@studerc Not sure what the magical differentiator is between this and every other crap bubble remote I've ever had the displeasure of owning is... but OK.
Nice reviews on Amazon. Here's one, seemingly at random.
This thing is a piece of junk. I've tried the optical, HDMI, RCA plugs and the phone jack. There is very little volume no matter what I tried. I would use it as a boat anchor but it's not quite heavy enough.
Okay, fine. That wasn't randomly selected. But find another review that says it has a "phone jack". You can't. Q.E.D.
@smuller20 These types of things (including the more common "sound bar" form) are made to enhance the audio from your TV. Many TVs have poor quality speakers to begin with, and they're often pointed to the side, bottom, or even the rear of the panel to make things worse. You'd get a sound bar/plate/deck/whatever to have better audio without the expense/complexity of adding a receiver and multiple satellites. I have both setups actually, but I use the surround system for movies and the sound bar for just watching random TV programs.
@Atomizer I've plugged in a set of 2.1 pc speakers from 5-10 yrs ago to my tv. I don't believe it has optical out but it's using the headset Jack. If I have the tv speakers enabled it comes as an echo not an enhancement.
@sohmageek It sounds like there's a delay between the TV's audio and that which is coming from the headphone jack, which is causing the echo (also, the last time I plugged headphones into the explicitly-labeled headphone jack on my previous TV it automatically disabled the TV's speakers.) You could possibly remedy this by trying to mute the TV itself. Otherwise you'd have to attach any other speakers via whatever audio output the TV has: digital optical or coax, or analog stereo (via the red & white coax phono plugs.)
disturbing-foreign-bromine. Wasn't really sure where the low volume reviews came from, I thought it was plenty loud. Sounds better than my TVs speakers or the $50 surround sound set I got from woot a couple years back (which admittedly isn't hard to do)
@somf69 that ad was from when Maxell made really nice blank audio cassette tapes.
Unfortunately the brand name has been hijacked by mediocre (well OK) bottom tier no-name products. Just like Nakamichi and various other previously solid legacy brands from the past.
Edit: looks like Maxell the company might still exist in Japan.
@2many2no interesting - GE couldn't sell their appliance div. but got a lucrative cancel deal fee from Electeolux anyway. Didn't take them long to dump it onto Haier - what, a couple weeks?
Tempting but I am currently using the JBL Pebbles that I bought here a while back as my TV speakers. I was so impressed with the sound (especially the bass) that I bought another pair when I bought a new TV. I find it hard to think the Maxell will beat out the JBL Pebbles.
@densa I can't imagine using the pebbles for tv. I have some pebbles I'm using with my iMac and the sound is better but not blow your socks off better. The bass is still limited.
I can't imagine using the pebbles for a tv simply because of the lack of substantial bass.
My best computer speakers I ever bought were my JBL creature 2 speakers simply because of the subwoofer. But those broke and I haven't replaced them. I used them on my tv too back when I was in an apartment.
@2many2no yeah this is annoying me too but i'm getting it anyway. my tv only has that or RCA out, will probably just use the damn RCA. there's an adapter you can buy for this, but it requires being plugged in, and that sucks.
@caffeine_dude I ended up just ordering a converter from amazon. I'd suggest searching "coax to toslink" and probably throw in a -analog. I got a bi-directional one so it might be more useful in the future, and I think I might get away with powering it from my TV's USB slot, we'll see.
@RedOak I think the author may be poorly written software that writes reviews that fool google into thinking it was written by a real person... But look at those sweet Amazon affiliate links at the bottom!!
Oh, I should have read the comments first before I bought, but was afraid they would sell out. IF This Works, this is going to be fantastic! I have a monitor and an Alienware Alpha I got for a steal-but no sound, since monitors don't have sound. I'm gonna hook this puppy up to the opitcal out on the Alienware, and this is gonna be cheaper than buying a TV to replace my monitor. (A lot of pictures, but none of the back of the unit, so I could see the inputs. )
I'm unsure what to do. I'm in need of a sound bar, under 30 inches wide. And I am a cheapskate. I've been waiting for a deal. Just maybe not THIS deal.
Anyone know if I have an optical output on my TV that's currently unused, is that ALL I need to make this run? All of my HDMI devices are hooked into the TV. Thx!
@Kerig3 Optical out, or stereo RCA jacks. Since this soundbar can't do surround sound (it's stereo) there won't be a noticeable quality difference between them. Optical is theoretically better but analog stereo audio cables work just fine.
@djslack But they're not listed in the package contents in the description, so I for one am not expecting them to be in the box. Maybe I'll be surprised?!
@Fen_Star Not everyone has their flat screen TVs mounted on the wall. Hell, I still have one of those huge TV hutches with hidden doors for all of my VHS tapes...even though I packed up the VCR years ago.
@Kerig3 So do I, but fortunately it comes in two parts. I plan to move the upper half to a spare room and get a new TV to sit on this. Been planning it for months, this ought to motivate me. Now I'm waiting for Super Bowl sales.
@sohmageek In-Bev management from Belgium will make sure that mistakes like that never happen again. The suffering of the shareholders caused by giving away 71 million cans of water instead of using them filled with beer for sale was staggering. Oh, the humanity!
@Mandamm you can chisel out the wallboardin mack of the tv and put the sound bar in the resulting pocket with the tv over it. there's no need to thank me.
