Soundbar or AV receiver?

[rahulsam0511]

Hello everyone,

I got introduced to this forum by a friend and I really liked how people received assistance from experts. I am completely novice to this field, so please excuse me if I use layman' vocabulary.

I thought I will also post my requirements here. I am looking for a good speaker system for mainly two reasons:

1. Watch Good movies and TV series (60%)
2. Listen to EDM/Techno music (40%)

I have Samsung UHD7000 49 inch television and the living room dimensions are 20'x2 and 12'x5 which has also an extension for dining room (10'10x10'2). The viewing distance of TV is about 9 feet.

When I asked for suggestions, I got introduced to AV receivers and had a great time witnessing a Denon AV with Sony speaker system at a neigbour's house. I am not sure about the Denon's version though.

I want to understand if soundbar (I see Denon sell soundbar too) or AV receiver would suit my requirements. Budget is around 1 Lakh rupees. Also, I would like as fewer wiring systems as possible. It will also be great if you can suggest a great speaker set to get along with the receiver (If AV receiver is preferred). My requirement also includes seamless music streaming (I have a good internet connection) from Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Spotify etc... I know some receives like Denon has the inbuilt Radio streaming component which can be used with Heos APP.

But I am open to ideas and am also planning to go for auditions at a nearest ProFX studio today. It would be great if someone can help me with your valuable suggestions.

 

[saketgyani]

Hello everyone,

I got introduced to this forum by a friend and I really liked how people received assistance from experts. I am completely novice to this field, so please excuse me if I use layman' vocabulary.

I thought I will also post my requirements here. I am looking for a good speaker system for mainly two reasons:

1. Watch Good movies and TV series (60%)
2. Listen to EDM/Techno music (40%)

I have Samsung UHD7000 49 inch television and the living room dimensions are 20'x2 and 12'x5 which has also an extension for dining room (10'10x10'2). The viewing distance of TV is about 9 feet.

When I asked for suggestions, I got introduced to AV receivers and had a great time witnessing a Denon AV with Sony speaker system at a neigbour's house. I am not sure about the Denon's version though.

I want to understand if soundbar (I see Denon sell soundbar too) or AV receiver would suit my requirements. Budget is around 1 Lakh rupees. Also, I would like as fewer wiring systems as possible. It will also be great if you can suggest a great speaker set to get along with the receiver (If AV receiver is preferred). My requirement also includes seamless music streaming (I have a good internet connection) from Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Spotify etc... I know some receives like Denon has the inbuilt Radio streaming component which can be used with Heos APP.

But I am open to ideas and am also planning to go for auditions at a nearest ProFX studio today. It would be great if someone can help me with your valuable suggestions.

Hello everyone,

I got introduced to this forum by a friend and I really liked how people received assistance from experts. I am completely novice to this field, so please excuse me if I use layman' vocabulary.

I thought I will also post my requirements here. I am looking for a good speaker system for mainly two reasons:

1. Watch Good movies and TV series (60%)
2. Listen to EDM/Techno music (40%)

I have Samsung UHD7000 49 inch television and the living room dimensions are 20'x2 and 12'x5 which has also an extension for dining room (10'10x10'2). The viewing distance of TV is about 9 feet.

When I asked for suggestions, I got introduced to AV receivers and had a great time witnessing a Denon AV with Sony speaker system at a neigbour's house. I am not sure about the Denon's version though.

I want to understand if soundbar (I see Denon sell soundbar too) or AV receiver would suit my requirements. Budget is around 1 Lakh rupees. Also, I would like as fewer wiring systems as possible. It will also be great if you can suggest a great speaker set to get along with the receiver (If AV receiver is preferred). My requirement also includes seamless music streaming (I have a good internet connection) from Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Spotify etc... I know some receives like Denon has the inbuilt Radio streaming component which can be used with Heos APP.

But I am open to ideas and am also planning to go for auditions at a nearest ProFX studio today. It would be great if someone can help me with your valuable suggestions.

Hello!
I’d say, go for Denon DRA 800H receiver paired with Dali Oberon 1 Speakers to keep things simple.
The Denon receiver does all the tasks you mentioned and the Dali speakers are pretty good!

