It’s been far too long since I’ve taken a gander at this thread, and I apologize for missing some of the questions from you all that needed help earlier while I was out. I’ve had a hell of a year from an audio perspective… being cooped up gave me a lot more disposable income and instead of being smarter, I took advantage of a few too many sales. One of which is a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 705 S2 stand mounts; I’ve been dreaming of the 700 and 800 series for years, so attaining at least one of the models in the 700 range with the top-mounted tweeter is a dream come true (and they live up to every bit of my expectations). I’ll update with the other additions in the next while, but mainly wanted to get this topic moving again.
I couldn’t agree more with this statement. I love my B&W and recent Polk gear, and plenty of reviewers agree but sound is entirely subjective, and being able to listen to several speakers in a controlled environment is the absolute best way to determine what kind of sound you like. Take Kef, for instance; here’s another brand that’s almost as revered as B&W, and I picked up a pair of their last-gen R series stand mounts… did not like the sound one bit. I wasn’t hearing any more spacious of a soundstage than either of the B&W speakers or Polk References and felt like the drivers strained a bit at levels the others didn’t. But that’s just my experience with my own ears and I would absolutely still say that they should be in consideration if they fit the budget and goal.
Nice pickup. What are you pairing with them as a center speaker? I’m looking to fully upgrade my speaker setup later this year and did have a look at the 800 series
I need to take a pic to show off the setup but I have a 5.1 setup and then a separate 2.0 setup in the same space that I swap out between my best pair of speakers; part of last year’s spending including a pair of Polk R700 floorstanders so I rotate between them, the 705s, R200s, and Focal Chora. They’re paired to a Marantz NR1200 stereo receiver and powered by a Marantz 7025M amp.
I am still very much in love with the Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 soundbar, combined with the two rear speakers.
Watching the movie Rampage on Prime now and in one scene a big monster wolf roars, and the power of that roar almosts make my living room shake, I love it. This is without a subwoofer.
It was thanks to just one review that I read last year that said this bar hold its own without a sub that had me decide to at least buy it and test it at home. It’s exactly what I was looking for.
For starters, there are plenty of good-to-great soundbars out there, so don’t let anyone tell you they’re worthless; the amount of listening styles and room limitations make them useful in plenty of scenarios (despite having primarily speaker-led audio systems, my wife and I have a his/hers setup that we have a soundbar for each of us).
Secondly, never let anyone tell you that a subwoofer is a necessity. I don’t have a sub in my 5.0 setup because my L/R speakers have large enough woofers (they don’t result in a boomy-bass), and I had a sub in for a while that ultimately detracted from the sound balance. Subs are great for smaller driver systems (and other scenarios), but they aren’t perfect for every system/scenario and your room acoustics dictate just as much of that as anything.
Oh for sure. But it definitely differs per soundbar. I tested several brands, from Sonos to Philips, Samsung, and without a sub I really disliked how the Samsung sounded and Philips as well, Sonos a bit better but far from ideal. When I connected a sub to the Samsung it was just overly boomy and I couldn’t get it sounding right.
Initially I really wanted to go for the full proper audio setup, front, center, rear speakers and AVR but it just takes up too much space and I honestly don’t have space in my current AV setup for a AVR. Soundbar was absolutely the way to go. I am so damn glad the search truly is over, because man, it can be a bitch, lol.
As for sub, I have been thinking of adding one or at least buying it and testing it (with the option to return it) because at times during content it does seem there is bass missing, while in other scenes it’s super powerful. So perhaps it’s just the content. I do really like how I can just enjoy a movie and knowing I am not bothering my neighbours below me with room shaking thumping sounds and what not, haha.
My Harman Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 setup is complete. I’ve added the “small” subwoofer and oh my, the difference is lovely. Watched some scenes of The Equaliser 3 and those gunshots are full of power now. I mean without a sub it’s still an amazing soundbar and it will always surprise me how strong it’s bass deliverance is but the sub really enhances the overall experience.
Managed to get it during a crazy sale, so crazy I couldn’t ignore it.