Discussion
We just got a Sonos Beam gen 2, I'm no home-theater buff but I think it sounds pretty impressive for the size and cost (although it was discounted by £100 last week when I bought it). Can always pair it with a Sonos Sub Mini later on. We previously had an original Sonos Playbar, to my ears the Beam is definitely an upgrade despite being a "lesser" product.
Beam Gen 2 is what I had and it was adequate, a lot better than a TV.
Recently added a mini sub to it and it's made a big difference to sub bass levels.
You have to accept the limitations of the size of speaker and their abiity to produce bass. Might be worth popping along to currys or somewhere that has some equipment you can listen to.
Recently added a mini sub to it and it's made a big difference to sub bass levels.
You have to accept the limitations of the size of speaker and their abiity to produce bass. Might be worth popping along to currys or somewhere that has some equipment you can listen to.
jmn said:
Do you have to use a Sonos subwoofer with their soundbar or can other subwoofers be used?
99.9% certain you have to use one of theirs. Sonos is a bit of a closed ecosystem, albeit a pretty good one. We've got the Beam gen2 now, the old Playbar in the family room and a pair of Play 3's in a stereo setup in the kitchen. Music streaming direct from Spotify (possibly other services, not sure) is great and the soundbars work with that too, so you can have the same music playing in any or all rooms with a Sonos device if you wish.As someone mentioned above, I'm not sure any soundbar alone will give massive bass, although the Sonos ones we have are pretty decent. There are other options out there which, for not too much more than the Beam gen2 alone, gets you the soundbar and a sub but not sure how/if they allow music streaming, other than perhaps from the Smart TV etc. itself.
I got this Samsung Q930B a couple of weeks ago, sounds great! Really impressed considering I'm coming from a 'proper' surround system.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
CharlieDeltaTango said:
I got this Samsung Q930B a couple of weeks ago, sounds great! Really impressed considering I'm coming from a 'proper' surround system.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
I've got it's smaller brother Q700A along with their wireless rears - coupled with a Samsung Q Symphony TV the TV speakers can be used as well as the sounbar and rears. Dolby Vision and Atmos absolutely blew me away!!https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
That big boy you have with the extra channels as well is a real bargain with Samsung £300 cashback
I got a Sonos Beam 1 refurb at Richers for £219. Sonos have them at £240 refurb. You’ll get 15% off any other product if you register it. So with a bit of budget creep, Beam 1 + sub mini about £590.
Beam 1 is the same internals as the 2, just a different processor to deal with the Atmos.
I didn’t think I needed the sub, and I probably didn’t, but it’s feckin ace.
Beam 1 is the same internals as the 2, just a different processor to deal with the Atmos.
I didn’t think I needed the sub, and I probably didn’t, but it’s feckin ace.
dickymint said:
CharlieDeltaTango said:
I got this Samsung Q930B a couple of weeks ago, sounds great! Really impressed considering I'm coming from a 'proper' surround system.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
I've got it's smaller brother Q700A along with their wireless rears - coupled with a Samsung Q Symphony TV the TV speakers can be used as well as the sounbar and rears. Dolby Vision and Atmos absolutely blew me away!!https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
That big boy you have with the extra channels as well is a real bargain with Samsung £300 cashback
https://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-hw-q930b-bluetoo...
shame the price went up from £749 ...
jmn said:
I appreciate that sound quality is a very subjective thing but can anyone recommend a soundbar at less than £500 to go with a LG 42 OLED TV which has decent bass output?
If I was you I would consider a sound bar with an external subwoofer. This is the bass box that sits off to one side or hidden away which provides the extra bass whump that the small speakers in a sound bar just can't manage no matter how clever the design. As engineer Scotty from Star Trek used to say; "Yer cannae break the laws of physics". The audio connection between the sound bar and the sub is often via Bluetooth. This means there's no need for an interconnect wire between the bar and sub. You will need a power socket near the sub though.
When drawing up a shortlist of sound bars within your budget, there are (IMO) some must have features.