@cranky1950 Sry Cranky, Knocking out the wallboard isn't a great option, as it would also take some sort of shelf.. So, not thanking you for the advice, just the response..
Let's hear it for another sell out! Party @Barney 's! Turnip and have another drink at the speaker bar to celebriate !
Note to self: When you want to add two or more puns together, it is faster to just do multi-pun-ctuation. Ok, that last one (celebriate) was a malapropism, but that is still punny , yes?
@sammydog01 No, my house does not look like a gynecologist's office, but it does look like a pic from my last "theme" party, except my party hat was purple.
I have one of these that I paid full price for ($100) from walmart about 2 years ago. I love it. It sounds great, looks pretty nice, and works pretty flawlessly all the time.
The only complaints I have are, being a kind of off brand it can be a pain to program into a universal remote. The remove that comes with it is a bit cheap. Occasionally if you turn it off by accident, it will take a few minutes before it lets you turn it back on.
Otherwise its great and if it died today I would definitely look for one again.
So, we already have a sound bar for our TV. But it blocks the remote sensor for the TV. For the past 2 years I've been thinking of buying a piece of wood, spray painting it black, and using it to lift the TV so its remote sensor will be visible. But now I don't have to. I've just purchased my TV lifter/soundbar backup. Thank you, meh.
Ack! I would have definitely gotten one of these. I standardized on NEC p-series displays, which I love, but which don't usually have speakers. Would have been perfect. sigh
The great post-CES tech dump is starting. I'm watching for a likely TV myself, because I grabbed one of these. The order name generator has surpassed itself: mewing-secretive-leek. Yeah, right.
Just hooked this up and it's not bad, but not great either. Much better than the TV's speakers, but it's not going to rock out the room for a party. The max volume was decent using the optical input, but the cablebox remote didn't have any codes that worked, so I had to switch to the RCA and use the cablebox to change volume. However, either the RCA input is less sensitive or the cablebox puts out less volume at max. I can understand why some reviews said the volume was low if they used the RCA input. Music through Bluetooth however, can actually get to a decent volume, but there is a perceptible high frequency static/clicking that may annoy some people.
Overall, it's about what I would've expected for what we paid and I consider the bluetooth input as a nice bonus, though I did have a slight hope that the sound quality would be better. If I had paid anywhere near the original $150+ selling prices, I would've been extremely disappointed in the performance.
I kind of concur with @kuoh. I had to use 1/8" output from my tv, and tv asked me if it was line out or headphones. I tried both and headphones seemed to get a little more volume. Cranked the soundbar up all the way and it seems i have to put the tv at a higher volume than before to get regular volume, but it sounds better than the tv speakers. And I can crank it way up and it still sounds good at full volume, which is pretty loud but not deafening.
Have not tried Bluetooth yet, but will just to see. It's a bonus and not the intended use for me as well.
Good value for the meh price, if it comes back I'd recommend it.
And, when I give the second one to my mom and return the soundbar I bought her that she didn't hook up because it was too tall to go in front off the tv, I will end up getting more back than I spent on both of these. So economically a winner for my situation.
Just installed my mom's. It didn't even have the big "REFURBISHED" sticker on the bottom that my own did.
I thought it would just stay on, but she just called me and asked "how do you get sound?" So I may have added an extra step to her tv watching, but it sounds way better than her tv speakers, which are among the worst I've heard.
@djslack I think it has an auto sleep/wake function. I left my cablebox on mute for several hours and when I came back and unmuted, there was no sound. The LEDs then lit up and after a few seconds there was sound again. This was using the RCA input. I would recommend you tell her to leave the speaker on and just turn the TV on/off.
@kuoh Thanks. That's how I think mine works, too. I talked to my mom and it sounds like it didn't wake up successfully. She said she could hear faint hissing after she turned on the tv, and when she hit power once nothing happened, hit power again and it came to life. We'll experiment some more and see what happens.
@djslack Well it happened to mine today. I turned off the cablebox last night, but left the speaker on. This morning, I verified the red standby LED was on and thought everything was fine. Got home tonight, turned on the cablebox, but there was still no sound after several seconds. I didn't pay attention to the LED status before, so I don't know if it was still in standby. Had to power the speaker off and back on to get sound. Will have to see what it does tomorrow. Hopefully it isn't a power supply issue and is not indicative of why some of these units were refurbished.
@kuoh If you're using the RCA or 3.5mm line-in connections, the sound doesn't power on until it detects sounds coming into those lines. In those instances you need to raise the volume of your TV to about 50% or more and then it will come on automatically and then you can adjust the volume accordingly. This is mentioned in the manual, which did not come with the unit, but you can download it from the link above in the description. Using the optical cable removes that auto-on/off feature, which helped me because my wife didn't want to have to learn how to use another TV gadget. 😒
@Kerig3 Actually there is a bug. If you leave it on and let it go to sleep for over 16 hours or so, it still detects audio from the RCA input and turns back on, but it switches to the optical input. That was why there was no sound. If it's only off over night, it stays on RCA when waking up. It's only when it stays in standby all night and most of the day that it changes input. Odd, but I can live with it for the price.
@kuoh I don't believe mine is like this. We certainly don't get 8 hours of tv-on time a day here, and have only had one incident that happened to be after I played with the power button on the deck itself with the tv off. The next time we turned the tv on it didn't wake up.
I need to check in with my mom and see how hers is behaving.
