Does anyone build a decent soundbar?
Looking for recommendations for 2 or 2.1 soundbar system at or under $300. Seems like looking at reviews on a number of different brands----LOTS of problems.
I was looking at Yamaha's offerings. Don't need anything earth shaking, don't need 10 million features and/or Alexa. Just a good/solid 2 channel soundbar that doesn't die in 14 months.
I was looking at Yamaha's offerings. Don't need anything earth shaking, don't need 10 million features and/or Alexa. Just a good/solid 2 channel soundbar that doesn't die in 14 months.
Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amplifier: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: PSB Imagine T2
Comments
An alternative could be a slim line receiver and some small bookies. Like a Marantz slim line and a pair of small Elac's.
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1430
Tad 803 speakers
Legacy Focus SE, 2 REL Carbon Limited, McIntosh C50, McIntosh MC601's, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Parasound Halo JC3, Marantz SA-14s1, Oppo BDP-105, Technics RS-1500, Furman Elite 15PFi, Douglas Connection (Furutech) Alpha Interconnects, Douglas Connection (Furutech) Alpha Speaker Cables, Pangea Power Cables
Theater
Yamaha RX-Z9, Legacy Focus SE (same as 2 Channel system), Def Tech C/L/R 2500, Def Tech BP-2X, Def Tech Pro-Monitors, Vizio M-75
Office
Teac NP-H750, Parasound Ztuner, Audio Engine P4N, Grado SR80, Grado iGrado, Audio-Technica ATH-M50, PC running High Rez files
Living Room
Yamaha YSP-4100 digital sound projector, Sharp Aquos 60"
Bed Room
Yamaha YSP-5100 digital sound projector, Sharp Aquos 70"
Should be right in your price range.
All TV's sound enhanced by Polk Magnfi Mini's.
Other; S60'S, M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All speakers have had crossover rebuilds, resulting in a small fortune invested in Sonicaps, and tweeter upgrades.
Political memes posted as fact and accepted as fact, are sign language of the ignorant, for the ignorant
tonyb said " but even socialists can do a good thing here and there
Social media makes dumb people dumber and smart people dumb then dumber.
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon
emphases added
I mean --- I am bad at math, but there's something funny about this endorsement?!
so -- what of the third one, dare I ask?
sub out included: add a small sub at less than $200 and you’ll be really close to budget and have true stereo sound and far better sound quality. Does lack a dac you can pick up a very decent one for cheap these days...
Game Room HT: Denon AVR-X4200w; Definitive Technology SM350; Definitive Technology LCR2000; Definitive Technology Procinema 800; Mirage Nanasats; Sub - HSU VTF-2 MK5; LG UP870 4K BDP;
; Master Bedroom
Cambridge Azur 551r; Definitive Technology SM45, ACI Titan Subwoofer Squeezebox Touch
My girlfriend owns #3, no problems with it.
I should have said neither have been a problem.
All TV's sound enhanced by Polk Magnfi Mini's.
Other; S60'S, M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All speakers have had crossover rebuilds, resulting in a small fortune invested in Sonicaps, and tweeter upgrades.
Political memes posted as fact and accepted as fact, are sign language of the ignorant, for the ignorant
tonyb said " but even socialists can do a good thing here and there
Social media makes dumb people dumber and smart people dumb then dumber.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D73HMVR/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My TV audio is already routed thru the Main rig via Toslink, so I just needed an upgrade to the almost non-existent sound coming from the Vizio P65-F1 when I don't want the big setup on.
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
ZVOX makes a good product this ones 6 years running never an issue you can st up to a 65 inch on top. It has a 75 W amp built in and a down firing sub, also has pre outs so you can hook up a powered sub behind or off to the side for you.
Has that sound enhancer in it you can you can hear gunshots off to the sides and behind you. Watching watching Jeff Beck live at Ronnie Scott's with it is sure a treat. Nice for a living room or bedroom this baby easily fills a good size room. We often watch movies in the bedroom instead of heading down to the HT room.
