OT- Soundbar and subwoofer on TV ... HDMI vs fiber optic audio connection

Bought a $250 Sanyo sound bar / subwoofer setup and was surprised it didn't really sound all that much better than the standard TV speakers. I used the included fiber optic connection cord, but heard after I returned it that I would have had better sound if I used an HDMI cable. True or BS ?

I say BS

With lower priced audio you are not going to hear the difference.

Do check all the settings tho, there are a multitude of settings that affect the sound that comes out of various outputs.

IT took me a week to figure out why I had weird echo in my garage streaming music setup, one obscure setting in the computer

You bought a cheap off brand audio "system" from someone not known for making audio equipment. Of course it doesn't sound great.

Sound transmission is digital now... 1s and 0s. HDMI and Fiber Optic transmit the sames 1s and 0s.... The Sanyo sound bar plays the same 1s and 0s.


You bought a harbor freight soundbar, and it didn't perform as well as a Mori Seiki soundbar. That's all.

TeachMePlease said:

You bought a harbor freight soundbar, and it didn't perform as well as a Mori Seiki soundbar. That's all.

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LOL...well, I wasn't looking for "great", just "significantly better than the TV alone"

Would the Klipsch RSB-11 system at 500 bucks probably fit my criteria or do I need to spend 1,000+ bucks ?

Overlooking wireless speaker transmission, I looked at the speaker connections on the back of the surround system. If the connections are proprietary avoid the urge. I found an Onkyo system for less than $500 that is quite a bit better than the TV speakers. It rivals a modest component system that I assembled in the 70’s and was proud of. It is 5 channels with a big subwoofer. 5 or 6 HDMI inputs.
Joe

"or do I need to spend 1,000+ bucks ? "

Front Speakers shown/not shown 2 subs and 4 rear speakers

Klipsch on the bottom

Theta Casablanca 3 for Pre-amp/that is where the magic is done

that about does it

Slightly over $1000

All analogue (except CD and DAT player) and boy does it sound sweet

That said,,,I have heard cheaper Klipsh speakers and I don't think you can go wrong with Klipsh in the price category you are looking at.Klipsh has the most bang for the dollar,IMHO

Milacron said:

LOL...well, I wasn't looking for "great", just "significantly better than the TV alone"

Would the Klipsch RSB-11 system at 500 bucks probably fit my criteria or do I need to spend 1,000+ bucks ?

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The Klipsch would be fine. You can also get by with a Sony or a Samsung, if you're only looking for "Slightly better than the built in TV speakers", you can spend $300-$500 on a decent name brand, and come out ahead. I mean, most TV speakers are less than 2" diameter... And keep in mind, with the newer TVs, the speakers are almost universally built into the rear of the TV, they're designed to bounce the sound off the wall at you. If you've got a sound absorbing room, or a large distance between your TV and the wall, you will suffer with reduced sound quality.

I don't know much about sound....and I know people hate Bose...but I've been buying used Bose 5.1 'Lifestyle" systems off Craigslist and they seem to work fine.

The last system I bought was over $4K new and I paid $300 for it. It sounds good to me.

I have had a couple Sanyo products and they were alright. Not on par with Sony but definitely better than Emerson and such.

It is a sound bar so the quality isn't going to be killer but it should produce much better sound than your tv. As Gustafson said, did you go through all the settings?

TeachMePlease said:

The Klipsch would be fine. You can also get by with a Sony or a Samsung,.

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Now that you mention Samsung, I remember it was a Samsung system, not Sanyo.

AARONT said:

I have had a couple Sanyo products and they were alright. Not on par with Sony but definitely better than Emerson and such.

It is a sound bar so the quality isn't going to be killer but it should produce much better sound than your tv. As Gustafson said, did you go through all the settings?

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I think so...played with maximum bass and volume anyway.

Do you have a regular stereo?

I just use my stereo and have one of those fancy remotes when I want to watch a movie with surround.