@djslack Well it didn't do this over the weekend since it was only off at night, but since I had to go to work and the TV is off from midnight-ish until after 5pm, it has done this every day. It was only today that I paid attention to the LEDs and saw that although it woke when the cablebox was turned on, the optical input LED was lit. I only use the RCA because that's the only way to adjust volume using the cable remote, so I know I didn't switch the input.
Got mine hooked up. OK, not great. Not much punch. Better than TV speakers. Not as much bass as some people said there was to much. Using optical connection. BTW, mine didn't come with advertised 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable. I'm happy with the purchase though.
@Stumpy91 Mine was missing that cable also, but I didn't need it anyways since I'm aslo using the optical cable. I use the TV speakers along with the sounddeck to get a more-robust sound. I'm happy with mine! 👍
Not bad, bigger then I expected. (That's what she said) It also came with an optical cable, which is dope. So I hooked it to my bedroom FireTV via optical and it sounds good.
@kuoh I did not get that cable. That cable looks like 8, the one I got had one side that looked square, thus I'm trying to shove a square connector in a rounded hole. I'll probably have to go buy the cable, an inconvenience.
@stradi If you're careful, you can shave it to fit. It should be just soft rubbery plastic. You might also check around the house for something else you don't use with the same cable. I know some older Playstations, DVD players and laptop power bricks use the same cable.
Scroll, scroll,scroll. Scroll, scroll, scroll. Ah, Found the thread! Now to post my well thought out comment! Damn, just got mine, and Damn! This thing is big! It's actually too big! (and don't even try! That's a comment she never said.)
@Kerig3 how rude of me not to reply. Yes, it was my own fault. I've taken to keeping a measuring tape with me now, and it's one of those little things that's made my life happier.
@wew Not rude at all. I used to be the same way about measuring before buying. Back when I shopped retail exclusively (a rare occasion now) I bought a cheap keychain-like tape measure for a couple of bucks. This way if I happened to be in a store and saw something, but wasn't sure if it was the right size, I always had a tape measure on hand. Saved me a lot of frustration and gas returning wrong-sized items! 👍 😁
@og218 Use the optical cable and you can use your TV speakers along with the soundbar. It sounds more robust this way. Also make sure you turned on the SRS WOW function, it makes the sound more balanced IMO.
@Kerig3 Not sure what you mean by balanced, but on mine, SRS decreases bass and overall volume, though voices and high frequencies appear to be more emphasized. I have the TV speakers disabled, so only the sound deck is emitting audio.
@thismyusername I found the optical inputs on both pieces, eventually. Nobody told me that there would be caps that had to be popped off to get to the inputs. Next step is to program the universal remote for the soundbar, and any advice would be welcome.
Good tip! I finally remembered to try that last night and it worked. I didn't care for it as it seemed to take the bass out and sound hollow, but it did go into a different mode.
So...was I supposed to get the remote with this thing? I can't control BT audio, and can't mess with the SRS/Bass stuff via the bar itself, which seems to be an issue at the moment. (seems pretty bass-heavy @ default)
Also, I was pretty stoked to see a clear optical cable. Disappointed that when I turned off the lights I didn't have a little mini-rave.
I got mine and it is gianormous!!! I planned on placing my old PS3 on it and it only takes up like a third of it. Loudness is pretty meh. I seem to have a bad remote, the volume only works on the device but the other buttons work on it. Weird.
@Kerig3 no didn't measure it. Been waiting for one to go on sale. I impulse bought it even though my bedroom tv is wall mounted. No regrets, I like it. Bluetooth is a nice feature for some quick mood music
@StrangerDanger i thought my volume button didn't work either, then I realized that there is a set of volume and channel buttons at the bottom I was using that is actually for the tv if you link remotes. There is another set of volume buttons near the top middle of the included remote for the sound bar. Just thought I'd share in case you were having the same problem as me.
Still fiddling with the TV setup, but DAMN THAT BLUETOOTH SHAKES THE HOUSE when the bass kicks in. Played 'Rock and Roll Heaven' and it's like the first time I ever heard FM (yes, I'm that old) after a lifetime of AM. The cats are staring open mouthed. Setting up a Jefferson Airplane playlist, then the Bowie, then the Eagles, and some Mott the Hoople. I don't want any more names on the list, if the universe is listening.
So I got one of these for a bedroom. I didn't need anything special, just something that had better sound than the tv speakers and had a small form to it. It worked so good for what I needed it for I wish I had got two of them. One for the Things' tv in the basement. It was worth the inexpensive price.
@daveJay It would depend on the price shipped. What exactly is unsatisfactory with your unit? I've been using mine everyday since receiving it and while it wouldn't be my choice to liven up large party, it is certainly a good step up from the speakers in my 60" plasma TV. I can actually make out all of the dialog now without having to crank up the TV speakers past the point of clipping.
@kuoh I was aiming to use it as my computer speakers and set my iMac on top of it. I'd replace my JBL pebbles I got on Meh. But the sound was worse than the pebbles. And the bass was worse too. They just sounded terrible compared to the Pebbles.
@kuoh The issue with shipping at this point I think is that I think I threw the original box away and now I only have the Maxell box, which I don't think is ship friendly with all the markings all over it.
@daveJay Yeah, these are not ideal for full range up close speakers and won't compare to JBLs for clarity. It's tuned more for TV dialog and background music, though it can get a bit louder if you use bluetooth. As for the box, some old Christmas wrapping paper would take care of that, but for the size and weight, you're going to have to take a loss even selling at close to the original Meh price. I don't need a second one, but would take it at half price. However, I'd recommend you hang on to it and perhaps try it with a TV instead.
