Need Input on Higher End Soundbars


Got a new TV and need some input.  I do not have an A/V processor or receiver so I am running the headphone out from the TCL into my Roksan preamp.  It works and it allows me to control the volume with the TCL remote, which is convenient.  It's a kludge.  I thought about replacing the Roksan combo, but I really don't want to do that.  Another idea I came up with was to get a soundbar.  I never had a soundbar, but I just read about Sennheiser and Devialet  making what appear to be high quality soundbars.  A one box Dobly Atmos is attractive to me.  Does anyone have experience with these two products, or could you suggest something similar?

Thanks for your help.

 

128x128onhwy61

Congrats on your new soundbar.

I'll probably upgrade my soundbar to the Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6.  I'm hoping it'll be satisfying enough to avoid purchasing a multi-speaker surround system.

Ended up getting a Sony HT-A7000 soundbar and SA SW5 subwoofer combo.  The sound is good to very good and I prefer it for watching movies over the existing Roksan pre/power amp feeding Monitor Audio Studio 20s with a MA Radius 360 subwoofer.  Dialog is clearer and there's better dynamics along with some nice spatial effects.  Very impressed with the simplicity of setup of the Sonys.  I attached the supplied HDMI cable from the soundbar to the TV then plugged in the soundbar and subwoofer.  Three cables total and the auto setup synced everything and calibrated the room within 10 minutes.  And that's with me actually reading parts of the manual.  The build quality and design are high quality, but there's a lot of tech built-in to the soundbar so if anything goes wrong years from now it might not be repairable.

Under no circumstances mistake the Sony combo for an ultimate home theater audio system.  It's more of a lifestyle product that addresses a specific consumer type.  Someone who values quality sound, but only wants a limited number of boxes, speakers and cables in the room.  Additionally, I can stream TV with only one remote (Roku).  That's a big deal for me.

The Sony HT A9 has gotten good reviews for providing an immersive experience.  Except for surround music, I suspect it's superior to the Bryston SP3 processor and four KEF LS50s I use.

@lalitk, thanks for the suggestion.  I will investigate.

@oddiofyl, I actually have a non-cheap DAC that I could do that with, but that won't give me any Dolby Atmos type effects.  I am not thinking of using the soundbar for anything other than streaming TV and watching DVDs.  Truth be told, the way I have it set up now sounds good.  I just want more and better.

A cheap DAC with Toslink out of the TV may be a better solution if you like the Roksan combo....

Personally I think the words High End and Soundbar are mutually exclusive. I get really good sound through my system with the digital out to my DAC. Nice phantom center image when there is dialog and mono content.

I highly recommend SONOS Arc sound bar along with their Sub. The Sub can be added later but for ultimate experience, it is a must. I got my two rooms setup with them and sound is equally amazing with TV content or streaming music from plethora of cloud based paid and free services. The SONOS app is very intuitive and makes it a breeze to install and control everything.