Soundbar for Sony Bravia 43 inch

[sh0080]

In the market for a soundbar (without a sub as there is no place near the tv to place a sub) for a Sony Bravia 43 inch TV.
Bose has a new soundbar in the market called 'TV Speaker!'. This along with Yamaha YAS 109 are under consideration for now.
Primary use would be to watch movies as going to theatres seems a long way away.
Budget is 20-25k maximum.

 

[hannibal09]

Why not consider bar with wireless subwoofer if space is constraint?

You can audition most of soundbar at Reliance or croma.

 

[sh0080]

Why not consider bar with wireless subwoofer if space is constraint?

You can audition most of soundbar at Reliance or croma.

Is there any limitation on how far the wireless sub can be from the soundbar?
Any recommendations on soundbar with sub? Generally the retilers stock jbl and sony.

 

[efernand1]

Yamaha YAS 209

YAS-209 - Overview - Yamaha - India

Feel True Sound with Yamaha's Alexa built-in sound bar YAS-209 : Level up your TV sound with wireless subwoofer, virtual 3D surround sound and clear voice.

in.yamaha.com

Check with various dealers, see for the best price. I think if you try harder can get within 30k

 

[dormamu91]

With YAS 109 the only thing you will be missing is a Sub but then an external Sub can be added to overcome it (which is one of its highlight)
Without a sub do not expect that roof shattering bass no matter how good that product is (under 25k)

The main thing to consider while buying
would be how to handle the lipsync issue.
With DD 5.1/similar formats you will face it and if your Bravia is a non Android one there will be a delay.. The only way to mitigate it is to buy a Soundbar with HDMI in.
(its barely noticeable but its there)
If your Bravia is an Android one/YAS 109 then you have saved yourself and this point can be disregarded.
(Optical Out can be used but then it has Sound format limitations and you miss on the ARC functionalities. Hail ARC)


Another thing would be the sound format support.
But im skipping this one as the decoding will/can happen on the Master Device ( and to an extent this can be overcome )
Its kind of better if you go with atleast at 3.1 soundbar as the Center channel is mainly used for Dialogues. (Yes downmixing happens but the quality of the downmixed audio depends and not i'm not a big fan of 'Dialogue' [Presets])

Now before buying a soundbar it would be better if you do your research in reddit/amazon/here/flipkart (if that model is available globally) to get a hold of the niggling issues that particular model has. Buy something that has proper service in your area.
I had to skip Yamaha and buy a Sony because of this reason. But Sony's under 25k don't offer HDMI IN in unless its the HTIV300, but then that's not a Soundbar.

Don't expect these to last forever.
Basically your are left with the main choice
Reliability or Sound Quality.

Then the final part is go to a shop auditon it out.

P.S: With Bravia TV's its going to be a hit or miss with the ARC functionality.
(mine works as i use a old hdmi cable for the dth.. as the newer ones messes with the arc connectivity of the soundbar and tv)

 

[sh0080]

With YAS 109 the only thing you will be missing is a Sub but then an external Sub can be added to overcome it (which is one of its highlight)
Without a sub do not expect that roof shattering bass no matter how good that product is (under 25k)

The main thing to consider while buying
would be how to handle the lipsync issue.
With DD 5.1/similar formats you will face it and if your Bravia is a non Android one there will be a delay.. The only way to mitigate it is to buy a Soundbar with HDMI in.
(its barely noticeable but its there)
If your Bravia is an Android one/YAS 109 then you have saved yourself and this point can be disregarded.
(Optical Out can be used but then it has Sound format limitations and you miss on the ARC functionalities. Hail ARC)


Another thing would be the sound format support.
But im skipping this one as the decoding will/can happen on the Master Device ( and to an extent this can be overcome )
Its kind of better if you go with atleast at 3.1 soundbar as the Center channel is mainly used for Dialogues. (Yes downmixing happens but the quality of the downmixed audio depends and not i'm not a big fan of 'Dialogue' [Presets])

Now before buying a soundbar it would be better if you do your research in reddit/amazon/here/flipkart (if that model is available globally) to get a hold of the niggling issues that particular model has. Buy something that has proper service in your area.
I had to skip Yamaha and buy a Sony because of this reason. But Sony's under 25k don't offer HDMI IN in unless its the HTIV300, but then that's not a Soundbar.

