w/denon-avr-x2100w-7.2-receiver-wi-fi/bluetooth/airplay-w/3-yr-warranty/1.html

If refurbished gear is a concern, you can get the same unit new for $400:
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-X2100W-Bluetooth-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00KLC5YPS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1435466698&sr=8-4&keywords=denon+receiver

Last, one or two subwoofers ($148 ea. shipped)
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629

Total $923 with one sub and refurb receiver
up to $1151 for dual subs and new receiver

The sub is a ~17" cube. If you have floor space on both sides of the console, having two has benefits, but you can always add the second later, depending on how you feel the bass performs with just one. If ~17" cube is too large, you could back down to the SUB-1000 (~15" cube for $120) or SUB-800 (~13" cube for $100)
I should add that these are very inexpensive subs, but the designer made smart decisions - These subs commit sins of omission rather than sins of comission. What that means is they roll off around mid-30Hz (for the SUB-1200), so omit sounds below that frequency, but they don't add sounds that do not belong (sins of comission).
I have a $600 SVS 12" sub that goes deeper, but I prefer listening to the $148 sub because it is not so boomy in the bass!

Yamaha makes a good soundbar, but it won't come close to the performance of this system!