@daveJay Have you tried the SRS mode by holding the Bass/SRS button down for a couple seconds? I find that that makes a world of difference in sound quality
Auto On/Off feature turns off but not back on. If it does turn back on it takes a minute or two. Not bad on a tv, but bad on a computer system wanting to listen to a few videos. Anyone else having this problem? Or, maybe I'm the only person having it. I've read a lot on the problem and people seem to be getting them fixed, but so far, I haven't found the solution.
@wew Mine turns on about 5 seconds after it detects audio on the RCA input. Now that I've had it longer, I've noticed it also has a fairly quick auto off time. If I mute the cablebox, the sound deck goes to standby in just a few minutes. So unless your PC is constantly playing audio, you may get erratic results.
I have another question! O.K. I need someone with a big head, please. This sound deck remote control has a hole in it, which is absolutely brilliant, brilliant! But, where can I hang it up or something? The deck doesn't have a hole in it that I see. This question probably has a simple answer, but I can't figure it. i.e. tldr--where do I hang this remote so I don't lose it? (I'm not drunk or high, and am reasonably intelligent). One solution I came up with. Day-glo lanyard makes losing remote a but more difficult
Not that I procrastinate, but I hookeded my Sound bar to the optical output of the TV last night. It works great. Before it was hooked up to the audio out of the cable box, that worked great too. This an ok sound bar wish you could still buy them.
Specs
Condition: Refurbished
Warranty: 90 Day Mediocre
Estimated Delivery: 1/25 - 1/27
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x Maxell Sound Deck
1x 40" Optical cable
1x 40" RCA to RCA cable
1x 39" 3.5mm cable
1x 60" Power cord
1x Remote control
Pictures
3/4 view
Top view
Everything included
Front detail
Button detail
Remote control
Subwoofer built into the bottom
Front slim view
Retail box
Price Comparison
$165.76 + $24.99 shipping (new) at Amazon (7 reviews, sold third party
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Estimated Delivery
Monday, January 28th - Monday, February 4th
What a sound purchase
Sound off
@AttyVette One Two
@AttyVette Mic Check
I can HEAR the reviews coming in in this deal. -- sounds about right.."speak" up Mehers
Oh! A TV!
. . .
ah, nevermind.
TV not included???
Dammit, the TV is never included anymore. Why is the TV never included?!? ARRRGGGHHH!
@haydesigner can't you see why-- PICTURE the reason :)
A deal this good should not be aloud
@kruzen according to the reviews it's not.
Bubble remote - good luck with that lasting any amount of time
@Pufferfishy bubble remote...hate to break it to you, but this one is made of plastic.
You are correct though, a bubble remote would certainly not last long at all.
@studerc Not sure what the magical differentiator is between this and every other crap bubble remote I've ever had the displeasure of owning is... but OK.
@Pufferfishy I'm pretty sure s/he meant a remote made out of literal bubbles
@uninflammable Thinly veiled humor escapes me after midnight.
If only you could charge an iPhone with it....
Wow
Nice reviews on Amazon. Here's one, seemingly at random.
Okay, fine. That wasn't randomly selected. But find another review that says it has a "phone jack". You can't. Q.E.D.
@stinks Does this also double as a vision test?
Power: AC 220-240V 50-60Hz
...either a typo or a compatibility problem
@netbucks I noticed that. Is anyone at meh working and can answer?
@Stumpy91 @netbucks Typo. Thanks!
@Stumpy91 gotta be a typo but it will make the "will it run on 220 volts?" crowd happy.
Reviews aren't that great, sound issues. I like my treble, especially at this age. Google before spending your cash.
Why are people buying this? I am I missing something? Do I need this?
@smuller20 These types of things (including the more common "sound bar" form) are made to enhance the audio from your TV. Many TVs have poor quality speakers to begin with, and they're often pointed to the side, bottom, or even the rear of the panel to make things worse. You'd get a sound bar/plate/deck/whatever to have better audio without the expense/complexity of adding a receiver and multiple satellites. I have both setups actually, but I use the surround system for movies and the sound bar for just watching random TV programs.
@Atomizer I've plugged in a set of 2.1 pc speakers from 5-10 yrs ago to my tv. I don't believe it has optical out but it's using the headset Jack. If I have the tv speakers enabled it comes as an echo not an enhancement.
@sohmageek It sounds like there's a delay between the TV's audio and that which is coming from the headphone jack, which is causing the echo (also, the last time I plugged headphones into the explicitly-labeled headphone jack on my previous TV it automatically disabled the TV's speakers.) You could possibly remedy this by trying to mute the TV itself. Otherwise you'd have to attach any other speakers via whatever audio output the TV has: digital optical or coax, or analog stereo (via the red & white coax phono plugs.)
disturbing-foreign-bromine. Wasn't really sure where the low volume reviews came from, I thought it was plenty loud. Sounds better than my TVs speakers or the $50 surround sound set I got from woot a couple years back (which admittedly isn't hard to do)
Maxell....well this price just blows me away
@somf69 that ad was from when Maxell made really nice blank audio cassette tapes.
Unfortunately the brand name has been hijacked by mediocre (well OK) bottom tier no-name products. Just like Nakamichi and various other previously solid legacy brands from the past.
Edit: looks like Maxell the company might still exist in Japan.
