For critical listening, I have a treated room with near field monitors that I’m really happy with. In the kitchen, a Denon 250 smart speaker which does the job nicely.
In the living room, we’ve got a soundbar which does a decent job for movies but, 2 channel wise, it’s not great - part of this is because the sub is behind our couch and for movie use this works well (you can’t localise it really). For music, you very much hear the sub behind you. Looks wise, it’s not possible to stick the sub at the front of the room….
Hence my thoughts on this - I’d only use it for music so it’d go on the shelf underneath the current soundbar.
Am I expecting too much from something like this if I hope for a reasonable soundstage? I accept it’s not going to compete with a decent set of speakers but again not really possible in this room……
That’s true but it could be a Roon endpoint via chromecast. Does Roon certified make a massive difference? New to Roon so interested to learn such stuff.
Generally it means you are not limited to the built in audio limitations (sample rates and bit depth) of either Airplay or Chromecast. You can also usually switch the unit On/Off via Roon (my Evo 150 has this functionality) as well. It will also be recognised automatically by Roon and configured when you connect it to the network. Transport used by Roon is RAAT, ensuring bit accurate transmission.
I’m still in my early learning stage too - I subscribed late November but it’s transformed the way I listen to music to the extent that I’m looking for Roon ready devices when I’m buying something now.
With Roon Ready devices they can (in theory!) play back at native resolutions. This isn’t always true - my Roon ready Denon 250 in the kitchen claims to do 192k. It gladly accepts that but it downsamples locally to 48k so you do need to watch the manufacturer’s specs and see if the communication is done by the engineering team or the marketing folks
The Evo One apparently doesn’t downsample so that’s a big plus for it. Not convinced that such things matter massively in what is effectively a soundbar but worth knowing so you can make an informed choice.
Thank you for all the replies folks - it’s appreciated.
In a surprise I didn’t see coming, my wife said she’s ok with (small and aesthetically pleasing) speakers either side of the TV so I’ve actually just ordered a pair of KEF Lsx II. The speakers will be here tomorrow, the stands are coming a little later.
They limit you to 96k / 24bit (even when I cable them) and low end (on paper) won’t be as deep as the Evo one I was looking at. Also I don’t get the lovely looking display but…. In terms of sounding like a proper system in terms of stereo width it should do a better job for me. It added yet more expense vs the Evo as the stands are pricey but I’m excited to get these set up. I’ll experiment with a sub too…… I’ve actually got a (20 year old and still going) SVS sub in the back corner of the room. It was used as part of a previous AV system but it’s been retired since I got the Samsung soundbar last year which used its own wireless sub. The SVS has stayed put as a coffee table If it plays nice with the KEF’s that’ll be awesome but if not I’ll live.
