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Get familiar with the reaction system: Introducing the Reaction System
Went to Costco and did some soundbar listening today...
Wife and I listened to five soundbars today, courtesy of Costco.
They were a Sonos, two Vizio, a Sony, and a Bose.
The Sonos had possibly the worst bass I have ever heard in a commercial product. It seemed to have a huge peak centered around 120Hz, which ruined every song and every make vocal.
Both Vizio had a very anemic sound, one was considerably more expensive than the other - but they both sounded very cheap. For all I know, the price difference is in the hookup options.
The Bose was a step up from the Sonos and both Vizio - but still suffered from lack of bass extension. I believe it utilizes a similar transmission line as their center channel and their famous radio. The bass was somewhat more even than the Sonos, but output below 100Hz was still pretty much non-existent.
The Samsung actually had very good bass out of its little subwoofer module. However, the bar itself uses what looks to be 1" drivers resulting in the Bose effect of creating a suckout between the subwoofer and the satellites. The subwoofer was crossed at a reasonable frequency as very little male vocals were passing through, but sadly the same was true of the soundbar part. I was legitimately impressed with the bass, however, at least as long as I kept the price point in mind. It seemed to dig comfortably down to the 40Hz range, and was surprisingly accurate.
I had high hopes for the Sonos, there are a lot of people that rave about their products but to the wife and I (and those who know her know her ears are pretty well spot on) found it to be absolutely unlistenable. However, it is the first Sonos product I have listened to, maybe it is an outlier.
If the Samsung system stepped up to even a decent 2" wide range driver I imagine it would end up being pretty well spot on and I would have no problems recommending it.
Anyway, keep on DIY'ing, my brothers, we have nothing to fear from these clowns.
Tomorrow I plan on going to Best Buy and listening to some more shit. I am actually shopping for a new TV so I am indulging the floor staff by letting them demo the soundbars for me because, hey, I need speakers too
They were a Sonos, two Vizio, a Sony, and a Bose.
The Sonos had possibly the worst bass I have ever heard in a commercial product. It seemed to have a huge peak centered around 120Hz, which ruined every song and every make vocal.
Both Vizio had a very anemic sound, one was considerably more expensive than the other - but they both sounded very cheap. For all I know, the price difference is in the hookup options.
The Bose was a step up from the Sonos and both Vizio - but still suffered from lack of bass extension. I believe it utilizes a similar transmission line as their center channel and their famous radio. The bass was somewhat more even than the Sonos, but output below 100Hz was still pretty much non-existent.
The Samsung actually had very good bass out of its little subwoofer module. However, the bar itself uses what looks to be 1" drivers resulting in the Bose effect of creating a suckout between the subwoofer and the satellites. The subwoofer was crossed at a reasonable frequency as very little male vocals were passing through, but sadly the same was true of the soundbar part. I was legitimately impressed with the bass, however, at least as long as I kept the price point in mind. It seemed to dig comfortably down to the 40Hz range, and was surprisingly accurate.
I had high hopes for the Sonos, there are a lot of people that rave about their products but to the wife and I (and those who know her know her ears are pretty well spot on) found it to be absolutely unlistenable. However, it is the first Sonos product I have listened to, maybe it is an outlier.
If the Samsung system stepped up to even a decent 2" wide range driver I imagine it would end up being pretty well spot on and I would have no problems recommending it.
Anyway, keep on DIY'ing, my brothers, we have nothing to fear from these clowns.
Tomorrow I plan on going to Best Buy and listening to some more shit. I am actually shopping for a new TV so I am indulging the floor staff by letting them demo the soundbars for me because, hey, I need speakers too
I have a signature.
Comments
I've actually been building a DIY 'bar for a co-worker. The cab is about done and ready to take measurements. My bar is an under-TV style, as you can't get much volume in the little sticks they sell in stores. I used the SMSL Q5-Pro, just as Scott did in his Helium or Lithium Bar. It's perfect for this application.
About the bass- unfortunately, 4" drivers are about the largest 'Bar-friendly driver to keep them low-profile, so the options are still limited. In my case, I'm pairing with the old W6-1139 sub I built a while back, so the end result should be blended pretty well.
I'll post more when I get the measurements done...
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