1) a HDMI ARC connection. Even if your TV didn't have it right now, it's sensible future-proofing because it will automate a lot of the basic functionality that would otherwise require swapping remotes: Power On/Off. Input source switching (if applicable). Volume +/- and mute from the TV remote or your Sky/Virgin remote if that's the hooferdoofer you use to work the telly
2) an optical input. Where your current TV doesn't have HDMI ARC, or you eventually upgrade to a newer sound bar and repurpose the existing one to a TV without HDMI ARC, having both optical and ARC covers the basics for £How do I connect my TV for sound?"
3) It's useful if the sound bar can learn the IR commands for Vol + / Vol - from whatever TV remote you use. You see, unlike HDMI ARC, optical doesn't carry control commands. It's just an audio connector. This means using a bar with any TV that only has optical out requires juggling two of more remotes. That is unless the sound bar can learn the IR commands from your LG/Samsung/Sony/Panasonic/Sky/Virgin etc remote which some can
There are a few options on subs that tick these boxes. A couple of favourites of mine are from the Denon* range. The Denon DHT-S517 and DHT-S416 both sit very comfortable below your budget. The 416 is just £249 as it's an outgoing model.
Don't go to Currys for audio gear. The person selling you toasters and fridges isn't the right person to advise you on audio equipment. Go to a specialist. Try RicherSounds. They have branches across most of the country and only sell TV and audio equipment. Their prices are good and, as a specialist, you'll find they stock brands that you won't see in the big shed electrical retailers.
Denon - who are they? - Within every type of product, whether it's cars, suits, vacuum cleaners or restaurants there's the mass market vendors and then the specialists. These are the companies who make the products which are better than the average. Unlike Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic etc, Denon is to audio electronics what Porsche is to cars or Miele is to vacuum cleaners.
CharlieDeltaTango said:
I got this Samsung Q930B a couple of weeks ago, sounds great! Really impressed considering I'm coming from a 'proper' surround system.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
Looking at that link, is the the bar and the sub go near the telly, and the other 2 speakers are wireless to go behind you? Looking at replacing both my TV and ageing Onkyo receiver, and can't really get wired speakers surround speaker due to the room layout so definitly after something with wireless surround speakers.https://www.samsung.com/uk/audio-devices/soundbar/...
It's £899, but this month Samsung have a £300 cashback offer on it so brings it close to budget.
Presumably there are some benefits in having the TV and bar from the same manufacturer?
I've been a B&O advocate for the last 20 years (shoot me ! ) and it's all I've ever owned and used.
However after being sick of all the faffery around connectivity and it not being straightforward to use B&O surround sound with my Samsung TV I bought a Sonos Arc. Absolutely amazing piece of kit and you can add rear speakers (wireless) and a wireless sub at a later date if you wish. I can't speak for the Beam but if the arc is anything to go by I promise you will never look back. It works perfectly as an Alexa device so integrates into our home automation stuff easily.
A detail I like is that on the app there are settings for "quiet mode" for if you want to watch TV late at night without waking people up or upsetting the neighbours and there is a speech enhancement mode with adds speech clarity on stuff where the voices aren't clear. Both use clever DSP which really works.
I don't know if Sonos is the best out there but in my experience it's bloody good.
However after being sick of all the faffery around connectivity and it not being straightforward to use B&O surround sound with my Samsung TV I bought a Sonos Arc. Absolutely amazing piece of kit and you can add rear speakers (wireless) and a wireless sub at a later date if you wish. I can't speak for the Beam but if the arc is anything to go by I promise you will never look back. It works perfectly as an Alexa device so integrates into our home automation stuff easily.
A detail I like is that on the app there are settings for "quiet mode" for if you want to watch TV late at night without waking people up or upsetting the neighbours and there is a speech enhancement mode with adds speech clarity on stuff where the voices aren't clear. Both use clever DSP which really works.
I don't know if Sonos is the best out there but in my experience it's bloody good.
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