I know there are a few audiophiles on here. We’ve just got a new telly box and want to get decent sound out of it.
I don’t really like the look of soundbars but are there any alternatives at a reasonable price? Dolby Atmos installed if that makes any difference? Cheers

Assuming you don’t want to go the whole cinematic surround sound hog, active speakers are a decent alternative to soundbars. Or you can also get a soundbase to sit the telly on.

You’ll end up with a soundbar 😉

You can get a “soundbase” that’s like a chunky plinth, but you need a TV with a central stand really rather than legs in corners.

A pair of stereo speakers works OK otherwise, either a hifi amp or get active ones. Or 2.1 (ie with sub) systems are still a thing, you can have teeny little speakers on show and the sub tucked away.

Home cinema amps (again, if you have somewhere to hide it away) can run with as many speakers as you want to use – so can use a pair of stereo speakers to start and just add the rest later if you wanted them.

Cheaper option:
Q-acoustic BT3 speakers.

Pricier option:
KEF LSX speakers

Simples…

You’ll get MUCH better sound from these than a sound bar etc…

Add a sub if you wanna shake yo’ panties off…

DrP

We’re with sky so we’ve recently bought a Sky soundbox. It’s phenomenal, but looks awful so depends how much that matters.

Q-acoustic BT3 speakers.

We had these, they lasted about 10 mins longer than the guarantee then just died. Absolutely no response from the company.
To be honest die was the best thing they ever did, the sound wasn’t great and the remote control drove you up the sodding wall with its ‘will I wont I’
Replaced them with steljes NS3 which work and sound much better

I have a Denon DM-41 Cd/Dab/ Bluetooth unit playing through Mission LX-2 speakers. The TV is connected to the amp by an optical cable. Good enough sound for my old ears and can play from other sources when not watching the TV. Could add a sub very simply but I have never felt the need

best is a chunky 9.1 home cinema amp, some floor standers at the front, a 12″ sub and 7 other speakers spread around the room, but you’re looking at a good sum of money (£2-10k I would guess) and a lot of space in your room.

then its a sliding scale all the way down to built-in tv speakers at the other end. I’ve got a nice 5.1 home cinema setup (rx-v685, monitor audio bronze speakers, bk subwoofer), which I think is a good value-for-money middlepoint (maybe £1200’s worth) – but everyone’s point on the scale will vary.

Do you already have a hi-fi? If yes, connect it to that.

Do you already have a hi-fi? If yes, connect it to that.

s’wat i came on here to say…..

We have a Panasonic soundbase currently which is a bit temperamental, but when it works sounds pretty good and the integration with the TV is seamless. I suspect it will become more temperamental over time though.
So probably a silly question but with some active speakers like the Steljes NS3 mentioned above, connected by optical connector rather than HDMI, will the volume go up and down based on the TV remote? I’m not sure I can be doing with one remote for the channels and another for the volume, I have enough trouble finding one when I need it!

Don’t underestimate the quality of a good 2.0 system (proper bookshelf speakers on stands or floorstanders) with a dedicated AV Amp. If you have the space, that is.

Any compromises needed regarding decor and other-halves?

“You’re not putting that there”

“What are all those wires for?”

“The telly volume won’t work”

I’ve got a nice 5.1 home cinema setup (rx-v685, monitor audio bronze speakers, bk subwoofer), which I think is a good value-for-money middlepoint (maybe £1200’s worth) – but everyone’s point on the scale will vary.

Hey very similar here; RX-V379, Monitor Audio bronze fronts and centre, Mordaunt Short satellites and sub – absolutely love it, don’t think I’d have it any other way.

We need more constraints before we can suggest something.

Whats your budget? Are you Ok with full blown surround system or want something discrete? What equipment do you already have? How big is the room? Do you want it for everyday listening or just movie nights etc …

The answers could range from £150 sound base thingy to a £10K surround sound system with multiple large speakers and subwoofers (not forgetting the directional high quality USB cable 😉)

Don’t underestimate the quality of a good 2.0 system (proper bookshelf speakers on stands or floorstanders) with a dedicated AV Amp. If you have the space, that is.

I went down this route, although I bought a standard 2.0 integrated stereo amp (Yamaha) and just run the TV optical out into the amp’s digital input. In retrospect though, I wish we’d bought an AV receiver and just run the setup in 2.0 or even 3.0 mode (with a centre speaker) as we only use this setup for Blu Rays and streaming films.

Any compromises needed regarding decor and other-halves?

“You’re not putting that there”

“What are all those wires for?”

“The telly volume won’t work”

LOL!

All of the above plus “what’s wrong with the sound it’s got?”

Whats your budget?

Cheap skate here, so £200 – £300 ideally.

No existing hi-fi to run it through. Speakers on stands sounds good, can this be done wirelessly at all?

speakers need wires. Either from some central box or from the mains. In my opinion they may as well be from the central box and give you better quality.

for £300 second hand or richer sounds is probably your best stop

You can get wireless speakers but each one will need to be plugged into the mains for power. Also I think to connect to the TV you will still need to use a wire (HMDI or optical) to one speaker which will then send wirelessly send the audio to the other speaker. I’m not aware of any TV that will output sound wirelessly but also I haven’t kept 100% up to date with new stuff.

If you have an Apple TV then 1 or 2 of the larger HomePods would work well, these can do wireless sound via the Apple TV. I know some Samsung TV support airplay now as well so if you have one of those you might be able to just add an HomePod for wireless sound?

I think ideal thing would be either a sound base or sound bar. If you are not a fan of the way sound bars look then maybe a base is better? Their bigger dimensions usually give a better sound too.

Don’t underestimate the quality of a good 2.0 system (proper bookshelf speakers on stands or floorstanders) with a dedicated AV Amp

Why do you need an AV amp for 2.0?

So probably a silly question but with some active speakers like the Steljes NS3 above, connected by optical connector rather than HDMI, will the volume go up and down based on the TV remote?

No we have to use the seperate remote, but its the nicest remote we’ve got. Its well made slim and reliable, all the others are huge plastic rattling lumps of frustration, and the one that came with the q acoustics was the worst of the lot.
When I say no I mean that I couldnt do it, not that its not possible, but I don’t think it is.