@RedOak Yeah, like GE.
@2many2no interesting - GE couldn't sell their appliance div. but got a lucrative cancel deal fee from Electeolux anyway. Didn't take them long to dump it onto Haier - what, a couple weeks?
@RedOak I'd love to dump anything for $5.4 billion.
@2many2no yah, especially vs the $3.3 failed deal and $175 million breakup fee for the failed deal plus another $200-400 mil if the Haier deal fails.
But they're giving Haier 40 years use of the GE brand name.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-haier-to-buy-ge-appliance-business-for-5-4-billion-1452845661
@RedOak I was just going for a cheap joke
@somf69 yah, saw that. My comments didn't cost two cents either.
Tempting but I am currently using the JBL Pebbles that I bought here a while back as my TV speakers. I was so impressed with the sound (especially the bass) that I bought another pair when I bought a new TV. I find it hard to think the Maxell will beat out the JBL Pebbles.
@densa I have a set and haven't gotten them hooked to the computer yet. the cables are too short but I'm changing; the set up soon
@densa I can't imagine using the pebbles for tv. I have some pebbles I'm using with my iMac and the sound is better but not blow your socks off better. The bass is still limited.
I can't imagine using the pebbles for a tv simply because of the lack of substantial bass.
My best computer speakers I ever bought were my JBL creature 2 speakers simply because of the subwoofer. But those broke and I haven't replaced them. I used them on my tv too back when I was in an apartment.
Need digital coaxial input.
@2many2no yeah this is annoying me too but i'm getting it anyway. my tv only has that or RCA out, will probably just use the damn RCA. there's an adapter you can buy for this, but it requires being plugged in, and that sucks.
@2many2no thank you that's what I was looking for too.
@caffeine_dude I ended up just ordering a converter from amazon. I'd suggest searching "coax to toslink" and probably throw in a -analog. I got a bi-directional one so it might be more useful in the future, and I think I might get away with powering it from my TV's USB slot, we'll see.
So much valuable info here it'll make your head hurt. http://mysoundbarstvguide.com/how-do-i-get-maxell-193009wm-ssb-3wb-soundeck/
@Stumpy91 what is the author's primary language? I'm guessing it is not English.
@RedOak I think the author may be poorly written software that writes reviews that fool google into thinking it was written by a real person... But look at those sweet Amazon affiliate links at the bottom!!
Oh, I should have read the comments first before I bought, but was afraid they would sell out. IF This Works, this is going to be fantastic! I have a monitor and an Alienware Alpha I got for a steal-but no sound, since monitors don't have sound. I'm gonna hook this puppy up to the opitcal out on the Alienware, and this is gonna be cheaper than buying a TV to replace my monitor. (A lot of pictures, but none of the back of the unit, so I could see the inputs. )
@wew
https://d3vjvsn2tynjug.cloudfront.net/v2/w_700,h_700/
@Kerig3 Thank you! Should work then-I guess.
In for 2
I have 2 little tvs with truly awful sound
We've gone from speaker docks to sound decks.
Wonder what Meh has in store next.
@UncleEdZed singing ducks.
@Thumperchick Soooo ... Daffy Duck MP3 players?
@narfcake To go with Tweety and Sylvester?
I'm unsure what to do. I'm in need of a sound bar, under 30 inches wide. And I am a cheapskate. I've been waiting for a deal. Just maybe not THIS deal.
@Stumpy91 I'm unsure what would make this deal a better fit for your needs than it is right now.
@djslack Thanks. I pulled the trigger shortly after posting knowing it would sell out and I'd have regrets.
Could I really use this as a bookshelf/bluetooth speaker?
That would be great.
@mamawoot If it will fit on your bookshelf, it should work like that.
Anyone know if I have an optical output on my TV that's currently unused, is that ALL I need to make this run? All of my HDMI devices are hooked into the TV.
Thx!
@Kerig3 Should be. Audio and power are the only things you hook up to soundbars.
@djslack Thanks! I thought that was the case, but wasn't 100% sure. I pulled the trigger on one!
@Kerig3 Optical out, or stereo RCA jacks. Since this soundbar can't do surround sound (it's stereo) there won't be a noticeable quality difference between them. Optical is theoretically better but analog stereo audio cables work just fine.
I might consider this a sound deal if I knew these were factory refurbished.
Ugh. Something I actually want to buy and I literally have $0. :(
What are the four little square things for?
@ojohn They look like rubber feet to stick on the bottom? They're kind of on the large side for that but that's my guess.
@djslack But they're not listed in the package contents in the description, so I for one am not expecting them to be in the box. Maybe I'll be surprised?!
"Ideal for under televisions"
How is anyone going to mount this under their TV?
@Fen_Star I plan to use good old gravity. Trusted by the universe for millions of years!
@Fen_Star Not everyone has their flat screen TVs mounted on the wall. Hell, I still have one of those huge TV hutches with hidden doors for all of my VHS tapes...even though I packed up the VCR years ago.
@Kerig3 what!?! Scandalous!
@Fen_Star It looks easier than mounting it over the TV?
@Kerig3 So do I, but fortunately it comes in two parts. I plan to move the upper half to a spare room and get a new TV to sit on this. Been planning it for months, this ought to motivate me. Now I'm waiting for Super Bowl sales.
Tonight I learned a new word. Equable-proud-beer
@djslack so they filtered the piss out and were left with water ;)
I know the story behind it. They did it for a flood to help out. However. I can't stand the taste of bud.
