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Edwood

218 posts

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#233625 25-Apr-2018 09:30
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Hey folks,

 

I'm on the verge of throwing $600 at a Bose Soundtouch 20 to use for a bit of everything - please stop me if it's daft!

 

I'm back in NZ and setting up home in a (rented) central city apartment.

 

I recently purchased a 27" FHD curved monitor for my office and somehow it never made it out of the lounge. I've plugged in a Chromecast and our Bose Soundtouch 10 and it is now our TV. I can tell you're drooling over my audiophile / aviphile setup here... but it's an upgrade from laptop on the coffee table!

 

The mid/long term plan is to get the Samsung Frame 43" and it will go on a wall in a slightly odd place... aside from twisting a bit to watch TV, it's a great place because when it's pretending to be art (90% of the time), it's not in the place you'd expect a TV, so it 'works'. I'm guessing I'll get a soundbar to go with the TV, but if that's the plan, I'm happy to buy the soundbar now. I'm guessing I would put the Sound Bar on top of the media cabinet which is about 3M to the right of where the TV will ultimately be (but exactly where the monitor/tv is now. I don't know how feasible this really is, or if the soundbar really needs to go directly under the TV.

 

I'm tempted to draw the floor plan or take photos, but the lounge/kitchen is open plan with the 'sound system' set up in one corner. I came home the other to find Wifey dancing in the kitchen with Spotify blaring out of the Soundtouch 10. The jump in quality from the 10 to the 20 is wonderful (from 20 - 30 not so much). The 20 also fits nicely in a shelf in the media cabinet... so I'm very tempted to just go out and buy the Soundtouch 20, that can be my new home theatre audio and the 10 can go on a kitchen shelf to encourage dancing and drown out singing.

 

 

 

Anyhooo... I'm clearly not an audiophile, but I like good sound and already have a Soundtouch 10 (and a couple of UE booms)... I feel like the Soundtouch 20 is the next step up, but maybe it's daft and I should be spending $1,200 on a half decent home theatre setup instead of $600 on another wireless speaker?

 

 


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surfisup1000
5288 posts

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  #2002079 25-Apr-2018 09:45
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I bought a set of good quality satellites speakers plus subwoofer from JB Hifi on a half price deal a few years back from memory the cost was around $800'ish.  

 

The sound is phenomenal and way better than I expected.  This is installed in my daughters room and actually can sound better than our B&W setup in our projector room.  I sometimes sit in there and put on "The Dark Knight" and just listen to the chase scene . So cool. 

 

Not sure you have options in a rented place though. 

 

Audiophiles complain about Bose, but, I've usually found them quite nice to listen to in the instore demo setups . They are overpriced but you pay for the style and marketing as well I suppose. 




Kickinbac
427 posts

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  #2002168 25-Apr-2018 12:09
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For TV use the soundbar should be centered above or below your TV as close as possible so the voices are aligned with the picture and other sounds are left and right of the picture for the stereo effect. If you put the speaker elsewhere it will sound weird.

Dingbatt
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  #2002269 25-Apr-2018 13:21
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So your "slightly odd place" for a TV. Does it have a power socket near it? From what I have seen of the Frame tv sets on display they look great because there are no cables visible (just like a painting, funny that). They do have one transparent cable that runs an optical signal from a box that does all the decoding etc but the set still has to be powered via a good old black cable attached to a three pin plug. In the shop displays all of that is hidden 'in the wall' of the display stand, which I'm assuming, since you are renting wouldn't be an option. Add to that, as a minimum, a toslink cable to your soundbar and the painting effect is spoiled somewhat (IMO).
I prefer to put my tech dollars into the tech itself rather than the asthetics, so I am biased.




“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996




Edwood

218 posts

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  #2002431 25-Apr-2018 17:12
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I've thought about running capping floor to ceiling to hide the poweer cable, and have also been looking at semi transparent power cable options. I'm planning on mounting the tv, so will probably have to repaint the wall when we leave anyway... but it's probably a step to far to try and bury a power socket in the wall behind the tv ;)
Either way, my concern right now is just around the audio set-up and I don't want to waste money on another speaker if three is a better, more future proof way to go. I am missing out on 5.1 type sounds... but will a single headphone output from the monitor deliver than anyway?

