Hi
I have a desk in our open living space, with a pair of Audioengine A5+ speakers in a near-field setup that also double as our main speakers for casual listening to music through Roon. I know this is not ideal, but with a toddler in the space, floor standing speakers would not last long… I have been eyeing LS50W’s or adding a subwoofer but haven’t decided yet…
I run the A5+'s off a Topping DX3Pro DAC which is fed through USB from my pc. I have a mac that uses an AQ Dragonfly Red on the same speaker on it secondary input. The speakers have a subwoofer output connector but I don’t think they have a crossover.
We recently bought a TV, which has a Chromecast built in. It’s a Sony Vaio A8G. I can cast music from Roon to the TV, which was unexpected, but nice… It even transmits the album art. I haven’t tested it’s capability yet, but it seems to support lossless redbook files…
While the sound is rather good for just a TV, I feel it is lacking compared to proper speakers. I tried the A5+'s as output, but they are at a 90 degree angle from the TV and that just does not work.
I have been contemplating to add a soundbar, preferably a rather nice one, that I could also use as a Roon endpoint (by itself, or through the TV’s built in Chromecast), for casual listening. Sonos, Sennheiser and Sony seem to be making models from 500 to just over 1000 euro that are reviewed rather good. I haven’t owned a TV for over a decade, so I am not really knowledgeable about what is being done now… Simplicity (for my family members) is key and an unintrusive and child-proof design is a must.
Is a soundbar a good option and if yes, which ones are best? What are my alternatives?
Lastly I still want to add a sub for listening on my desk. Ideally, The same sub could be shared between the TV and the desktop stereo system. Is that possible?