@sohmageek In-Bev management from Belgium will make sure that mistakes like that never happen again. The suffering of the shareholders caused by giving away 71 million cans of water instead of using them filled with beer for sale was staggering. Oh, the humanity!
@sohmageek Didn't know the story. Did know it would get some comments from the beer lovers here. It was the first resilt, that's usually how i roll.
@sohmageek
So, my TV's are flat screen wall mounted.. How does the TV sit on that? lol, No way to mount it?
@Mandamm This soundbar isn't designed for your type of installation. That's probably part of why meh is clearing it out so cheaply.
@Mandamm you can chisel out the wallboardin mack of the tv and put the sound bar in the resulting pocket with the tv over it. there's no need to thank me.
@cranky1950 Sry Cranky, Knocking out the wallboard isn't a great option, as it would also take some sort of shelf.. So, not thanking you for the advice, just the response..
Let's hear it for another sell out!
Party @Barney 's!
Turnip and have another drink at the speaker bar to celebriate !
Note to self: When you want to add two or more puns together, it is faster to just do multi-pun-ctuation. Ok, that last one (celebriate) was a malapropism, but that is still punny , yes?
@mike808 I'm pretty sure Barney's house looks nothing like a gynecologist's office.
@Barney I remember your puple hat
And the eye chart on the door.
But weren't there two of them?
@sammydog01 No, my house does not look like a gynecologist's office, but it does look like a pic from my last "theme" party, except my party hat was purple.
@nadroj Weren't you the one playing bartender? I need to talk to you about those drinks.
@Barney @nadroj Same here, what was in those? Man, I felt ruff the next day.
@jaremelz BTW, the goat from the party wants your number.
Ha, ha, ha, I remember that conversation, @jaremelz, and you said that you would go out with him. :)
@Barney @mike808 Hey now, I was just hoping to continue our very in depth discussion on the current lack of goats in comic books.
@jaremelz I have no clue what this conversation is about but that dog scene is a hoot.
I have one of these that I paid full price for ($100) from walmart about 2 years ago. I love it. It sounds great, looks pretty nice, and works pretty flawlessly all the time.
The only complaints I have are, being a kind of off brand it can be a pain to program into a universal remote. The remove that comes with it is a bit cheap. Occasionally if you turn it off by accident, it will take a few minutes before it lets you turn it back on.
Otherwise its great and if it died today I would definitely look for one again.
So, we already have a sound bar for our TV. But it blocks the remote sensor for the TV. For the past 2 years I've been thinking of buying a piece of wood, spray painting it black, and using it to lift the TV so its remote sensor will be visible. But now I don't have to. I've just purchased my TV lifter/soundbar backup. Thank you, meh.
I used to have one of these before it got stolen. it was nice. I paid less it than this for a brand new one but meh.
Does it come with 110v, 220v or dual power supply?
@KimJeonghoon According to the manual, 110 only.
Ack! I would have definitely gotten one of these. I standardized on NEC p-series displays, which I love, but which don't usually have speakers. Would have been perfect. sigh
The great post-CES tech dump is starting. I'm watching for a likely TV myself, because I grabbed one of these. The order name generator has surpassed itself: mewing-secretive-leek. Yeah, right.
@OldCatLady Just read the manual. Setup sounds like work. I hate work.
I should have grabbed this to sit under my monitor. Oh well.
Dang it! The one day out of the last 30 that I miss looking, and it's a sound bar (sort of) that I've been looking for! Ain't that just how it goes?!
Just hooked this up and it's not bad, but not great either. Much better than the TV's speakers, but it's not going to rock out the room for a party. The max volume was decent using the optical input, but the cablebox remote didn't have any codes that worked, so I had to switch to the RCA and use the cablebox to change volume. However, either the RCA input is less sensitive or the cablebox puts out less volume at max. I can understand why some reviews said the volume was low if they used the RCA input. Music through Bluetooth however, can actually get to a decent volume, but there is a perceptible high frequency static/clicking that may annoy some people.
Overall, it's about what I would've expected for what we paid and I consider the bluetooth input as a nice bonus, though I did have a slight hope that the sound quality would be better. If I had paid anywhere near the original $150+ selling prices, I would've been extremely disappointed in the performance.
KuoH
I kind of concur with @kuoh. I had to use 1/8" output from my tv, and tv asked me if it was line out or headphones. I tried both and headphones seemed to get a little more volume. Cranked the soundbar up all the way and it seems i have to put the tv at a higher volume than before to get regular volume, but it sounds better than the tv speakers. And I can crank it way up and it still sounds good at full volume, which is pretty loud but not deafening.
Have not tried Bluetooth yet, but will just to see. It's a bonus and not the intended use for me as well.
Good value for the meh price, if it comes back I'd recommend it.
And, when I give the second one to my mom and return the soundbar I bought her that she didn't hook up because it was too tall to go in front off the tv, I will end up getting more back than I spent on both of these. So economically a winner for my situation.
Just installed my mom's. It didn't even have the big "REFURBISHED" sticker on the bottom that my own did.
I thought it would just stay on, but she just called me and asked "how do you get sound?" So I may have added an extra step to her tv watching, but it sounds way better than her tv speakers, which are among the worst I've heard.
@djslack I think it has an auto sleep/wake function. I left my cablebox on mute for several hours and when I came back and unmuted, there was no sound. The LEDs then lit up and after a few seconds there was sound again. This was using the RCA input. I would recommend you tell her to leave the speaker on and just turn the TV on/off.
