Advice on soundbase and sub

FrankGrimes

Hi,

I have a decent AV receiver (can't remember brand off-hand) and a Monitor Audio sub I bought from you about 3-4 years back. I like the setup but want to get rid of the large free standing LG surround sound speakers  as I have a baby coming and want to clear the floor.


So I was considering a sound base. Budget 400euro, max 500, but would need to really justify it being more than 400 as I doubt I'll get much for selling my stuff 2nd hand.

What sound base would you recommend and would it be best to get one that can make use of my eternal sub (wired through the walls)? 

Most of your soundbases seem to use optical not HDMI cable, any issue with lip sync or any other differences? Thanks

Richersounds.ie: John

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAG0wvAFJ-M

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Hi,

I have a decent AV receiver (can't remember brand off-hand) and a Monitor Audio sub I bought from you about 3-4 years back. I like the setup but want to get rid of the large free standing LG surround sound speakers  as I have a baby coming and want to clear the floor.


So I was considering a sound base. Budget 400euro, max 500, but would need to really justify it being more than 400 as I doubt I'll get much for selling my stuff 2nd hand.

What sound base would you recommend and would it be best to get one that can make use of my eternal sub (wired through the walls)? 

Most of your soundbases seem to use optical not HDMI cable, any issue with lip sync or any other differences? Thanks

Frank ,

many thanks for the Post - really no lip sync issues at all with optical - (HDMI, maybe as there is much more processing involved!) there are a few really great Soundbases around at the moment and the most popular is the Cambridge TV2 which sounds great at just £199.95 / €269.99 ( the euro price includes delivery)

http://www.richersounds.ie/p-200929-tv2.aspx

Have a look at the review above!

The one downside for you with the TV2 is that there is a built in sub and it doesn't allow you to use your MA sub ( which will be 'brill) so with that in mind I'd probably recommend the Tannoy BASESTATION - this is the same price at just £199.95 / €269.99 but has the Sub out which will really enhance your system!

Have a look here:
http://www.richersounds.ie/p-200653-basestation-one.aspx

Hope some of these give you food for thought and keep me posted if I can assist in any way,

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew

FrankGrimes

Thanks, that second one does look interesting, sounds like using my existing sub means I can get better value in a system that doesn't have much bass but is excellent for the rest of the sound range?

I've now got another challenge: we're having wardrobes built and the guy also did up a TV unit but we had crossed wires and he made it too small. I'll be replacing the silver HTPC with a smaller case so that'll be fine as if I'm right, the Denon AV receiver is no longer needed when I get the soundbase, so I'll then have space to put glass doors at the front of the unit.

But it leaves me quite tight for space (that's a 37inch TV I think, maybe 40). What are the dimensions of the 2nd product you linked to? I'll have to figure out if we can fit it in, sounds perfect if we can.

Does it only take a single sound input? Was hoping to be able to switch between by HTPC (all live TV comes through this) and Xbox 360.

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks, that second one does look interesting, sounds like using my existing sub means I can get better value in a system that doesn't have much bass but is excellent for the rest of the sound range?

I've now got another challenge: we're having wardrobes built and the guy also did up a TV unit but we had crossed wires and he made it too small. I'll be replacing the silver HTPC with a smaller case so that'll be fine as if I'm right, the Denon AV receiver is no longer needed when I get the soundbase, so I'll then have space to put glass doors at the front of the unit.

But it leaves me quite tight for space (that's a 37inch TV I think, maybe 40). What are the dimensions of the 2nd product you linked to? I'll have to figure out if we can fit it in, sounds perfect if we can.

Does it only take a single sound input? Was hoping to be able to switch between by HTPC (all live TV comes through this) and Xbox 360.

Hi FrankGrimes.

The Dimensions are:
Dimensions of speaker cabinet (H x W x D) in mm
(H)115 x     (W)640 x (D)355



The Tannoy only has one Optical input but it also has a standard phono to phono input. The Cambridge TV2 also only has one optical connection.

If changing to use a sound base you would not longer need your Denon AV receiver. Perhaps you could put it away in-case you ever wanted to go down that road in the future :)

If you wanted to go all out and hit the top of your budget you could look at the Yamaha SRT1000 priced at 469.99 Euro (Inc Delivery)
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-200870-srt1000.aspx#tabProductDetails-tab
It really is a beast of a thing. It would give you the two Optical in-puts.

It Dimensions are:
Dimensions of speaker cabinet (H x W x D) in mm
(H)77 x     (W)780 x (D)370



let me know what you think once you have checked over your measurements.

