Awesome. Thank you. 🙏

My sound system consists of 2 SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers, 1SVS Ultra Center speaker, 2 SVS Ultra Surround speakers, 4 SVS Prime Elevation speakers mounted on the ceiling, 1 SVS SB-3000 Subwoofer with a built-in 800 watt R.M.S. amplifier and a Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A8A AV Receiver. This is an 11 channel system producing a total of 1,100 watts R.M.S. My son frequents movie theaters and stated that my sound system surpasses anything he's ever heard in any theater.

Yes it definitely depend on your test and budget. Traditional home theater it does get expensive really quick but as far as I have experienced with electronics stuff they are last really long time with some nice surge protector. Yes I do have sound bar. But eventually love of the music and satisfaction isn’t enough with sound bar you can feel it missing something all the time that you are listening to it. This video is a solid proof to my feeling is right. You know what you live once so go big or go home. Thank for the video. Happy listening everyone.🙏🏻

A good soundbar accompanied by rear speakers can be a good compromise in terms of value for money. Good soundbars still manage to spatialize sound. The rear speakers bring an undeniable advantage. It also has the advantage of being less intrusive.

I have a sound bar but that's only because I'm I'm an apartment and I don't want to get noise complaints. It's a very premium sound bar but once I move to a home I'm definitely getting a av reciever setup

I have a traditional home theater set up. And I love it. The sound is more full than my sound bar I have. And i can upgrade individual speakers as I get the money to upgrade it. I recommend a traditional home theater system.

Bought a "theater in a box" Onkyo 5.1.2 surround system, world of difference. Will never go lower than that now. Do yourself a favor; next level experience.

If you have a small apartment like I do and want something close to a home theater system I’d suggest to anyone to get a soundbar, I had a LG soundbar with a subwoofer that I just replaced with a JBL Deep base 2.1 soundbar and I had the LG soundbar for almost 9 years. It served me well and I enjoyed watching tv with and playing games on it too, it was my first soundbar and it did the job as my home speaker system.

As I have a next room neighbour, my lounge is my media room, and a q600b soundbar with rear speakers is by far enough for my needs. I can't have the volume past 25 in the evening so it is never going to be totally immersive, but at the same time it gives a very enhanced soundstage especially with dtsX blurays, which sound warmer and fuller than Dolby digital. Atmos doesn't interest me, as I don't want ceiling speakers, and don't want to compromise with upfiring, as that defeats the main desire of having height channels, if I was to get really involved. It's great people have the choice now, but 5.1 will do for me 🙃

thank you for this episode. its been on my mind for a while both the difference with these types of sound system devices.

Thank you for the video! Very informative and well done! I have always wanted to understand the pro and cons of each. My daughter recommended your channel. All the best Capt. Hitt.

Great video! It would be nice to have a video explaining how virtual surround works and if it actually is useful. I've tested on some equipment a few times but I still can't notice much difference.

Very interesting topics and useful too. I love telling my friends and family about the stuff I've learned in your videos. I was wondering if you could do a video on whether 4DX is worth it. I tried a similar technology called D-Box with The Dark Knight Rises but found it quite intense for my liking as well as immersive at the same time. Thanks and keep up the good work! Love the imax explainer videos!

Hi, I have the Samsung Q950T/ZC (9.1.4 channels) with the rear/height speakers and I love it a lot. It does a very good job delivering Dolby Atmos and DTX-X... if you have the good room configuration. I know it will never be as "immersive" as having all individual speakers, especially for the height, but the sound is still very impressive. And like pointed out in the video, you don't have to deal with all the wires and cables. And correct me if I'm wrong, a full set of speakers and receiver will be way more expensive to achieve the same level of sound quality.

I just had the sonos arc with full set up and also tried the LGQ950S. They’re ok for what they do however I returned both yesterday and am heading out today to look at a wired system as those sound bars just lacked that “wow” feeling when it came to music.

Great video! I have a 7.1 DTS Virtual X system that has a huge 5 speaker sound bar, two rears and a sub. Gets GREAT sound but contained enough for apartment living. But you're right, I used to only care about picture, but good sound is the game changer. Maybe a video on speaker setups for different living environments?

