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So I am looking to improve the sound from my TV. The TV is only 32” and we don’t have space to increase its size. I want a solution that is simple and allows the kids and wife to watch TV as normal if required.
I believe my options are a compact sound bar with a separate sub such as the orbital sound 9M-LX or a sound base such as the Cambridge Audio TV2.
I do love listening to my music although I am not after spending thousands on the perfect sound I miss my old stereo made up of Marantz components and a set of Mordant Short MS202’s – book case speakers.
So another option would be a AV amp with a sub, center speaker and either the old MS202 speakers or something a little more compact. Would it still give a decent sound for watching tv if you don’t have the rear speakers connected of either a 5.1 or 7.1 amp. I would build the system from second hand decent parts.
Also now that AV amps have HDMI on them am I correct in thinking that the picture and sound pass through the amp on standby for the last selected source so you could run the TV as standard without the amp powered up.
I have listened to the Orbital sound 9m-LX and it sounded good but not great and its own silly little remote is putting me off, does anybody know if you could control this with a Harmony type remote.
Hi we had this debate a year or two back and ended up going the AV receiver route and like you on a 32" tv and just the speakers not full surround.
The big problem I've found is it is rare I can drive the thing loud enough to really get the benefit from the big speakers (party wall and under my youngest child's bedroom).
I wanted the extra sound quality because I have a couple of flat spots in my hearing but in reality it's probably been overkill in our small lounge.
In hindsight I think maybe a sound bar would have been better for us.
On the pass through of HDMI point our receiver has to be on. No doubt some will be ok on standby but you need to check.
Definitely go for a proper AV setup. Soundbars are awful things and all sound terrible compared with a half decent av amp and speakers. I have a kef 5.1 system and is amazing. You feel the films as well as hearing them. Sound bars are an easy option but I haven't heard a good one yet at any price level.
[quote=andysredmini ]Sound bars are an easy option but I haven't heard a good one yet at any price level.
What HiFi list some good ones here
http://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/home-cinema/best-soundbars
If you're only going to be watching TV with the occasional movie then get a soundbar or if your TV is in the same room as the hifi maybe combine with the HiFi to have a stereo setup and possibly add a sub to go 2.1. You could prolly do this with a Sonos setup too.
If you're going to watch a lot of movies or anything with 5.1(+) output/content (and having a 32" telly suggests not) then go for an av setup.
If you get a soundbar and want it to be easy for the wife and kids to use, look at getting one with hdmi and not optical. This should allow you to use your tv remote to control the volume
Philips HTL5140 soundbar here. Read loads of reviews, this one always cam out well, very pleased with it. Not as good as a proper AV setup obviously, but miles, miles better than the telly speakers.
Most AV receivers I've seen will downmix to as many speakers as you have. Haven't seen any that just pass HDMI through when off though.
We just have a stereo amp doing double duty for music and TV. With a TV in the corner I've never been too convinced of how much better any surround setup would really be, plus we hardly ever get the time to sit down for movies anyway.
A Harmony remote helps enormously when you start having more complexity - takes a little setting up but you have a little screen with presets - eg. "Watch TV", "Watch DVD", "Play music" etc. It switches the right things on and gets them on the right inputs so it just works, volume controls the amp, channel up/down controls the TV box, etc.
I think it all depends on your circumstance.
We're still in the dark ages with an old CRT, but the DVD player is hooked up to my NAD amp & TDL floorstanders.
Before our daughter was born, watching action films on it was great with the speakers turned up. But, now the reality is that even the TV at a normal level will disturb our daughter if there are sudden action scenes, explosions, arguments, gunfire etc. Her bedroom is above our lounge, but at the opposite end to the TV.
I'd love to keep the stereo as it is, but in reality it is never getting used.
We are probably gonna get a new TV in the sales and I'm erring towards getting a soundbase or soundbar to connect the TV up to that also has Bluetooth connectivity so we can use our phones/tablets as music sources & stick the stereo upstairs for the foreseeable.
If it's possible can get one that also had normal a phono-in option then I might hook the CD player up to it too.....
Would it still give a decent sound for watching tv if you don’t have the rear speakers connected of either a 5.1 or 7.1 amp.