Any questions please let me know.

FrankGrimes

Thanks. I cut some cardboard to the measurements of the Tannoy,64cm wide,35.5cm deep and put it under the TV. It will stick out by 1-2cm over the lip of the TV unit.

I think I can live with that but let me know if there's anything I'm missing,e.g. If it is actually recommended to have a sound base place right up to our even over the edge of the unit then my space it's perfect. If it should be further back, less so.

I would go ahead and splash out on the Yamaha to allow switching between HTPC and Xbox but the dimensions wouldn't work, it'd be 5cm or more over the edge. As I'm now looking for something that works in tight dimensions,I would up the budget further in order to get something that fits, gives kick ass sound with our without my sub, and had two optical inputs... Does such a combo exist for max 700eur?

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks. I cut some cardboard to the measurements of the Tannoy,64cm wide,35.5cm deep and put it under the TV.  It will stick out by 1-2cm over the lip of the TV unit.

I think I can live with that but let me know if there's anything I'm missing,e.g. If it is actually recommended to have a sound base place right up to our even over the edge of the unit then my space it's perfect. If it should be further back, less so.

I would go ahead and splash out on the Yamaha to allow switching between HTPC and Xbox but the dimensions wouldn't work, it'd be 5cm or more over the edge. As I'm now looking for something that works in tight dimensions,I would up the budget further in order to get something that fits, gives kick ass sound with our without my sub, and had two optical inputs... Does such a combo exist for max 700eur?

Hi FrankGrimes.

Seems the Yamaha is one of the only ones that has two optical connections.
There is the Canton DM75 priced at 539.99 Euro
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-200795-dm75.aspx
But again only has one optical, also comes with a digital co ax connection.

An over hang over 5cm may not be that bad. Our display one hangs over our shelf by 8cm to the front and 4cm to the rear and it supports a large television with no issues.

Would a sound bar suit if it was sitting in front of your screen?

FrankGrimes

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks. I cut some cardboard to the measurements of the Tannoy,64cm wide,35.5cm deep and put it under the TV.  It will stick out by 1-2cm over the lip of the TV unit.

I think I can live with that but let me know if there's anything I'm missing,e.g. If it is actually recommended to have a sound base place right up to our even over the edge of the unit then my space it's perfect. If it should be further back, less so.

I would go ahead and splash out on the Yamaha to allow switching between HTPC and Xbox but the dimensions wouldn't work, it'd be 5cm or more over the edge. As I'm now looking for something that works in tight dimensions,I would up the budget further in order to get something that fits, gives kick ass sound with our without my sub, and had two optical inputs... Does such a combo exist for max 700eur?

Hi FrankGrimes.

Seems the Yamaha is one of the only ones that has two optical connections.
There is the Canton DM75 priced at 539.99 Euro
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-200795-dm75.aspx
But again only has one optical, also comes with a digital co ax connection.

An over hang over 5cm may not be that bad. Our display one hangs over our shelf by 8cm to the front and 4cm to the rear and it supports a large television with no issues.

Would a sound bar suit if it was sitting in front of your screen?

Thanks Kenny. No space to run a soundbar in front of the TV, it's quite tight. Reason I don't want the soundbase sticking over the edge is it would look terrible if it's anything more than 1-2cm. TV is not too heavy so no concerns there.

Saw pics of the Tannoy and it doesn't look nice to me so I'll skip it, reviews on Amazon weren't great either.

From a quick look around, something like Panasonic SC-HTE80EB-K  would seem to give a lot of what I need, looks good, certainly fits in my space, and gets good user reviews. Downside is no output for a sub woofer. If you have something like that with sub woofer output, I'd go for that, but we can automatically rule out anything that is wider/deeper than the Tannoy, that's as big as I can get away with. Thanks.

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks. I cut some cardboard to the measurements of the Tannoy,64cm wide,35.5cm deep and put it under the TV.  It will stick out by 1-2cm over the lip of the TV unit.

I think I can live with that but let me know if there's anything I'm missing,e.g. If it is actually recommended to have a sound base place right up to our even over the edge of the unit then my space it's perfect. If it should be further back, less so.

I would go ahead and splash out on the Yamaha to allow switching between HTPC and Xbox but the dimensions wouldn't work, it'd be 5cm or more over the edge. As I'm now looking for something that works in tight dimensions,I would up the budget further in order to get something that fits, gives kick ass sound with our without my sub, and had two optical inputs... Does such a combo exist for max 700eur?

Hi FrankGrimes.