If you have the space, go for the av receiver option even if you only start with 2 speakers. You can always buy more down the road. If the significant other does not approve, go with a sound bar. ANYTHING is better than tv speakers. And research from lowest tier to mid tier sometimes the upgrade path is sooner than you think and you don't want to get stuck with equipment that has limitations and you have to store or sell.

I got a 5.1 system. I'm 54 so my hearing is not too good, so I needed surround sound. Nice video.

Want a sound system some day. Choose a soundbar because it wasn’t too much money and it’s a huge step up from the sound that just comes out of the tv

I've had several soundbars and surround sound package but it was only when I purchased a budget AVR and a pair of budget speakers that I realised what I was missing, (stereo imaging, thumping bass, fully enveloping soundstage imaging etc) besides going down this route one can always add to it overtime... surround speakers, subwoofers one can even get height speakers and have the full non virtual Dolby Atmos experience. Nowadays AVRs has so simple to setup they even walk you through the process. Remember movies are made up of 50% visuals and 50% audio and there are occasions when the audio out does the visuals.

It’s a universal fact that there is always something better. If it’s not here today, give another week. My Sennheiser Ambeo is great to listen to but give me another year and I’ll be digging out the stud finder to install discrete speakers.

I used to have a soundbar and got rid of it. I'm now happy with the Denon Stereo.

The klipsch flexus core 200 soundbar is pretty nice it can get loud and it has a sub out input which i like about it, my klipsch reference premiere subwoofer hooked up to it sounds nice. I like it

I have a Sony blu-ray home system, use a 3.1 set up, Dayton audio center and 2 Dayton audio tower speakers with a Sony passion subwoofer don't have the space for back speakers but the 3.1 system works very well.

I have 2 5.1.2 setups with recivers because i want to listen to all soundtracks weather it be dts or dolby. There are alot of soundbars that dont support full dts or dts x

Great video! Looking for this as I’m moving to an apartment and thinking on downsizing from a home theater with Atmos to a soundbar with Atmos.

The advantage is they don't take up much space and they're usually only one connection between the soundbar and the TV. But you're not going to get good sound out of most of them. For what most soundbars cost now, you are almost better with a receiver, a couple bookshelf speakers and a sub. It will usually cost the same if you buy used too. Start with a 5.1 receiver, and just buy it piece by piece. You can upgrade to better speakers or sub or receiver later if you want. My relatively cheap 2.1 system imo sounds far and away better than any soundbar I've owned.

I currently have a soundbar (VIZIO M51a-H6) since December 2021 to replace the no longer working Sony Blu-ray/DVD Home Theatre player model BDV-N790W. A few people I know (my cousin from Southlake, my uncle's cousin from San Jose and my cousin from El Paso) have a home theatre system with a traditional setting.

I have a "traditional" home theater installed, is an ATMOS and DTS X system 6.2.4 (yes, 6, because I have only one surround back speaker) My main AVR is from the brand Denon and my "external amp" is my first Onkyo AVR, which can power 7 speakers but I'm only using it for the 6 height speakers. I definitely love the experience of having speakers all around and the way that they drown you inside the film, series or game that's been played in the system. A friend of mine has a nice soundbar from Samsung, sounds good inside he's apartment but, he also calls my room "Victor's Cinema"

Great video, well done Sir, i myself feel a bit bias to actual surround systems. However, if you consider bugdet, space, wiring. a good soundbar with subwoofer and wireless satellite rear speaker is a very good choice, as you save the money for the reciever and you have way less cables to deal with. BUT there is a big twist in this. the market is filled out with those cheap once, so be aware you got exactly what you paid money for. so no real bargain in soundbars world, the cheaper the price is, the worse your speakers are. the industry know that and the market know that and every soundbar will end up in someone's house, because they are modern, easier and cheaper. so the demands on them is higher comparing to actual sound systems.

Great video! I totally agree. A discrete system would always sound better. But the reality is, that sound bars are here to stay and with good reason. I’d say if you have a dedicated room for your theater go discrete. If your wife allows you to wire 5.1 in your living area , go discrete , but if you are like me and are happily married get a sound bar!

