Has anyone got any thoughts on TV soundbars? I am thinking of replacing my ageing (10 years plus) Sony STR-DB930 amp and speakers with a soundbar. The Sony is a great amp, but the rear channels have stopped working. A bit of googling reveals that its probably a failed relay, or a dry solder joint (fixya instructions). Before taking it all apart and messing around I was wondering if its time to ditch the amp and the wires etc and get a sound bar instead.

For what they are they don't seem too expensive, eg the Roth Sub Zero is £129.00 http://www.tv-soundbar.com/shop/soundbars.html or more expensively is something like the Yamaha (same page). There are no worthwhile hi-fi shops around here that I can go an try one of these out, so any experience with these things or other comments (including if I should just fix the Sony) are welcome.

I for one could never go from a 5.1 system to a soundbar, it's no substitute for a full blown system.

Can you not replace the amp and use your existing speakers?

Richer Sounds have the Denon AVR1513 on special for £99, got to be worth looking at surely.

Have you actually tried a soundbar? Are they that bad? The problem is I am in Spain so can't just pop out to Richer Sounds and pick up a cheap amp, I need to buy something on the internet.

I have heard a few sound bars, it's not that they are bad, they just can't deliver the fullness the way a full system can. I think you would be disappointed, especially after listening to a 5.1 system.

Give RS a ring, they deliver to Europe and overseas for the armed forces, a delivery to Spain could be possible. If they can then I'd definitely look at the Denon avr1513 over a soundbar.

I did. My 10 year-old Pioneer / Mission system was well past its best. The optical input had packed in, leaving me just with Prologic, and I eventually removed the rear speakers because one of them packed in as well. I bought myself a new HD telly in February and treated it to a Yamaha YAS-101 sound bar at the same time. I don't regret it.

First things first. It doesn't replicate true surround sound. What you get is essentially stereo, although some sounds do seem to come from elsewhere. It is more like a broadened stereo that does not lose its focus. There is no separate subwoofer (although there is a socket to add one if you wish). The one built into the sound bar, however, goes surprisingly deep. In context, you don't get the floor-shaking bass of a full 5.1 system, but you get enough to keep all but the die-hard enthusiast happy - and you can add it if you want.

Overall, it is a case of roundabouts and swings. If you can't live without sound from all directions and bass that you feel rather than hear, a sound bar is not for you. If you simply want a radical improvement on your TV's own speakers, it may well be. The YAS-101 may be Yamaha's entry level model, but it is a cracking piece of kit, as should be expected from one of the world's leading hi-fi makers. It is well-made, it looks good, the spaghetti behind the TV has been cut by about 90%, and the sound is excellent. It is clear, warm and full; it does not become hard and brittle as you turn the volume up, and will go as loud as you like. Speech remains clear and anchored to the TV, as it should be. It sounds great with music too. I recommend it (£189 from Richer Sounds - available in black or silver).

Thanks. I'll have a look.

Thanks for the information. That is one of the reasons why I am thinking of going down the soundbar route, to ditch the spaghetti behind the TV and round the room. At the moment the TV is on top of a unit filled with sat boxes, Xbox, amp and miles of cabling. I'd like to mount the TV on the wall and run the cables behind the wall, putting the other boxes out of the way. A soundbar would make the installation a lot cleaner, but I don't want to do it if the sound is going to be a dissapointment.

Crossed my mind to about a sound bar, and is a soundbar designed for a certain TV, in otherwords if you have a 32 inch LCD would that not be worth it. I had heard good things said about the Bose TV sound system but then when looking on Amazon the reviews for it were Awful. Currently i have my TV wall mounted in my bedroom.

If you wanted a soundbar to replace a 5.1 system then you would do best to get one of the Yamaha sound projectors or similar. They are not as good as a full blown HT but but are very good and do give you surround sound (how good it is depends upon the room as they reflect off the walls to give surround sound).

I'm thinking of this route as I'm fed up of the wires everywhere, but one of the options I am thinking of is back to basics stereo - just a stereo amp and a pair of good speakers on stands. A significant reduction in cables but still a good sound.

I hope this doesn't mean that my STR-DB930's life is coming to an end.

Don't they have TV or HI-FI shops in Spain?

My nearest Richer Sounds is in Plymouth - approximately 1000 miles away.

Worten is the nearest Curries type shed, they have 4 soundbars on sale, Richer Sounds have 40. So I could shop locally, pay more and get less choice.

Does the LED in the volume control still work on yours?

Well effectively this is what I have now. A soundbar would seem to offer a similar experience but with a much cleaner installation.

If you can live without the decoding and HDMI side of things, then a stereo system would be a nice choice. Good Hi-Fi does great TV sound. But it's very difficult to get a TV sound system to do good Hi-Fi sound.

Seems a shame though to junk a perfectly good 5.1 speaker package for the sake of replacing the amp.

HDMI does a lot to cut down on the wiring side of things too. There's also a good range of cables in various lengths, so with a little work you can dress the cables neatly rather than having a tonne of excess wire hanging out of the back.

That is what I have done in my bedroom with a modest stereo amp and speakers hooked up to the TV.

We're fortunate to have a separate HT room, but for our "day-to-day"" TV watching in the front room we just ran an optical cable from our TV to our hi-fi. Very neat and one cable.