Don't expect these to last forever.
Basically your are left with the main choice
Reliability or Sound Quality.

Then the final part is go to a shop auditon it out.

P.S: With Bravia TV's its going to be a hit or miss with the ARC functionality.
(mine works as i use a old hdmi cable for the dth.. as the newer ones messes with the arc connectivity of the

With YAS 109 the only thing you will be missing is a Sub but then an external Sub can be added to overcome it (which is one of its highlight)
Without a sub do not expect that roof shattering bass no matter how good that product is (under 25k)

The main thing to consider while buying
would be how to handle the lipsync issue.
With DD 5.1/similar formats you will face it and if your Bravia is a non Android one there will be a delay.. The only way to mitigate it is to buy a Soundbar with HDMI in.
(its barely noticeable but its there)
If your Bravia is an Android one/YAS 109 then you have saved yourself and this point can be disregarded.
(Optical Out can be used but then it has Sound format limitations and you miss on the ARC functionalities. Hail ARC)


Another thing would be the sound format support.
But im skipping this one as the decoding will/can happen on the Master Device ( and to an extent this can be overcome )
Its kind of better if you go with atleast at 3.1 soundbar as the Center channel is mainly used for Dialogues. (Yes downmixing happens but the quality of the downmixed audio depends and not i'm not a big fan of 'Dialogue' [Presets])

Now before buying a soundbar it would be better if you do your research in reddit/amazon/here/flipkart (if that model is available globally) to get a hold of the niggling issues that particular model has. Buy something that has proper service in your area.
I had to skip Yamaha and buy a Sony because of this reason. But Sony's under 25k don't offer HDMI IN in unless its the HTIV300, but then that's not a Soundbar.

Don't expect these to last forever.
Basically your are left with the main choice
Reliability or Sound Quality.

Then the final part is go to a shop auditon it out.

P.S: With Bravia TV's its going to be a hit or miss with the ARC functionality.
(mine works as i use a old hdmi cable for the dth.. as the newer ones messes with the arc connectivity of the soundbar and tv)

Thanks for the detailed response. Much appreciated.
The more I think about it - the more I believe that a sound bar is kind of a compromise while looking for that movie theatre like sound. With the sound bar I would probably only be able to 'up level' the current Bravia sound level.

The Bravia TV I have is non android so it leaves me with the YAS 109 with HDMI option. Personally am not a very big fan of Sony sound as I feel they do get heavy on bass and leave out lot of the mids (dialogues). Now that you mention it - Yamaha seems to be a good option with the Sub out included (Also planning a Taga active sub for my Sonodyne bookshelf setup).

I think it would probably be a Yamaha YAS109 along with the Taga sub that would be the setup. I may have to move the sub from the bookshelf to the TV setup on occasions of watching Marvel and Nolan movies - but hey it would still be worth it I believe.
What am not sure of is how would the sound bar manage the cross over frequencies - guess we will have to try and see. The YAS 109 also looks like a globally popular model but like all globally popular audio components - very difficult to audition in India.

Current focussing on adding the sub to the Sonodyne bookshelf setup. The sound bar will probably have to wait till the Diwali sale

 

[dormamu91]

Thanks for the detailed response. Much appreciated.
The more I think about it - the more I believe that a sound bar is kind of a compromise while looking for that movie theatre like sound. With the sound bar I would probably only be able to 'up level' the current Bravia sound level.

The Bravia TV I have is non android so it leaves me with the YAS 109 with HDMI option. Personally am not a very big fan of Sony sound as I feel they do get heavy on bass and leave out lot of the mids (dialogues). Now that you mention it - Yamaha seems to be a good option with the Sub out included (Also planning a Taga active sub for my Sonodyne bookshelf setup).