I just got a Vizio m series 5.1 system with surround speakers . Is that any good? I set it up and audio sounds muffled ? Sound bar sounds good tho

Had a jvc sounbar before it was ok, then upgraded to a 4.2channel LG, there's a lot of difference when watching movies interms of background sound, the little steps from left to right. I'll still advice anyone with a good budget to stick to the old school design (AV) The quality there isn't like any other

I'm loving my ZVOX 580 that i purchased on EBay for 50 bucks. It replaced my Bose Solo 5.

When comparing similar quality levels, I found the sound bar cost more. Using the Sony HTA7000 paired with a SUB-woofer, the cost is 1700 not including surround speakers. Add 2 surround-speakers and you are over 2000. Or I can buy a similar quality Sony separates for about $1000. The sound-bar is wireless and I'm sure this accounts for the extra cost. The experience with the separates will be better, but I'll need to run speaker cables to the back of the room for surrounds, not the mention the size of the separates vs the SB in a Livingroom.

I understand that a 5.1, 7.x or 9.whatever AV Receiver home cinema setup is "better" than a soundbar. I have an 15y old 720p LCD TV (yup, still running) and thinking of upgrading the audio. I am watching mostly(!) talk shows/documentaries (= more voice than sound effects). My setup locks of clear voice. I wonder if a AV Receiver with 3.0 setup (left/right/center) is still outperforming a soundbar for my intention? Pro is that I would be flexible to expand to 5./7./9. (depending on rcv.) in the future whereas con might be that it is too overkill. On the other side my TV has no ARC/eARC so I would need to buy in addition to the soundbar likely a HDMI/eARC Splitter and in also an HDMI switch (unless the bar provides enough inputs; Sonos Arc aint doing so). Any thoughts how I shall proceed? And nah, a new TV aint in my focus ;-) Thanks!

I believe a quality soundbar paired with surround speakers and a subwoofer is good enough for most folks. By adding surrounds and a sub to the soundbar - you get some of the best of each option. The simplicity & cost saving of soundbars *with* some additional channels to provide heft and a true surround experience. Sure, a 7.1 system with dedicated speakers for each channel will still be better, but most folks don't want to deal with the extra expense and space/wires that requires. Just my two cents.

I'm sure that a full home theatre would sound much better than my basic JBL SB190 soundbar, but I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and I plan to move to a different country every few years. My 2.1 channel soundbar works fine and I didn't spend too much on it, so I'm a happy camper.

I have a Focal grande utopia , its really nice

Today I changed from a SoundBar 7.1.2 to my old AV Recever 7.1 sistem. The reason is that I can get sound without virtualization and leakages that soundbars have.😊

I remember a time when I had a decent audio system, a receiver, DvD player, Tape player, Reel to Reel and 4.1 channels with mid range towers and bookshelves. The reality is that I can't justify rebuilding a similar system because it is space, labor and cost intensive. I don't want to drill holes and run cables. Secondly, I don't consume as much television content as I used to. I'm almost exclusively on Neflix and Prime. Lastly I'm not a console gamer so that one more thing that de-incentivizes me from going all out. I had an older entry level Bose sound bar interconnect it had was optical. I replaced my TV recently and it had all kinds of Dolby, HDR, EArc and 4k features which I did not have in the past. I realized that my single soundbar was insufficient to create an immersive experience. I grabbed a Samsung Q60c 3.1 and wow was it a huge improvement. I want 5.1 but I just can't justify that extra expense.

I had a Sonos 5.2 system, Sonos Arc, 2 play 5s and 2 gen 3 Subwoofers, The Sonos sounded very good but I was not able to expand like I could with a traditional Home Theater system, So i endup going with a 7.1 HomeTheater system that sounds amazing but there is a tradeoff, The Sonos looked cleaner ran threw wifi with no issues, But my Home Theater System sounds better, But the about the Home theater system was all the wiring that had to be done which really was a hassle, So in my opinion there's pros and cons about both Soundbars vs Home Theater systems, If your a Movie watcher and want something that sounds great I say go with a Sonos 5.2 system, But if your into listening to music and watching movies I would say go with a traditional Home Theater system.

