However, i do know there are some soundbars that act like receivers, in which it would be av components->soundbar ->tv. I'm wondering if there is a good sound bar out there with 4k passthrough that won't break the bank or if I'm better off with a surround sound system and if so, which one? Go on slickdeals and set an alert for a/v receivers. At your budget you could have the beginning of a nice system. This will sound better than a soundbar, be easier to set up and will be easy to upgrade to 5.1 when you have more money for additional speakers and a sub. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. Then spend the rest of the budget on 2 decent bookshelf speakers (monoprice is apparently pretty good for this). Whirlpool Enthusiast reference: whrl.pl/RfVdA5. • ABC12345. The TV is in my bedroom so I thought that the sound bar would be the quicker and easier option, but after talking with a friend he mentioned that I would need a sound bar with 4k passthrough. Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. This is a designation given to some home theater components (like an audio video receiver) that signifies the content can accept and output 4K with HDR content. For the price you would pay, it would make a lot more sense to buy a whole home theater system. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. Passthrough is more important for an actual AV receiver, as you typically route all video and sound (HDMI sources) through your receiver first, then it all goes to your TV. Then any sound your TV would make would come out of the soundbar. The other thing is if you go the universal remote route, its much easier to have a receiver to do the input switching and audio than a TV. What else are you hooking up to the tv? In this instance, the soundbar isn't "passing anything" on, its only getting audio. I have an xbox and a playstation hooked up to it both via hdmi, and I do connect my computer to it via hdmi on occasion as well. Your one stop for all things Home Theater (except soundbars). Cloudflare Ray ID: 5fa19b488874d8c9 I'm trying to keep the price under $500, but I'm really just wandering through amazon and bestbuy.com without any knowledge of what to actually look for. I looked online and all of the sound bars with 4k passthrough and seem quite expensive. When its time to upgrade, you can always move your budget speakers to be rears and buy a good LCR set. Passthrough is more important for an actual AV receiver, as you typically route all video and sound (HDMI sources) through your receiver first, then it all goes to your TV. Buying Advice, Tech Support, etc for Televisions, Home Theater, Speakers, Projectors, Audio/Video Receivers, etc. That's where "pass through " is important, but since you mention it's in a bedroom, I don't think this is the case. What’s the difference? Your IP: 82.196.10.171 from August 2019; to September 2019; last updated – posted 2019-Sep-5, 6:21 am AEST posted 2019-Sep-5, 6:21 am AEST User #213957 810 posts. A lot of soundbars, just have the audio coming from the TV and the TV does all the processing. I use the TV for mostly movies and gaming. The tv gets the picture from the component itself, and then passes the sound to to soundbar, usually through an optical cable but sometimes through HDMI via ARC. Soundbar with HDR Passthrough. Most set ups with soundbars I've seen are av component (for example blu ray player or Xbox) -> tv -> soundbar. I have a 50 inch Vizio M- Series TV and I've been looking at sound bars and some other home audio lately. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. It means the soundbar acts as a home theater receiver, though with built-in speakers. It is quicker and easier but not better than buying a receiver and a set of speakers. If your receiver/soundbar is more than a few years old, it almost certainly is not 4K HDR compatible. • You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. Then any sound your TV would make would come out of the soundbar. I wouldn't worry about 4k for a soundbar. Archive View Return to standard view. Sounds good! The Yamaha YAS-108 offers an impressive amount of features for a $200 soundbar, including HDMI, 4K passthrough, a variety of sound modes and Bluetooth support for jamming out to music.