Seems the Yamaha is one of the only ones that has two optical connections.
There is the Canton DM75 priced at 539.99 Euro
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-200795-dm75.aspx
But again only has one optical, also comes with a digital co ax connection.

An over hang over 5cm may not be that bad. Our display one hangs over our shelf by 8cm to the front and 4cm to the rear and it supports a large television with no issues.

Would a sound bar suit if it was sitting in front of your screen?

Thanks Kenny. No space to run a soundbar in front of the TV, it's quite tight. Reason I don't want the soundbase sticking over the edge is it would look terrible if it's anything more than 1-2cm. TV is not too heavy so no concerns there.

Saw pics of the Tannoy and it doesn't look nice to me so I'll skip it, reviews on Amazon weren't great either.

From a quick look around, something like Panasonic SC-HTE80EB-K  would seem to give a lot of what I need, looks good, certainly fits in my space, and gets good user reviews. Downside is no output for a sub woofer. If you have something like that with sub woofer output, I'd go for that, but we can automatically rule out anything that is wider/deeper than the Tannoy, that's as big as I can get away with. Thanks.

Hi Frankgrimes.

Not really too much more available unfortunately, other than what we have already listed.

Perhaps the Denon DHTT110 which fits in the size range but again no subwoofer and only one optical connection.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars-sound-base/denon/dhtt110/deno-dht110-blk

The Panasonic 80 is a non shipper and can not be sent via mail order. It would need collected from the Belfast store.

Let me know what you think.

FrankGrimes

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks. I cut some cardboard to the measurements of the Tannoy,64cm wide,35.5cm deep and put it under the TV.  It will stick out by 1-2cm over the lip of the TV unit.

I think I can live with that but let me know if there's anything I'm missing,e.g. If it is actually recommended to have a sound base place right up to our even over the edge of the unit then my space it's perfect. If it should be further back, less so.

I would go ahead and splash out on the Yamaha to allow switching between HTPC and Xbox but the dimensions wouldn't work, it'd be 5cm or more over the edge. As I'm now looking for something that works in tight dimensions,I would up the budget further in order to get something that fits, gives kick ass sound with our without my sub, and had two optical inputs... Does such a combo exist for max 700eur?

Hi FrankGrimes.

Seems the Yamaha is one of the only ones that has two optical connections.
There is the Canton DM75 priced at 539.99 Euro
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-200795-dm75.aspx
But again only has one optical, also comes with a digital co ax connection.

An over hang over 5cm may not be that bad. Our display one hangs over our shelf by 8cm to the front and 4cm to the rear and it supports a large television with no issues.

Would a sound bar suit if it was sitting in front of your screen?

Thanks Kenny. No space to run a soundbar in front of the TV, it's quite tight. Reason I don't want the soundbase sticking over the edge is it would look terrible if it's anything more than 1-2cm. TV is not too heavy so no concerns there.

Saw pics of the Tannoy and it doesn't look nice to me so I'll skip it, reviews on Amazon weren't great either.

From a quick look around, something like Panasonic SC-HTE80EB-K  would seem to give a lot of what I need, looks good, certainly fits in my space, and gets good user reviews. Downside is no output for a sub woofer. If you have something like that with sub woofer output, I'd go for that, but we can automatically rule out anything that is wider/deeper than the Tannoy, that's as big as I can get away with. Thanks.

Hi Frankgrimes.

Not really too much more available unfortunately, other than what we have already listed.

Perhaps the Denon DHTT110 which fits in the size range but again no subwoofer and only one optical connection.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars-sound-base/denon/dhtt110/deno-dht110-blk

The Panasonic 80 is a non shipper and can not be sent via mail order. It would need collected from the Belfast store.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks Kenny. I think I have decided on the Panasonic 80 as it looks good, gets great reviews, fits in the space I have and on thinking about it, I don't need huge bass (will reuse my subwoofer elsewhere). Your £149 price seems great but I've just had a baby so am tied to the house for the moment so collecting from Belfast is not a runner. Is it possible to get it delivered to an address in NI?

Richersounds.ie: John

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: Kenny wrote: »

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks. I cut some cardboard to the measurements of the Tannoy,64cm wide,35.5cm deep and put it under the TV.  It will stick out by 1-2cm over the lip of the TV unit.

I think I can live with that but let me know if there's anything I'm missing,e.g. If it is actually recommended to have a sound base place right up to our even over the edge of the unit then my space it's perfect. If it should be further back, less so.

I would go ahead and splash out on the Yamaha to allow switching between HTPC and Xbox but the dimensions wouldn't work, it'd be 5cm or more over the edge. As I'm now looking for something that works in tight dimensions,I would up the budget further in order to get something that fits, gives kick ass sound with our without my sub, and had two optical inputs... Does such a combo exist for max 700eur?

