Soundbar or Surround Sound? Help!!

[funguy2121]

Well, Escapist, it's been quite a while but(TLR)

...so I'll soon be living in an apartment that is smaller than 750 sq ft, and the living area will be fairly small. I have never augmented my TV's sound (except for a crappy lo-fi stereo when I was small).

I have heard that Surround is simply too much sound for an apartment (unless you crave eviction). Is this true?

What are your thoughts? Is the simulated surround of a good sound bar good enough for FPSs, third person adventures, survival horror and driving/flying simulations, or do I need the "real thing?" And can you recommend any bars or systems for under $500?

Thanks.

 

[Mr Fixit]

I've got a soundbar hooked up to the tv in my bedroom & it is plenty. I can hear it all over the house & it sounds great. You won't get the extra bass unless you get a stand alone subwoofer, which many sound bars come with, but it still rumbles my room. The one I have is an older Vizio, can't remember the exact model though & it does give a pretty good surround feeling. Mine has been great for movies & games, I love it with Skyrim & Forza.

 

[Maximum Bert]

In my admittedly limited experience I would just get a decent soundbar. Surround is great if your room has the right acoustics and suitable places to place speakers but unless you are going to spend a pretty penny on it a decent soundbar will do you fine. I used to have a budget surround system and now I have a decent soundbar instead and the difference is hardly noticeable think the soundbar is slightly better tbh.

 

[kasperbbs]

I would get the surround system. It shouldn't be a problem if you don't crank up the volume too much. I myself bought stereo speakers for a room of a similar size and i'm pretty happy with my choice and the amount of bass these things can produce would drive my neighbours insane if i ever dared to max out the volume.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I don't feel you really need full surround sound. I had a surround sound system (my receiver crapped out with a cold solder joint) but I only used the front 3 speakers 99% of the time because setting up the rears was a pain in the ass; I would just basically pull out the rears for only certain movies as running the cords under the rug was just too much work. I found just using the front speakers and center speaker was all the surround sound I needed. When playing online shooters, I could tell exactly where enemies were just by listening with only the 3 speakers. I totally feel a complete surround sound system isn't really worth it. A soundbar is a good option (I have one now); however, ideally I'd want a receiver with the 2 front speakers and a center speaker as you do want the left and right speakers further apart than what a soundbar allows for. Plus, receivers are better at decoding Dolby/DTS tracks vs a soundbar (make sure the soundbar can do more than just stereo). Lastly, you definitely need a standalone subwoofer, it just isn't the same without a sub. And you don't need the thing rocking the walls, you can turn it down and get subtle to OK bass, which is far better than a soundbar with a "built-in" sub.