 

[Love4sound]

Hello everyone,

I got introduced to this forum by a friend and I really liked how people received assistance from experts. I am completely novice to this field, so please excuse me if I use layman' vocabulary.

I thought I will also post my requirements here. I am looking for a good speaker system for mainly two reasons:

1. Watch Good movies and TV series (60%)
2. Listen to EDM/Techno music (40%)

I have Samsung UHD7000 49 inch television and the living room dimensions are 20'x2 and 12'x5 which has also an extension for dining room (10'10x10'2). The viewing distance of TV is about 9 feet.

When I asked for suggestions, I got introduced to AV receivers and had a great time witnessing a Denon AV with Sony speaker system at a neigbour's house. I am not sure about the Denon's version though.

I want to understand if soundbar (I see Denon sell soundbar too) or AV receiver would suit my requirements. Budget is around 1 Lakh rupees. Also, I would like as fewer wiring systems as possible. It will also be great if you can suggest a great speaker set to get along with the receiver (If AV receiver is preferred). My requirement also includes seamless music streaming (I have a good internet connection) from Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Spotify etc... I know some receives like Denon has the inbuilt Radio streaming component which can be used with Heos APP.

But I am open to ideas and am also planning to go for auditions at a nearest ProFX studio today. It would be great if someone can help me with your valuable suggestions.

Soundbar is waste IMO and can never match avr and speakers combo. For a lakh you do have good soundbars with subwoofer and if u want to keep it simple go ahead. For avr speaker combo first set up a good 2.1 and later as per ur budget and interest you can extend. You will find a lot of good deals in the used section

 

[rajivaryan1984]

Buddy if you are going to ProFx then please get an audition for Polk Magnifi Max SR. If you dont want to get into the AVR business due to the wiring stuff, then this is the best Soundbar option you will get. I have recently purchased it from PRofx and using it from last 1 month and I am getting that 5.1 punch for my movies and music both. It supports 4K HDR, Dolby Audio, DTS and the Surrounds and Sub woofer is wireless, so you dont have to get into that wiring headache. But yes you get proper 5.1 effect and the cost is somewhere around 60-65K.

 

[Amarendra]

Buddy if you are going to ProFx then please get an audition for Polk Magnifi Max SR. If you dont want to get into the AVR business due to the wiring stuff, then this is the best Soundbar option you will get. I have recently purchased it from PRofx and using it from last 1 month and I am getting that 5.1 punch for my movies and music both. It supports 4K HDR, Dolby Audio, DTS and the Surrounds and Sub woofer is wireless, so you dont have to get into that wiring headache. But yes you get proper 5.1 effect and the cost is somewhere around 60-65K.

Are you able to significantly increase the volume of the surrounds. I had a similar Philips fidelio b5 which had detachable surrounds but in surround mode their volume used to be typically low no matter how much I increased the volume. Finally switched back to a 5.1.2 setup with an AVR.

 

[elangoas]

Budget is around 1 Lakh rupees.

1. Watch Good movies and TV series (60%)

Movie streaming has multichannel out for Prime, Netflix & Sun nxt.. Soon would other streaming providers catchup.. (Hotstar & Zee5)..

When you have such a good budget, you can consider 3.1.2 set-up.. ( 3 fronts L-C-R, 1 subwoofer, 2 heights) which should give you good experience..

Also, I would like as fewer wiring systems as possible.

Wires for L-C-R wouldn't be an eyesore as it will be behind TV cabinet (or) at-least you can neatly hide behind TV to an extent.. it is the wires for surround that can be eyesore.. But if you can think of ways to hide it with plastic casing over walls, then it wouldn't look bad..

But I am open to ideas

Keep your choices open towards brands and don't get carried away for flashy looks.. If you have smaller room, good to consider speakers with shallow depth, so that they are not intrusive..

 

[unleash_me]

I want to understand if soundbar (I see Denon sell soundbar too) or AV receiver would suit my requirements. Budget is around 1 Lakh rupees. Also, I would like as fewer wiring systems as possible.