I do at some point need to buy a center channel speaker so the dialogue is better in surround mode

Bs. Digital is digital. Optic fiber has been used for years to transit digital audio, like some of the very first generations of Cd players.
Choosing and setting up a surround sound system can be complicated to do correctly. As always, the best way to choose speakers is to ignore everybody's advice and go and listen to them at a real audio store and buy the ones that sound best TO YOU that are within your price range. For a surround system, it may also be a good idea to pay for professional installation.
Where a Klipsch speakers made these days? I seriously doubt they are still made in New Hope anymore, so it's probably just rebranded overseas junk. Of course, I could be wrong, but the stereo industry is notorious for buying a smaller independent manufacturer just in order to use the name.

For cabling, Romex will do a perfectly adequate job for all analogue audio speaker cables. For digital audio, it'll also do a prefectly adequate job, but bell wire is easier to connect...

I kid you not.

A friend is assembling some of these, have not heard in person yet so cannot really say if they sound better
Fantastic DIY Speakers for less than $3! - YouTube

Mark Rand said:

For cabling, Romex will do a perfectly adequate job for all analogue audio speaker cables. For digital audio, it'll also do a prefectly adequate job, but bell wire is easier to connect...

I kid you not.

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yikes !!!!!!!!!!!!!

gustafson said:

Do you have a regular stereo?

I just use my stereo and have one of those fancy remotes when I want to watch a movie with surround.

I do at some point need to buy a center channel speaker so the dialogue is better in surround mode

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Thats what I did years ago,send the TV thru your home stereo and add a center speaker for audio.

A quick dip in the GooglePond revealed that Fire Stick plus streaming video movies plus HDMI-based sound equipment doesn't always result in Dolby 5.1 sound, without a deep dive into settings, sources, and interconnect methods. Way, way too many variables to attack here. Without being 'set up' correctly to do 5.1, a sound bar won't really sing. They're not 'all that' to begin with, but they usually perform better than a basic stereo TV with 3" speakers in-cabinet.

I have a Vizio 4k that's a year or two old, and a Vizio sound bar connected by either HDMI or optical (don't recall) and it is a step or two up from the TV's speakers. Good WAF, also, from a operational and decor standpoint.

In a former life, I was an actual recording engineer. While I have good stuff in other areas, I quickly realized there was no point in chasing real studio quality with consumer stuff. The cost in square footage, dollars, complexity, etc. wasn't worth it when you took into account the acoustical environment you were in -- a standard living room, with external noise sources and normal surface finishes. If a listening session mattered enough, I just went to the studio instead. Nowdays, it's easier to get 'good', but 'pretty much perfect' is elusive.

You do not indicate which TV you have. I have a Sony XBR-65X750D TV which replaced a another Sony a couple of years ago that died suddenly. I had optical audio from the previous TV to the sound system which I was happy with since my audio system does not have HDMI inputs. The first time I tried the TV to sound system still using glass fiber I was really disappointed with the sound - not much better than the TV. There was no surround audio on broadcast TV programming. After several weeks of swearing at the thing, I discovered, in one of the TV menus, a setting titled "speakers" with 2 options - "TV speakers" and "external sound system". Some genius at Sony decided that in order to output full 5.1 audio to the optical out the TV speakers must be turned off and external sound system enabled. All is well again!
I doubt that HDMI will be any improvement in audio quality over fiber. What it will do is allow several other automatic functions if the HDMI interface is fully enabled. For example if you have a satellite receiver, DVD player or other HDMI device connected to the TV when you power up the satellite receiver the TV will power up automatically. I also think if you select the DVD input on the TV menu the DVD player will also power up. The HDMI interface also can pass copyright control information so that you cannot record copyrighted material. Most audio system receivers now have HDMI bypass circuits so that if the sound system is not powered up the audio/video signals will be passed through. If a satellite receiver were connected to a home theater sound system and then to the TV you could watch a satellite program without the audio system.

Bob
WB8NQW

jrmach said:

Front Speakers shown/not shown 2 subs and 4 rear speakers

Klipsch on the bottom

View attachment 224887

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You forgot to mention the midwoofer on the sofa!