Best Sound Bar for the Buck! 2014
#1
Hello everyone, i am looking for the best sound bar i can get for a $200 - $250 range.

I have 2 candidates but i would like to know of more options that sometimes you dont find in the most popular online stores like amazon.com or ebay.com


VIZIO S3821w-C0 38-inch 2.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer - $119.95 REFURBISHED + free shipping

Yamaha YAS-103 Soundbar with Bluetooth - $239.95 free shipping

Feedback about the options above are welcomed and other suggestions as well

NOTE: I have read and watched several review for different sound bar systems but it is hard to decide and as i am not in the US i can't purchase one and return it if i dont like, so if i purchase one i'll be STUCK with it.

TIA
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#2
I have the Vizio soundbar you linked to and I think it's great. However, sometimes it feels like it's either too loud, or too low, while watching the same content. I sometimes find myself monitoring the volume to make sure it doesn't get too loud. Take that warning with a grain of salt though, it could just be me. It could also be the TruVolume feature, which I have not properly experimented with. I may just need to disable it to keep it at a consistent volume, but I can't confirm that right now as I've just left my apartment for the summer.

I especially like the built in Bluetooth. Sometimes I'll be walking around my apartment listening to music that is playing from my phone. The remote is very simple, but very effective.

I think it's a pretty good value overall, with my only complaint being the way the inputs are labeled. There are no labels for separate inputs. Instead, the input designations are shared with the LEDs used for the volume indicator. See page 12 of the manual linked below for an explanation.

http://store.vizio.com/documents/downloa...821wC0.pdf

For me, it's not a huge deal since I only use the Coaxial audio and the Bluetooth mode once in a while, but if you have multiple devices connected to different inputs, you kind of just have to memorize which pair of LED's represents your desired inputs. I feel like it would have been better to have the 5 or 6 inputs written on the soundbar itself and then have another LED light up underneath the input's label, so you can know exactly which input you're selecting. This is the most common method on most other Soundbars, but I'm sure Vizio used their method to keep the costs down.

Personally, I would not go for that particular Yamaha soundbar, as I would prefer something with a discrete subwoofer.
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#3
thank you, so you think the built in sufwoofers in the yamaha are more powerfull than the vizio one or is it viceversa

i prefer more boom you know
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#4
You will almost always get more boom with a separate sub.
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#5
subwoofer in a soundbar?

lol..... ok. I guess we're just ignoring the laws of physics.
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#6
you're better off buying a small cheap 5.1 system than a soundbar. i have no idea why anyone would settle for a soundbar truthfully.
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#7
(2014-06-10, 02:55)knives of ice Wrote: you're better off buying a small cheap 5.1 system than a soundbar. i have no idea why anyone would settle for a soundbar truthfully.

Space and arrangement. I agree that 5.1 is usually better than a aoundbar, but most 5.1 setups will end up with wires running everywhere. Also, the of my apartment would make it really awkward because there are doors behind where my couch is, so I can't mount the speakers on the wall. I could put the speakers on stands, but that still leaves the problem of wires lying around.

For the sake of simplicity, I use a soundbar in my apartment. I set up a 5.1 in my girlfriend's old apartment, and it just didn't look very good IMO. Her rear speakers were wall mounted and the wires running up the wall were just ugly.
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#8
I don't have any personal experience with soundbars, but you may want to read some of the discussions at AVSForum: http://www.avsforum.com/f/195/soundbars

It's a bit over your budget but the Pioneer Andrew Jones speakerbar has gotten very good reviews. I still haven't decided what sort of system I'm going to get but if it's a soundbar it would merit serious consideration. It's 2.1, not a psuedo-surround item, but people report it being good for music and quite balanced, with clear dialogue.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1487290/pionee...me-changer
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#9
I recently purchased the Yamaha YAS 203. For ~$300 buck I think it's a great buy. I've had a few vizios and such prior but this is a significant step up. Pretty well reviewed too.. https://www.householdaudio.com/best-sound-bar-speakers/
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#10
Also Vizio has some 5.1 soundbars. For example I have one in my bedroom where a full AVR setup makes 0 sense while the soundbar works perfectly and was only $350 while a decent 5.1 with AVR would cost triple that easily if I don't go the used route for all the components. So yeah soundbars serve a purpose even if its not in a dedicated home theater.

Also the subwoofer is wireless on my setup and the rear speakers plug into the sub so all those wires stay int he back and I don't have wires running front to back of the room. Also has bluetooth so I can hook my mobbile deivces to it and lay music that way. Also the Vizio bars do quite well with music compared to other bars worth more. Basically the Vizios tend to hit beyond their price range.
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#11
We have the TV on a mobile stand in our room, so we can move it out of the way and still see our wonderful view.

A Soundbar like yours sounds good for us, can you specify a model?
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#12
Any of the Vizio bars would be good nickr I personally own a SB4051-CO myself from best buy. Since the soundbars are pretty much in the same family each year it doesn't matter which you get as the bar itself will be pretty much identical except for length these days and the extras would be if you get rear speakers and a sub or just go for a bar+sub.
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#13
Ta, having trouble finding somewhere to send me one at a reasonable price. Vizio are not marketed at all in NZ.
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#14
Ah yeah that might be an issue then if you can't find one in your country.
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#15
Given there's over 3 years gap between posts 8 & 9 and post 9 is a first post with a link, is wonder if you're actually responding to a spambot...
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