While a receiver with a matching speaker package might sound appealing at first, the quality of sound is often compromised at the entry-level of the spectrum. To achieve decent fidelity, careful system matching and room corrections are required. Even then, there will be glaring gaps compared to a real-life theatre experience; so to speak. Not an easy task, especially if you are just getting into this hobby. And as a hobby, it's extremely rewarding. Not so much on your savings though. It's a slippery slope. Consider yourself warned.

That being said, if this is the path you want to choose, start with the best stereo integrated amplifier that you can afford. Preferably with an HT bypass and enough I/O of your choice. Pair it with a decent floor standing 3-way speakers, or 2-way or coaxial... the sky is the limit! A subwoofer, if you must, could be added later. Going forward, as and when your resources permit, you could expand it to a full-fledged home theatre incorporating your existing amp for the front duties and build the rest of the chain around it.

Soundbars bring in the much needed, but often overlooked, factor of convenience and aesthetics; especially since you are planning to keep it in the living room. The last thing you want is a living area full of burly boxes and unsightly cobwebs of speaker wires running everywhere. Again, all of this could be fixed, but with a lot of time and a reasonable amount of money. Then again, the good ones from the likes of higher-end Yamaha, Sennheiser, Sony etc. cost a lot. And they aren't without their inherent sonic limitations of a typical soundbar.

An alternate suggestion, to both the home theatres and soundbars, is something like Klipsch's The Sixes. You should find it in your budget. Recently helped a friend out with similar requirements like yours. Months of numerous auditions of receivers, speakers, soundbars etc. To cut the long story short, he eventually went for these. And he couldn't be happier. He took it home to try it out and decided to keep it. Took him a day to decide. The sound can be briefly described as, well, impactful. Vocals are ever so slightly warmish. Highs are surprisingly neutral, for a Klipsch. Very unlike their house sound. Bass is authoritative, not heavy; tight and controlled. And if you judge it by the dimensions, the soundstage will pleasantly surprise you! Check it out if you are into this kind of minimalist setups.

Powered lifestyle speakers like these, not studio monitors, bring in a lot of value for the price you pay. They are often well designed, offer a lot of flexibility when it comes to connectivity and positioning, and helps you integrate to your home in a very unintrusive way. All of this while retaining the decent sound you have come to expect from a dedicated hi-fi system.

PS: Take it all with a pinch of salt though, coming from a 2-channel enthusiast. Been there, and done it all with the surround sound world at some point. I do dabble with like-minded friends even now, old habits, but found myself going back to the simple good old stereo every time. Took me a while, and a lot of money, to realize it. Still, no regrets!

 

[rajivaryan1984]

Are you able to significantly increase the volume of the surrounds. I had a similar Philips fidelio b5 which had detachable surrounds but in surround mode their volume used to be typically low no matter how much I increased the volume. Finally switched back to a 5.1.2 setup with an AVR.

Yes another beauty of this system is you have a separate volume control on your remote for surrounds. But like the problem you mentioned never had such issue in this set...

 

[edjamesx]

.......
I want to understand if soundbar (I see Denon sell soundbar too) or AV receiver would suit my requirements. Budget is around 1 Lakh rupees. Also, I ..............

Any day AV receiver + speaker setup will be better than Sound bar , even if you spend more on sound bars.
its because Soundbars are designed for novice users not for audiophiles, and most novice users will be happy with sound bar.

With 5.1 setup the separation of sound and sound stage will be phenomenal . With sound bar sound separation will not be that good and sound stage. With AVR you can control and fine tune settings according to your taste , where as with sound bar you cannot.

First look for good AV receiver with 5.1 or 7.1 setup. (I would recommend Dolby atoms capability avr will be good to buy)
If you have space issue , consider satellite speakers , and you can easily tuck in the wires behind your tv unit and speakers will be almost invisible.
Now a days surround speakers are coming wireless , so you dont need to worry about wiring.

Or first go with 3.1 setup as @elangoas suggested. Later you can add surround speakers , and atmos speakers later on.

