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Hey folks, need some help here. The TV speakers are just plain poor and need to change something. If I was looking for a sound bar with a subwoofer (wireless) what would be a "best buy"? In the $100-200 price range are there good deals? What brand and model would you suggest? I think I will be in the 2.1 not the 5.1's or better. Does a sound bar really make a big difference watching TV? What do I need to know?
I don't know much about sound bars but I'd imagine they are your most affordable choice, unless you are willing to go old skool like myself.
Upstairs, we have our more modern system to utilize better graphics along with a powerful and good quality sound.
I have a system built around two "old skool" Kenwood L-07Ms. Those are lab quality mono-block amps. So I had to find a receiver (rcvr) that had preamp outs for the towers (front channels or the 2 part of 2.1 or two parts of the 5.1 if you're dealing with rears, fronts, a center channel, and a sub), the ability to hook up to the tv and satelite rcvr via HDMI, and 3D capability to match the smart tv (wifi, hd, 3d, etc), blu-ray and pass-through, etc. So I got the Marantz NR1403. Not quite powerful enough for my MMT Meadowlark clone (with Vifa drivers) towers, a Swan Meadowlark Center channel (MMT as well, midrange midrange tweeter), and a 300 watt Polk Audio sub (got at Amazon for 180 bucks delivered!).
So what I do is run my towers from the preamp out and through the 200 wpc (to 8 ohm load), 400 wpc (to 4 ohm load) amps (mono, meaning one amp per channel, and I've got quality plus power.
Now, in the basement, I've got a system that's old skool plus something more modern by encorporating the SR5001 for my 5.2 system, but you know me by now. I need more power. So to power my towers down there, I preamp them with two Kenwood L-09Ms. Google that and you'll get my drift. But due to an L-07 Preamp, I split my 800 watt per channel amps... each, to the TV surround system and my 2 channel system that uses a Marantz 2275. Now 75 watts per channel should be enough for most folks. But you know me. The 2275 has preamp outs too, so I take advantage of that.
Pure power will not damage speakers. Noise will.
So, this all is of no help to you whatsoever. I'm just giving you a taste of what's out there going forward. get your sound bar system and don't spend too much for it. You will love it compared to your Samsung built-in speakers. But if you're willing to have some patience, you might be able to score a $30.00 used Denon AVR 2500. This is a surround sound 85 wpc system that lets you hook up two front channel speakers (towers) and just run with that. If you want to then add two rear channel speakers, a center channel, a subwoofer, etc, you can do that. What you can't do with that is hook up HDMI cables. In fact, the Denon AVR2500 has S-video as its highest resolution video capability. But what we need to know is what you will be using.
What kind of signal do you have coming to your tv? Cable, dish, etc?
One thing I love about HDMI cables is simplicity. You have one connector for video and stereo (left and right channel for sound).
Hope we've started a conversation that will help you get started.
Hey folks, need some help here. The TV speakers are just plain poor and need to change something. If I was looking for a sound bar with a subwoofer (wireless) what would be a "best buy"? In the $100-200 price range are there good deals? What brand and model would you suggest? I think I will be in the 2.1 not the 5.1's or better. Does a sound bar really make a big difference watching TV? What do I need to know?
I had my old 2001 Sony XBR 34" HD ( one of the first widescreen CRT HD tv's at the time) tv recently died. Can't complain, the thing worked and sounded great for 13 years. So recently I got a Samsung 55" 4K tv. I didn't want to get a regular HD tv, then have to upgrade again in a year or two when 4K broadcasting is more common.
Anyway, as you probably know, the sound coming from the flat screen tv's leaves a lot to be desired. I tried a few different brands and ended up with a Vizio 5.1 Model 4251 for about $200.00. It has a 42" sound bar, a wireless subwoofer and 2 rear satellite speakers. For the price, it does sound great.
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