Dingbatt
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  #2002469 25-Apr-2018 19:18
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Yeah, I guess I just didn't want you to buy your audio equipment with only one tv in mind and then decide you don't want that tv or that position in your home.




“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996


Edwood

218 posts

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  #2002475 25-Apr-2018 19:28
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Yeah, it's a really good point too - about the black power cable. I only found out because I was looking very hard - most people wouldn't know. I have my suspicions that the next version will be better...

 

I don't really understand sound bars... I guess I need to do some research. It seems that people buy sound bars in lieu of a 5.1 or 7.1 system, but I don't see how thats possible. I tried experimenting in a store with listening to the native TV and then the sound bar, but it wasn't exactly a good environment for it. Will a sound bar be suitable for filling my apartment with good music, or do I need to use my Soundtouch speaker/s for that?

 

My intended 'odd' position for the TV is a bit weird, and I'm wavering, and quite happy with the monitor for now :)

 

So many questions, so little understanding... I think I just need to do my research, or find an audio techy guy to tell me what to do...  The space is a little bit odd, but I'm not the first person in the world with a less-than-perfect room to play with...

 

I think I'll buy the Soundtouch 20 and enjoy that for a while, while I figure out the rest of it...

 

 


Dunnersfella
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  #2003097 26-Apr-2018 20:02
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The placement and cable headaches for your TV equates to a difficult decision for you.

 

Put a soundbar off to the side of the TV and you'll get a terrible experience. All the sound will come from the 'wrong place' and will constantly pull you away from what you're trying to watch.

 

Having said that, you can buy soundbars that look closer to the aesthetic of your potential Frame TV...

 

http://www.jamo.com/products/studio-sb-40-sound-bar

 

I'm not sure what colour frame you'll be using, but as you can see... not all soundbars have to be black and 'obvious'

 

I don't know if these have been imported into NZ though?

 

 

 

Ideally you'd have a home where you could cut holes and re-jib, but as you don't own the place I wouldn't be hanging anything from the wall.

 

 

 

 


 
 
 

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Edwood

218 posts

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  #2297788 14-Aug-2019 07:10
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I just stumbled across this old thread and the typo in the Subject is making my OCD hurt.

 

However, I purchased the Frame 2, wall mounted it and ran the cable through the wall.

 

It looks fantastic, and it has fooled more than one visitor who just assumed it was a painting.

 

 

 

The sound from the TV is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes I'll watch a movie with headphones on...

 

I'm glad for the advice here that said "Don't put a soundbar off to the side".

 

I _could_ wall mount a soundbar like the one @Dunnersfella suggested... maybe... I think it would ruin the aesthetics / draw too much attention to the painting on the wall with the soundbar under it.

 

...maybe I could put a soundbar on the floor? Is this functional? I'm not sure how that would work from an 'audio' point of view. Polished wooden floors, directly under the TV, so sound is coming more-or-less from the right place. I could disguise it suitably on the floor.

 

I think I need to take (or draw) some pictures... call it a community project - if you want to help with the next design iteration, i'll show the current state :)

 

Sb 40 12

 

I'm using the Bose Soundtouch 20 and 10 for music in the house.

 

Bose SoundTouch® 20 III Wireless Music System - Black

 

I also have 3 UE Booms, I can't remember how I justified buying the 3rd one!?!


michaelmurfy
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  #2297801 14-Aug-2019 07:44
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I went with the Bose Soundbar 500 + Bass Module and love it.

 

Reason - it is small, pumps out pretty good sound, has Spotify and casting built in and fits well under my TV (both wall mounted).

 

I know this is an expensive option, but sound bars are totally fine. I know I could get better sound if I went with full floor-standing speakers and an amp but meh.





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eracode
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  #2297803 14-Aug-2019 08:01
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Have look at Sonos Beam soundbar which comes in black or white. Two Sonos Play Ones for satellites. Add a Sonos Sub if budget allows and if you want the go the whole hog. Despite the occasional scorn from some here on GZ, they’re excellent speakers.




