Half of the home theater experience is the audio. Lossless soundtracks and immersive surround effects help to place you inside the environment of whatever you are watching. Unfortunately, the hassle of running wires and setting up surround sound is more than many people want to do. A sound bar can do a good job with movies and music, but they can’t put you in the middle of the … [Read more...] about Yamaha YSP-4300 Review
Soundbars
Vizio S5430W-C2 Soundbar Review
We keep buying bigger and bigger TVs. What you paid for a 50” flat screen a decade ago now can easily get you something that is 70” in size. No matter how large you go, one thing doesn’t change: the sound cannot keep up with the image. Weak, thin speakers that bounce off the wall sound bad and leave you with only half the experience. The Vizio S5430W-C2 is a sound bar wide … [Read more...] about Vizio S5430W-C2 Soundbar Review
Samsung HW-F850 Review
Samsung has been setting their sound bars apart from the competition by the inclusion of vacuum tubes. Praised by many audiophiles and derided by others, vacuum tubes introduce a distinct flavor to sound compared to transistors. That sound is often labeled as “warmer” as tubes by design introduce a bit of distortion. This distortion can also make audio sound more pleasing to … [Read more...] about Samsung HW-F850 Review
Vizio S4221W-C4 Review
Vizio really wanted to make an impression with their updated sound bars at the 2013 CES show. With a custom demo room setup to show them the sound was very impressive and made a lot of people take notice. Their 5.1 channel sound bar, the S4251W-B4, has set a high bar for performance and value in a true surround sound system. The S4221W-C4 is very similar to that model. It … [Read more...] about Vizio S4221W-C4 Review
Pioneer SP-SB23W Review
No affordable sound bar debuted with more hype behind it than the Pioneer SP-SB23W. With the value-killer legacy of the Andrew Jones speakers for Pioneer firmly established a sound bar makes a lot of sense. When it comes to sound quality Pioneer has delivered again with good sound bar-subwoofer integration and very good music performance. Comparing it to other sound bars, … [Read more...] about Pioneer SP-SB23W Review