Discussion
KobayashiMaru86 said:
Thinking of one for a Christmas present but don't know what to go for. Very tempted by a Sonos Beam but what are the alternatives around that price point? I heard it in-store and sounded good but read something about it being an issue with films with DTS.
There is not a problem with DTS movies at all. There is a big problem however, with people misunderstanding things, then posting their misinformed opinion as a fact. You feed it from the TV, via ARC HDMI or optical, so it is really getting a downmixed signal.
The issue is with spending that budget and getting anything alternative that might sound as good / better.
All the main manufacturers operate in a similar way, with very similar bill of parts to retail price %
If there are to be many many more enclosed speaker drive units and even a sub, the overall quality per component will have to be lower, if the selling price is to be similar.
So if you want the best quality sound, for £400 (£329 at the moment) you shouldn’t pay any head to bars with 7.1 and 7.1.2 Atmos etc.
Those are actually descriptions of processing types, based on speaker placements.
If all the speakers are in a bar, it’s all complete cobblers anyway!
The Sonos beam has less drive units, but a higher cost per item and a sturdy energised chassis.
Lots more cheaper parts will not make the human voice, music or anything actually sound BETTER.
Less is most definitely more in this case imo
TuonoPants said:
I looked a sound bars a while back and wasn't very impressed and many seem to need a separate sub-woofer which can be a pain. I went for a Canton sound base which is excellent so worth looking at those as well.
I've had a Canton DM50 for years. Absolutely fantastic thing. I should think the newest ones are even better. Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff