Soundbar?

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billgates

4705 posts

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#885283 27-Aug-2013 14:31

SomePostman:
billgates: How much are you getting the Samsung and Panasonic for?

Farmers have them both on sale at the moment for $330

If it's on sale for this week only then you will need to make up your mind quickly I guess as you will not able to get the Polk N1 until November.

Go to Harvey Norman as they seem to sell a lot of Polk gear. They have the Polk Surround Bar 5000 that comes with the Subwoofer for $1100. Amazon sells the same things for USD$399. Listen to it, compare to other sound bars that they have in similar price range or even cheaper one's. If you like what you hear from the Polk then buy the Surround Bar 5000 from Amazon. Still much cheaper than buying it locally or could wait to pre-order the N1 Soundbar in November.

Do whatever you want to do man.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#885301 27-Aug-2013 14:37

I suppose it's the whole 'flogging the dead horse' thing for NZ vs American pricing. In the States you can buy direct from Polk, and the big chain stores like Best Buy have used the likes of Polk / B&W / Boston Acoustics / Martin Logan as loss-leaders, meaning they have pushed a lot of the specialist audio stores out of business. There's no way little old NZ can compete, unless retailers (on-line or brick and mortar) are willing to take the risk to be the importer and retailer...
That would be the best bet for NZ consumers IMHO, that way we can listen before we buy, and in turn, still enjoy protection under CGA etc. Freighting a set of speakers into NZ would be a pretty expensive exercise I'd think?? I know it was VERY costly to get a receiver in last time I looked.

With some looking around it appears that the TSi range is obsolete, so the NZ prices should be somewhat negotiable! The US prices for the new Icon range (horn loaded tweeters by the looks of things) on Best Buy seemed cheap too, until I noticed that it was for a single speaker, not a pair.

But I'm getting off-topic by talking about speakers...
I have no idea what sort of deal you can get on soundbars?

SomePostman

139 posts

Master Geek

#885304 27-Aug-2013 14:40

joker97: what's your max budget? if you want good sound get a cheap amp from trademe, 2 cheap speakers from trademe, and if you're really lucky, cheap sub from trademe, and it should still sound better than your sound bar ... if you got the correct cheap stuff

a bit of work a bit of waiting a bit of luck but possible

That sounds like a solid suggestion, however it may not work for me in particular. My wife is a technophobe to some degree, and an amplifying receiver will seem intimidating to her. And the sound bars allow BT speaker pairing, which means she could use them to play music from her phone on the speakers. Plus, won't I have the same old bugbear about audio that is drastically different in volume between dialogue and action?

Definitely worth considering though!

SomePostman

139 posts

Master Geek

#885327 27-Aug-2013 14:51

billgates:
SomePostman:
billgates: How much are you getting the Samsung and Panasonic for?

Farmers have them both on sale at the moment for $330

If it's on sale for this week only then you will need to make up your mind quickly I guess as you will not able to get the Polk N1 until November.

Go to Harvey Norman as they seem to sell a lot of Polk gear. They have the Polk Surround Bar 5000 that comes with the Subwoofer for $1100. Amazon sells the same things for USD$399. Listen to it, compare to other sound bars that they have in similar price range or even cheaper one's. If you like what you hear from the Polk then buy the Surround Bar 5000 from Amazon. Still much cheaper than buying it locally or could wait to pre-order the N1 Soundbar in November.

Good suggestion. I will go to Harvey Norman and have a listen. Buying the Polk 5000 from amazon is not an option as they do not ship to NZ. Which is not surprising - I was actually more surprised they were willing to send the N1. I'd imagine when you add a big/heavy sub it becomes much more expensive to ship.

However, it would be a good way to actually hear if a 'name audio' unit actually sounds any better than a main stream electronics company version. If the Polk surroundbar blows the samsung out of the water, then I can only imagine that the N1 will be closer to the 5000 end of things?

wazzab

84 posts

Master Geek

#885370 27-Aug-2013 15:37

Have you looked at Sonos Playbar - bit pricey but looks nice, can be wall mounted or sit flat under tv
http://www.sonos.com/shop/products/playbar

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#885417 27-Aug-2013 17:25

SomePostman:
joker97: what's your max budget? if you want good sound get a cheap amp from trademe, 2 cheap speakers from trademe, and if you're really lucky, cheap sub from trademe, and it should still sound better than your sound bar ... if you got the correct cheap stuff

a bit of work a bit of waiting a bit of luck but possible

That sounds like a solid suggestion, however it may not work for me in particular. My wife is a technophobe to some degree, and an amplifying receiver will seem intimidating to her. And the sound bars allow BT speaker pairing, which means she could use them to play music from her phone on the speakers. Plus, won't I have the same old bugbear about audio that is drastically different in volume between dialogue and action?

