Surround sound, not a soundbar
Discussion
I've just brought a decent Samsung 43" flatscreen, it's positioned in nice built in shelving units so couldn't really go any bigger, however the sound is rubbish (I'm not picky, but there's no bass at all and it's tinny), and there isn't space for a soundbar without making it a bit of a lash up.
The position doesn't really lend itself to hard wiring speakers either, so I'm thinking some discreet bluetooth type satellite speakers dotted around? Preferably only two or three for stereo and speech, and, er... what's possible for £100?
Or is there a "micro soundbar" that would be effective? Cheers
The position doesn't really lend itself to hard wiring speakers either, so I'm thinking some discreet bluetooth type satellite speakers dotted around? Preferably only two or three for stereo and speech, and, er... what's possible for £100?
Or is there a "micro soundbar" that would be effective? Cheers
Your not going to get a lot for your £100. Maybe you could pick up something second hand on ebay.
There are some micro sound bar options in your price range. No idea of the quality, but you could just order from Amazon / Argos and return if no good.
You've go the Roku Streambar which contains a streamer and a soundbar in a single unit. https://www.roku.com/en-gb/products/audio/roku-str... Anker used to do a mini soundbar, but they don't seem to make that any more.
If you can up your budget to £150 and you have room for it, Amazon have a daily deal on the Bose Solo 5 at £149 running today.
There are some micro sound bar options in your price range. No idea of the quality, but you could just order from Amazon / Argos and return if no good.
You've go the Roku Streambar which contains a streamer and a soundbar in a single unit. https://www.roku.com/en-gb/products/audio/roku-str... Anker used to do a mini soundbar, but they don't seem to make that any more.
If you can up your budget to £150 and you have room for it, Amazon have a daily deal on the Bose Solo 5 at £149 running today.
Forget the Bluetooth idea. For a start, even if your TV will pair, its likely only to pair with a single speaker or there's a very slim chance of it pairing as stereo. It won't pair in a way that generates a voice channel for speech. That doesn't happen. End. Of.
Second, with a £100 and looking at two BT speakers you're going to be limited to those coaster-sized puck speakers, and the chances are that it won't sound too different from your TV speakers unlike the TV sounds utterly garbage. The problem here is budget; a significant proportion goes in to a power supply for each, packaging for each, maybe some smart features which - for TV audio at least at this price level - aren't really needed.
You're much better off buying yourself a small sound bar with Optical or better still a HDMI ARC input if your TV has HDMI ARC out.
ARC will allow you to control the volume of the sound bar using your TV remote rather than having to swap to the sound bar remote each time.
Argos and Amazon will offer most choice at your price level, but TBH most will disappoint. £99 may be a chunk of cash to you, but it's very much at the shallow end of the pool in terms of sound bars. The result of that is "saving" £10 or £20 buying the slightly cheaper sound bar becomes a false economy. Too many compromises have to be made to hit the price point so you lose useful features or end up with worse sound.
Have a look instead at what Richer Sounds. They only have one sound bar at that price and nothing below, but the JBL All-in-One 2.0 has decent sound but also has good connectivity and useful features. It has both optical and HDMI ARC. The sound bar even learns to recognise your TV remote's volume IR signal. This means even if you use optical, you can still operate the sound bar volume with your TV remote.
Unless you like wasting your time trying stuff and sending it back then don't mess about. Just get the JBL and get on with enjoying your TV, films and gaming.
Second, with a £100 and looking at two BT speakers you're going to be limited to those coaster-sized puck speakers, and the chances are that it won't sound too different from your TV speakers unlike the TV sounds utterly garbage. The problem here is budget; a significant proportion goes in to a power supply for each, packaging for each, maybe some smart features which - for TV audio at least at this price level - aren't really needed.
You're much better off buying yourself a small sound bar with Optical or better still a HDMI ARC input if your TV has HDMI ARC out.
ARC will allow you to control the volume of the sound bar using your TV remote rather than having to swap to the sound bar remote each time.
Argos and Amazon will offer most choice at your price level, but TBH most will disappoint. £99 may be a chunk of cash to you, but it's very much at the shallow end of the pool in terms of sound bars. The result of that is "saving" £10 or £20 buying the slightly cheaper sound bar becomes a false economy. Too many compromises have to be made to hit the price point so you lose useful features or end up with worse sound.
Have a look instead at what Richer Sounds. They only have one sound bar at that price and nothing below, but the JBL All-in-One 2.0 has decent sound but also has good connectivity and useful features. It has both optical and HDMI ARC. The sound bar even learns to recognise your TV remote's volume IR signal. This means even if you use optical, you can still operate the sound bar volume with your TV remote.
Unless you like wasting your time trying stuff and sending it back then don't mess about. Just get the JBL and get on with enjoying your TV, films and gaming.
dave_s13 said:
Does where the TV is mounted lend itself to a bit of DIY hacking about and plastering to make something decent work?
It would be worth it!
Yep I've done it before with a decent Denon / Kef 5.1 wired setup, but this room doesn't really permit that, it's quality built in shelving.It would be worth it!
You could prob pick up a Sky Soundbox 2nd hand for £100 or less.
I got one for my parents (from CEX) a while back and its def decent enough. (and miles better than some random tiny soundbar)
They've got a basic sky box connected into it via hdmi, and then use Bluetooth to connect to a Firestick
(no Optical connection on their current tv)
I got one for my parents (from CEX) a while back and its def decent enough. (and miles better than some random tiny soundbar)
They've got a basic sky box connected into it via hdmi, and then use Bluetooth to connect to a Firestick
(no Optical connection on their current tv)
aquarianone said:
You could prob pick up a Sky Soundbox 2nd hand for £100 or less.
I got one for my parents (from CEX) a while back and its def decent enough. (and miles better than some random tiny soundbar)
They've got a basic sky box connected into it via hdmi, and then use Bluetooth to connect to a Firestick
(no Optical connection on their current tv)
Interesting idea I wasn’t aware of that cheersI got one for my parents (from CEX) a while back and its def decent enough. (and miles better than some random tiny soundbar)
They've got a basic sky box connected into it via hdmi, and then use Bluetooth to connect to a Firestick
(no Optical connection on their current tv)
I’ve now got the LG sound bar and sub and it seems to be adequate for the job ta
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