Soundbars are a complicated story.
The fundamental problem is poor TV sound with poor speech intelligibility from many TVs. This all related to slim design and ultrathin bessels.
The next issue is where audio and interior design seem to clash and be mutually exclusive in many people's minds.
So what are the advantages of sound bars.
1). They so as a rule improve speech intelligibility.
2). They have a slim low profile and will fit under most TVs.
3). They are in most cases relatively cheap.
4). Set up is generally easy.
So, now their downsides.
1). They are in the main poor for music. They have very small drivers that are very power limited below the acoustic divide at 500 Hz. So music sounds thin, except for the sub. There is usually a small accompanying sub with a "ponky' narrow frequency band gives a false bass.
2). Speech intelligibility though, is often improved but is far from natural on most units.
3). For movie watching they can not deliver the immersive experience that many seek.
4). For music listening they are totally inadequate and have limited sound output, due to the size of the drive units.
Stand alone traditional systems can and do address these problems. However the footprint will be larger and their are objections to the size of the driving equipment speakers and subs. Set up is generally more complex.
However two good speakers with or without a sub will give a much better performance than a soundbar. It is probably optimal to have left, right and center speaker with at least a sub.
However I have one system that just has two speakers and no center, and it is fine for TV watching, with excellent speech intelligibility.
Since this is an audio forum in the main, our members main interest is superior sound.
I could not really tolerate any sound bar I have heard and nor could my wife.