KuoH
@kuoh Thanks. That's how I think mine works, too. I talked to my mom and it sounds like it didn't wake up successfully. She said she could hear faint hissing after she turned on the tv, and when she hit power once nothing happened, hit power again and it came to life. We'll experiment some more and see what happens.
@djslack Well it happened to mine today. I turned off the cablebox last night, but left the speaker on. This morning, I verified the red standby LED was on and thought everything was fine. Got home tonight, turned on the cablebox, but there was still no sound after several seconds. I didn't pay attention to the LED status before, so I don't know if it was still in standby. Had to power the speaker off and back on to get sound. Will have to see what it does tomorrow. Hopefully it isn't a power supply issue and is not indicative of why some of these units were refurbished.
KuoH
@kuoh If you're using the RCA or 3.5mm line-in connections, the sound doesn't power on until it detects sounds coming into those lines. In those instances you need to raise the volume of your TV to about 50% or more and then it will come on automatically and then you can adjust the volume accordingly. This is mentioned in the manual, which did not come with the unit, but you can download it from the link above in the description. Using the optical cable removes that auto-on/off feature, which helped me because my wife didn't want to have to learn how to use another TV gadget. 😒
@Kerig3 Actually there is a bug. If you leave it on and let it go to sleep for over 16 hours or so, it still detects audio from the RCA input and turns back on, but it switches to the optical input. That was why there was no sound. If it's only off over night, it stays on RCA when waking up. It's only when it stays in standby all night and most of the day that it changes input. Odd, but I can live with it for the price.
KuoH
@kuoh I don't believe mine is like this. We certainly don't get 8 hours of tv-on time a day here, and have only had one incident that happened to be after I played with the power button on the deck itself with the tv off. The next time we turned the tv on it didn't wake up.
I need to check in with my mom and see how hers is behaving.
@djslack Well it didn't do this over the weekend since it was only off at night, but since I had to go to work and the TV is off from midnight-ish until after 5pm, it has done this every day. It was only today that I paid attention to the LEDs and saw that although it woke when the cablebox was turned on, the optical input LED was lit. I only use the RCA because that's the only way to adjust volume using the cable remote, so I know I didn't switch the input.
KuoH
Got mine hooked up. OK, not great. Not much punch. Better than TV speakers. Not as much bass as some people said there was to much. Using optical connection. BTW, mine didn't come with advertised 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable. I'm happy with the purchase though.
@Stumpy91 Mine was missing that cable also, but I didn't need it anyways since I'm aslo using the optical cable. I use the TV speakers along with the sounddeck to get a more-robust sound. I'm happy with mine! 👍
Not bad, bigger then I expected. (That's what she said)
It also came with an optical cable, which is dope. So I hooked it to my bedroom FireTV via optical and it sounds good.
Just got mine today, tried to connect the power cable and it's not compatible to the sound bar.
@stradi How is it not compatible? It's a typical 2 prong AC plug that many stores sell for a few dollars if you need one.
KuoH
@kuoh I did not get that cable. That cable looks like 8, the one I got had one side that looked square, thus I'm trying to shove a square connector in a rounded hole. I'll probably have to go buy the cable, an inconvenience.
@stradi If you're careful, you can shave it to fit. It should be just soft rubbery plastic. You might also check around the house for something else you don't use with the same cable. I know some older Playstations, DVD players and laptop power bricks use the same cable.
KuoH
@kuoh "If you're careful, you can shave it to fit." That's what she said! 😉
Scroll, scroll,scroll. Scroll, scroll, scroll. Ah, Found the thread! Now to post my well thought out comment!
Damn, just got mine, and Damn! This thing is big! It's actually too big! (and don't even try! That's a comment she never said.)
@wew It's not any bigger than the specs specified. I measured before buying...
@Kerig3 how rude of me not to reply. Yes, it was my own fault. I've taken to keeping a measuring tape with me now, and it's one of those little things that's made my life happier.
@wew Not rude at all.
I used to be the same way about measuring before buying. Back when I shopped retail exclusively (a rare occasion now) I bought a cheap keychain-like tape measure for a couple of bucks. This way if I happened to be in a store and saw something, but wasn't sure if it was the right size, I always had a tape measure on hand. Saved me a lot of frustration and gas returning wrong-sized items! 👍 😁
@Kerig3 Dollar Tree frequently has cheap plastic ones. I buy half a dozen at a time, and keep them everywhere.
Just got mine. Audio quality sucks pretty hard. Sounds super muffled. Good price though. Over all: meh/10
@og218 Use the optical cable and you can use your TV speakers along with the soundbar. It sounds more robust this way. Also make sure you turned on the SRS WOW function, it makes the sound more balanced IMO.
@Kerig3 I can't use the optical cable because old TV. Now I have to get a 55" TV and a new TV stand. I blame @thismyusername.
@OldCatLady
@Kerig3 Not sure what you mean by balanced, but on mine, SRS decreases bass and overall volume, though voices and high frequencies appear to be more emphasized. I have the TV speakers disabled, so only the sound deck is emitting audio.
KuoH
@thismyusername I found the optical inputs on both pieces, eventually. Nobody told me that there would be caps that had to be popped off to get to the inputs. Next step is to program the universal remote for the soundbar, and any advice would be welcome.
fyi if you long press "SRS Bass" on the remote it enables "SRS" mode (different LED indicator from SRS Bass).
