Solved! Sound Bar vs AV Receiver

[devestator_x]

So... my wife has decided she doesnt like our current home theater setup and would rather have a sound bar. Our current setup is a Pioneer VSX-532 paired up with 2 Dayton Audio B652 bookshelf speakers and a Pioneer SW8-MK2 subwoofer. Our great room is just not able to use surround sound at all and the receiver was purchased well before we moved into this house. Ive been slowly reading about different soundbars and dont really want to spend too much more than $300, maybe $400 tops. I would want it to be a 2.1 system as we do love to listen to music just as much as movies, so having that low end is good. In fact I still find my SW8 to not quite hit low enough for some of the music we listen to (34hz range on some rap songs), but movies are still the main focus here. I was thinking about Yamaha and their YAS-207 system or a YAS-107 paired with their 10" powered sub. Any other recommendations? Seems every list I read has nothing in common with the previous list of "top 10" products. Oh and this whole old system is going in my den for a completely overkill sound solution for my computer.

 

[americanaudiophile]

Your budget it too limited to really do a decent job on music. The Yamaha isn't bad but it's sub probably isn't as good as your old one. Get a soundbar with a wired sub out and you can add any sub you want. You can build a Dayton sub kit for instance.
In your price range the Sonos Beam is very good and has great music streaming and file playing built in. Downside is you can only use their woofer with it (not cheap but very good.)

 

[devestator_x]

Your budget it too limited to really do a decent job on music. The Yamaha isn't bad but it's sub probably isn't as good as your old one. Get a soundbar with a wired sub out and you can add any sub you want. You can build a Dayton sub kit for instance.
In your price range the Sonos Beam is very good and has great music streaming and file playing built in. Downside is you can only use their woofer with it (not cheap but very good.)

Your suggestion of getting a bar with a wired sub out was the reason for looking at the YAS-107, it has one. Then I would pair that up with Yamahas 10" powered sub for about $350ish. TBH, my current setup doesnt play music the greatest either. The Pioneer sub is strange, its beautiful for movies and explosions, but any hip hop music with low bass in it just falls flat. Rock and metal are nice and punchy though.

 

[americanaudiophile]

Most subwoofers aren't very good. They usually opt for louder and more bass rather than deeper and tighter bass. Music bass has to have definition so you can hear drums, bass guitar, and keyboards all playing at the same time. Movie bass is mostly sound effects but does benefit from a good sub. When a sub is boomy you have to turn it down so the deeper bass is now lower than it should be (if the sub can reproduce it at all).
You don't want a bandpass subwoofer. Forward firing is better than downward firing in almost all cases. A sub with room correction built in is big plus.