Yes. I had exactly that for about 8 years: Cambridge Audio 5.1 AV receiver and a pair of Kef floorstanders. Sounded excellent in my old flat and I never once thought I needed a sub. They were a bit overwhelming in the new (old) house though so I changed for a 5.1 speaker package. The Kef's are now on bedroom duty with a Cambridge Audio amp I got for £20 on Gumtree.
Though I'd agree a proper speaker/amp set up is better sound quality wise, I've opted for a sound bar/sub set up.
I suppose it's space and convenience that rules this house!
I've kept my lovely bookshelf speakers and stands in the loft for, well,I don't really know...
The sound bar does sound good with the sub though.
DrP
I'm not hugely into my sound system stuff but like music / films to sound good at home. Got a 5.1 surround sound setup in the lounge - but it was a pita routing all the wires under the carpet. To is in a corner so not convinced the surround sound element of it is worth having and the speakers look a bit ugly.
Recently put a new 32" tv in the gym (partially converted garage) and wanted better sound. Went for a sound bar with a sub in the RBS as much easier to mount / sort out wires. Sounds ok to me - the sub fills out the sound a fair bit. Not in anyway an expensive sound bar - think it was about £70 from Phillips.
I tried connecting it with hdmi arc so the to remote would control volume, but as soon as it was connected it muted the sound bar on and off. Annoying and couldn't figure out how to make it work. Gave up and connected with a coaxial digital lead. My new jvc TVs doesn't have optical out for some reason. In fact it's not well designed for going on the wall either - all the connections come straight out the back rather than out the bottom so the leads hit the wall.
Also now that AV amps have HDMI on them am I correct in thinking that the picture and sound pass through the amp on standby for the last selected source so you could run the TV as standard without the amp powered up.
Haven't seen any that just pass HDMI through when off though.
That's exactly what my Yamaha does. You switch it off and it passes the last selected AV source through to the TV. The only slight inconvenience is that to change source you then have to switch on the amp, change sources and switch it off again.
One of the nice things with HDMI is CEC. If I have the amp on it mutes the TV and all the remotes control sound etc on the amp. No poking about with IR codes or anything. If I turn off the receiver, the TV audio comes on and all the remotes control the telly instead.
Cougar, can I ask what amp that is, its functionality sounds exactly what I want.
Sony soundbar with separate subwoofer here.
It has HDMI pass through so we can use the TV remote to control it, and it switches on/off with the TV.
It sounds great with action films.
I'd have loved a full 5.1 package but the TV/lounge area is in the corner of a 7m x 7m kitchen/lounge/diner room so the dynamics wouldn't work.
[quote=Cougar ]
One of the nice things with HDMI is CEC. If I have the amp on it mutes the TV and all the remotes control sound etc on the amp. No poking about with IR codes or anything. If I turn off the receiver, the TV audio comes on and all the remotes control the telly instead.
And (in theory) the sources as well! It (sort of) works on some of my devices...
What Hifi can say what they want. I'm not going to read the article but soundbars will never match a 5.1 system. The central source will never match the sound produced by speakers in the corner of a room. I fully understand that soundbars are an easy option so can see the appeal but they are still rubbish. I hate seeing any wires so I cut all mine into the walls and plastered over them so nothing is visible. I had to create a duct from the back of the tv unit to the TV to run the wires again so nothing is visible. It was a lot of work but well worth it.
What hi fi, sterling speakers of shite.
On a slightly related thought without starting a new thread....
I use an AV amp with all front room gubbins going into it but I'd like to set it up with Bluetooth so I can send stuff from my phone to it. What do you guys use to do this?
[quote=andysredmini ]What Hifi can say what they want. I'm not going to read the article but soundbars will never match a 5.1 system. The central source will never match the sound produced by speakers in the corner of a room. I fully understand that soundbars are an easy option so can see the appeal but they are still rubbish. I hate seeing any wires so I cut all mine into the walls and plastered over them so nothing is visible. I had to create a duct from the back of the tv unit to the TV to run the wires again so nothing is visible. It was a lot of work but well worth it.
Seeing as you didn't read what I linked to, you are arguing against a point I didn't make.
At no point did I say or imply they are better or equal to 5.1 systems, I merely linked a list of soundbars which have reviewed well.
tomfun - MemberOn a slightly related thought without starting a new thread....
