Question about using a soundbar with my new Genie

Charlie Hoffpauir

unread,

Feb 8, 2014, 6:45:41 PM2/8/14

to

My new Genie HR-44 seems great. Now I'd like to improve the sound
quality by adding a soundbar to my setup. The Genie has optical sound
out, so it would seem that a soundbar with optical sound in would be
appropriate. However, I have no experience at all with optical sound
connections, and so would like comments from anyone using a similar
setup. Some of my questions are:

Any difficulties with setting somet hing like this up?

I see many soundbars come with remote controls.... is that needed, or
does the Genie still control the sound volume?

Is a soundbar + subwoofer preferred?

Any recommendations on brand/models that live well with the Genie?

Any other comments or suggestions that you think might be useful.

BigDog811

unread,

Feb 9, 2014, 10:37:15 AM2/9/14

to

Just helped a friend set up a sound bar with blue tooth subwoofer. Sounds great.

Don't remember the specific models but his HDTV is a fairly late model (2-3 years old) Vizio and the sound bar is a Sanyo.

If your TV supports CEC technology use HDMI connections, not optical.

Setup was easy. First, go into the TV menu and enable the CEC. Then:
1. Genie HDMI out to sound bar HDMI in.
2. Sound bar HDMI out to HDMI in on the TV.

The CEC on the TV "talks" the sound bar - turns it off and on with the TV and controls the volume.

And yes, a subwoofer is necessary. Without one the sound will probably be improved somewhat, but not much. We tested my friend's sound bar before pairing the subwoofer. It was just...meh. But the subwoofer made a huge difference. And you can put the subwoofer anywhere. We hid his behind a potted plant in the back corner of the room.

A soundbar/subwoofer combination *is not* a good substitute for a proper a/v receiver with a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system. But if that's not in the cards, it's a step in the right direction.

Nik Simpson

unread,

Feb 10, 2014, 9:49:50 AM2/10/14

to

On 2/8/2014 5:45 PM, Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:
> My new Genie HR-44 seems great. Now I'd like to improve the sound
> quality by adding a soundbar to my setup. The Genie has optical sound
> out, so it would seem that a soundbar with optical sound in would be
> appropriate. However, I have no experience at all with optical sound
> connections, and so would like comments from anyone using a similar
> setup. Some of my questions are:
>
> Any difficulties with setting somet hing like this up?

No, just plug the optical cable into the soundbar and the Genie. This
also works for HDMI if the soundbar has HDMI input. The only thing
you'll want to do is make sure that the Genie is set use DolbyDigital
soundtracks when available.

>
> I see many soundbars come with remote controls.... is that needed, or
> does the Genie still control the sound volume?

Typically, no the volume is controlled by the soundbar.

>
> Is a soundbar + subwoofer preferred?
>

Ideally, yes but if you don't have room for sub, it's not the end of the
world.

--
Nik Simpson

mrs...@gmail.com

unread,

Dec 7, 2019, 3:23:03 PM12/7/19

to

I cant find any soundbar with 2 hdmi ports

Ed Pawlowski

unread,

Dec 10, 2019, 3:17:34 PM12/10/19

to

They all have an in port and out port and power connector. That is all
you need.

My Sony works well for the TV and that is all I use it for. My Samsung
has a subwoofer and two additional speakers. I use that for music also.
While not quite as good as my last setup with AV receiver and 7.1 this
works quite well and fits the space I have in this house.