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
HT:Polk LSiM 706 LSiM 705's VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's| Marantz AV7704 | Sunfire TGA-7401 | Oppo UDP 203 | Sony PS4 Pro| Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | SVS PB13 Ultra | MIT EXP 2's (Fronts & Center)
ManCave: Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro | Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's | Usher BE-616 Center | SVS Ultra Surrounds | SVS SB4000 Sub | SVS SB2000 Sub | Oppo UDP 203 | MIT Shotgun S3's | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life | Samsung 50" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office |Cocktail Audio X14 | KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 | Bluesound Node |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 |
I guess those are built with indiscreet components...?
Hopefully the Yamaha will fare better.
I think part of the conundrum is, one part built in obsolesce, and another part is just form and function over longevity. How many soundbars you gonna sell if they lasted 20 years ?
It's not just soundbars, but across most consumer products.
That Zvox thing looks interesting. I've heard of them before but never really looked at any reviews.
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1430
Tad 803 speakers
Maybe the same issue that plagues powered (Class AB) subwoofers with plate amps (or some A/V receivers, for that matter) is the root cause for many of the soundbar failures? I.e., heat buildup. Yeah, not too much heat generated (i.e., power wasted) by the Class D amps -- but there is some, and presumably there's a CPU and some signal processing firepower inside the soundbars generating heat, as well.
Then again, maybe they're just carefully and deliberately designed to fail fairly quickly.
A one year warranty applies, but reviews of their products on Amazon don’t seem to indicate many break down issues. There are obviously many problems with soundbar electronics caused by cheap engineering and parts. But, I would also not be surprised if some of the problems are caused by users expecting too much of them in terms of trying to get a home theater experience out of a small plastic box. I would not recommend expecting much beyond getting better tv sound out of one unless it’s above the $1K mark.
2. JM Labs Electra 920.1; Sonic Frontiers Line 3 Preamp; Classe Model 25 amp; Sony HAP-Z1ES; Oppo 105D; Music Hall MMF7 and Acoustech phono pre; PS Audio Power Director; MIT S1 Cables
3. Polk LSiM703; Parasound JC2BP and A21; Sony 48" 4K TV; Wyred4Sound DAC 2; Oppo 203; Squeezebox Touch; MIT S3 cables
https://www.amazon.com/ZVOX-SoundBase-Subwoofer-Bluetooth-AccuVoice/dp/B00O96PD9O
can apparently connect an external subwoofer too.
2. JM Labs Electra 920.1; Sonic Frontiers Line 3 Preamp; Classe Model 25 amp; Sony HAP-Z1ES; Oppo 105D; Music Hall MMF7 and Acoustech phono pre; PS Audio Power Director; MIT S1 Cables
3. Polk LSiM703; Parasound JC2BP and A21; Sony 48" 4K TV; Wyred4Sound DAC 2; Oppo 203; Squeezebox Touch; MIT S3 cables
https://www.bluesound.com/products/pulse-soundbar/
Can also accommodate an external sub as well.
HT:Polk LSiM 706 LSiM 705's VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's| Marantz AV7704 | Sunfire TGA-7401 | Oppo UDP 203 | Sony PS4 Pro| Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | SVS PB13 Ultra | MIT EXP 2's (Fronts & Center)
ManCave: Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro | Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's | Usher BE-616 Center | SVS Ultra Surrounds | SVS SB4000 Sub | SVS SB2000 Sub | Oppo UDP 203 | MIT Shotgun S3's | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life | Samsung 50" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office |Cocktail Audio X14 | KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 | Bluesound Node |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 |
Way over the OP's stated price cap.
Vinyl: Fluance RT82 * Nagaoka MP-110 * Bottlehead Reduction + Integration Upgrade * KAB RF1
Vinyl II: Audio Technica AT-LP120X USB * AT120EB * ART DJ Pre II * Acrylic Turntable Mat
Video: Hisense 55H8F * Panasonic DMP-UB200 * ROKU Premiere * Z-line Designs Elektra
I said I like it.... Didn't say he should.
HT:Polk LSiM 706 LSiM 705's VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's| Marantz AV7704 | Sunfire TGA-7401 | Oppo UDP 203 | Sony PS4 Pro| Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | SVS PB13 Ultra | MIT EXP 2's (Fronts & Center)
ManCave: Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro | Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's | Usher BE-616 Center | SVS Ultra Surrounds | SVS SB4000 Sub | SVS SB2000 Sub | Oppo UDP 203 | MIT Shotgun S3's | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life | Samsung 50" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office |Cocktail Audio X14 | KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 | Bluesound Node |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 |