OT Home Surround Sound
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Do you mean a rack type "receiver"? I haven't seen one of those in years. I've got an old Yamaha somewhere that I bought in '85 that still works but I don't see the need.
The Death of the Stereo system
The Death of the Stereo system
Just get a sound bar and then expand it with the Bluetooth speakers. I've got Sonos and love it!
I’ve got one with Bluetooth and we use it a good bit playing music since it’s connected to our outside speakers
I got rid of an older Denon 2117 and Polk Monitor IIs. Went with a Samsung Q990D soundbar with wireless surrounds and sub. Love it. Plenty of bass. Surround works flawlessly. Dolby Atmos support. I can even play Spotify through it.
It does everything I need and doesn't require two remotes. Never could get ROKU to control the Denon. Look at Rtings.com for reviews. There are some darn good soundbars out now that will compete with budget receiver systems.
It does everything I need and doesn't require two remotes. Never could get ROKU to control the Denon. Look at Rtings.com for reviews. There are some darn good soundbars out now that will compete with budget receiver systems.
I've got a Sonos sound bar and love it, and no surround speakers. I've thought about adding a Sonos sub but have never gotten around to it. The sound bar really has plenty of bass for me, and the sound clarity is way above the Sony television speakers.
I also have a pretty high end Yamaha receiver with Polk surround speakers but I never use it. In fact, I don't think it's even been turned on in several years.
I used to be a bit of an audiophile but got over it. I've got a Marantz 2270 stuck in a closet somewhere (I checked its value a few months ago and supposedly it's about $3000) with Acoustic Research speakers. Today's equipment is far superior.
For the original question, I'd get a good Sonos soundbar with a sub and surround speakers for a full movie experience. Other brands are likely just as good, but don't get a cheap one.
Bose is outstanding but the price tag was too much for me. Sonos has been great! Has Alexa built in and can use for tv or music. I will say, there's a sound bar from Amazon Fire on sale right now for a great price, but I have no knowledge of those.
Everyone is suggesting Sonos. I may be in the minority but i don't like Sonos. The sound is SUPERB but i'm not a tech person and it's not user friendly and you can forget live support of any kind. You'll have to google chat forums or start your own. Basically, other Sonos users will respond to answer your questions. I paid too damn much money for that kind of support. Everything is controlled by the Sonos app on your phone. My wife gets frustrated when trying to adjust the sound from a movie to a football game and she has to have me walk her through it whenever i'm out of town. You also can't play music directly from your playlist on your phone. Rather you have to give Sonos app permission to connect to your music source (apple itunes or Spotify). Last week, for about an hour, the app wouldn't connect. By the time it did connect, i wasn't in the mood to listen to music. I gave up and played music through my old JVC bluetooth speaker. It's just not for me. BUT - the sound admittedly is outstanding. For some, Sonos is easy to use. For me and my wife (we're both 59 years old), it's just too complicated.
I’ve had a JLB soundbar with wireless sub and satellites for surround sound for a few years and really like it. Impressive surround sound for under $800.
Thanks for the help. I went thru all of the hassle years ago of installing the speakers and sub. My Onkyo receiver has an issue and keeps powering off. I thought I would get some thoughts on what to do here since there doesn't seem to be anything local other than Best Buy. I have noticed that the sound bars are popular, but I didn't know if I would be sacrificing something.
I understand the hassle of running wire for surround at my old house, so I understand just wanting to replace receiver. I repurposed my Denon for a living room 2 channel setup with phono and streaming.
* Dolby Atmos support is probably number 1 thing to look for. Most anything new will support it. Although you will be missing on the side and up firing speakers built in to most newer soundbar surround setups.
* If you game through that setup, then 4k/120Hz to support newest game consoles. If your TV supports it, or you plan to get one that does in the future.
* As many HDMI inputs as possible. Preferably HDMI 2.1
* Do you want to stream music? If so some sort of streaming support (I would actually suggest a different route than built in streaming, one of the Wiim streamers)
* Automatic Room Calibration of some sort unless you want to measure levels and make all the corrections yourself.
Those are the items I would be looking for, AVSforum.com would be a great place to look around at what the audio nerds are talking about. CNET and other review sites would be another good starting point.
I had the same dilemma a few years ago. My receiver went out, and I had a good set of wired speakers I wanted to keep using. Ended up buying a new Onkyo unit with some built in streaming capabilities. I agree with the suggestion about AVSForum.com, and I've always found Crutchfield to be a good place to shop receivers.
As for Sonos, I've heard good things about it but I didn't think it made sense for my setup. Maybe if I was going for a whole house audio system I might have thought differently. One more note on Sonos: A friend of mine loves Sonos, but says the latest updates to their app have almost ruined it.
As for Sonos, I've heard good things about it but I didn't think it made sense for my setup. Maybe if I was going for a whole house audio system I might have thought differently. One more note on Sonos: A friend of mine loves Sonos, but says the latest updates to their app have almost ruined it.
