Are soundbars generally worth it? (Off-Topic)

by Claude Errera , Friday, June 15, 2018, 12:31 (2356 days ago) @ cheapLEY

For gaming, I typically just stick with my Astros or Sennheisers. Even with movies, I tend to use my Xbox One X and headphones for its Atmos support.

However, I watch a lot of YouTube on my TV, and I really have to crank the volume up to hear anything and it always sounds awful. So I’m looking into getting a soundbar. The Vizio SB3621 has great reviews and seems highly recommended, and it’s exactly in the price I feel comfortable spending. I’m not looking to add great sound to my tiny bedroom, as I use my headphones for that—I’m not looking for a real 5.1 setup or anything like that. Just looking to make not using headphones bearable.

Generally worth the investment or should I just forget it?

We added one in our bedroom in CT, because there wasn't room for regular speakers and we were unhappy with the sound coming from the TV (and because we found one that mounted to the bottom of the TV, which was good, because the TV was mounted on the wall and there was nowhere to set a standing soundbar). It was a Polk Audio bar, on a ridiculous sale; I think it was down from $500 to $200 at the time.

We loved it. Made all the difference in the world, in our case.