Good tip! I finally remembered to try that last night and it worked. I didn't care for it as it seemed to take the bass out and sound hollow, but it did go into a different mode.
So...was I supposed to get the remote with this thing? I can't control BT audio, and can't mess with the SRS/Bass stuff via the bar itself, which seems to be an issue at the moment. (seems pretty bass-heavy @ default)
Also, I was pretty stoked to see a clear optical cable. Disappointed that when I turned off the lights I didn't have a little mini-rave.
@acer Yes, you were supposed to get the crappy credit card remote. Contact Meh!
I got mine and it is gianormous!!! I planned on placing my old PS3 on it and it only takes up like a third of it. Loudness is pretty meh. I seem to have a bad remote, the volume only works on the device but the other buttons work on it. Weird.
@StrangerDanger Didn't anyone measure beforehand? The specs were accurate. 😒
@Kerig3 no didn't measure it. Been waiting for one to go on sale. I impulse bought it even though my bedroom tv is wall mounted. No regrets, I like it. Bluetooth is a nice feature for some quick mood music
@StrangerDanger i thought my volume button didn't work either, then I realized that there is a set of volume and channel buttons at the bottom I was using that is actually for the tv if you link remotes. There is another set of volume buttons near the top middle of the included remote for the sound bar. Just thought I'd share in case you were having the same problem as me.
@bpingel93 yep that was the issue. Seems obvious now but is an odd placement. Thanks
Still fiddling with the TV setup, but DAMN THAT BLUETOOTH SHAKES THE HOUSE when the bass kicks in. Played 'Rock and Roll Heaven' and it's like the first time I ever heard FM (yes, I'm that old) after a lifetime of AM. The cats are staring open mouthed. Setting up a Jefferson Airplane playlist, then the Bowie, then the Eagles, and some Mott the Hoople. I don't want any more names on the list, if the universe is listening.
So I got one of these for a bedroom. I didn't need anything special, just something that had better sound than the tv speakers and had a small form to it. It worked so good for what I needed it for I wish I had got two of them. One for the Things' tv in the basement. It was worth the inexpensive price.
Set mine up with the optical cable. The bass is way too loud. Hurt my ears too much, so back in the box it went.
@heather641 @xarous might buy it from you.
anyone want to buy one? I think this thing totally sucks. Worst meh purchase ever.
@daveJay It would depend on the price shipped. What exactly is unsatisfactory with your unit? I've been using mine everyday since receiving it and while it wouldn't be my choice to liven up large party, it is certainly a good step up from the speakers in my 60" plasma TV. I can actually make out all of the dialog now without having to crank up the TV speakers past the point of clipping.
KuoH
@kuoh I was aiming to use it as my computer speakers and set my iMac on top of it. I'd replace my JBL pebbles I got on Meh. But the sound was worse than the pebbles. And the bass was worse too. They just sounded terrible compared to the Pebbles.
@kuoh The issue with shipping at this point I think is that I think I threw the original box away and now I only have the Maxell box, which I don't think is ship friendly with all the markings all over it.
@daveJay Yeah, these are not ideal for full range up close speakers and won't compare to JBLs for clarity. It's tuned more for TV dialog and background music, though it can get a bit louder if you use bluetooth. As for the box, some old Christmas wrapping paper would take care of that, but for the size and weight, you're going to have to take a loss even selling at close to the original Meh price. I don't need a second one, but would take it at half price. However, I'd recommend you hang on to it and perhaps try it with a TV instead.
KuoH
@daveJay Have you tried the SRS mode by holding the Bass/SRS button down for a couple seconds? I find that that makes a world of difference in sound quality
@Moose I haven't tried that. But It's all disconnected now. I also had to shave the power cord to a figure eight as one side was square.
@kuoh Well it's not gonna top my TV setup :) (http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-PK22BS-Theater-Speaker-Package/dp/B00LBI88IQ?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAJM4NKIQGABP2PIRA&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00LBI88IQ&tag=thewire06-20&ascsubtag=WC3252)
Auto On/Off feature turns off but not back on. If it does turn back on it takes a minute or two. Not bad on a tv, but bad on a computer system wanting to listen to a few videos. Anyone else having this problem? Or, maybe I'm the only person having it. I've read a lot on the problem and people seem to be getting them fixed, but so far, I haven't found the solution.
@wew Mine turns on about 5 seconds after it detects audio on the RCA input. Now that I've had it longer, I've noticed it also has a fairly quick auto off time. If I mute the cablebox, the sound deck goes to standby in just a few minutes. So unless your PC is constantly playing audio, you may get erratic results.
KuoH
I have another question! O.K. I need someone with a big head, please. This sound deck remote control has a hole in it, which is absolutely brilliant, brilliant! But, where can I hang it up or something? The deck doesn't have a hole in it that I see. This question probably has a simple answer, but I can't figure it. i.e. tldr--where do I hang this remote so I don't lose it?
(I'm not drunk or high, and am reasonably intelligent). One solution I came up with. Day-glo lanyard makes losing remote a but more difficult
http://imgur.com/1iPpCCB
Not that I procrastinate, but I hookeded my Sound bar to the optical output of the TV last night. It works great. Before it was hooked up to the audio out of the cable box, that worked great too. This an ok sound bar wish you could still buy them.
The remote control has stopped working consistently. Even with a new battery.