Scarlet brothers
I have a semi remote vacation place with about a 500 square feet in the living room area. I hooked up a bose soundbar for movies and music and after sending them back twice for distortion I got one that lasted a year. Now it’s producing distortion so I am going to toss it. Bose sucks btw.
Anyway any suggestions for quality sound at a reasonable price (<$500) that’s not too bulky? I don’t have much room.
Not too long ago, I spent months shopping for speakers for family room. I did a ton of reading, but eventually, the only way to know if you like a particular speaker, or set of speakers, is to go out and listen to them in person. So I did. For months.
For just a $500 soundbar, you don't have to spend months. There aren't that many options. But I would recommend spending at least a half day out listening to them. You're going to be hearing whatever you get for years, so a half day is probably worth it.
Since you are operating from a fixed budget of $500, it's more important than ever to get out and give it a listen. Because what's good at that price is highly subjective and will vary from one person to the next greatly.
Whereas, if you order a $1500 Samsung or Paradigm soundbar system, most people will probably agree it's pretty good, given the limitations of the speaker size(s).
Another thing people often aren't aware of is that the room itself, and what's in it, can have a pretty big impact on the quality of sound produced by any speaker, even a soundbar. If the room has a lot of hard surfaces, walls, uncovered windows, hardwood floors with no rugs, it's not going to sound nearly as good as if it's a soft and acoustically absorbent room, with carpeting or thick rugs, soft furniture, thick window treatments and even acoustic panels.
Anyway, go out and listen before you buy. I think Best Buy has a bunch of soundbars out for listening. It's not an ideal environment, but it's better than trusting what somebody else thinks, which could be completely different from your taste in sound.
