SOUNDBAR or RECEIVER? | Home Theater Philosophy 101

[Music] [Applause] [Music] well hello there my name is elaine osborne and i like to talk about movies audio and music and today i'm going to address something that i get asked constantly in my comments of my videos should i go with a soundbar system or traditional system with wired speakers and a receiver to power them but instead of giving them a subjective my way or the highway answer i know that everyone's situation is different so my basic home theater philosophy is this do you see your purchase as a one and done solution or are you planning on investing into home theater over time slowly building out and upgrading your system because i know plenty of you out there are thinking i don't have or want a dedicated home theater nor do i need any ginormous fancy schmancy speakers or receivers in my living room just give me something that sounds better than my crappy tv speakers and i'll be happy as a clam cabish ignoring the terrible new york accent if that sounds like your take on home theater then a soundbar system should be on your radar it is a one and done wireless home to eater solution that is a fantastic upgrade to your tv speakers the setup is usually fairly simple plugging the soundbar's hdmi cable into your tv's arc or e-arc port which sends audio from your tv through the soundbar they range in various shapes and sizes depending on how large your tv is most can be mounted on the wall if your tv is mounted some can be upgraded by adding a wireless subwoofer for better or cinematic bass extension or perhaps adding rear surround speakers for a more enveloping sound stage and beyond that some are equipped with upward firing speakers to enhance the sound stage even further with three-dimensional audio codecs like dolby atmos but honestly there are only a select few that have the option of adding those upgrades when you see fit like with the sony hta9 polk react or sono soundbar family just to name a few but the majority out there you don't get to pick and choose like the samsung q990b you get the whole kit and caboodle boom now when i say one and done the thing about soundbar systems is that all the various soundbar brands out there have their own proprietary technologies powering and sending audio wirelessly to their speakers but they don't play nice with each other you couldn't use sony's sa rs5 rear speakers with a samsung q800bc system they wouldn't know how to talk to each other so in terms of upgrading to better speakers or better audio processors it's just not possible with sound bars as technology is advanced i can only dream of a day when you could switch out and upgrade the processor within a sound bar now that would be a game changer am i right but if you're okay with sticking with your soundbar system for a while maybe upgrading to the latest and greatest sound bar a few years down the road great there's no wrong way to do home theater if it sounds great to you so let's move on to the other end of my home theater philosophy maybe you're thinking to yourself we do have a spare room in the basement that i could turn into a dedicated home theater but either way it's official i'm starting my home theater journey today i want to start small and slowly upgrade to a larger more powerful system let's do this mite again ignoring the horrible australian accent if that sounds more like you than a traditional home theater should be on your radar this type of system is much more flexible since they all play nice with each other a speaker is a speaker as a speaker when it comes to your basic wired version so you could have three clips speakers in the front appearing audio speakers in the back and sbs elevation speakers up on the wall all being powered by a denon receiver and it all still works although as a side note the ultimate goal behind any traditional system is to have all speakers the same brand since they all have their own characteristics so timbre matching them is always best subwoofers are another story though since low frequencies are mostly felt so you can still easily get away with an sbs sub paired with clip speakers for example but beyond that you could start with a solid 2.1 system just two bookshelves or tower speakers and a subwoofer all powered by a 7 channel receiver so then you have room to grow later you can add a center channel speaker add some surrounds a few months after that then you can either add surround backs for 7.1 system or mount speakers up high for a 5.1.2 dolby atmos system if you get tired after that upgrade to a 9 channel receiver for a 5.1.4 or 7.1.2 system or even at a second subwoofer since most receivers these days have two subwoofer outputs beyond that there are 9 channel receivers with pre-outs so you can offload some or all of the amplifying power to external amps since you plan on upgrading your system to feature larger more power hungry speakers and it even goes beyond that like having a 9.1.6 configuration with a trinoff preamp and several external amps the possibilities are endless so before you decide which is better a sound bar or traditional wired system ask yourself am i looking to purchase and be done with it or am i looking to invest over time because we can debate all day about ease of setup audio quality price tags etc but at the end of the day it all comes down to your ultimate home theater goals beyond the moment you sit down and enjoy your new system and that's where you have the power and there you have it thank you so much for watching this long answer to a comment that i often read on my channel i hope you now understand which avenue you should take and what your goals might be in the long run if this video has now made you curious about wire systems or sound bars i do have several speakers components sound bar systems and buying guides that i've reviewed so feel free to go down that rabbit hole if you dare now what's on your mind do you plan on making a one and done purchase or investing and growing over time let's start a conversation people as always please be kind to each other out there don't just watch tv and movies experience them and of course always be listening [Music]

Channel: Ealan Osborne

Views: 58,506

Keywords: home theater, surround sound, sound bar, dolby atmos, a/v receiver, soundbar vs home theater, home theater setup, home theatre, soundbar to avr, dolby atmos soundbar, home theater receiver, choosing the best soundbar, best soundbar, soundbar vs speakers, home cinema, hdmi arc, sonos beam gen 2, home audio, audio, cinema, film, movies, avr, audio video receiver, this or that, versus, decisions, hifi, hifi audio, hifi home theater, sound, audible, shopping, buying, buying guide

Id: I18jzRXcZ-Y

Length: 6min 4sec (364 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 15 2022