I would recommend not getting a soundbar and just saving for a full set.
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The TRUTH about Sonos home cinema and sound bar solutions
- Thread starter Geoff
- Start date
Does your TV not allow to adjust for audio lag? Mine does and I have all my devices feeding into my TV which passes all audio to a sound bar through optical.
There's some fantastic soundbars out there and for some setups they're a practical way to solve space or aesthetic considerations.
that kind of snobbery is why some audiophiles have the worst reputation in weebdom.
Wait, I have a Sonos Beam and two Sonos Ones (actually Sonos IKEA lamp speakers). I have an LG C9 being delivered to me. I plan to use eARC through HDMI on the Sonos beam and have set up a surround sound room with the Ones. Is that gonna work fine?
It should be fine. I have the same setup with a different TV and eARC works great.
One of the prime features of eARC is to remedy this issue.
Panasonic ZT60 optical out -> analog converter -> bookshelf speakers. Play music games and use my TV professionally for film work. Never had an issue with lip sync or audio latency. I know it's a common issue with a lot of setups but not with mine.
Soundbars have their place, certainly. I have one for my PC actually (which is a little weird I know) because ...it was a practical way to solve my particular space and aesthetic considerations, and I understand the tradeoffs.
It's just a playful jab at OP for getting all snobby on people about their perception of audio lag (like a rude audiophile), while simultaneously struggling against the limitations of their soundbar (a product rude audiophiles constantly heckle).
I was being a bit facetious. As was OP about people being fucking idiots I assume.
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OP
OP
They do. You need to be able to negatively adjust the sound though ie 'lag' the picture because the sound is behind the video. But even when you can do that, it's never really works, for me anyway. It's always still off somehow.
Just a reminder that this doesn't happen with PCM but you don't get proper separation with PCM and hdmi passthrough.
OP
OP
I don't have to be an audiophile to tell when sound doesn't match video.
OP
OP
Sorry my man just heckling you a little like you heckled people about perceiving audio lag, your soundbar is better than mine.
If it ain't broke, no point trying to fix it.
I don't own a soundbar as I live in an apartment and can't really play audio too loudly, plus my TV stand doesn't really have the space for it, but if I had one I'd have my devices plugged into my TV and then my TV connected to the soundbar via Optical.
I have an old Sony HTIB I wish I could use but the receiver is massive and doesn't fit on any of my TV stand's shelves.
OP
OP
You must be fun at parties.
I have TV Optical to receiver and never experienced lag. Everything is plugged into the tv via HDMI.
OP
OP
I've had a Sonos 5.1 set up for years now (playbar, sub, two play:1)'s and they've been amazing. I have an HDMI/optical out adapter from my ATV4K and it works amazingly. No voice lag for me. (Even if there as there's a toggle for to adjust lip sync anyway).
Just scored a Sonos Beam for kids Playroom for $180 too.
Love the sound and ability to play music throughout the house (also got a Sonos One in the Master Bathroom).
Just scored a Sonos Beam for kids Playroom for $180 too.
Love the sound and ability to play music throughout the house (also got a Sonos One in the Master Bathroom).
I have no idea, but if there's really no difference with dialogue boost on or off I'd call customer service and see what they say.
I'm looking for a soundbar! I don't see many reviews for the Focal Dimension, but the very few I do see say great things. I may purchase these, after more research.
Trust me there is not a better deal out there. Soundbar is solid. There werent many reviews out there because it dropped at $1500 in the beginning and many were not ready to drop that kinda loot on a soundbar. What sets it apart is the focal brand,super solid speakers,very quality and the size of the drivers. They are some of the largest out there in a soundbar. Smaller speakers can only do so much. These are getting phased out because of soundbars with all of these gimmicks to reproduce surround ect and they are cheaper. This does bluetooth for streaming,has a sub output for adding another sub,few switches for room settings,optical and hdmi and just amazing speakers. It's simple but superior to most. Good luck on your search!
I'm not an Audiophile admidettly but my Sonos sounds great to me and mine.
As to "you are a fucking idiot" shit , it sort of telegraphed what kind of "person" you so I'm not going to bother with ya further.
Edit: also I'm suprised a mod didn't shut you down at the gate for that toxic BS OP.
UPDATE:
Hey I got one of them Atmos Echo Studios as "soundbar " for upstairs tv.
Pros: dirt cheap $200 atmos "soundbar"
Unassuming form factor (like a bowler hat-sized squat cylinder)
Obviously doubles as best echo speaker/Alexa dealy
Fantastic sound field, fidelity and presence
Automatic room calibration
Wireless if connected to firetv or stick (uses widi type direct connection I believe)
Really really good for music
Proper atmos 3D sound that's shocking for the price and sound
Works with any Bluetooth device
Doesn't need a subwoofer (you can add one if you demand more brown note)
Has access to impressive but useless 3D and high fidelity uncompressed Amazon music catalog
Has intuitive audio sync delay controls for shitty Blu-ray players I guess
Cons: only does Atmos for Amazon content via certain firetv and sticks (4k works)
Only does 5.1 or stereo if connected to device by optical/aux until future update
Mildly annoying one time software update
Keeps going out of stock as some audiophiles have identified it as a bargain
Basically it is perfect for the exact scenario I have but might not be ideal if you're looking for a more flexible thingy until they update firmware to support non Amazon devices more robustly.
Hey I got one of them Atmos Echo Studios as "soundbar " for upstairs tv.
