a good quality soundbar would be the most convenient if you are not too demanding on sound quality... it would most probably look good too and won't be any worst than your TV speakers if you are into those lifestyle stuff...

HDMI ARC is usually meant for AVR in case you want to playback sound from your TV using your home theater such as using your TV to view movies via a usb hard-drive or watching astro... technically astro can also be connected to the AVR's hdmi input but that will require you to power on your AVR everytime you want to watch astro.. so, some people will connect astro decoder directly to TV and let astro's audio stream to the AVR via the TV's audio return channel...

with HDMI-ARC connected to soundbars... i think there are even certain aspects of the soundbar can be controlled with 1 single remote... not too sure on this though...

if you have a lot of external sources like a console, bluray, media player... then it's more worthy to invest in an AVR so all the connections can be consolidated into a single AVR and you have less cable clutter running around compared to a stereo setup...

This post has been edited by nm7: Nov 18 2014, 02:07 PM

damn... that's a lot of money there...

wow... is tat monstrosity from wilson audio? how come it's on wheels?

This post has been edited by nm7: Nov 18 2014, 04:46 PM

preferably not due to EMI from electricity cables... else, it's not gonna blow things up if you do it anyways...

you have to think of the long term setup rather than the costs you have to invest now... no point spending it than realizing you have to change your setup sometime later...

the people who would opt for soundbar are people who expects something better than the sounds coming from their tele while still maintaining some form of stylishness or able to blend it into their living area...

that is why HTIB has started to lose popularity in recent years and has grown to become tinier and tinier...

if you really don't have to dough to fork out now.. it's better to save up more than rushing into things...

that depends on what bread you are planning to make...

best for you to look around.. understand more.. see if you just want a simple system which you won't complain about or if you have bigger ambitions...

This post has been edited by nm7: Nov 18 2014, 05:15 PM

those must be some special wheels...

it just looks out of place though..

sounds so wrong...

the correct term should be eargasm....

i trust my bank account would be a mess too if i had something like this...

define "necessary"

i think unicorn electronics in amcorp mall are letting go some opened box but new yet discontinued mission speakers as they are no longer the distributor... rm1.2k for mv8e and rm1.8k for m34i if i am not wrong... just front floorstanders alone...

mv8e dates back a couple of years i think... but i think m34i is still listed on mission's site...

speakers are very preferential... it can be top notch on paper specs but if you don't like it's sound, there is no point buying it...

you should go ask if you can at least listen to it even though it might be connected via different amp and players... if you then think that it all sounds the same and you cannot differentiate which to buy... then you look at what is of more value

a lot of things to us might be of necessary... but it might not be of necessary to you if you get what i mean... i don't think you want to spend money on un-necessary stuff...

so, at least i guess you would need to understand what can an avr do and then go from there and establish what you have in plans for it.. like how you plan to set it up... is it as simple as watching blurays with it or you have other bright ideas that you want to implement... those are factors that can play into the outcome of your choices...

i think nothing in the audio world is a hype... it just depends on whether you see the value in having it... things like audyssey ex room auto setup... some people think it's un-needed while some thinks it's the next best thing ever introduced in HT... all you will ever get is mixed opinions that is going to confuse you more...

AVR as a function itself is purely to allow the user to select the source, pass it through or amplify the signal it receives... anything on top of it like DSP filters and processors, input supports, network playback, are all features added to make things more appealing and keep products rolling out the door on a yearly basis...

you have to first decide on your priorities for the purchase or you can be easily lead to buy things that you did not intend to buy in the first place... from being involved for so many years... i think it's fair to say that there is no right or wrong.. you just have to trust yourself..and be responsible for your own choices...

let's overview a little more subjectively since you exposed your intentions a little and explore further

1) Its to upgrade my existing Hdtv sound quality
Are you referring to all sounds passing through your TV or maybe a certain something like your bluray player? Will it be a full time use of the HT setup or sometimes maybe for certain shows like maybe hong kong drama's you will just live with the sucky sound from TV?

This is more connectivity related as you might want to think about how your components are connected in terms of astro, gaming console, bluray, media player. Is ARC going to be involved (and if your TV has it) or you want to pass everything through the AVR and use the AVR's standby passthrough sometimes without having to turn on the AVR to watch astro for example. Things like that you might want to check and see if the AVR or your TV has support for it...


2) Internet radio
Will you be considering to preferably have this natively on the AVR or maybe spotify on your ipad through airplay or any smartphone and maybe use the audio jack or preferably a line level out converter into one of the AVR's audio input?

this affects if you need an AVR with USB, airplay or network support..

3) as for what it plays...
that like speakers you might want to go and listen to it and decide for yourself...

4) when you say listen to music, do you have a collection of music stored somewhere... do you like to play it via the AVR or you have another device to stream the music? if AVR, do you mind having the TV turned on just to play music or you prefer to have a remote on your smartphone that can decide what the AVR plays without turning the TV on at all?

this are things you have to think deeper about and then narrow down on your AVR's on which can fit your requirements and if there are not.. would you want to wait and save up more for one that can or compromise with what you can afford...

This post has been edited by nm7: Nov 21 2014, 05:01 PM

it will most probably blow your undies away too...