# Is a sound bar worth it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142 "2015-12-01T20:19:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/21 "2015-12-03T02:46:24Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Ahhh, do mean the remote control?! This is why I pointed this out to the OP, it is a huge pain to have to constantly use a separate remote for volume. Because my sound bar was an off brand (Memorex) my regular TiVo remote didn’t have its code. I had to buy the deluxe ‘learning’ TiVo remote. Yes, it’s own remote control, and that was such a HUGE fucking pain in the ass (especially not being about to Mute ads quickly) we disconnected ours. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/22 "2015-12-03T02:50:28Z")
With Hulu’s new “commerical-free” tier of service, I have forever broken free from that sort of tyranny, so no worries on that count. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/23 "2015-12-03T02:51:26Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Ahhh, do mean the remote control?! This is why I pointed this out to the OP, it is a huge pain to have to constantly use a separate remote for volume. Because my sound bar was an off brand (Memorex) my regular TiVo remote didn’t have its code. I had to buy the deluxe ‘learning’ TiVo remote. Mostly deeper bass, makes BOOMs sound better. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/24 "2015-12-03T02:58:27Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > … unless your built-in TV speakers suck, in which case you probably bought the wrong TV. Sorry, but this is the dumbest thing I’ve read in a while. Not only do most TV speakers suck, as others have already mentioned, but you don’t but a TV based on what it sounds like any more than you buy speakers for what they look like. If you do, then you are entirely missing the point of the devices in question. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/25 "2015-12-03T03:12:05Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Can anyone offer a brief explanation (maybe just one sentence? because I don’t want to mess up this thread). But what is the advantage to a sound bar over ordinary speakers? It looks kind of strange. > > I bought a Sony speaker for my smart phone and was very surprised that it played wonderful stereo sound when it is just a single tiny box (like your sound bar but not nearly as wide). I’d love to know how they do that. I don’t think ‘ordinary’ speakers even exist anymore. The advantage to a sound bar is that\*\*\* it is a home theater amp and a set of small (but good sounding) multiple speakers all in one compact unit specifically designed to fit under the front of a flat screen TV\*\*\*. And as others have said, the ubiquitousness of flat panel TVs have made auxiliary speakers a necessity. And if you don’t have any other boxes, i.e. a DVD or Blu-ray player or CD player etc. (and few do anymore), then a full home theater amplifier and surround sound speaker set might be more than you want. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/26 "2015-12-03T14:49:15Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Let us know how you like the sound. I’ve been contemplating buying a sound bar/subwoofer combo like that. My old cheap speaker/DVD system was barely better than the TV speakers even when it was new and it was getting worse, I had to have subtitles on some shows because even with the sound all the way up I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I just bought a Vizio sound bar and I’m very impressed with it. I clearly hear tinkling glasses and other subtle sound effects that were never there before. I haven’t had it past half the max volume and the sound booms out. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/27 "2015-12-03T15:18:25Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I don’t think ‘ordinary’ speakers even exist anymore. The advantage to a sound bar is that\*\*\* it is a home theater amp and a set of small (but good sounding) multiple speakers all in one compact unit specifically designed to fit under the front of a flat screen TV\*\*\*. And as others have said, the ubiquitousness of flat panel TVs have made auxiliary speakers a necessity. And if you don’t have any other boxes, i.e. a DVD or Blu-ray player or CD player etc. (and few do anymore), then a full home theater amplifier and surround sound speaker set might be more than you want. Aha! I see. Thank you very much. But, I hope you realize that you have now made me feel like a dinosaur. Heh Heh. Just kidding. I know full well that I \*\*am \*\*a dinosaur. But I love learning about new technology and getting pleasantly surprised with fabulous new toys like this speaker I bought. FYI, I bought the speaker below for $100 and it sounds noticibly better than some speakers I bought circa 1978 for $1800. [http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/sony-sony-srsx33-bluetooth-wireless-speaker-black-srsx33b/10363018.aspx?path=8df329c0c5cf634e9047d1fa506f1657en02](http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/sony-sony-srsx33-bluetooth-wireless-speaker-black-srsx33b/10363018.aspx?path=8df329c0c5cf634e9047d1fa506f1657en02) In 1978, one of the supposedly best speakers on the planet were British and they were about three ft tall by one ft wide and one ft deep. I paid $1800 for them and this little tiny Sony speaker just puts them to shame. Thank you for telling me about this sound bar. Learning about new technology is one of the very best things about this forum. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/28 "2015-12-03T23:26:19Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I don’t think ‘ordinary’ speakers even exist anymore. The advantage to a sound bar is that\*\*\* it is a home theater amp and a set of small (but good sounding) multiple speakers all in one compact unit specifically designed to fit under the front of a flat screen TV\*\*\*. And as others have said, the ubiquitousness of flat panel TVs have made auxiliary speakers a necessity. And if you don’t have any other boxes, i.e. a DVD or Blu-ray player or CD player etc. (and few do anymore), then a full home theater amplifier and surround sound speaker set might be more than you want. There are still plenty of 2.1 systems out there that use full range speakers in the traditional sense. A lot of them are your typical audiophile setups and they will set you back a fair bit of money. You see less of them in the big box stores mostly due to the fact that you need WAF (wife approval factor) to get them in the door and she will pick small and unobtrusive over Cerwin Vega D9s nine times out of ten. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142/29 "2015-12-05T01:12:50Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Let us know how you like the sound. I’ve been contemplating buying a sound bar/subwoofer combo like that. The good news is that I really like the sound! I queued up some metal and rocked out for a bit. The cat freaked out when the bass kicked in, which was pretty funny. The bad news is that the bar does not have an HDMI input (this seems like a pretty egregious oversight, right?). This wouldn’t be too big a deal except my TV does not have a digital coaxial input. That means that I can’t connect the Playstation and the television to the soundbar at the same time. Not a big deal since I can watch Hulu/Netflix/Youtube through the PS4. I’ll look into getting an optical cable splitter so that I can plug everything into the same system. The weird thing is that the Playstation wants to output audio through the HDMI and digital optical cables at the same time. Again no big deal since I just muted the TV, but it’s odd. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-sound-bar-worth-it/739142.md?page=1)