Speaker/Surround Bar - Advise

[m8kwr]

Just purchased a new 42" LG Plasma...

I do have a 5.1 surround, but the other half hates the wires, but my little girl loves to pull over the speakers.

I am looking for a single speaker, but my budget is about £100, can anyone advise what they would recommend.

Also is it best to mount them directly under the tv, as i am planning on putting it on a tilt and swivel bracket, or can you just put it on a wall etc.

many thanks

 

[BlueWizard]

The cheapest sound bar I can find is the NEC Mitsubishi Sound Bar 90-

100000724 NEC Mitsubishi NEC 90 SERIES SOUND BAR BLACK

I'm not saying it is good, only that it is cheap.

Dell, also offers this Sound Bar 90 -

Dell : NEC NEC MultiSync Soundbar 90 - PC multimedia speakers - black : Displays : Home & Home Office

Yamaha, a more popular and better quality sound bar, is not going to be cheap -

Yamaha Soundbar Speaker. Digital Sound Projector. Elegant Space-saving Design. Hdmi In/out. Speaker

Yamaha Sound Bar - Compare Prices, Reviews and Buy at NexTag - Price - Review

Here are an assortment of other sound bars courtesy of Amazon-UK -

Amazon.co.uk: soundbar

I think the Logitech Sound Stage TX101 might be pretty good, but it is close to double your budget -

Logic3 TX101 SoundStage - 5.1 Surround Sound Home: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

As to what is good in your budget,...well...nothing really. You might find something you like, something that will be OK, some thing good for the money, but nothing that is an unqualified 'good'.

However, there is an alternative. It has its drawbacks but it is cheap and easy. I've always thought (though never tried) that you could make the equivalent of a sound bar out of ordinary 'egg/pod' speakers.

You build a small shelf to set your TV on, then put the front and center speakers under the shelf, which is then in turn under the TV. Then you mount your rear speakers high and wide on the same wall.

The front/center speakers give you the direct sound for voice and general movies, and the high wide speakers give you a sense of space and special effects.

Since everything is on one wall, you don't have speaker wire running across the room for people to trip on or mess with. The front three speakers are securely under a shelf under the TV, and are not likely to be tipped over.

If your budget really is stuck at £100, then simply look around for a sound bar that you can afford that looks good to you. That's about the best you can do on that budget.

Also keep in mind that many sound bars are complete system, they come with built-in amps and connect directly to the TV, no AV Amp is needed.

The last option is the 'more than your budget' Q Acoustic QAV 3.1 system at £432 -

Q ACOUSTICS QAV 3.1 SPEAKER SYSTEM - available from Superfi UK Visit http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/product_id/4009 for details

So, you can find sound bars near £100, but few here are going to recommend any of them. They are what they are, they cost what they cost, they do what they do, if they satisfy you, then that's fine. If not, the only option is to spend more.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Member 639844]

IMO, if all you can spend is £100 you may as well stick with the tv's speakers.

I'm a little confused though, you make it sound like you already have some sort of kit that is no longer a viable solution for your needs. Is this true, if so what is it and is it ging to be just thrown away, re-used elsewhere or does it have potential to bring in some cash. If it simply has to go then my advice would be to sell it, add your £100 to it and get stuck into the pre-owned market to see what you can pick up. Of course I may be wrong in that this is where your £100 budget comes from anyway?

Most half decent sound bars are a fair bit over the £100 mark and you dont see them up for sale much, but you need to give yourself a bit more to play with IMO to get anything that is going to be worth replacing your tv speakers with.

 

[m8kwr]

I think i will see what the tv speakers are like first, and if it warrants investing then i will save up and get a decent soundbar, as it will in the future always come with me (when i ever move house)

My old system is a panasonic 5 dvd changer, with stand speakers.

We have another kid on the way, and one is bad enough at trying to tip them over - and they are not around the room like they should, but next to the tv - never want to bother attempting to hide the wires, as it would of caused me more trouble then it was worth.

May as well wait for a soundbar to be interacted with a blue ray player!!! unless this has already been done?

Just trying to tidy up a messy corner of the room...

Many thanks for all the advise, great as ever.