Sound bar advice

[Boxster5]

We’re in the process of building a media wall within our open plan lounge incorporating an Avanti electric fire with sound bar & 75” LG 75UQ80006LB TV.
The lounge has a sloping ceiling rising to 4.90m at its highest level but the media wall will be 3.30m x 2.40m.
We’re not huge hi-tech fans but we’re looking at putting in a sound bar for the first time as we sometimes struggle to hear dialogue in particular.
We’re looking at the Sony HTG700.CEK with sub woofer as it’s a decent price in Costco at the moment.
It’s quite a wide sound bar and obviously I will be building the framework so just wondered if this would work OK with our LG TV or will we have compatibility issues.
As I’ve said, we’re not big into hi-fi or tech so don’t want to spend a shedload of money but we don’t want something that is absolute garbage.
I don’t want to build my frame then find a smaller sound bar will work just fine.
Any advice appreciated.

[ZedLeg]

If you’d prefer something smaller get a Sonos beam, it’s only about 60cm wide and sounds great. It’s pricey if you want a sub too but the bar on it’s own is enough for me.

[Panamax]

That's a big room and a big TV. I'd be looking at something worth having from e.g. JBL.

[Boxster5]

Thanks guys - yes it is a large space (lounge area is approx 8m x 4m but open plan includes kitchen dining area with a half height “pony wall” separating the space but total space is around 8m x 8m).
Just taken a look at Richer Sounds website and have now ordered a Denon sound bar with sub woofer online at what I think is a really good price. Also added a 6 year warranty which is fully refundable if not used!
I’ve heard of Denon (and JBL) so know they have a decent reputation as do Richer Sounds.
The sub woofer is bound to set the dogs off barking!

[raceboy]

Be interested to hear what you think of the TV/Sound bar when it's up and running, we've just started looking into revamping the living room and that sort of size/spec/price point TV/Soundbar is on our radar.

[Boxster5]

raceboy said:

Be interested to hear what you think of the TV/Sound bar when it's up and running, we've just started looking into revamping the living room and that sort of size/spec/price point TV/Soundbar is on our radar.

Will do - sound bar has arrived but still waiting for TV (oh and I’ve still to build the media wall!)

[raceboy]

Boxster5 said:

I’ve still to build the media wall!

Due to being lazy/incompetent I've got the first meeting with a builder that does this sort of thing on Friday.

[Mr Pointy]

Boxster5 said:

raceboy said:

Be interested to hear what you think of the TV/Sound bar when it's up and running, we've just started looking into revamping the living room and that sort of size/spec/price point TV/Soundbar is on our radar.

Will do - sound bar has arrived but still waiting for TV (oh and I’ve still to build the media wall!)

I'd strongly suggest you check that the TV & soundbar will give you the result you are looking for & that you don't customise the wall for specific brands, types or models of equipment.

[Bam89]

What's the thoughts on the Sonos Arc? I was looking at one in a similar situation, with the thought that it gave me a wireless option for rear speakers if that's something wanted at a later time. Is it just style / brand over substance?

[raceboy]

Mr Pointy said:

I'd strongly suggest you check that the TV & soundbar will give you the result you are looking for & that you don't customise the wall for specific brands, types or models of equipment.

That is one of my worries with the whole 'media wall' style, the cut out for the TV is only going to except TV's of that size, so no upgrades in size in the future, and fingers crossed the chosen size isn't then obsolete. I need to listern to a few but I think a soundbar with external sub will be adequate, and at least as good as the existing system, I'm thinking of having the soundbar slot the same width as the TV which should house just about any, and then cover the slot with a speaker grill so it's just black cloth and the soundbar is hidden behind it.

[Shinyfings]

Bam89 said:

What's the thoughts on the Sonos Arc? I was looking at one in a similar situation, with the thought that it gave me a wireless option for rear speakers if that's something wanted at a later time. Is it just style / brand over substance?

Sonos Arc is good but I’m not sure I’d pay full current retail for one when an av amp and 5.1 surround speakers could be had for £1200. Of course the Sonos is easier to use as it’s simply pop it and accompanying speakers next to power in a suitable location. I have both Sonos (Arc and Beam with surrounds and sub for the arc) and traditional surround and the traditional wins on sound whilst the Sonos wins on ease of set-up and use. For a smaller room I’d say the beam is much better value and I’m not sure I’d buy the arc again for the room I use it in (was a good deal via Very and one of their offers).

[donkmeister]

raceboy said:

Mr Pointy said:

I'd strongly suggest you check that the TV & soundbar will give you the result you are looking for & that you don't customise the wall for specific brands, types or models of equipment.

That is one of my worries with the whole 'media wall' style, the cut out for the TV is only going to except TV's of that size, so no upgrades in size in the future, and fingers crossed the chosen size isn't then obsolete. I need to listern to a few but I think a soundbar with external sub will be adequate, and at least as good as the existing system, I'm thinking of having the soundbar slot the same width as the TV which should house just about any, and then cover the slot with a speaker grill so it's just black cloth and the soundbar is hidden behind it.

There's (at least) two ways of doing a media wall... You can make everything recessed with no gap around it, or you can build recesses that are larger than the equipment. The former style guarantees that you will suddenly find you want some new equipment that you haven't left a gap for, and that your TV will go obsolete the day after your warranty expires, and irreparably break the day after that.

Fortunately from your description of the soundbar location it sounds like you are building the latter style, good job!

[drab]

I'm one of those idiots who recessed everything to make it look perfect at the expense of practicality. In fact I messed up a measurement and didn't account for the skim coat and now there's so little room around the TV that it's almost impossible to remove from the opening..

Luckily I won't want to change that anytime soon.
However the soundbar is a different story. Its a cheapo yamaha one and I also have an issue with it being out of sync most of the time (using Bluetooth). Is there a soundbar out there that's clever enough to sort this? Ideally it would either connect over Bluetooth or perhaps hdmi - I think I have a hdmi already fed into the opening where the bar is

[Boxster5]

Media wall build starts tomorrow.
Wish me luck although I’ve drawn it all out to scale (I designed our self build so should be OK).
Saved some money on our TV from Costco as well as our full motion TV bracket - both reduced in price so can claim price difference if price adjusted within 30 days of purchase/order. I do like Costco!

[RizzoTheRat]

raceboy said:

That is one of my worries with the whole 'media wall' style, the cut out for the TV is only going to except TV's of that size, so no upgrades in size in the future, and fingers crossed the chosen size isn't then obsolete. I need to listern to a few but I think a soundbar with external sub will be adequate, and at least as good as the existing system, I'm thinking of having the soundbar slot the same width as the TV which should house just about any, and then cover the slot with a speaker grill so it's just black cloth and the soundbar is hidden behind it.

Most sound bars these days have upward facing speakers for Dolby Atmos, so recessing it might not be a great idea

[gareth h]

Bam89 said:

What's the thoughts on the Sonos Arc? I was looking at one in a similar situation, with the thought that it gave me a wireless option for rear speakers if that's something wanted at a later time. Is it just style / brand over substance?

I bought one (and a sub) when I moved house because I couldn’t see how I could run cables for a wired system, was pretty disappointed with music quality (tv wasn’t too bad) so dug out my old Yamaha amp and bought 5 decent speakers and a sub, ran the cables under the carpet (why didn’t I think of that before!)
Much better sound quality for both tv and music