Totally torn!

welshpaul

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Moving from an av and floorstanders front 5.1 set up to a more wife friendly passive soundbar system.

however now realised that this system needs a new amp for 4k tv bypass.

my question is would an av driven passive sb with rears and sub be more bang for buck soundwise over something like the new samsung atmos soundbar package?
 
new soundbars are these days very good, possibly not quite as good as seperates but these days very close.
they are of course a far neater solution and will meet with domestic approval, ideally go and listen to a few, try richer sounds they have a good range and demo facilities.
 
Lockdown is limiting my demo chances unfortunately.

My only thought on the av amp is it’ll be driving the fronts which will be w soundbar and will it get more out of it than an active one??
 
Lockdown is limiting my demo chances unfortunately.

My only thought on the av amp is it’ll be driving the fronts which will be w soundbar and will it get more out of it than an active one??
Depends on your speakers av amp room ears etc
I went from separates a few years ago to soundbar s as I did not mind a single source, I have owned several sonus, Yamaha kef monitor audio arcam libratone to finally my daily driver which I have owned for over a year and do not plan to currently change the stage.
So it’s really a journey and what I like I may hate so without hearing things you are a bit stuck.
 
What TV do you have? (eARC enabled?)

What sources do you have that are 4K or have HD audio?

Most of the active soundbars only have a single HDMI input, 2 at best.
 
What TV do you have? (eARC enabled?)

What sources do you have that are 4K or have HD audio?

Most of the active soundbars only have a single HDMI input, 2 at best.

im looking to buy an oled so will ensure has earc. Will use ntflix/amazon from tv apps and connect my sky q andxbox.

any tips?
 
In which case any soundbar with a 4K HDMI single input will do.

Netflix, Amazon and Sky all use DD+ audio at best and that can be passed over ARC, you don't even need eARC for it.

The only devices that would benefit from eARC would be a UHD disc player or a media streamer that would be connected to the TV and allow HD Audio formats to be passed to the soundbar.

If you're planning to upgrade your console, you may benefit from HDMI 2.1

I'm not really up on the latest soudbars as, like you, I have an AVR.
 
I'm thinking about this very same thing. New house and i'm very limited on the size of the center speaker as it blocks the tv. I have to lift the tv up so the center can clear and the tv is already much higher up than I would like. And my center now is rather large.

I considered an active soundbar just to make things easier. But they all have some sort of issue that's preventing me from taking the plunge. The samsung bars seem to sound good but are buggy.

Sonos reviews very well and I get a 20% discount but no DTS and the promised LPCM support isn't there yet. And i'd have to buy a HDfury arcana to get atmos to it as my tv doesn't pass atmos. (waiting on the 2021 tvs to upgrade)

The nakamichi looks good.

Very interested in the Klipsch cinema 1200 as I can add a 2nd sub to it. But they're saying no DTS and no LPCM support so that's a no go. But the bar has 2 HDMI inputs in addition to the eARC port.

But now i'm looking at passive soundbars as they're small and won't block my tv and I can still run ceiling atmos speakers, my own rear surrounds and 2 subs.

Just a debate between how much money I want to spend and how much effort I want to put in to this.
 
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In which case any soundbar with a 4K HDMI single input will do.

Netflix, Amazon and Sky all use DD+ audio at best and that can be passed over ARC, you don't even need eARC for it.

The only devices that would benefit from eARC would be a UHD disc player or a media streamer that would be connected to the TV and allow HD Audio formats to be passed to the soundbar.

If you're planning to upgrade your console, you may benefit from HDMI 2.1

I'm not really up on the latest soudbars as, like you, I have an AVR.

will you get atmos from Sky/netflix/amazon or is just blu ray/uhd?
 
I'm thinking about this very same thing. New house and i'm very limited on the size of the center speaker as it blocks the tv. I have to lift the tv up so the center can clear and the tv is already much higher up than I would like. And my center now is rather large.

I considered an active soundbar just to make things easier. But they all have some sort of issue that's preventing me from taking the plunge. The samsung bars seem to sound good but are buggy.

Sonos reviews very well and I get a 20% discount but no DTS and the promised LPCM support isn't there yet. And i'd have to buy a HDfury arcana to get atmos to it as my tv doesn't pass atmos. (waiting on the 2021 tvs to upgrade)

Very interested in the Klipsch cinema 1200 as I can add a 2nd sub to it. But they're saying no DTS and no LPCM support so that's a no go. But the bar has 2 HDMI inputs in addition to the eARC port.

But now i'm looking at passive soundbars as they're small and won't block my tv and I can still run ceiling atmos speakers, my own rear surrounds and 2 subs.

Just a debate between how much money I want to spend and how much effort I want to put in to this.
Have a look at the goldenear cinema xl passive bar, i had several bars before i went active and this was the cream of the crop, if you want an active bar then the beosound stage which i own has great clarity superb dynamics and no bugs, built like a tank ( most are plastic)
 
Have a look at the goldenear cinema xl passive bar, i had several bars before i went active and this was the cream of the crop, if you want an active bar then the beosound stage which i own has great clarity superb dynamics and no bugs, built like a tank ( most are plastic)
The goldenear is on my short list. Expensive though. But I hear good things.

The beosound stage is only 3 channel and no HDMI 2.1 so I have to rule that out. I also didn't see mention of DTS or LPCM on it?
 
The goldenear is on my short list. Expensive though. But I hear good things.

The beosound stage is only 3 channel and no HDMI 2.1 so I have to rule that out. I also didn't see mention of DTS or LPCM on it?
it has earc as well as one hdmi spare. no dts It boasts 11 speakers, 550 watts rms. pretty sure it does lpcm? offers dd+ as well as atmos, having owned the goldenear with an anthem receiver the stage sounds quite a bit better, very few companies are doing much development with passive soundbars all the real development is going into active bars, they have improved dramatically in the last few years.
 
it has earc as well as one hdmi spare. no dts It boasts 11 speakers, 550 watts rms. pretty sure it does lpcm? offers dd+ as well as atmos, having owned the goldenear with an anthem receiver the stage sounds quite a bit better, very few companies are doing much development with passive soundbars all the real development is going into active bars, they have improved dramatically in the last few years.
Doesn't eARC require HDMI 2.1? I thought that's what I read.
 
Doesn't eARC require HDMI 2.1? I thought that's what I read.
no idea but thats what it has. I use my tvs in built apps to play atmos out to the bar it also has blutooth and airplay so makes a superb audio playback unit.
 
no idea but thats what it has. I use my tvs in built apps to play atmos out to the bar it also has blutooth and airplay so makes a superb audio playback unit.
eARC isn't required for lossy atmos. And the specs for the bar said HDMI 2.0 which is why I was curious.
 
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