r/Soundbars • u/myteetharegrinding • 1d ago

Need new surround/stereo wireless solution

My use case is probably not that unusual but also not that frequently asked, because we are too tired to research and just turn on subititles:

I have kids. My wife and I put them to bed then turn on a movie or show, and of course it has loud sound effects and barely fucking audible dialog. We used to just turn on CC. A few years ago I ran across the JBL 9.1 soundbar at BestBuy (I'm sure there is a new version now) - it has the two detachable wireless rear speakers. I set my AppleTV output to Stereo, and just like magic we can put a speaker beside each of our heads on the couch and hear everything.

This was fucking amazing for a while. We can hear everything, and we can even put a speaker in the kitchen if we are cooking or doing dishes and still hear the TV. Unfortunately these speakers get a lot of wear and tear and are becoming somewhat unstable. They don't always charge when connectected...sometimes have connectivity issues, etc.

My question is: should I just buy the new version of this JBL bar, or is there a better solution for what I'm trying to do? It's not surround sound...just stereo sound that is portable. I looked at Sonos, but I'm not sure it solves my problem....but maybe it could?

Yes I know the best quality would be to run cables and mount speakers on the wall behind me. I rent a house, and I'm just not doing that. Honestly, the main reason is not that I rent...it's because I've gotten so used to being able to move these around to whatever location is convenient whether it's the other end of the couch or the kitchen.

I'm sure I'll get plenty of 'run some wires and quit being a bitch' comments, and that's fine. But if anybody has an actual wireless solution that is high quality please let me know.

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u/wisealma 1d ago

Nakamichi dragon. Like many soundbar systems, just turn on night mode to cut the louder/sharper tones out of night time viewing/listening.

1

u/Chem010 19h ago

I tried the "private rear" setting yesterday for the first time on my Q990F and it was actually pretty amazing. It was like listening through headphones but without the headphones. It creates a sound bubble around your head when you sit exactly between the rear speakers. The sound is crystal clear, but there is no bass. I used it to hear the tv while there were others in the room talking and making noise. The Q990F rear speakers still need a power outlet though.

1

u/metallicsun 11h ago

FWIW, since moving to Google TV, I really miss the feature in Roku TV, where the Roku App will deliver audio on your phone while the content plays on the big screen of the Roku TV. It was really awesome for the quiet times of the day.