Which soundbar to buy ?

[adityajoshi37]

Hi there,

I wish to buy Samsung HW-F450 soundbar. I want to use this soundbar to take audio from my TV (Samsung 51F5500), and also from a BlyRay player which I will buy.

I want to be able to listen to audio CDs from the BluRay player using the soundbar without needing to switch on the TV.

Currently, I am using the TV speakers for audio. I have Videocon d2h which is directly connected to my TV using an HDMI cable.

Can someone please tell me how should I setup the soundbar?

 

[mandyrhtdm]

If you do not have space constraint I will highly recommend a 2.1 System.
Something like klipsch promedia or harman kardon spud sticks III
Value for money and much better sound . I have HK sound stocks for TV and absolutely live them at 60% volume they are thunderous !!anf are not too bulky sticks can be hing in wall and the woofer just placed on ground.

 

[adityajoshi37]

If you do not have space constraint I will highly recommend a 2.1 System.
Something like klipsch promedia or harman kardon spud sticks III
Value for money and much better sound . I have HK sound stocks for TV and absolutely live them at 60% volume they are thunderous !!anf are not too bulky sticks can be hing in wall and the woofer just placed on ground.

Unfortunately, that's not an option for me because of the space constraints. That's the reason why I want to go for a soundbar.

It would be great if you can answer my original query. I want to be able to use the soundbar to take audio out from the bluray player without needing to switch on the TV. And of course, I want the TV sound also from the soundbar when the TV is on.

 

[grunthos]

How much does the sound bar cost ? Have you gotten a chance to listen to them yet ? You happy with the sound ?
Google suggests this model retails for 18k.
It has a HDMI in and out, so you can connect your bluray player via HDMI to the soundbar and from soundbar to TV.
It also takes optical audio in, so keep your DTH connection as it is, just take optical out of the TV and into the soundbar. This will allow you to enjoy audio from both TV and Bluray player via the soundbar
Samsung being loaded with features, this one supports Bluetooth as well, so you can streams songs from your phone too

However, while the features seem very convenient, you have to understand that soundbars are compromises - hence the sound they produce is never very good. You will get a good experience in movies because of the sub, but if you listen to music, you will find flaws in the speaker.

Anyway, everyone's circumstances and needs are different. If you can, check the soundbars made by Polk and Boston Accoustics. They are not as good as standalone speakers, but they will sound much better than the Samsung

 

[efernand1]

Hi

Soundbars are in existence to amplifier the LCDs/LEDs/Plasmas which have poor volumes. A lot of companies make soundbars which are either standalone and also some come with decent subwoofers.

The inputs are limited to 2 and in most cases would be only one. You need to set your requirements right. Boston Acoustics and Panasonic make some decent models...again you need to audition and see if they meet your requirements.

If you want to enjoy music and movies, you need to consider either Home Theatre in a Box systems (HTiBs) which are compact and would fit easily in the room. These start from 9k onwards....

Entry level Home Theatre systems like Denon / Yamaha / Pioneer are available from 25k onwards, you can audition these at Croma / Vijay Sales / Reliance Digital and decide.

 

[manjunath.forum.all]

I had similar issue and had started the thread
http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/51624-vizio-s5430w-c2-54-inch-3-0-soundbar.html

 

[adityajoshi37]

Thanks people.

Grunthos, would I be able to play audio CDs on the blu-ray player from the soundbar without needing to switch on the TV with the setup you have suggested?

 

[grunthos]

Grunthos, would I be able to play audio CDs on the blu-ray player from the soundbar without needing to switch on the TV with the setup you have suggested?

Yes, you will be able to

 

[adityajoshi37]

It has a HDMI in and out, so you can connect your bluray player via HDMI to the soundbar and from soundbar to TV.
It also takes optical audio in, so keep your DTH connection as it is, just take optical out of the TV and into the soundbar. This will allow you to enjoy audio from both TV and Bluray player via the soundbar

Hey,

I visited a Samsung store and checked out HW-F450. I asked the store guy to setup the soundbar as you suggested (TV's optical out to sounbar's optical in. Blu-ray connected to HDMI in of soundbar. HDMI out of soundbar connected to TV's HDMI).

With this setup, whenever the TV was switched off, the soundbar would also switch off automatically. And then, when I turned it on to listen to music CDs from blu-ray player, it didn't play anything. The TV had to be started for the sound to come from the blu-ray player.

Any idea what need to be done to rectify this problem?

 

[adityajoshi37]

I have checked HW-F450 soundbar in a store yesterday, and am happy with the sound quality.

However, the Samsung store told me that there is no stock of this soundbar in the company because Samsung is launching new soundbar series.

I checked online, and found HW-H450 listed on Samsung's website. This is a new soundbar released by Samsung.

I couldn't find any online reviews for this soundbar. Can someone please share their review about this new soundbar? What is the difference between HW-H450 and the older one HW-F450?

 

[aakashr]

Samsung, Sony, Philips, etc.........all are good but I think you should also look at soundbars from JBL, Denon, Polk Audio, Boston Acoustics, etc..........They might cost more but would perform better.

Ensure it supports 5.1 decoding with digital audio.

 

[grunthos]

Hey,

With this setup, whenever the TV was switched off, the soundbar would also switch off automatically. And then, when I turned it on to listen to music CDs from blu-ray player, it didn't play anything. The TV had to be started for the sound to come from the blu-ray player.

Any idea what need to be done to rectify this problem?

This looks like a design issue on Samsung - which needs HDMI output (to the tv) to be on for HDMI in to play

Did you try switching on TV, start playing music and then switch TV off? Basically fooling the system to think HDMI output is on? Probably won't work but worth a try

But maybe you should consider other soundbars?

Your constraint is playing TV audio through your soundbar/speaker. Otherwise Blu-ray players sometime come with optical out - you can plug that into the optical port of the soundbar.

 

[adityajoshi37]

Any idea what is the difference between Samsung HW-F450 and HW-H450 ?

 

[grunthos]

Any idea what is the difference between Samsung HW-F450 and HW-H450 ?

Not a clue. Imagine the number of consumer electronics that release every month. Not to possible for a hobbyist to know it all