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HOT!!!!!! JBL SB400 soundbar - $499! ($200 off!) *PM for $460!*

  • Last Updated:
  • Sep 22nd, 2014 4:19 pm
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User avatar
Jun 28, 2012
5562 posts
815 upvotes
Calgary
Heres my settings for the 770. Keep in mind, this is for a room about 10x12ft and i prefer to have more omph in my sound. I like to feel it. If its too much bass for you, just turn down the sub. but i find the sub and bass from the bar have to be at least 60% if you really want to feel the sound and have it come to life in movies. Anything less than 4 bass on the bar and it really starts to thin out the sound too much. 4 is just perfect. Dont play the sub past 10 cause it distorts at high volumes, but at 9 and below you can run it at very high volume and no distorting.

level - DRC - off
Tone - bass - 4, treble - 6
Audio - sync - on, dual - main, AAV - on, effect - on. The AAV is essential to have on because it boosts the voice and mid range considerably when playing at low volumes. Otherwise, everything will be muffled.
HDMI - control - on, passthrough - auto, ARC - on

On remote:

Soundfield: movie for every input. Movie and game sound near identical except the voices are a tad crisper in movie.
voice - 2
Sub level - 8 out of 12.

With these settings, i play an action movie and it rumbles my walls nicely. One of the best scenes i tested with is from the avengers. Dont remember the scene number, but the scene has a nice full range bass drop and with these settings you can feel it hit your gut nicely. If you want to test out what your sub is capable of, scenes with bass drops are one of the best ways to do that cause it starts off at a higher frequency bass note then rolls through and ends at the lowest frequnecy. On cheap or less powerful subs it will bottom out near the end because its not capable handling that frequency, and on really good higher end subs it will hit as low as the sub is capable of 20-23hz.

Also, insidious has a scene as well with a full range bass drop. I used that as well when testing. I was very impressed how deep the sony hit in those scenes. This sony sub is a very capable sub.
ne12o wrote: thanks for this. got the ct770 but there's something off sounding about it that i can't put my hand on it.
Its the voice clarity that kills this out of the box. With voice at 1 its too sutle and with the voice at 3 its too sharp and bright. I really wish sony had 4 levels for the voice setting because 2 is good but it has to be tweaked. Voice 2 is really the only option to use and you have to have the treble on higher levels or else your voices will sound muffled. When i first bought mine, i was so dissapointed by the voice clarity that i just about returned it on the 3rd day.

When did you buy yours? The sony needs at least 50-60 hours to fully break in. Out of the box, it sounds like garbage, even when tweaked. But once its broken in, the sound really opens up, night and day difference. Fully break it in, then tweak it is what i would suggest cause theres no point listening to it when its not fully opened up.
Jr. Member
Mar 5, 2010
174 posts
33 upvotes
Mayosandwich wrote: Heres my settings for the 770. Keep in mind, this is for a room about 10x12ft and i prefer to have more omph in my sound. I like to feel it. If its too much bass for you, just turn down the sub. but i find the sub and bass from the bar have to be at least 60% if you really want to feel the sound and have it come to life in movies. Anything less than 4 bass on the bar and it really starts to thin out the sound too much. 4 is just perfect. Dont play the sub past 10 cause it distorts at high volumes, but at 9 and below you can run it at very high volume and no distorting.

level - DRC - off
Tone - bass - 4, treble - 6
Audio - sync - on, dual - main, AAV - on, effect - on. The AAV is essential to have on because it boosts the voice and mid range considerably when playing at low volumes. Otherwise, everything will be muffled.
HDMI - control - on, passthrough - auto, ARC - on

On remote:

Soundfield: movie for every input. Movie and game sound near identical except the voices are a tad crisper in movie.
voice - 2
Sub level - 8 out of 12.

With these settings, i play an action movie and it rumbles my walls nicely. One of the best scenes i tested with is from the avengers. Dont remember the scene number, but the scene has a nice full range bass drop and with these settings you can feel it hit your gut nicely. If you want to test out what your sub is capable of, scenes with bass drops are one of the best ways to do that cause it starts off at a higher frequency bass note then rolls through and ends at the lowest frequnecy. On cheap or less powerful subs it will bottom out near the end because its not capable handling that frequency, and on really good higher end subs it will hit as low as the sub is capable of 20-23hz.

Also, insidious has a scene as well with a full range bass drop. I used that as well when testing. I was very impressed how deep the sony hit in those scenes. This sony sub is a very capable sub.



Its the voice clarity that kills this out of the box. With voice at 1 its too sutle and with the voice at 3 its too sharp and bright. I really wish sony had 4 levels for the voice setting because 2 is good but it has to be tweaked. Voice 2 is really the only option to use and you have to have the treble on higher levels or else your voices will sound muffled. When i first bought mine, i was so dissapointed by the voice clarity that i just about returned it on the 3rd day.

