Question Considering getting a Dolby Atmos soundbar....what price range am I/Should I look for?

[minnin90]

Don't have much to put into it financially but I have a while to save - just curious what Dolby Atmos bar I could get - it will be a special occasion type use - weekends mostly - as my apartment complex walls are paper thin.

Input is valuable. =)

Oh: Edit: I have 65in TV, so any size basically would look fine with it - but I'd prefer smaller the better for my set up.

 

[dwd999]

Don't have much to put into it financially but I have a while to save - just curious what Dolby Atmos bar I could get - it will be a special occasion type use - weekends mostly - as my apartment complex walls are paper thin.

Input is valuable. =)

Oh: Edit: I have 65in TV, so any size basically would look fine with it - but I'd prefer smaller the better for my set up.

This is an incredibly complex issue and there are no easy answers. I have 2 soundbars and they operate totally differently. One soundbar can be controlled totally from its remote control and the other has to be controlled from either a phone app or if its connected to a home network, over a computer as a network device. So you will have to think about how you're going to control it before you can even consider what model to buy.

Placement will also be an issue for your apartment. Most TVs are bad because they either have down firing or back firing speakers. At least with a soundbar all the speakers will either be front firing, side firing or up firing for Atmos. But you'll have to figure out how you're going to place the sound bar so that it only faces interior (further into your apartment) or building exterior walls. If you think its going to face a wall between your apartment and another apartment, you may want to think again.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I'd start by looking at:

• https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/best/soundbar
• https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-soundbar/

 

[minnin90]

Sorry for the delayed response - my notification did not show this topic getting replied to. Thank you two for the responses.

My apartment is fairly small I don't need a huge wattage soundbar heck to be frank - I dont need atmos but it'd be cool haha. I'll look into those links btw. I honestly think this is gonna be complex at least, for me.

 

[minnin90]

So far this one - is in my price range.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/vizio-5-1-channel-v-series-soundbar-with-wireless-subwoofer-and-dolby-audio-5-1-dts-virtualx-black/6416784.p?acampID=0&ar=1809043985501352735&cmp=RMX&irclickid=wc70uHX9fxyNUe8wl8xoRQiwUkASUAW-8xXz2w0&irgwc=1&loc=Narrativ&mpid=376373&nrtv_cid=af9f2b4873f6c25365242809f33b27a8706bfcb275471be7e07b22e4b96a3e9f&ref=198&skuId=6416784&utm_source=narrativ

 

[dwd999]

So far this one - is in my price range.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/vizio-5-1-channel-v-series-soundbar-with-wireless-subwoofer-and-dolby-audio-5-1-dts-virtualx-black/6416784.p?acampID=0&ar=1809043985501352735&cmp=RMX&irclickid=wc70uHX9fxyNUe8wl8xoRQiwUkASUAW-8xXz2w0&irgwc=1&loc=Narrativ&mpid=376373&nrtv_cid=af9f2b4873f6c25365242809f33b27a8706bfcb275471be7e07b22e4b96a3e9f&ref=198&skuId=6416784&utm_source=narrativ

Other in being in your price range it doesn't offer much. Obviously no Atmos since there are no up firing speakers. And unless you have no neighbors below you the down firing subwoofer will get you evicted. You could possibly lay it on its side on a pillow with the port facing up and the bottom woofer directly facing you.) Hopefully you understand that the "wireless" rear and subwoofer speakers still have to be plugged into a wall socket so you would have to have one of those available.

Vizio does not offer an online manual with this system's capabilities but maybe your retailer could let you examine one. The most important aspect of any 5.1 multichannel sound bar is the ability to adjust the volume of the front center channel speaker with relation to the others. This center channel speaker provides all of the dialog in multichannel 5.1 sound so being able to boost its level to the point that you can understand all of the dialog is important.

 

[minnin90]

Other in being in your price range it doesn't offer much. Obviously no Atmos since there are no up firing speakers. And unless you have no neighbors below you the down firing subwoofer will get you evicted. You could possibly lay it on its side on a pillow with the port facing up and the bottom woofer directly facing you.) Hopefully you understand that the "wireless" rear and subwoofer speakers still have to be plugged into a wall socket so you would have to have one of those available.

Vizio does not offer an online manual with this system's capabilities but maybe your retailer could let you examine one. The most important aspect of any 5.1 multichannel sound bar is the ability to adjust the volume of the front center channel speaker with relation to the others. This center channel speaker provides all of the dialog in multichannel 5.1 sound so being able to boost its level to the point that you can understand all of the dialog is important.

True. Tbh the likelyhood of getting a soundbar at this point is getting slim....

 

[dwd999]

True. Tbh the likelyhood of getting a soundbar at this point is getting slim....

The whole point of buying anything is "what is this going to do for me for the amount that I'm spending"? If your TV's current speakers are annoyingly bad and the soundbar you've chosen would be a marked improvement, then you could go ahead. But if its not going to really do anything for you now you could wait until later when you could afford to get something better. Or perhaps if your TV has an output socket, you could even substitute headphones which might be better in an apartment.

 

[minnin90]

The whole point of buying anything is "what is this going to do for me for the amount that I'm spending"? If your TV's current speakers are annoyingly bad and the soundbar you've chosen would be a marked improvement, then you could go ahead. But if its not going to really do anything for you now you could wait until later when you could afford to get something better. Or perhaps if your TV has an output socket, you could even substitute headphones which might be better in an apartment.

Yeah I'm actually using headphones now bought a fairly nice pair of gaming logitech headphones seems to be my best option at this point - with it a 13ft aux cable extender so I can sit back a ways.