This is a bit confusing because 1) there aren’t many soundbars at that price point, and 2) the soundbars that do exist at that price point are all going to have at least a wireless sub, and possibly also either a center channel or some sort of surround (real or virtual).
The whole point of a soundbar is to get an easy, inexpensive upgrade over your TV speakers. Most these days come in under $200, and most/all of them have a wireless sub. $600 is a no-man’s-land that starts to approach “real” home theater territory, and is pretty much only occupied by premium brands like JBL and Klipsch.
Vizio sells a sound bar with wireless sub and two wireless rear speakers for $220 MSRP, with more EQ/tuning options than HomePods. Also, don’t forget that HomePods can only be your TV speakers if you have an Apple TV 4K.
At least for the big HomePods, it’s all still a crappy value proposition for anyone that isn’t an extreme Apple fanboy.
I think if you drop to the $200 range for a soundbar, you’re going to get sound better than the TV, but it’s questionable that it will be “good” sound.
But, agreed, the HomePod is only even an option for those of us who are balls deep in the Apple ecosystem.
The value proposition and what is “good” is also defined by what you watch on your TV. The idea of getting Joe Buck in surround sound glory isn’t really an upgrade.
I am a networking God! All 5 wall plates are now pushing out gigabit speeds.
Turns out the problem was with the connections at the attic patch panel. I don’t know what novice idiot did that, but I can only assume that it was his first time. From what I saw, I surmised that he used the wrong wire stripper to cut the outer casing on the lines and inadvertently nicked some of the stranded pairs. These then broke after being punched down. I re-did the entire patch panel (and fixed the ballsed-up wall plate in the master bedroom) and hey presto!
As to running extra lines, this is a complete no-go. I tried to get to the areas of the attic where I would need to run wire, and they are completely inaccessible. Too much blown insulation, no good footholds and too little room under the roof. I guess I’ll have to live with what I have.
I have all of my fixed objects connected by ethernet - only my desk requires me to run a line outside the walls - so I’m good. I love my network rack everything is so neat and professional-looking; it’s bolted to studs in the closet and the lines got straight into the wall beside it.
I figure by the time the limited number of ethernet outlets is a problem for anyone, Cat 5e will be about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
Well I did give myself room for expansion, but that idea has been tabled due to me being too much of an oaf to navigate the far reaches of my attic. Need to get some kids to clamber around up there to run the extra lines.
