Best soundbar for 100-250

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Any recommendations

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Any recommendations

Hi Pheonix10.

Thanks for the post.

Best soundbar in the price bracket would be the POLK Signa S2 coming in at 219 euro
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-203722-polk-signa-s2-soundbar.aspx

If you went a little over budget there is the POLK Command Bar priced at 270 Euro
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-203477-polk-command-bar-soundbar-with-alexa-built-in.aspx

Let me know your thoughts.

0gac3yjefb5sv7

How would those compare to this one: https://www.sony.ie/electronics/sound-bars/ht-xf9000

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

Pheonix10 wrote: »

How would those compare to this one: https://www.sony.ie/electronics/sound-bars/ht-xf9000

Hey Pheonix10.

The Sony is the better bar but it is far more expensive and outside of the original budget you gave me.
The Xf9000 is currently priced at 399 Euro on our .ie website and 529 Euro on the Sony.ie site you linked.
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-203248-sony-htxf9000-soundbar.aspx

There are many better spec'd soundbars at higher prices to the two Polk ones I have quoted above. The Polk are the best within the price range you requested.

In and around the 400 Euro mark the Sony XF9000 would be the one to go for.

The LG SJ8 priced at 359 Euro is also a decent soudbar
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-202563-lg-sj8-soundbar.aspx

There is also the Excellent Yamaha YAS207 priced at 299 Euro - 5 star reviewed in What HiFi
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-202832-yamaha-yas207-soundbar-system.aspx

Let me know what you think.

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Thank you!

Would Polk be a good quality brand such as Anker?

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Thank you!

Would Polk be a good quality brand such as Anker?

Hey Pheonix10.

To be honest I've never heard of Anker.

When I google them I can only find one soundbar which is listed at 79.99 Dollars.
In my opinion both Polks would be far superior in all ways. 

Polk have been around from the 70's and produce some fine quality HiFi/Home Cinema speakers. They have taken this technology and incorporated it into their soundbars.
https://en.polkaudio.com/

The Anker soundbar would be more like the Polk Signa Solo which retails at 109 Euro and I again would say the Polk would sound better.
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-202966-polk-signa-solo-soundbar.aspx

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Hi there,

Would you have anything comparable to this? 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06Y5CGP6H/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2VRDY583NNWTL&psc=1

If so, why is it better etc.

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Hi there,

Would you have anything comparable to this? 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06Y5CGP6H/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2VRDY583NNWTL&psc=1

If so, why is it better etc.

Hi Pheonix10.

We do stock the same soundbar as linked but unfortunately I could not offer to beat the Amazon price of £189 as they will not ship that product to either Northern or Southern Ireland once you go through to the shipping page at check out.
"Sorry, this item can't be sent to your selected address. Learn more. You may either change the delivery address or delete the item from your order. You can also see if this item is available for delivery to your address from another seller."

We are currently priced at £199 + £6.99 but its listed as an in-store only collection and can not be shipped.
However I could beak this rule for you if you wanted to purchase one.

The only other at the same price point would be the Sony HTCT290 priced at £182.00
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-202589-sony-htct290-black-soundbar.aspx

The Sony has ARC HDMI whereas the Samsung only has Optical. Its rated at 300W and the Samsung 200W.

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Thanks for the detail.

What affect does the ARC HDMI have over optical?

And does more Watts mean louder/better sound?

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Thanks for the detail.

What affect does the ARC HDMI have over optical?

And does more Watts mean louder/better sound?

Any details here is possible?

Richersounds.ie: John

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Thanks for the detail.

What affect does the ARC HDMI have over optical?

And does more Watts mean louder/better sound?

Any details here is possible?

Hi Phoenix10,

thanks for that and apologies for the delay getting back to you.

There are a number of queries there - in the  1st instance HDMI and Optical are both AV 'plugs' - Optical is a digital audio connection and method of transfer of sound - it's pretty high quality and really handy! - most TV's have optical outputs and many soundbars have optical inputs and a simple thin cable attaches the two and gives you high quality sound.

HDMI is a connection / cable that carries both Audio AND Video signals - again it's very high quality and depending on the quality of the cable it is capable of transmitting multi-channel audio. ARC is a separate feature-set within the HDMI protocol - ARC stands for Audio Return Channel - and essentially means that the information does not just flow in one direction but the cable can send and receive audio signal between ARC equipped devices - as an additional feature ARC devices may also allow you to combine remotes - ie one remote can sometimes be used to control connected ARC devices.

Watts - now here is a row waiting to happen! Watts are a method of measuring audio power - but be careful as many manufacturers measure and calculate their 'Wattage' differently - always be a little careful of products that claim massive watts - they can be measured at different distortion levels.

In addition to the confusion about how everyone measures their 'watts' you have to then consider how they are used, Watts dont just equal power but they can equal quality, a product that is working at it's full capacity will sound awful as it is being driven into distortion, distortion = heat and heat = damage!

It is far better to get a product that produces the sound quality and sound level that you are looking for working well within it's limits rather than 'AT' it's limits - unfortunately this is something of a black art as behind the 'Wattage' you have to look at the ability of the product to deliver clean power over a prolonged period and this comes down to the quality of the components and the power transformers - in essence the best way to do this is to listen! 

