I don't disagree with anything said here: I think there are more factors than 'just' sound and budget which dictates whether you go soundbar or separates. I have a dedicated listening room with a nice 2ch rig, but we put the TV elsewhere. There 'could be' room for speakers and amps and processors, but I opted for the Martin Logan Vision soundbar for a number of reasons, mostly aesthetics but also ease of use (Btw... I am THRILLED SILLY with it) for their intended use (hooking to TV to replace awful little rear firing speakers). It is seamless to use (auto on when the TV is on); optical pass through of audio signal, from TV (no switching inputs); I tend to think the 'bar is voiced with movies/TV in mind ('fit for purpose'). Now, specific to the ML model I have, it was the best sounding one that I could audition: the ribbon tweeters and woofers are just superb. The bass is excellent without a sub (I may add one later). It wasn't cheap!! But in this case, I feel as though it was worth every dime. The 'simulated surround' even works creepily good on some material. If I were to pick something with no other regard than sound, it would be a pretty complex system taking up LOTS of space. Adding in considerations I mentioned, and then listening to high end soundbars, the soundbar choice provides very little compromise in sound quality!
What do you think of soundbars compared to speakers?
I'm interested to hear your thoughts about the benefits of modern day soundbars compared to the days of surround sound speakers and other inventions.
For me personally, growing up in the surround sound era, it was a neat little thing to have surround sound to show off to people when they came round to watch a movie or tv show. However, I think nowadays soundbars are my personal preference purely because of a lot less clutter and also multi functionality with the fact a lot of them can also play music etc through bluetooth.
What do you guys think? Do soundbars create enough of a room filling audio for your tastes?
For me personally, growing up in the surround sound era, it was a neat little thing to have surround sound to show off to people when they came round to watch a movie or tv show. However, I think nowadays soundbars are my personal preference purely because of a lot less clutter and also multi functionality with the fact a lot of them can also play music etc through bluetooth.
What do you guys think? Do soundbars create enough of a room filling audio for your tastes?