I use an AV amp with all front room gubbins going into it but I'd like to set it up with Bluetooth so I can send stuff from my phone to it. What do you guys use to do this?
There are numerous Bluetooth hi-fi adaptors that will just plug into a line-in on your amp.
I should really buy one; at the moment I just use a phono to headphone cable & leave it permanently plugged into the amp. Then just plug the phone/tablet in for tunes - obviously not as much freedom as using a Bluetooth option, although quicker to connect & doesn't require another power adaptor....
Something like these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-980-000913-Bluetooth-Audio-Adapter/dp/B00IJYG4FY
The first one I link to (the Jongo A2) will also work over wireless as well as Bluetooth....
So I've run pretty much every combination over the years (except sound bars) connected to the TV. AV amps will all downmix to however many speakers you have connected so don't worry on that count. Harmony remotes sort the devices/inputs and mean you have just a single remote for everything. They do take a while to set up though but once working are excellent. I've got a touch screen and a non touch companion in different rooms. The only thing the touch screen really does better is the 'start activities' as the non touch doesn't really have enough activity buttons.
[b]Stereo amp and speakers[/b] - never completely satisfactory as the TV speech never seemed as well located on the set as it should. Maybe if you have a prefectly set up system and only ever sit in the sweet spot but never quite worked for me.
[b]AV amp running 5.1 with poorly positioned speakers.[/b] TV in corner, surrounds not on same axis as fronts. Works but the surround effects won't be perfect.
[b]AV amp running 3.0[/b] This works well - a centre speaker is important for TV use as it actually does most of the work. Adding a sub to this would be a priority if you've got small speakers, less so if you've got decent floorstanders.
[b]AV amp 5.1 with well positioned speakers[/b] Obviously the best - surrounds are ceiling mounted and in line with listening (ideally would be a bit behind). Surround positioning is always most difficult to get right and it does add a really nice atmospheric effect
Stereo amp and speakers - never completely satisfactory as the TV speech never seemed as well located on the set as it should.
We had this for a bit, and I used to have the telly speakers on a bit at the same time, which brought the speech back into the 'middle' but kept the overall improved sound from the speakers.
My Sony AV receiver does everything you want. It'll pass hdmi in standby to any of 3 hdmi outputs (and defer my ones to each of you like) and it has Bluetooth and airplay built in for streaming
Been following this thread with interest, and thought it could do with another hat being thrown into the ring - thinking I'll give soundbars a swerve, and I get that AV kit will be the optimum setup for, well, AV. But how does it cope with music? Our telly lives in the sitting room, stereo in the dining room, but as often as not I'll want sounds in the sitting room, and as I can attest right now, listening to the stereo in the room next door is not as lovely as I'd like. If AV kit plays decent tunes, job's a good 'un - doesn't have to be killer, just crisp and balanced. 🙂
Av amps normally have a stereo output for music. They may not be as good as a dedicated music amp but that's subjective. Again a lot of av amps have zones so you could run another set of speakers in the other room. I have always had pioneer amps and they have all been really good.
Tidy, cheers - that's a decision, then. 🙂
Linn LK280 and Linn Kan speakers here for TV. Might be a *tiny* bit over the top...
Rachel
Just to throw my hat in the ring, had exactly this question myself a few weeks back. Researched sound bases vs sound bars as they seem to be well recommended. I couldn't be bothered with a full 5.1 setup, we did have a Sony system and never used the thing so sold it a while back. In the end I was looking at either a Cambridge audio TV 2
http://m.richersounds.com/#!/product/CAMB-AUDI-TV2-V2-BLK
Or the canton dm55
http://m.richersounds.com/#!/product/CANT-DM55-BLK
Managed to get an offer on the canton so opted for that. Sound quality is very very good. I switched back and forth between the TV and sound base and you really could tell, loads more detail could be heard, even when big basey music was thumping or big explosions in a film.
Sure, it's never going to be as good surround sound wise as a full system but who can be arsed with all the cables?!
Cheers stumpy01, ordered one the other day and it's perfect. Does exactly what i wanted it to.
tomfun - Member
Cheers stumpy01, ordered one the other day and it's perfect. Does exactly what i wanted it to.
Cool.
Did you go for the Pure one?
Actually got a different one...same design as the Logitech one for £20. 1 button sync, rca outputs, nice and simple.