Hey boss, when you are ready to get rid of that Marantz and AR speaker system, let us know. We are looking to upgrade our current system. Been getting some complaints from annoying customers LOLzzz. Please send the specs and any warranty/repair history to [email protected], or just drop it off and we'll get her hooked right up. Need it by next Saturday if possible. Thanks chief.
Drop off location:
100 Championship Way
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Also had an Onkyo. It died so I shopped for another receiver. I bought a Denon. Bad move, it has all kinds of issues. I would recommend a Pioneer or Panasonic. Both are good and steady products. Buy a mid-ranged priced unit that is a 5-1 system, a 7-1 for most home theaters are not necessary. Good Luck.
If you are looking strictly for sound processors (receivers) then I'd look at McIntosh. You would need to get an amp to drive them too and McIntosh would be a good option for that as well.
However, if you want to go with the full system with speakers included, I'd go with the Bowers & Wilkins CT 800 series.
However, if you want to go with the full system with speakers included, I'd go with the Bowers & Wilkins CT 800 series.
Regardless of the route you choose, definitely recommend using very high quality HDMI cord. Learned this lesson installing a Polk surround system. Could not get it set up and after many hours of research and on tech lines, decided to try this as a last ditch Hail Mary. Would have never guessed an HDMI cord could be a problem. Also agree with Sonos recommendations if you want simplicity. The Sonos app is getting much better across all music provider services. It just works effortlessly and they have a factory refurbished store on eBay. I bought one set there and it was basically new in box.
Probably not a bad idea to buy one. They're fairly reasonably priced through the Exchange. Last time I checked they were $100 or so less than Best Buy, plus no sales tax.
Have an older Onyko receiver with Polk Audio Speakers. It just get turned on, when I watch movie's, etc that has good music, or obviously has a lot of sound effects. If the receiver goes out, I'll look to just get a new receiver.
Looks like there are quite a few on Amazon, etc.
Looks like there are quite a few on Amazon, etc.
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I bought a Sony receiver 4-5 years ago and I have been very pleased with it. I see a STR-DH790 on Crutchfield for $448 and mine may be an older version of this one. But if you want higher end they also have $3k + Sony’s. I’m not an audiophile so the lower end sounds fine to me. I use Polk speakers fwiw.
I have a Beam Gen 2 soundbar. It's a simple HDMI hookup from your television to the sound bar. If you want to use it for something else, I haven't tried. I've had it a couple of years. I downloaded the Sonos app from the Apple App store, set it up according to directions in the app, and haven't touched it since then. It was a very simple setup - just have to make sure to use the correct HDMI port on the television.
Does McIntosh still use vacuum tubes? Even in the 70s, I think it was the only one that wasn't solid state and supposedly sounded a lot better. And it did, but was quite expensive. You can get a McIntosh labeled entertainment system in a Jeep, but I'll guess they just sold the label and it's certainly not worth the $10k extra they charge for it.
My car has a B&O in it, and it sounds OK, but nowhere near what an aftermarket system will do for a lot less money (but might not be a slick factory built-in look). No plans to change it, but I did in a previous car.
Is a Sonos sound bar wireless ?
What’s the cost?
Can I play my Spotify music on my phone thru it ?
I currently have one Bose soundbar for my main TV but it’s plugged into my TV but it’s maybe 4-5 years old now
What’s the cost?
Can I play my Spotify music on my phone thru it ?
I currently have one Bose soundbar for my main TV but it’s plugged into my TV but it’s maybe 4-5 years old now
Get a Vizio $200 soundbar and sub. People that dropped over $500 don't want to believe it but it's 95% the same tech as the higher end systems (often uses the exact same chips inside) Think about it. You'll drop $500 more for other systems that sound almost the same. Yes, works with any TV, app is great, setup is simple, Bluetooth works, optical input works. The average person that isn't technical (or believes that they are technical) is easily fooled by brands. Then, the nerds that want the extra 5% better quality/features are idiots for paying over double for it. Do a blind sound test and it's the same as Bose, Samsung, Sonos, etc. Do something else with that $500 you saved. 3 for the price of 1 and it does the same thing. A fool and money ...
VIZIO 5.1 Soundbar SE, Wireless Subwoofer, Surround Sound w/Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Bluetooth Speaker - SV510X-0806 (New, 2024 Model) $198 (opened box one for only $156)
Link: https://a.co/d/98AAYAW
VIZIO 5.1 Soundbar SE, Wireless Subwoofer, Surround Sound w/Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Bluetooth Speaker - SV510X-0806 (New, 2024 Model) $198 (opened box one for only $156)
Link: https://a.co/d/98AAYAW
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They do still have vacuum tubes, but they also have Class A amps as well. They are very high end. Yes, most of their amps and preamps are in the 8-12k range.
The B&W (not Bang and Olufsen which is who I think you were referring to, but Bowers & Wilkins) CT800 series runs about $15,000 per speaker if I remember correctly.
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