Speakers all the way. If you're paying $250-500 for a sound bar, you're better off with speakers. Even some powered monitors with a sub would be way better, and you won't be paying again for apps and features you already have built-in on your TV.

I just bought a 7.1.4 sound bar from LG and it sounds incredible. I can even hear objects flying over my head. But I always wonder how a real home cinema system would sound as I’ve never heard one before.

I only use a surround sound system with 6 speakers plus sub through my receiver. 360 surround sound. It’s like being in the movie.

My tannoy speakers are like 25 years old m3 as front m1 as surround i was thinking its time to change but these speakers are so good its a war going on in my head i dont think a sound bar can provide the sound they do my center output on my onkyo 607 stopped working awhile ago i did have 7.1 but amp terminals are now not working so i have 4.1 i cannot find a 5.1 system its all sound bars now

Full surround system. Soundbars are ok for people with limited space, or don't want to invest a lot of money into a full system.

Are large 200 watt monitor speakers in the 2.0 system better than a 40 watt soundbar with "surround" option for watching movies from the Dune media player?

Nice and thorough review. Thank you. I'm an audio enthusiast who nearly got caught up into buying a soundbar system because I did not even know I had this passion and hobby prior. I've once visited my local technology store and listened to their soundbar systems which blew me away especially the bass. I turned to KZfaq for some investigations before making up my mind. I was blessed not to take that soundbar direction having heard the pros and cons because it wasn't going to satisfy my greed for an impactful bass experience plus the restriction of sticking to one soundbar brand which limits the prospect to upgrade. I'm now happy with my average traditional hifi system and upgraded gradually but a bit costly though. I went back to my technology store and condemned the same soundbar systems that earlier blew me away after realising how they were extremely underpowered and lacking indepthness. What a fake bass that wouldn't even rumble a needle let alone rumble walls, washing machines and refrigerators or meet your partner and neighbours disapproval. Soundbars are a cheaper option for those who aren't too keen about sound quality and speakers placement or cannot afford to over-spend.

I used to have sound bar now I dolby atoms and dts x home theater system with polk audio speakers and svs pb 2000 pro and Sony 4k x90 and denon 8k 27000h reciver

I'm currently using a Denon 1912 av reciver with 5.1 sonodyne speakers and a sub. The system is almost 11 years old. Now, I want to upgrade to a new atmos + dts vertual x system kindly suggest wheather a JBL, or LG sounndbars with addditional surround speakers will be a good option or not?

I have a sounder because I can't afford a home theater system (I can afford to buy bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer but not a receiver), going for the soundbar made sense at least for now, currently im using a JBL bar 2.1.

Edifier s3000 pro are the best speakers. They are so versatile as well and no receiver needed

I have both but wanna connect them if possible

The two front and left channel speakers are paradigm studio monitors, matching with the paradigm sonic sphere center channel speaker and the rear Onkyo speakers and to power at all is a Morant SR5009 Dolby Atmos 4K resolution AVR receiver. If I were to compare a sound bar to the system, all the other TVs in our house, have Vizio sound bars and none of them have anything on these guys not even the Bose system my brother has in his room has anything on these guys I would say an actual Home Theater surroundsound system with physical speakers is 1,000,000% the way to go because not only is it an understatement to say that the movie experiences more immersive, but just so is the sound detail in everything that you are watching is some thing that sound bars will never be able to fully re-create without all the necessary physical speakers. It’s just not possible virtual listening, has nothing on the actual physical sound that you get from a surroundsound system. The only downside is that if you want to get a system like this it’s gunna cost around the $3K range not accounting for the receiver, and the subwoofer. Still overall hands-down I would tell anybody to go with the physical Surround sound system versus just going with the cheaper alternative, which is a sandbar.

My 1st original 5.0 system was back in 2008 Samsung with dvd player 800wats was belting now have purchased a Sony HT-S40R sound bar with part wireless rear speakers as they plug into adapter so I wouldn't have speaker wire running around the house it's 600wwtts.thought it was going to be ok but it tries to hard you can't have it on a comfortable volume without disrupting others around house if your watching a Netflix series and you have to crank it up to watch film it's just dissapointing.wished stayed with original set up of speaker wire everywhere and 5 speakers.i could have bought 5 speakers and sub and had change left over with how much this Sony HT-S40R cost and then bought separate receiver very annoyed I am.

