Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
I just ordered the one JaxBill recommended on page 1. It's simple and got great reviews.
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Looking at getting a soundbar for our family room - Totally clueless (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TheIronSheik
- Start date
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Tks. Jaxbill - how do you like the soundbar? Was it as easy to hook up as it said? Did it come with the cable you needed? How is the sound?
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Yes - that covers most of those questions. Sorry Jaxbill. Would still like to know if it was a pure plug and play for you like it says though.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
For my new place, I ordered this corner TV stand with that Vizio soundbar and this plasma, which was highly recommended in another thread here. Can't wait to get all of those suckers hooked up. OMG, the box that wooden TV stand came in.... feels like there are 80 cinder blocks in there.
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
I downsized to a condo... space is more limited than my last house, which is why I bought a corner TV stand. Besides, I have a crapload of electronics and wires to hide and that unit is perfect.
JaxBill
Footballguy
I really only used it hooked up to the main TV while my Onkyo receiver was recalled for an HDMI board problem (wHole different story).
But yes, it came with the optical cable that ran from TV to sound bar. You must set the sound setting on the TV to off (it's in the Onkyo instructions). So my hookup went
Directv recvr -> HDMI - >TV -> optical out -> soundbar.
Soundbar sound was obviously a letdown from the Onkyo going from 5 speakers to 1 but 1000x better than TV speakers.
Once the Onkyo was fixed, I offered to put the soundbar in the bedroom for "her" TV but she said she would rather have it in the kitchen so she could listen to her music via bluetooth while cooking.
So it is wall-mounted now above the breakfast bar and accessible only via blue tooth. (If there was a TV in the kitchen I guess I could theoretically run a cable to it but there's cabinets etc.)
Downside - Vizio's support sucks. No more than 3 days after wall-mounting it, the remote died. The chat sessions online are useless. It took me 5 phone calls for them to send a replacement remote.
Everything is good now though. If you are going to use a programmable remote, That problem is moot.
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Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
I love the sound of the Vizio, but the remote drives me batty! If you accidentally hit the "input" button, the bluetooth and other modes kick in, and it takes an act of God to get the TV sound back on. I've had to unplug the unit, shut off the TV and cable box, etc. What a pain in the balls.
jamil
Footballguy
I recommend http://www.accessories4less.com/bought a Denon soundbar for about half off. Very pleased with the purchase.
cstu
Footballguy
Happy with sound on the LG I bought - with one exception: when hooked up through optical the led light saying 'Optical' stays on until I press the sleep button once on the remote. Shouldn't have to do that. I plan to program my remote at some time to do that automatically when the TV is turned on.
DallasDMac
Footballguy
Anyone own this sound bar?
Vizio Sound Bar
It is 40% off right now on Amazon. BGR article talked about how this was an awesome system and a super great deal. But the reviews on Amazon... not so hot. So wondering what the truth is?
Vizio Sound Bar
It is 40% off right now on Amazon. BGR article talked about how this was an awesome system and a super great deal. But the reviews on Amazon... not so hot. So wondering what the truth is?
msommer
Footballguy
Is there a perpetual motion machine?
How can we conjure energy from the air?
Can we transfer energy without wires?
These are some of the questions that need to be answered by theoretical physicists for Otis to avoid running a wire...
Hawks64
Footballguy
Cnet says it's good. I'd give their review a bit more weight than BGR. A quick glance through the bad reviews relate more to reliability than performance. I know I had an issue with optical on my Vizio and had to switch to analog. If you're willing to take the chance on longevity (maybe get the SquareTrade warranty from Amazon?) you'll get a decent sounding soundbar.
Hawks64
Footballguy
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Somebody recommended Polk to me as well. Are you still pleased?
I have a Samsung 60 inch TV and the sound for movies, especially dialogue, sucks.
I have been running an antiquated set of polk towers for years. I am considering redoing the entire system this summer with in wall stereo and a sound bar. Problem is I have not found anything with quality sound yet. 
-jb-
Footballguy
I bought the Nakamichi Shockwafe, and it is beyond awesome. This is after buying and returning the Vizio. Same concept (wireless sub and rears that connect to sub), with fronts and center in sound bar. It is totally legit, and cheap. Prior set up was Onkyo 5.1 with passive sub. Difference in sound quality is astronomical.
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kutta
Footballguy
I really like it. But again, I'm not an audio snob at all but I think it sounds great. I haven't had any problems at all with it.
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Quez
Footballguy
For those on a budget, I highly recommend the Vizio sound bars. I did the whole receiver /5.1 setup back in the day, but when I moved I never set it back up. Didn't feel like running the wires, have a kid now, so don't care about the cinema experience, as we barely watch movies.
I purchased a $100 38" from Sam's a few months ago to put underneath my outdoor tv. I wanted to basically replace my Bose SoundLink. It was great, but you need a little bass outside to carry the sound, so I recently replaced it with a refurbished 38" with a rear Bluetooth sub/ 2 satellites for $150 on eBay. They are still like $250 at Sam's. It sounds great. Not too much bass to bother the neighbors, but a massive step up from the plain sound bar or my bose
I purchased a $100 38" from Sam's a few months ago to put underneath my outdoor tv. I wanted to basically replace my Bose SoundLink. It was great, but you need a little bass outside to carry the sound, so I recently replaced it with a refurbished 38" with a rear Bluetooth sub/ 2 satellites for $150 on eBay. They are still like $250 at Sam's. It sounds great. Not too much bass to bother the neighbors, but a massive step up from the plain sound bar or my bose
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