Any decent $200 and under soundbars out there?

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Lou Tencodpees

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My 9 year old Samsung finally gave up the ghost. It wasn't anything extraordinary but got the job done, hooked up admirably to my new LG TV via eArc/HDMI and streamed bluetooth from both Android and iPhones just fine.

So I bought a Vizio M series from Amazon and just returned it. I think the internal "subwoofer" was defective as it would flap and rattle like a giant fart and bluetooth would cut out anything streamed over the slightest volume.

So any positive experiences with the lower end units like the Bose or Sony soundbars in this price range? I think I'm done with Vizio. I'm ok with a 9 year life span in this price range.
 
Jim_in_PA

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I have a Samsung in our family room with the Samsung screen, but in our master bedroom, I put in a Polk from Amazon mated to the LG TV in there. Very pleased so far and it was reasonably priced...I don't recall the exact cost.
 
imwjl

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Lou Tencodpees said:
My 9 year old Samsung finally gave up the ghost. It wasn't anything extraordinary but got the job done, hooked up admirably to my new LG TV via eArc/HDMI and streamed bluetooth from both Android and iPhones just fine.

So I bought a Vizio M series from Amazon and just returned it. I think the internal "subwoofer" was defective as it would flap and rattle like a giant fart and bluetooth would cut out anything streamed over the slightest volume.

So any positive experiences with the lower end units like the Bose or Sony soundbars in this price range? I think I'm done with Vizio. I'm ok with a 9 year life span in this price range.
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I suggest looking at the cost difference for one that supports spatial audio and the Dolby Atmos standard. I love that stuff built into earbuds and headphones. We were aware of it in a Sonos and supposedly some modestly priced alternatives coming out.

Also know a new standard for IoT and home stuff called "matter" is live now. That promises good stuff like not needing a controller/gateway and has a good security architecture.
 
telel6s

telel6s

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I have two from MonoPrice that I'm happy with. Although, to be honest, I don't care much about getting huge theater-type sound. But both are a big upgrade from the TVs' built in speakers and can get more than loud enough for my needs without distorting.

The SB-100 is real basic. Doesn't even have HDMI input. But works well in a bedroom using an optical connection.

The SB-300 is a little bit bigger, has HDMI eARC, and includes Dolby Atmos. Again, nothing fancy but it does well. It's virtual surround function does a nice job of filling up the room vs my ears being able to pinpoint the source of the sound to the speaker.

MonoPrice also has some systems with subwoofers and satellite speakers if you want more oomph in the low end &/or true surround sound.

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www.monoprice.com
 
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Lou Tencodpees

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fendrguitplayr said:
Check out the Bose ones.

Loading…

www.bestbuy.com
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Well I bought this one, exchanged it for another thinking it was faulty and have the same issue. Several hours on the phone with Bose support and TCL (my TV manufacturer) we've concluded there is a compatibility issue where the TCL handshake thru HDMI eARC isn't waking up the Bose. Long story short, every time I power up both units with the TCL remote I get no sound, forcing me to reboot the Bose with it's remote. Then it works fine until next power down. Between Bose and TCL we've gone through every conceivable setting.

Tired of battling, plus the Bose does stream music better than any other Soundbar I've tried in it's price range. I'll live with the hiccup.
 
11 Gauge

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Lou Tencodpees said:
So I bought a Vizio M series from Amazon and just returned it. I think the internal "subwoofer" was defective as it would flap and rattle like a giant fart and bluetooth would cut out anything streamed over the slightest volume.

I think I'm done with Vizio.
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So that was a Vizio model with built in sub? I just can't imagine such a design (regardless of who makes it) as working very well.

I'm actually now on my 3rd Vizio soundbar with a wireless sub, so I guess you could say that I like them, and I have no problem recommending them.

My biggest complaint with the three that I've owned is that the first one simply stopped working after ~5-6 years of use.

I really like the wireless sub, since it's easy to just put it anywhere you have some space. No flap or rattle at all with it - very good sound, and easy to set the level of bass.

The last one I got, earlier this year, has been the most seamless to use with my smart TV. It's been so good that I don't even really use the included remote, but it's rare that I'll use bluetooth or anything like that. Either way, it's been very easy to toggle thru HDMI, optical, or bluetooth.

The only other aggravation I've had is that when pausing something in a streaming video app, there will typically be this sort of 'digital motorboating noise'. Having said that, it might be more of an issue related to the smart TV (Samsung) as opposed to the soundbar itself. The reason I think this is because I have another Vizio soundbar connected to a non-smart LG TV that I use exclusively with an older Roku device, and I don't get any of this noise.

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All three of my Vizios were a bit less than $200. I think the one I got earlier this year was around $180 or so. That's way cheaper than the Samsung soundbar and remote sub that I got many years ago, and IMO the bass response with the Vizo subs is way better (particularly for watching movies and such).
 
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Lou Tencodpees

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11 Gauge said:
So that was a Vizio model with built in sub? I just can't imagine such a design (regardless of who makes it) as working very well.
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Yeah. When I first heard that flapping sound I thought it was coming from outside. When I realized it was internal I picked it up to make sure nothing was resonating on the shelf, but it was definitely internal. Like I said, that and the bluetooth fail made it a no-go for me. To add, the Bose unit has a really good bass response by comparison. I don't need teacups rattling.

As a tech in another industry I'm very familiar with the mutual finger-pointing that manufacturers will engage in when their two products don't play nice. The bottom line for me is that a 9 year old Samsung soundbar connected and operated flawlessly (well, until it croaked) to the new TCL TV. That tells me there are some oversights in the Bose design. Their tech (a 2nd or 3rd level escalation) explained that their more pricier units have some other controls that could address the issue. I could chalk it up to a "you get what you pay for" situation but that would be lazy and, well, untrue.
 
JIMMY JAZZMAN

JIMMY JAZZMAN

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I have to let everyone know. We purchased an Alexa a couple weeks ago. So I figured to try out
some music on it. I said", Alexa, play Try A Little Tenderness. Bang, boom, bam, those little
speakers were booming, I mean bass, mids, treble. Horns sounded outstanding. If they could
put that in a TV, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
 
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