Home theater surround sound

[MaroonFlounder]

I ordered the Samsung Harman Cardon 5.1 HW Q6CR/ZA (soundbar and subwoofer)

It was just OK. Not as full sound or loud as I wanted it to be. Not bad for the price: $229 refurbished from Amazon.

Anyone know of a louder/fuller option at a decent price. Or a speaker setup that would rock the house a little better?

Is connecting soundbar through optical cable or HDMI better?

[Bass Chaser]

It sounds like your looking for a true 5.1 system. I would run everything through HDMI.

You would need an A/V Receiver, left and right fronts, center speaker, 2 surrounds, and a sub.
A/V Brands: Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer
Speakers: Klipsch, Axiom, etc.

There's a lot of speaker options out there just depends on your budget.

[SheltonChoked]

I ordered the Samsung Harman Cardon 5.1 HW Q6CR/ZA (soundbar and subwoofer)

It was just OK. Not as full sound or loud as I wanted it to be. Not bad for the price: $229 refurbished from Amazon.

Anyone know of a louder/fuller option at a decent price. Or a speaker setup that would rock the house a little better?

Is connecting soundbar through optical cable or HDMI better?

HDMI is better. Optical cable limits you 2 uncompressed channels or up to 5.1 compressed. HDMI supports up to 32 channels.

For the rest, it depends on your budget and WAF.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-soundbar/

These guys like the Vizio SB46514-F6. but it is $1,000...
I have read good things about the Roku sound bar and sub.

I have not shopped for a separate speaker system since setting up my 7.2 home theater system 15 years ago.

I have a av receiver, a separate 7 channel amp, and speakers I love.

I have upgraded the avr once to be able to use HDMI switching, I'll have to upgrade again to get true 4k processing when I upgrade the tv again.

I like getting an AV with room correction software like Audessey to smooth out the sound and help with the locations of speakers.

I agree with Bass Chaser on av's

On speakers, I'm a fan of Paradigm, Polk, and ELAC. You can get a good sub from SVS, or HSU for not too much.


https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-surround-sound-system/