I think it would probably be a Yamaha YAS109 along with the Taga sub that would be the setup. I may have to move the sub from the bookshelf to the TV setup on occasions of watching Marvel and Nolan movies - but hey it would still be worth it I believe.
What am not sure of is how would the sound bar manage the cross over frequencies - guess we will have to try and see. The YAS 109 also looks like a globally popular model but like all globally popular audio components - very difficult to audition in India.

Current focussing on adding the sub to the Sonodyne bookshelf setup. The sound bar will probably have to wait till the Diwali sale

Hi,

YAS 109 is a good choice (Since you are from Bangalore, the options of servicing will also be good)
But for some reason Rtings.com does not rate the YAS109 so great when compared to Samsung HW-T550 (maybe you can check that)
It has a wireless sub.
I guess these are rebranded Harman/JBL ones.

Now coming to the reliability part one cannot argue that either of these would be more reliable/last long no matter what Yamaha's track record is when it comes to AV Receivers or what Samsung's is when it comes to Home Appliances.
(if i'm right AV Receivers have long term support in terms of parts availability when compared to Soundbars, correct me if im wrong)

Sony's soundbar under 25k are kind of balanced infact i'ld say the base is less
But i wouldn't recommend them as their feature set is low (in terms of sound format support and HDMI in) when compared to the above two.

Sound is subjective. What sounds good to you buy that (so you can even negate the Rtings review of samsung and end up with a. yamaha) or audition a Samsung Soundbar.
Cheap product from a High End Company does not mean its good.
(Companies like VIZIO have some bars whic sound good than these Yamaha/Polks etc..if we go by reviews)

Again, going by your location you have options unlike i had while finalising my purchase.

 

[sh0080]

Hi,

YAS 109 is a good choice (Since you are from Bangalore, the options of servicing will also be good)
But for some reason Rtings.com does not rate the YAS109 so great when compared to Samsung HW-T550 (maybe you can check that)
It has a wireless sub.
I guess these are rebranded Harman/JBL ones.

Now coming to the reliability part one cannot argue that either of these would be more reliable/last long no matter what Yamaha's track record is when it comes to AV Receivers or what Samsung's is when it comes to Home Appliances.
(if i'm right AV Receivers have long term support in terms of parts availability when compared to Soundbars, correct me if im wrong)

Sony's soundbar under 25k are kind of balanced infact i'ld say the base is less
But i wouldn't recommend them as their feature set is low (in terms of sound format support and HDMI in) when compared to the above two.

Sound is subjective. What sounds good to you buy that (so you can even negate the Rtings review of samsung and end up with a. yamaha) or audition a Samsung Soundbar.
Cheap product from a High End Company does not mean its good.
(Companies like VIZIO have some bars whic sound good than these Yamaha/Polks etc..if we go by reviews)

Again, going by your location you have options unlike i had while finalising my purchase.

Unfortunately there are view places I know in Blr where one could audition a Yamaha soundbar. However will try to read up/get an audition of the Samsung soundbar and see how it goes. That along with the Yam are the only two options currently.

 

[Chulbulee]

If one goes by reviews on Amazon, JBL soundbars have a bug like auto switch off after a few minutes, or when you change channels, for which the company had no answer. Similarly many had connectivity issues with wireless Sub, especially with LG.

I also don't know why the hype on Active Sub as every circuit has a crossover network, from where connections are split for Woofer, Sqawker (esp for frequencies between 250-2kHz) and Tweeter.

I am also looking for a good budget soundbar, and was amazed with MI soundbar, which used 4 Radiators producing excellent Bass, and I was not convinced with the reproduction Yamaha's has had with a 2-3 inch subwoofer they claim. I am focusing on RT3 and S350 of Sony, but now the latter is priced only Rs 1000 cheap. Want a 5.1, but with balanced audio and not keen on higher wattage.

 

[Shanmugam]

Try sony or samsung dolby atmos soundars