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ShinyChrome
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  #2297809 14-Aug-2019 08:42
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Edwood:

 

The sound from the TV is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes I'll watch a movie with headphones on...

 

I'm glad for the advice here that said "Don't put a soundbar off to the side".

 

I _could_ wall mount a soundbar like the one @Dunnersfella suggested... maybe... I think it would ruin the aesthetics / draw too much attention to the painting on the wall with the soundbar under it.

 

...maybe I could put a soundbar on the floor? Is this functional? I'm not sure how that would work from an 'audio' point of view. Polished wooden floors, directly under the TV, so sound is coming more-or-less from the right place. I could disguise it suitably on the floor.

 

 

I would avoid putting it on the floor, doubly so with wood floors which will probably give off all sorts of weird reflections. If you are not crazy about wall mounting a soundbar, then I would stick with some wireless speakers, especially if you can disguise them as more knick-knack stuff on some side tables, shelves etc. Or just go down the rabbit-hole and match the TV with these on some nice stands.....

 

Nothing wrong with soundbars, as long as you are OK with the sound quality trade-off for aesthetics and packaging. I must be in the minority because I actually like the look of lots of big boxes in my living room haha. I would order a couple of these in a heartbeat if it wouldn't be the final straw for my long suffering other.

 

A picture would definitely help the imagination though. Bust out those photoshop (or paint) skills!


Batman
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  #2297822 14-Aug-2019 09:10
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surfisup1000:

 

I bought a set of good quality satellites speakers plus subwoofer from JB Hifi on a half price deal a few years back from memory the cost was around $800'ish.  

 

The sound is phenomenal and way better than I expected.  This is installed in my daughters room and actually can sound better than our B&W setup in our projector room.  I sometimes sit in there and put on "The Dark Knight" and just listen to the chase scene . So cool. 

 

Not sure you have options in a rented place though. 

 

Audiophiles complain about Bose, but, I've usually found them quite nice to listen to in the instore demo setups . They are overpriced but you pay for the style and marketing as well I suppose. 

 

 

I'll just clarify that Audiophiles complain that for the sound quality, you can get something of higher quality at the price point when comparing Bose equipment. I won't go into sound quality of Bose vs "something better".

 

It's not the same as Bose have poor quality audio, just in case someone was wondering. 

 

Trouble is, Audiophiles don't complain about the $10,000 cable that they rate so highly for their "better than Bose" speaker!


Dunnersfella
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  #2301049 17-Aug-2019 21:40
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The Bose demo's you get in-store are curated to within the 'nth degree.

 

It's all about playing another system that doesn't sound great and isn't well set up, then playing the Bose that is perfectly tweaked and talking it up / asking for more money.

 

Still, people will buy it day in, day out and for the most part be happy.

 

After all, once you buy, you seldom compare it with anything else.

 

 

 

For the OP, the issue would be that the Sound Touch system was discontinued by Bose and doesn't appear to be supported / improved much at all. They dumped it for an all new multi-room solution. You can buy the old units for very little now so that's a bonus if you're invested in it as a multi-room eco-system.


Edwood

218 posts

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  #2301415 19-Aug-2019 05:49
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Dunnersfella:

 

For the OP, the issue would be that the Sound Touch system was discontinued by Bose and doesn't appear to be supported / improved much at all. They dumped it for an all new multi-room solution. You can buy the old units for very little now so that's a bonus if you're invested in it as a multi-room eco-system.

 

 

Really?

 

I had a quick look and they are still shown as a current product on the Bose NZ website

 

My setup is quite odd, I think I'm doomed for now... but I'll add pictures.

 

 


Batman
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  #2301423 19-Aug-2019 07:21
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there is a better way to dump money. i am came across in my browsing, the latest sony oled and it has a built in sound system superior to sound bars. sorry cant remeber model names but it has a 2.2 system built into the screen. has 1 lesss speaker than the old older model but better sound. it does simulated surround sound.

 

anyway the point is, maybe your next TV could have something like that, problems solved.


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