New video idea: You should do another video about the best way to see James Gunn The Suicide Squad in IMAX or Dolby Cinema

No contest full surround sound system. You know right away its a soundbar because of the sound it's not big. Also, so limited media player you can connect on a soundbar, for a receiver you can connect at least 6 media box or gaming console. Soundbar is only good for small room.

A soundbar sure beats TV speakers. But a discrete speaker system definitely beats a soundbar, assuming the sound quality is the same. The separation and imaging is key. I've tried both and prefer a discrete system by far.

I love my Bose Solo system. I have two. Got rid of surround speakers. That’s just me 🤷🏻‍♂️👍🏼👊🏼

A cheap 5.1 is still better than an expensive sound bar.

Brian failed to mention that like in a movie theater a true 7.1.4 Atmos system will send each speaker it's own channal file. A sound bar is basicaly just the SRS Wow effect. So you won't get all the sounds of the movie. If you add surrounds then yeah you'l get the surround channals on their own, but what of all the rest? I prefer a real 7.1.4 Atmos system.

I Upgraded From Soundbar to Dali Oberon 7 and onkyo, But i waiting now…. Well Sub is outsaled in Swiss, Maybe aviiable again 2023.

Great video as always! Do you speak Spanish? Are you interested in collaboration?

soundbar lg sl8 + surrounds space mony cables

5.1 surround sound be free kit. I see soundbars as inferior to traditional surroundsound

Speakers.I bought my girl friend a sound bar. She loves it and she is trying to get me to buy one .Heck no

i have technics sc dv 290 and still is better than best soundbars on this time ! :)

5.1 is enough for me.soundbars maybe for computers only

Go and try the new Samsung soundbars released last year and this year 2021-2022. guess u haven't tried yet. we call it innovation. yeah

Was The suicide squad film shot in IMAX?

I have both and there's no comparison: soundbars suck ( even my Sonos)

Sony makes great entry level stuff. The STR-DH790 is outstanding. You can spend far less and get a massive bang for your buck by going a full Best Buy Sony home theater system than any soundbar. Soundbars suck.

Home theater.

Problem today is that soundbars are more $ then very good/basic 5.1 H.T systems. Samsung,Bose,Sonos,LG all want like $2,000 for a "11.2.4" systems GTFOH 🤣. Actual physical present speakers always wins 100%

5.1 Receiver paired with five 100 (rms) watt speakers and a 400 (rms) sub-woofer. having this with my 70" HDR 4K TV is simply the way to go IMO. Sound bars simply don't get it done for me.

This is a pretty biased comparison... they only talk about why soundbars suck.

Home theatre market going drastically down difference between home theatre and high end sounbars very thin now