Do audition of both sound bar and 5.1 setup , you will feel the difference.

 

[ONEMANARMY]

Since it's 60% movies, you should get at least a 5.1 setup. Moreover if techno is your music flavour a subwoofer is a must.

 

[rahulsam0511]

Thank you so much everyone for those detailed/valuable suggestions.

I went for auditions last week. Experienced Polk and KEF but was not totally impressed with either of them. More than the speakers themselves, I did not like how the experience was. They played videos from a storage source. They did not have a direct source such as Audio CDs and have requested me to stream audio from my phone via bluetooth.

Then I went to Cinebels to experience Klipsch. The people there were so up to date with all their products, they understood my requirements and gave a demo of Klipsch The sixes and their two other models. The experience was very good. However, I read somewhere that the Klipsch experience center is designed in a particular way and you won't experience the same once the speakers are installed at your place. (Not sure how true it is..)

Lastly we went to another dealer and had an experience of Dali zensor 5 and I loved it. It serves the purpose of both movie watching experience and to listen to music, especially rock and EDM. They had Yamaha AV but I am thinking to go with Denon.

I wanted to know it there are any things I should keep in my mind before even deciding to buy Zensor 5 and Denon AV.

 

[Love4sound]

Thank you so much everyone for those detailed/valuable suggestions.

I went for auditions last week. Experienced Polk and KEF but was not totally impressed with either of them. More than the speakers themselves, I did not like how the experience was. They played videos from a storage source. They did not have a direct source such as Audio CDs and have requested me to stream audio from my phone via bluetooth.

Then I went to Cinebels to experience Klipsch. The people there were so up to date with all their products, they understood my requirements and gave a demo of Klipsch The sixes and their two other models. The experience was very good. However, I read somewhere that the Klipsch experience center is designed in a particular way and you won't experience the same once the speakers are installed at your place. (Not sure how true it is..)

Lastly we went to another dealer and had an experience of Dali zensor 5 and I loved it. It serves the purpose of both movie watching experience and to listen to music, especially rock and EDM. They had Yamaha AV but I am thinking to go with Denon.

I wanted to know it there are any things I should keep in my mind before even deciding to buy Zensor 5 and Denon AV.

I have a Denon and Dali set up. They are very good for both movies and music. Not only Klipsch but every speakers sound different in each set ups. Factors such as room size, reflection points, furniture’s, distances between each speakers and your listening position from the speakers in the room contribute to how the speakers and sub sound in your room. It’s the same for dali z5 as well and it may sound different or even bad or better in your room compared to the audition you had.

 

[Smo]

Seems you are movie buff & also if you relish sound, space/wiring is not constraint then should go for AVR.

 

[BOSS8055]

Anyday avr. I have both but even the most expensive soundbar doesn’t come any closer to a basic avr performance!

 

[Smo]

Sound bar just an improvement over TV sound, but could not get anywhere close to immersive sound u needed for movies

 

[nphutane]

My 10 year old Philips HTiB provides a better movie watching experience compared to my Polk Sound Bar which I picked 4 months back. The main thing these sound bars provide is the form factor and less clutter of things in your living room. But I have heard to dedicated AVR and music setups at my cousin's/friend's place and I get blown away every time I get a chance to listen to them, be it for movies or even music for that matter. Off course one important factor is matching the AVRs with good set of speakers to make the most out of these setups

 

[rahulsam0511]

I am still confused. Is it normal while taking a decision?

I want to go for Klipsch The Sixes (For it's less wire clutter + budget + retro look, ofcourse the sound is also very good) but, I did not have an audition of movie viewing experience. So , I am not sure how it would be and it does not have wifi streaming support. Also, I would have to buy a sub-woofer for the complete experience.

On the other hand, there is this Klipsch premium reference series + Marantz as I am sure the movie viewing experience would be great but as these are tower speakers, I have to keep them safe from my rather hyper active kid. Wire clutter will be more and I would need sub woofer as well.
yeah, its more in terms of budget if I compare to the sixes.

 

[rahulsam0511]

*Dali zensor opticon is an option too which I forgot to add