What are key things to know before purchasing a soundbar?

Strayan_Hades · April 29

Hi LTT community,

I've recently moved into an apartment and am looking to purchase a soundbar.
I'm aiming for a 3.1 channel setup with a subwoofer, utilising ARC with my Sony KD65X9000H.

What are some key things to be aware of before purchasing a soundbar?

Cheers.

johnt · April 29

Cheers! Avoid sound bars if you can.

I am assuming you are in the Americas since you called it an apartment and not a flat. Get yourself some decent speakers and they will serve you very well. A $200 speaker set can easily outperform a $750 sound bar, hands down. I use a very basic Audioengine A1 MR in my living room and it is impressive. I bought a simple HDMI audio extractor from Amazon with CEC support (volume control). These speakers were on sale for $100 over BF/X-mas last year. $20 extractor. I haven't heard any sound bar come close.

If you are a Costco member, the KEF LSX version II are on sale for $600 for the pair. Good luck finding a sound bar that can best them