I do not like soundbars anymore because they lack the true discrete movie theater surround sound quality of a traditional home theater surround sound system I am a huge fan of both movie theater surround sound & Dolby Atmos and I am both an audiophile and love traditional Dolby Atmos home theater surround sound systems that are not too expensive In fact I use to own a Sony HTZ9F 3.1 Channel Wireless Dolby Atmos Soundbar System with a Wireless Subwoofer and without upward-firing height speakers then added Sony SAZ9R 2.0 Channel Wireless Surround Rear Speakers for my Sony Dolby Atmos Wireless Soundbar and Subwoofer Combo for a complete surround sound system for watching listening and enjoying many films tv shows and music even though it both gets loud sounds a lot better than my television I have owned in my house: LG 55-Inch B6 OLED 4K Multi HDR with Dolby Vision Smart Flat Big Screen Television (2016 Model) it does not sound as awesome cinematic premium powerful state of the art atmospheric three-dimensional dynamic room-filling impactful immersive punchy as a Dolby Atmos Premium Home Theater Surround Sound System with REAL Upward-Firing Height Elevation Speakers originally I wanted one of the two Nakamichi Shockwafe Spatial Surround Elevation Dolby Atmos Premium Home Theater Surround Soundbar System Series with a Soundbar with High Quality/Performance Full-Range Woofers and Two High Quality/Performance Tweeters that bounce sound off walls & ceiling Two Big Subwoofers Two or Four 2-Way Surround Speakers w/ High-Quality Tweeters Full-Range Woofer Drivers that sounds the same as both a real life commercial Dolby Atmos/IMAX movie theater & a traditional Dolby Atmos home theater surround sound system but since I already owned a 5-year-old solid good Onkyo TXSR444 7-Channel Dolby Atmos Premium Home Theater Surround Audio/Video Receiver (2015 Model) since April 2016 I got a Traditional Klipsch 5.1.2 Channel Dolby Atmos Premium Home Theater Surround Sound Loudspeaker System that includes Two Front Tower Floorstanding Loudspeakers with Two REAL Dolby Atmos Upward-Firing Height Elevation Loudspeaker Two Bipolar Surround Loudspeakers One Center Loudspeaker and One Big 12-Inch Subwoofer all with High-Quality/Performance Woofers & Tweeters for nearly $2,500 with additional speaker wires I bought for the money then hooked it up to my Onkyo TXSR444 Dolby Atmos 4K Premium Home Theater Surround Audio/Video Receiver (2015 Model) calibrated the loudspeakers with the included eq room correction calibration microphone I got on eBay and while enjoying watching and listening to films tv shows and music it felt & sounded a lot much better greater and more awesome cinematic premium powerful dynamic room-filling impactful immersive punchy in which it very much sounded like a real life commercial movie theater and changes the way I’m how I enjoy and listen to films tv shows and music I gave my Sony HTZ9F/SAZ9R 5.1 Channel Dolby Atmos Surround Soundbar & Subwoofer Combo System to my twin sister and boyfriend’s condo where their new TV is located in their bedroom LG C1 55-Inch 4K UHD Multi-HDR with Dolby Vision Smart OLED TV with Dolby Atmos/eARC is located in order to vastly improve their tv watching experience and they both liked there new 5.1 Ch. Dolby Atmos Sony Surround Soundbar/Subwoofer Combo System Later in June 2023 I got a much more newer state of the art advanced better immersive premium cinematic advanced critically acclaimed Denon AVRS970H 7.2 Channel Dolby Atmos Premium Home Theater Surround Audio/Video Receiver with a Highly Advanced Greater Powerful Robust Cinematic Premium Rich Punchy 32-Bit/192kHz Digital-to-Analogue Converter/Discrete High Power Amplification Technology/Room Correction Calibration Software Technology Audyssey MultEQ with Dynamic Volume & Dynamic EQ and 8K-60/4K-120 Passthrough/Upscaling Multi-HDR with Dolby Vision for nearly $800 w/ tax hooked it up to my one year old Klipsch 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos Home Theater Surround Sound System calibrated the loudspeakers with Audyssey and after getting everything working flawlessly correctly and perfectly adjusting the sound quality via Audyssey MultEQ Editor app and enjoying watching and listening to many films tv shows sports and music it sounded a lot much better greater and more advanced awesome cinematic premium powerful dynamic room-filling impactful immersive richer punchy three dimensional atmospheric advanced realistic detailed nuanced cleaner crystal clearer and didn’t just change the way how I enjoy watch and listen to films music sports and tv shows it honestly extremely much sounds and feels a lot like a real life commercial Dolby Atmos/IMAX Laser movie theater that I can clearly hear 3D surround sound objects above around through behind and everywhere in the room with my newer Denon AVRS970H Dolby Atmos Receiver than my older Onkyo TXSR444 Dolby Atmos Receiver even though with my older Onkyo Dolby Atmos Receiver I can clearly hear surround sound objects above around through behind and everywhere in the room my newer Denon AVRS970H Dolby Atmos Receiver is much much better than my older Onkyo Dolby Atmos Receiver in which it not only rivals my nearby Dolby Atmos commercial movie theaters commercial IMAX Laser movie theaters or even commercial movie theaters with 4K RGB HDR Laser Projection & Dolby Atmos but I am enjoying the content in which the filmmakers sound team & music team intended them to experience it as it was originally mixed in the recording studio that is unmatched by a lot of soundbars