Sony debuts a soundbar equipped with 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos

Do soundbars really do a good job of simulating surround sound. I've only ever heard them in big retail stores where there's no chance of that happening.

 

If I had to guess, it probably doesn't work right unless you have the right seating position in a properly configured room. I assume the cost of this technology is higher than getting a legit surround system.

 

I think it greatly depends on the room which is why I assume that soundbars like this have audio tuning functions that adapt the speaker output to the room.

I remember buying a soundbar several years ago and tried it in three different apartments where it sounded really different. I was a 2.1 system but still.

 

No. This should not be considered a surround system. I'm honestly surprised this doesn't come with side and or rears. Then maybe I could get on board.

 

Creative X-Fi Sonic Carrier — The ultimate upgrade for your home entertainment experience - Creative Labs (United States)

And the smaller cheaper sibling:

Creative SXFI® CARRIER Dolby Atmos® Speaker System Soundbar with Super X-Fi® Technology - Creative Labs (United States)

 

In the video it says why it doesn't come with those and that you can add them.

 

There are different soundbars with different technologies so you can't actually answer that in a general manner, Neither test one and extrapolate the conclusion to the rest.

 

No soundbar can come close to dedicated 5.1 surround speaker system (Hifi, not PC speakers of course).

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. I had a feeling this might be the case.

 

I had both a surround system, that was way too loud for my neighbours years later tried a soundbar...it's crap
since then I discovered studio monitors speakers for my PC and I tried them on my TV, so 2 regular but active speakers, sounded 10x better than the soundbar
also one atmos track takes 4.5gbs hdd space if you didn't know

 

I have a Philips Fidelio B97, while its Atmos height is rather meh, I like that the soundbar has two detachable side speakers that can be used as rear surround speakers. Works quite well actually, plus I like that its sub really adds to that cinematic feel with its deep bass.

I'm using soundbars for my home cinema and gaming rigs simply due to space constraints. They do make pretty decent replacements for monitors that I was using before I'd moved to a small apartment.

 

The big Samsungs with the rears do. But they're not worth it in full release price, they're too close to AVR prices. But it all depends on your space.

 

DDL and *DTS:C 5.1 on PC with AVR or something like Z-5500 begs to differ.

 

You got the AVR part right, but you cant connect PC speaker system like z5500 to it. Z5500 is designed to connect directly to sound card in a PC, so not compatible with AVR.