Personally if I was looking for a sound-bar, I would only look at the specialist manufacturers and specifically I would favour dedicated manufacturers who are audio specialists - TV manufactures have made decent soundbars, occasionally, but as a rule if audio quality is your aim then look at the audio specialists - Yamaha , Q Acoustics, Polk, Dali, Sonos etc - again TV manufacturers do make decent bars but they trend towards integration and features rather than pure audio quality.

Sorry for the long missive and as ever drop us a line if we can ever assist in any way,

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew  

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Hi there,

Would you have anything comparable to this? 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06Y5CGP6H/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2VRDY583NNWTL&psc=1

If so, why is it better etc.

Hi Pheonix10.

We do stock the same soundbar as linked but unfortunately I could not offer to beat the Amazon price of £189 as they will not ship that product to either Northern or Southern Ireland once you go through to the shipping page at check out.
"Sorry, this item can't be sent to your selected address. Learn more. You may either change the delivery address or delete the item from your order. You can also see if this item is available for delivery to your address from another seller."

We are currently priced at £199 + £6.99 but its listed as an in-store only collection and can not be shipped.
However I could beak this rule for you if you wanted to purchase one.

The only other at the same price point would be the Sony HTCT290 priced at £182.00
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-202589-sony-htct290-black-soundbar.aspx

The Sony has ARC HDMI whereas the Samsung only has Optical. Its rated at 300W and the Samsung 200W.

Hi there,

Which would have the better quality sound overall? The Sony or Samsung. FYI - I have a Samsung TV.

Also which would be more capable at louder levels?

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Hi there,

Would you have anything comparable to this? 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06Y5CGP6H/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2VRDY583NNWTL&psc=1

If so, why is it better etc.

Hi Pheonix10.

We do stock the same soundbar as linked but unfortunately I could not offer to beat the Amazon price of £189 as they will not ship that product to either Northern or Southern Ireland once you go through to the shipping page at check out.
"Sorry, this item can't be sent to your selected address. Learn more. You may either change the delivery address or delete the item from your order. You can also see if this item is available for delivery to your address from another seller."

We are currently priced at £199 + £6.99 but its listed as an in-store only collection and can not be shipped.
However I could beak this rule for you if you wanted to purchase one.

The only other at the same price point would be the Sony HTCT290 priced at £182.00
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-202589-sony-htct290-black-soundbar.aspx

The Sony has ARC HDMI whereas the Samsung only has Optical. Its rated at 300W and the Samsung 200W.

Hi there,

Which would have the better quality sound overall? The Sony or Samsung. FYI - I have a Samsung TV.

Also which would be more capable at louder levels?

Hi Pheonix10.

Again there is no right or wrong answer here at this level of soundbar.
Both are going to do pretty much the same job but the Sony can handle a higher volume. (This does not mean it sounds better, it just means you can turn it up louder).

It really depends what you mean by loud levels. Running any product at full/high volumes for long periods of time can run the risk of damaging the soundbar. At higher volumes the sound will possibly become distorted due to the size/quality of drivers within these units.

I prefer Sony over Samsung but then someone else might prefer the Samsung over the Sony.
At this level of soundbar and price the difference between these two products would be minimal.

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Thanks a lot!

Do you have anything similar to this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Sound-HW-MS550-Smart-Soundbar/dp/B072KHJ6WK/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=58548307175&hvadid=291329096139&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1007850&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14092445701678589533&hvtargid=kwd-331271559102&keywords=samsung+hw-ms550&qid=1554474990&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Also is it possible to add subwoofers later to an existing soundbar, eg. a Samsung soundbar with a Panasonic subwoofer?

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Thanks a lot!

Do you have anything similar to this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Sound-HW-MS550-Smart-Soundbar/dp/B072KHJ6WK/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=58548307175&hvadid=291329096139&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1007850&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14092445701678589533&hvtargid=kwd-331271559102&keywords=samsung+hw-ms550&qid=1554474990&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Also is it possible to add subwoofers later to an existing soundbar, eg. a Samsung soundbar with a Panasonic subwoofer?

Hi Pheonix10.

The only way to add a separate subwoofer is if the soundbar has a subwoofer pre out. Then you can link any active subwoofer regardless of manufacturer.
The MS550 linked above does not have this connection to allow a sub to be connected.

We also stock the MS550 linked above and its listed on our website.
I'm confused as why you just don't use our own www.richersounds.ie website and see if there are any on there you might fancy if the ones I have been recommending do not suit, as we also stock the ones you are linking from Amazon.
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-202962-samsung-hwms550-all-in-one-smart-soundbar.aspx?swapstore=1

The MS550 is 299 euro which would have been outside the original budget set and that's why it was not mentioned.

If you want something that is much better than the Samsung MS550 and all the other mentioned soundabrs so far look at the Yamaha YAS207 priced at 299 Euro (5 star reviewed in What HiFi)
https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-202832-yamaha-yas207-soundbar-system.aspx