Definitely worth considering though!

well it's up to you to have ok sound or good sound. it's not that hard you just need to press on if you set everything to even out the loudness as much as possible and you're away. it even figures out the best sound for your room (audyssey multEQ XT).
http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/amplifiers-tuners/auction-630921837.htm $300

then 2 speakers and a sub let's see ...

these retail for $2000 http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/floor-speakers/auction-630040280.htm

or these http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/floor-speakers/auction-629287509.htm

or these if you want smaller things http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/floor-speakers/auction-631013576.htm

now if you have some cash left ... let's see http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/subs/auction-629542341.htm

set it up and you do one press and it will sound 10x better than a sound bar ... but it's up to you.

that was a very quick search based on price you could get other ones

ubernoob

576 posts

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#885419 27-Aug-2013 17:29

Have you looked at Panasonics other models
http://www.panasonic.co.nz/products/home-entertainment/home-theatre/product-comparison

don't have any experience with any but as you say may work with viera link better

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Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#885425 27-Aug-2013 17:49

Don't get hung up on the Polk unit, like I said, the Yamaha can normalise the volume, meaning you won't constantly be grabbing the remote to raise or drop the levels mid-movie. They also boost the mid-range (dialogue) if you need...
Really it seems like the best bet for your needs.

In regards to sound systems from TV companies...
The reason people are buying a sound system, is typically, the company who made your TV had done such a poor job at the audio side of things to start with. So why buy a sound system from them? So they can get two bites of the cherry?

SomePostman

139 posts

Master Geek

#885440 27-Aug-2013 18:05

joker97:
SomePostman:
joker97: what's your max budget? if you want good sound get a cheap amp from trademe, 2 cheap speakers from trademe, and if you're really lucky, cheap sub from trademe, and it should still sound better than your sound bar ... if you got the correct cheap stuff

a bit of work a bit of waiting a bit of luck but possible

That sounds like a solid suggestion, however it may not work for me in particular. My wife is a technophobe to some degree, and an amplifying receiver will seem intimidating to her. And the sound bars allow BT speaker pairing, which means she could use them to play music from her phone on the speakers. Plus, won't I have the same old bugbear about audio that is drastically different in volume between dialogue and action?

Definitely worth considering though!

well it's up to you to have ok sound or good sound. it's not that hard you just need to press on if you set everything to even out the loudness as much as possible and you're away. it even figures out the best sound for your room (audyssey multEQ XT).
http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/amplifiers-tuners/auction-630921837.htm $300

then 2 speakers and a sub let's see ...

these retail for $2000 http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/floor-speakers/auction-630040280.htm

or these http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/floor-speakers/auction-629287509.htm

or these if you want smaller things http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/floor-speakers/auction-631013576.htm

now if you have some cash left ... let's see http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/subs/auction-629542341.htm

set it up and you do one press and it will sound 10x better than a sound bar ... but it's up to you.

that was a very quick search based on price you could get other ones

While I appreciate what you're saying, and I know it makes sense in general, it doesnt for me. I've been talking of spending $350 - $500 and what you are recommending is well beyond that. I also dont need anything 'loud'... my wife generally hates loud noise and having young kids in the next room over means that movies/gaming/music will be at moderate levels.

I'm no audiophile, I just want something better than the speakers on my TV.

SomePostman

139 posts

Master Geek

#885449 27-Aug-2013 18:16

Dunnersfella: Don't get hung up on the Polk unit, like I said, the Yamaha can normalise the volume, meaning you won't constantly be grabbing the remote to raise or drop the levels mid-movie. They also boost the mid-range (dialogue) if you need...
Really it seems like the best bet for your needs.

In regards to sound systems from TV companies...
The reason people are buying a sound system, is typically, the company who made your TV had done such a poor job at the audio side of things to start with. So why buy a sound system from them? So they can get two bites of the cherry?

So I went and had a listen to some units at Harvey Norman. The two units I focused on were the Yamaha YAS-101 and the Polk 5000 IHT.

The yamaha sounded nice, but it really didn't have the soundstage of the Polk. It really just sounded like two speakers. But unfortunately, I can't listen to the N1 and not sure how readily comparible it is to the 5000. Its a shame the Polk unit looked like a very stretched old school portable radio. It's borderline ugly.

And of course the $1200 Klipsch sounded even better... but yeah, not even in the ballpark.

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