Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind listening test? (2020)

Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by bluescrn on Monday July 05, 2021 @05:48AM (#27736147)

There’s also still a fairly standard size for hi-fi separates, and most AV receivers stick to that same footprint.

The bulk of the receiver isn’t really an issue to those who still prefer to use large-ish hi-fi speakers, rather than following the trend of small mono speakers fed lossy audio over Bluetooth or wifi.

Personally, I’ve never liked the ‘tiny speakers plus big boomy sub’ sound ever since it became a trend in computer speakers, and most sound bars just continue that idea.

Also, why is there never the option to turn up the center channel contribution when downmixing surround formats to stereo? Many sound bars are plagued by excessively quiet dialog when playing back certain content. A big bulky AV receiver is likely to give you a lot more control.

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Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by tudorw on Monday July 05, 2021 @06:21AM (#27736320)

Is my NAD AV receiver the only device smart enough to know I want the LED power indicator off when I watch a movie, either that or someone wired it wrong?

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Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by srmarm on Monday July 05, 2021 @06:49AM (#27736520)

Amen, the obsession with putting LEDs on everything is infuriating - especially standby LEDs.

This is compounded with the newer super bright LEDs. I've got a Asus chromebook that lights up a dark room every couple of seconds when it's charging. It's served as a great beater laptop for the past 5 years yet that LED has never once been of use to me but pissed me off dozens of times as I've had to get out of bed to cover it when in a hotel room somewhere.

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Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by chiph on Monday July 05, 2021 @07:19AM (#27736727)

Color it with a Sharpie to reduce the brightness, or cover it with a piece of electrical/duct tape. I have applied auto window-tint film over too-bright LCD clock-radio displays so they don't light up the bedroom.

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Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by ike77 on Monday July 05, 2021 @08:30AM (#27737278)

The issue is that you think about it exclusively when sharipe-less, tape-less, angry and weak.

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Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by bluescrn on Monday July 05, 2021 @07:24AM (#27736764)

It's nice when you get a device with an option to turn the power/standby LED off (Have seen this on Sonos devices and Ubiquiti wifi access points. Would be good to see it in more places)

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Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by vel0city on Monday July 05, 2021 @08:32AM (#27737294)

Onkyo receivers don't have a power LED, they have a standby one that is off when the device is in use. They also usually have a dimming feature on the display and I have seen some units have a "pure audio" mode that turns off the display unless you are actively changing things.

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Re:Can a soundbar rival a surround-sound system in a blind l... by tudorw on Monday July 05, 2021 @09:20AM (#27737681)

nice :)

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