Which soundbar is decent for less than £150?

As the title says.

I want to buy a soundbar to compliment my plasma TV because the in-built speakers are rubbish for speech. I don't especially want the soundbar to have a separate sub to save space. I've seen some models with the bass reflex built in but I don't know how good they are.

The one I've got my eye on is this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KBVVEGW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=UTII0NKP00JV&coliid=I1GBRYGFJHYAM8

Any advice please?

Many thanks.

Comments

  • Doghouse RileyDoghouse Riley Posts: 32,491
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    There's a lot from which to choose. The smallest of our Panasonic Viera TVs is 32"
    So we didn't want a sound bar longer than that.

    So we've got a PANASONIC SC-HTB18EB-K Sound Bar . It's good enough for what we want, though sometimes for a change I channel the TV audio through my vintage Leak tuner/amp and big Goodman's speakers.
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    As the title says.

    I want to buy a soundbar to compliment my plasma TV because the in-built speakers are rubbish for speech. I don't especially want the soundbar to have a separate sub to save space. I've seen some models with the bass reflex built in but I don't know how good they are.

    The one I've got my eye on is this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KBVVEGW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=UTII0NKP00JV&coliid=I1GBRYGFJHYAM8

    Any advice please?

    Many thanks.

    Yamaha are one of the better makes of soundbar. You could do a whole lot worse for the money.
  • Lidtop2013Lidtop2013 Posts: 4,352
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    The Yamaha looks good.

    We bought an LG NB3530A for £150 a couple of months back, and I must say it was worth every penny, best money I've spent in ages! It makes normal TV viewing better as the sound is just louder/clearer, and because the soundbar is pointing towards you it projects the sound a lot better. It has a wireless sub too which is brilliant as it just sits behind sofa out of the way, but my word does it pack a punch, it makes watching films so much more enjoyable and adds that bass to it that you don't get with the TV speakers. It's also nice to playback songs off our phones/tablets wirelessly with Bluetooth too, all in all very happy with it.

    Other reason I picked the LG was because it all syncs up nicely with our LG TV, and it turns on and off with the TV etc
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,463
    Forum Member
    Lidtop2013 wrote: »
    Other reason I picked the LG was because it all syncs up nicely with our LG TV, and it turns on and off with the TV etc

    As do all makes that include HDMI-CEC - that's the whole point in having a standard :D
  • Lidtop2013Lidtop2013 Posts: 4,352
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    As do all makes that include HDMI-CEC - that's the whole point in having a standard :D

    But some soundbars don't have HDMI, only optical!
  • jhikerjhiker Posts: 40
    Forum Member
    I've got one of these for sale if you're interested... :-)

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yamaha-YAS101bl-SoundBar-Built-In-Subwoofer/dp/B005WNOD6M
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,463
    Forum Member
    Lidtop2013 wrote: »
    But some soundbars don't have HDMI, only optical!

    In which case it wouldn't 'sync up', even if it was LG :D

    There's nothing 'magic' about it - there's got to be some way for the two devices to communicate, and that's HDMI-CEC, you also need HDMI-ARC in order to feed the audio to the soundbar (but presumably any HDMI-ARC socket will also be CEC).

    Optical is only one way (TV to soundbar), and carries nothing other than the audio.
  • AlanOAlanO Posts: 3,773
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    As the title says.

    I want to buy a soundbar to compliment my plasma TV because the in-built speakers are rubbish for speech. I don't especially want the soundbar to have a separate sub to save space. I've seen some models with the bass reflex built in but I don't know how good they are.

    The one I've got my eye on is this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KBVVEGW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=UTII0NKP00JV&coliid=I1GBRYGFJHYAM8

    Any advice please?

    Many thanks.

    Worth having a look at Panasonic's ebay outlet http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Panasonic-Official-Outlet/_i.html?_fsub=5800809014

    I got a refurbed soundbase from them - and apart from the box, you wouldn't have known it wasn't brand new.
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