I have a small lounge but I'm keen to get soundbar because I've heard they can improve dialog quality. We battle quite a bit to hear what actors are saying in conversations or basically whenever they're not shouting.
I have a Sony Bravia TV and have been looking at the Sony and JBL soundbars priced around $200.
Can someone please let me know if those will suffice or recommend something else.
Thanks
Thanks, I also like the soundbar for saving space. I only have the space in front of the TV.
Just an anecdote: I bought a cheap LG one some time ago, and 100% regretted it. The sound ended up being worse than what the TV speakers put out, and researching it a bit more that seemed to be the case with all the low end ones. It seemed to me at the time that you need to spend around $700+ to start getting decent sound, so I ended up getting bookshelf speakers instead (which you say you don't have space for). Maybe look at a second hand Bose or something?
Just to provide an anecdotal perspective, I've recently bought a Sonos Beam and actually been really surprised by it - this is coming from a pair of powered stereo bookshelf speakers.
I've heard the lower cost Ray is good value too.
Just a comment in the pro-soundbar camp. I (like you) was looking for simplicity (and space) and didnt want to invest heavily into an AV solution as I have that elsewhere. I tested a bunch of soundbars at the cheaper end, and like has been said above the sound quality was really poor at the bottom of the barrel.
In the end I went with a mid-range Panasonic, which developed a fault 3years in and has since been replaced with a Polk Audio unit from Trademe (polk unit was about $250). Really happy with it, and it does exactly what we wanted it for (which was also to improve dialogue quality).
Do your research, test them in store (where possible), and perhaps look at secondhand? Theres plenty of them for sale in marketplace and trademe. Good luck
Been in the exact situation, bit different. I have space to put speakers, but 2nd half wants de-clutter living room so it was a no go. Only option was sound bar and recently bought Samsung hw-q800c via Epp for $520 and am very happy with the performance. Quality of sound is night and day especially for the vocals. Having a samsung qled helps, as I only need one remote and combined sound etc. Also, having the ability to add wireless surround speakers is great for future proofing.
Have heard good things about Sonos beam/Ray or JBL as well.
At your budget I'd highly recommend checking out second hand units on facebook marketplace/trade me. If you get something and you don't like it, you can just chuck it back up for sale at the same price you bought it. A bit of a hassle but it's one of the only ways you can try a whole bunch of soundbars without it costing you (other than time). FWIW I have a mid-level Panasonic Soundbar (SC-HTB600) and I find the dialog-boosting options useless. From what I understand a 3.1 soundbar should be better than a 2.1 as the dialog is often mixed to come out of the centre channel.
Couldn't stand the built in sound quality of our nice big brand new TV, so I rushed out and grabbed a low end soundbar on special. Haven't regretted it once. Is it going to completely solve the common 5.1 audio issue where dialogue is quieter than explosions? No, it won't. Will it give you a WAY better experience for few hundred bucks, absolutely. I'm sure it's even better with the nicer ones, but I think people are being too hard on low end sound bars. My setup sounds like a movie theatre, literally shakes the windows if I don't turn the sub way down. Dialogue is only an issue when the kids are asleep, but turning down the bass to minimum means that's not an issue generally.
Whatever you do get something to replace the built in.
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SPKEDI1283/Edifier-R1280DB-… These are worth it. You get the low end and also good clear mids + high end. Sound bars suck in comparison.
I can second these as a great option. I have them as PC speakers. Usually able to be picked up for $50-$100 second hand without too much issue
I wish mighty ape still sold theirs, they were $60 brand new from time to time and pretty much the same thing as these with slightly reduced quality. They are the best PC speakers I've ever owned and added a Chromecast audio in to the optical port. Definitely considered putting them on the bedroom tv but ended up getting a soundbar with cast built in instead.
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SPKEDI20269113/Edifier-MR4-…
I recommend these over the R1280. The MR4 have superior imaging, sound quality and are equally plug and play. I've bought them twice and prefer them to my much more expensive headphones.
A soundbar is a waste of money and you should stick with your TV sound of you can't find the space for the 2.1
Downside of those is the lack of optical port. Not certain about the original posters tv compatibility but analogue aux out on TVs is rarer now with HDMI the favoured option, then optical as the back up. Running external speakers off the headphone socket isn't ideal and some brands like LG don't even have a headphone option.
I'm not sure why people are saying soundbars are a total waste of money. Most soundbars will absolutely improve the sound over the tiny speakers in most modern TVs even if they are just louder. There's definitely gains to be had going above the entry level but we notice a significant difference turning on our $200 Phillips bar over the tv speakers. Would k recommend the Phillips, absolutely not, but it's not the sound that's my problem it's the slow boot and the weird way it's google assistant works meaning we can't put it to sleep or wake it up reliably.
Trouble will be if your key issue is voices chances are a 2.0 or 2.1 system isn't going to help you that much. It's the centre channel you need so you'd need 3 front channels to have a speaker for the voices to come from. The 2 channel set ups forget that so the speach is coming from the wrong place so not loud enough.
I think the criticism stems from the form factor. At the same price level, a soundbar is never going to outperform a pair of speakers, so why not just get speakers?
Here's an alternative.
I bought 6 concrete pavers and used ados contact glue to put rubber from an old inner tube under them.
Lined them up behind the tv and wow the sound quality is a huge upgrade for cheap. Even just one paver behind each speaker reflects the sound forward, more is better though.
And buy concrete pavers without the little spacer bumps on them you want flat sides
Soundbars are generally bad value, a cheap 2.x/3.x system is almost always going to sound better, using the Arylic B50 or similar for power/control.