Pros: dirt cheap $200 atmos "soundbar"
Unassuming form factor (like a bowler hat-sized squat cylinder)
Obviously doubles as best echo speaker/Alexa dealy
Fantastic sound field, fidelity and presence
Automatic room calibration
Wireless if connected to firetv or stick (uses widi type direct connection I believe)
Really really good for music
Proper atmos 3D sound that's shocking for the price and sound
Works with any Bluetooth device
Doesn't need a subwoofer (you can add one if you demand more brown note)
Has access to impressive but useless 3D and high fidelity uncompressed Amazon music catalog
Has intuitive audio sync delay controls for shitty Blu-ray players I guess
Cons: only does Atmos for Amazon content via certain firetv and sticks (4k works)
Only does 5.1 or stereo if connected to device by optical/aux until future update
Mildly annoying one time software update
Keeps going out of stock as some audiophiles have identified it as a bargain
Basically it is perfect for the exact scenario I have but might not be ideal if you're looking for a more flexible thingy until they update firmware to support non Amazon devices more robustly.
UPDATE 2:
Just tried Echo Studio hooked directly to Xbox One X with mini spidf cable -
As it says in the fine print no Atmos except via Fire tv devices wirelessly. Double checked using Insects app and as expected audio toggle was grayed out.
Switched to optical out, Bitstream and Dolby Digital and it works great. So if you have Amazon ecosystem then it's a no brainer audio fidelity bargain - although obviously you're better off with a discrete speaker setup for positional audio -
I have the top of the line Yamaha YSP 5600 atmos bar and it obviously spanks the Echo Studio (and costs ten times more) but I was pleasantly surprised by the positional effect. Sounded like 5.1 on a bar - but the actual audiophile fidelity and clarity was extremely good.
So if you're considering the Echo Studio as a cheap Atmos surround bar - sure you if you have a Fire TV that supports it.
If you have Prime and want it to be an Alexa device and a 5.1 cheat - yep it does that via mini spidf.
But special appreciation for how it handles music and movies in terms of overall fidelity and delivery then that too.
Just tried Echo Studio hooked directly to Xbox One X with mini spidf cable -
As it says in the fine print no Atmos except via Fire tv devices wirelessly. Double checked using Insects app and as expected audio toggle was grayed out.
Switched to optical out, Bitstream and Dolby Digital and it works great. So if you have Amazon ecosystem then it's a no brainer audio fidelity bargain - although obviously you're better off with a discrete speaker setup for positional audio -
I have the top of the line Yamaha YSP 5600 atmos bar and it obviously spanks the Echo Studio (and costs ten times more) but I was pleasantly surprised by the positional effect. Sounded like 5.1 on a bar - but the actual audiophile fidelity and clarity was extremely good.
So if you're considering the Echo Studio as a cheap Atmos surround bar - sure you if you have a Fire TV that supports it.
If you have Prime and want it to be an Alexa device and a 5.1 cheat - yep it does that via mini spidf.
But special appreciation for how it handles music and movies in terms of overall fidelity and delivery then that too.
Question, since it looks like all the soundbar heads are here: my sub for my Sony HT-ST7 has been turning off intermittently recently. Have any of you experienced something similar, and if so, do you know a way to fix it?
Check cables. Lfe dropout can happen when the sub is first activated too - is it happening constantly?I assume it connects to the soundboard via an rca cable?
Why have sound bars seemingly regressed over the past decade? Back in 08 I got a Sony HT CT 100 back when the trend was new. IIRC this thing MSRP was between 300-500. It had 3 HDMI inputs all supporting 1080p pass through and uncompressed LPCM 7.1. This made it awesome for watching Blu-ray's on PS3 in a bedroom/office setup (also a funny anecdote imo that there was a time when needing new equipment to support 1080p because it felt years away from necessary back in 2004).
Then you got this thread where OP is using optical still, but I can't really blame him as this is the norm for sound bars. ARC is more commonplace now, but eARC is still not widespread. On one hand, it is nice to have a 12 year old HTIB sound bar that isn't completely obsolete, on the other hand, it was tricky to find a good upgrade for years (it can do LPCM and DD/DTS, but too old for DD+ for example) with hdmi ports.
In the end I bought an AVR with 4k HDR passthrough and something ridiculous like 6 hdmi in and 2 out.
In conclusion, I guess I'm the weirdo who needs things like this. The average person doesn't care about any of this, and the sound bar is a huge improvement over the tin can speakers on the ultra thin LEDs that are made
Then you got this thread where OP is using optical still, but I can't really blame him as this is the norm for sound bars. ARC is more commonplace now, but eARC is still not widespread. On one hand, it is nice to have a 12 year old HTIB sound bar that isn't completely obsolete, on the other hand, it was tricky to find a good upgrade for years (it can do LPCM and DD/DTS, but too old for DD+ for example) with hdmi ports.
In the end I bought an AVR with 4k HDR passthrough and something ridiculous like 6 hdmi in and 2 out.
In conclusion, I guess I'm the weirdo who needs things like this. The average person doesn't care about any of this, and the sound bar is a huge improvement over the tin can speakers on the ultra thin LEDs that are made
Is that the secret then? I bought a soundbar for my new TV about 5 years ago. I don't remember the soundbar brand, but every since I hooked it up, with optical to the TV, there was noticeable audio lag. And the TV settings only allow it to be more out of sync, so I can't fix it. It's so annoying.
OP
OP
I can use arc...but it lags like fuck. That's why I had to use an optical switcher.