When did you buy yours? The sony needs at least 50-60 hours to fully break in. Out of the box, it sounds like garbage, even when tweaked. But once its broken in, the sound really opens up, night and day difference. Fully break it in, then tweak it is what i would suggest cause theres no point listening to it when its not fully opened up.
wow tons of thanks for this.
I think i've hit the 60hours, since I've had it for a couple weeks now. You're absolutely 100% on the voice setting. got the avengers gonna check it out!
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jul 19, 2005
3711 posts
1395 upvotes
Ottawa
Recently I've been researching soundbars to replace my Polk Audio R300 5.1 system. Floorstanding speakers are just really bulky in a 900sqft apartment and makes the space feel really cluttered. After much research, I finally decided on this soundbar http://www.costco.com/VIZIO-S4251W-B4-5 ... 48271.html because of the rear speakers it includes. I understand these two soundbars are in different classes but I'm wondering what the soundfield would be like with the Vizio linked above vs the JBL system here. My goal is to emulate a 5.1 system as best as possible. The subwoofer doesn't matter much to me considering I live in an apartment and have to turn it down most of the time. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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User avatar
Nov 28, 2013
1598 posts
1609 upvotes
Orleans, ON
Grabbed one of these at my local BB. $444 after PM + $5 eco fee and taxes.

If I didn't have a big TV (65") I'd have gotten the Bose sound base for the same price though.
Deal Addict
Mar 26, 2008
1819 posts
1393 upvotes
Toronto
I have a LG 3520a. The technical specs seem similar. WOndering if it is worth the upgrade now that I have a bigger living room
Sr. Member
Aug 15, 2003
744 posts
523 upvotes
Picked this up after a PM with Visions at BB and set it up (also had a RZ certificate to use). Sounds amazing. The box is absurdly large, though.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jul 19, 2005
3711 posts
1395 upvotes
Ottawa
M33 wrote: Picked this up after a PM with Visions at BB and set it up (also had a RZ certificate to use). Sounds amazing. The box is absurdly large, though.
Too large to fit in a Hyundai Elantra with the seats folded down?
Sr. Member
Aug 15, 2003
744 posts
523 upvotes
shadow_cruiser wrote: Too large to fit in a Hyundai Elantra with the seats folded down?
That should be fine. It fit horizontally across the back seats of a 2014 Ford Focus. It's just a bit unwieldy to carry as one person.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Nov 28, 2013
1598 posts
1609 upvotes
Orleans, ON
shadow_cruiser wrote: Too large to fit in a Hyundai Elantra with the seats folded down?
It fir horizontally in my 2015 WRX back seat. It wouldn't fit in the trunk with my seats folded down because the seats are raiser about an inch, and it would require bending the box.
Deal Addict
Nov 25, 2010
2975 posts
2622 upvotes
dtp11 wrote: ^ Wow - really, MemEx? They're no better than FS/BB now...
Well at least with MemEx I only pay 5% taxes instead of 15%
Member
May 4, 2005
355 posts
12 upvotes
Fire Man wrote: NCIX dropped their price even lower:

ncix-jbl-sb400-sound-bar-w-wireless-sub ... a-1560345/
I didn't realize the above mentioned thread was a duplicate of this one.

I will move my questions to here.

"BB won't honor the NCIX PM, citing "Special Sale Price" as the reason.

$498 is the only other option via Audio Video 2001 that I can find. All other retailers have returned pricing back up.

Any other suggestions for a ~$450 PM to $425?"
Jr. Member
Nov 25, 2012
170 posts
103 upvotes
Winnipeg
Don't know if anyone cares, but I recently got the Pioneer SP-SB23W (also a S&V top pick) by PM'ing Memory Express at Visions--had a warranty rebate--for a total of $343+tax.

As far as the speaker bar goes--having not heard the JBL--I really really like the results. My understanding is that the Pioneer was designed to be the best small stereo for the shape and price--not a surround-sound alternative, but a TV speaker or 2.0 system alternative--so there are no pseudo-surround modes or anything like that, just much louder and cleaner than a TV's speakers. Since my emphasis was on music and movies, and the room shape would have made surround or surround effects difficult (wide, shallow room, seating spread out) it seemed like a good choice. Also comes with a minimum of inputs, all audio-only (RCA, optical, Bluetooth), so if you wanted something to do video switching you'll need to look elsewhere.

For some time, reviews reported Bluetooth problems but mine--MFG 10/2013--was just fine (confirmed both channels over Bluetooth). Nor have I experienced the sub dropping out.

This is speculation on my part, but looking at the Amazon.com listings for both (SB400, SP-SB23W) retail on the JBL seems to be inflated so the deal for the Pioneer might be just as good. Hopefully someone else can offer some insight into this.

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