Hi FrankGrimes.

Seems the Yamaha is one of the only ones that has two optical connections.
There is the Canton DM75 priced at 539.99 Euro
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-200795-dm75.aspx
But again only has one optical, also comes with a digital co ax connection.

An over hang over 5cm may not be that bad. Our display one hangs over our shelf by 8cm to the front and 4cm to the rear and it supports a large television with no issues.

Would a sound bar suit if it was sitting in front of your screen?

Thanks Kenny. No space to run a soundbar in front of the TV, it's quite tight. Reason I don't want the soundbase sticking over the edge is it would look terrible if it's anything more than 1-2cm. TV is not too heavy so no concerns there.

Saw pics of the Tannoy and it doesn't look nice to me so I'll skip it, reviews on Amazon weren't great either.

From a quick look around, something like Panasonic SC-HTE80EB-K  would seem to give a lot of what I need, looks good, certainly fits in my space, and gets good user reviews. Downside is no output for a sub woofer. If you have something like that with sub woofer output, I'd go for that, but we can automatically rule out anything that is wider/deeper than the Tannoy, that's as big as I can get away with. Thanks.

Hi Frankgrimes.

Not really too much more available unfortunately, other than what we have already listed.

Perhaps the Denon DHTT110 which fits in the size range but again no subwoofer and only one optical connection.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars-sound-base/denon/dhtt110/deno-dht110-blk

The Panasonic 80 is a non shipper and can not be sent via mail order. It would need collected from the Belfast store.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks Kenny. I think I have decided on the Panasonic 80 as it looks good, gets great reviews, fits in the space I have and on thinking about it, I don't need huge bass (will reuse my subwoofer elsewhere). Your £149 price seems great but I've just had a baby so am tied to the house for the moment so collecting from Belfast is not a runner. Is it possible to get it delivered to an address in NI?

frank,

the E80 is only instore at the moment as stock is so tight ( we actually only have silver available) - but to be honest it would come last in my selection in terms of overall audio quality and whilst it is good value I'd be loathe to recommend it when you have
been looking at the Cambridge / Yamaha / Dali options....

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew

FrankGrimes

Thanks. I'm at the point where I need to get it ordered today but just haven't seen a compelling option that fits in the space I have. I'll forego the need for external sub and one optical input will be fine as long as there is some form of 2nd input for the Xbox, doesn't have to be an optical or HDMI 2nd input.

Looking at it, I think it could take a soundbar up to about 12cm deep and 100cm wide.  If you can think of a strong option based on the above I'd definitely have a look but I now need to get the big speaker stands out of the room and get the new setup ordered, so I'm accepting I may need to compromise and the Panasonic 80 might not do everything I want but seemed a good trade off for the price.

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks. I'm at the point where I need to get it ordered today but just haven't seen a compelling option that fits in the space I have. I'll forego the need for external sub and one optical input will be fine as long as there is some form of 2nd input for the Xbox, doesn't have to be an optical or HDMI 2nd input.

Looking at it, I think it could take a soundbar up to about 12cm deep and 100cm wide.  If you can think of a strong option based on the above I'd definitely have a look but I now need to get the big speaker stands out of the room and get the new setup ordered, so I'm accepting I may need to compromise and the Panasonic 80 might not do everything I want but seemed a good trade off for the price.

Hi FrankGrimes.

I think I has listed every sound base available to us in the above posts.

The Panasonic 80 is a good unit but its a non shipper so it would need collected from the Belfast store.

If thinking about a soundbar you could look at the Yamaha YAS203 priced at 329.99 Euro
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-201030-yas203.aspx

There is also the fantastic Pioneer SBNX750 priced at 349.99 Euro
http://euro.richersounds.ie/p-201081-sbxn750.aspx
We had a deal on a week or so ago offering this soundbar for just 199.99 Euro (Inc Delivery)
I could squeeze one out to you at this price if interested?

This would pretty much do everything you need and more.

FrankGrimes

Thanks Kenny, the Pioneer sounds like a sweet deal. Looks like the Pioneer is 12cm deep and 9cm high and 90cm wide? If I read that correctly, it'll just about fit, fine on width and tight on depth and height but just about fit and I can overlap the soundbar over the edge a couple of CM.

Thanks for all your help, how do I go about ordering it?

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

Hi FrankGrimes.

I may have your number on system but it you drop me it via PM I can give you a bell for some details :D