>an expensive home audio setup has limited appeal

The thing is a sound bar can cost more than 2 grand, which gets you nice pair of B&W two-way speakers and an entry-level Marantz, a setup that beats the sound bar any day. Of course I'm a bit unsure what kind of number's you're speaking of.

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magicalhippo 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> pair of B&W two-way speakers

Except that won't put the dialogs where they should be, in the center.

Back in the days I got a surround receiver and added a center speaker to my parent's regular two-speaker setup, and it was dramatically different feel when watching movies.

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maqp 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That's up to the mixing. If it's a surround system, sure it's better the dialogue comes from the right place in the scene.

But if you have stereo speakers properly placed https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/messages/34579/705942.... (basically on both sides of the TV with you sitting from each speakers by their distance from one another), the stereo imaging will absolutely be able to place dialogue in the center.

But it can also produce wider sound stage than a soundbar, which is half my point, the other being better sound pressure and dynamics from the larger speakers.

Surround is of course better. But the price is usually the issue. One good option is to start with decent pair of two-ways that you can move to rear if you decide to go surround later. Then you only need the three center speakers and maybe the sub. The amp can be either future proofed by going n.1 immediately or upgraded with the jump.

	▲	magicalhippo 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> stereo imaging will absolutely be able to place dialogue in the center For me, if I were to watch alone while sitting straight up in the middle of the couch. Which I almost never do. Either I'm casual or I'm watching with others. I agree with regards to sound quality and dynamic range though. We have a soundbar in the main livingroom of good quality, but as expected it has no lower end. I got the stereo+center speaker setup in the basement with the big TV, they're just bookshelf sized but on stands with center just below TV. They're enough that our neighbors would complain if they were home when I crank it up, and have much better clarity for normal sounds and dialog.

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globular-toast 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It will it you sit right in the middle. In fact it will be better than a centre speaker unless you mount the centre speaker behind the screen which hardly anyone does (you need either an acoustically transparent projector screen or Sony make some TVs that support this). Unfortunately this only works for one person, though.

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bluedino 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

$150 soundbar setup from Best Buy is good enough for "most people"

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maqp 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Yeah sure, but this guy was talking about luxury cars. I've seen B&W bundled in Maseratis, Aston Martins and McLarens. BMWs and Volvos too but that's a more recent market expansion.

Personally I think think the soundbars are a waste given that they'll never beat the stereo imaging you get from the second hand entry-level Hi-Fi. Soundbar is more convenient and I totally get many people don't always use it for intensive listening sessions, they just need a bit more tear free volume than the TV can output and maybe some background music.

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Arubis 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And for those that still care and are willing to put in the legwork, $150 will score you a nice pair of Advents or similar on Craigslist, and almost any receiver you’ll find at your local thrift store will beat the pants off a cheap soundbar.

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bluedino 8 hours ago | parent [-]

Never seen any decent audio gear at a thrift store.

Plus, does all of that stuff integrate with your tv remote like the right soundbar can? Most people don't want multiple remotes or have to manually turn a receiver etc on

	▲	skydhash 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		As long as it's a recent enough AVR. The technology name is HDMI-CEC.

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baq 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It probably is for listening at -30… don’t let it play anywhere louder though.