Because I play stereo music as well as videos through my AV amp and out to my 7.1 speaker system, I insisted on having two good front L & R speakers (they have 3 sound cones each), then there is a centre front speaker (which is good when there is dialog in movies), two side speakers, two back speakers, and a sub-woofer.
I have had installed a two-zone system, all speakers mounted in the roof, other than the sub.
I can play TV, air play from my iOS devices, Spotify, etc.
The TV room has a surround system, Three speakers in front, two behind.
The kitchen/dining area has two speakers. Great for cooking and dinner music.
The system was initially installed for the TV, but I use it more for music.
I can control all the functions via an app.
Not having floor mounted speakers is fantastic.
How many speakers do you have, eg front pair, centre, rear surround pair, etc? - 5 speakers plus a subwoofer
Do you use a soundbar (a long front speaker with multiple drivers - some soundbars can do phantom multi-channel sound)? No sound bar
Do you use a subwoofer? Yes
Are any speakers wireless? No
Are any of your speaker wires run inside walls, under carpet, under floor, in ceiling, etc? Yes
Do you use any speaker stands or wall-mounts? 2 speakers wall mounted
Do you use your home theatre speakers all the time, or do you sometimes just use the speakers in your TV? Use home theatre speakers all the time
Do you use a programmable remote control? Yes, Logitech
Do you use your home theatre speakers to also listen to music, or just for TV and movies? Mainly TV and movies as I also have a hi-fi system for music
What was the more important criterion when you purchased your system: how it sounded, or how it would look in your room? Definitely sound quality first, but didnât want large speakers that cluttered the room so chose a KEFsystem as they have nice looking speakers that sound good.
Anything else youâd care to share! I have listened to some sound bars and I think they offer a very good (and sometimes affordable) alternative to a full 5.1 system such as the one I have.
How many speakers: 5.1 System
Soundbar: No
Do you use a subwoofer: Yes
Are any speakers wireless?: No.
Where are speaker wires run: along the floor to the speakers at the front and through the wall/ceiling to the surround speakers
Do you use any speaker stands or wall-mounts?: Surround speakers are wall mounted on brackets
Do you use your home theatre speakers all the time, or do you sometimes just use the speakers in your TV?:
All the time - you wouldnât go back!
Do you use a programmable remote control? Yes
Do you use your home theatre speakers to also listen to music, or just for TV and movies? Mainly TV and movies.
What was the more important criterion when you purchased your system?
Quality of sound, price
I built my own along with the amplifier. I downloaded some plans for a set of rear loaded horn speakers and took them to my local wood suppliers. They cut the components to plan and I assembled them in my garage. It was great fun!
See: http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/speaker_components/enclosures.shtml
Youâll find comprehensive plans for a wide range of speaker enclosures on the Fostex site. However, the drivers to take months to be delivered to Australia.
Thereâs a whole community of enthusiasts (audiophiles) that build quality products often far superior to off-the-shelf products at a fraction of the price. Of course, you need to keep safety in mind and have some DIY skills.
Take a look here: http://www.homebuilthifi.com/
My answers are:
How many speakers do you have, eg front pair, centre, rear surround pair, etc.
A front pair
Do you use a soundbar
No
Do you use a subwoofer ?
No
Are any speakers wireless ?
No
Are any of your speaker wires run inside walls, under carpet, under floor, in ceiling, etc ?
No
Do you use any speaker stands or wall-mounts ?
Floor standing.
Do you use your home theatre speakers all the time, or do you sometimes just use the speakers in your TV ?
TV, stereo.
Do you use a programmable remote control ?
Sometimes I plug them into blue tooth devices with remotes
Do you use your home theatre speakers to also listen to music, or just for TV and movies ?
Music also
What was the more important criterion when you purchased your system: how it sounded, or how it would look in your room ?
The sound!
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How many speakers do you have, eg front pair, centre, rear surround pair, etc.
I have Tannoy Mercury V centre, 2 front, 2 side, 2 Yamaha ceiling mounted rear speakers
Do you use a soundbar (a long front speaker with multiple drivers - some soundbars can do phantom multi-channel sound) ?
No - i find they have poor sound
Do you use a subwoofer ?
Yes - Velodyne sub
Are any speakers wireless ?
No
Are any of your speaker wires run inside walls, under carpet, under floor, in ceiling, etc ?
Yes - rear speakers cable runs through the walls and ceiling
Do you use any speaker stands or wall-mounts ?
side speakers use stands
Do you use your home theatre speakers all the time, or do you sometimes just use the speakers in your TV ?
Always
Do you use a programmable remote control ?
No
Do you use your home theatre speakers to also listen to music, or just for TV and movies ?
Music as well
What was the more important criterion when you purchased your system: how it sounded, or how it would look in your room ?
Sound quality
Anything else youâd care to share !
I use a Denon 2113 Receiver
It has 6 HDMI inputs which makes connecting devices much easier (composite inputs were painful). Also use banana plugs for speaker connections.
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I have an avr with sub, bookshelf front and satellite rear speakers. I have no centre because of the extra expense, difficulty to position it without it getting in way of tv and having to match its characteristics with the main fronts.
I have run the wires of the rear speakers under the raised wooden floor.
I have made my own wall mounted shelves for the rear speakers.
I use the home theatre whenever I watch tv, but if Iâm not home the rest of the family just use the tv sound.
We have a universal remote, but i am the only family member who understands how to use it.
Sadly I donât get much opportunity to listen to music in our loungeroom.
I have some large, beautiful floor standing speakers in our shed because my wife thinks they are too large and imposing. So having bookshelf speakers was important. Otherwise sound is of most importance to me. The avr, satellite speakers and sub were given to us by a relative, but I replaced the front speakers with a new, decent quality pair. My avr is fairly old so it doesnât have hdmi connections or sound calibration. It replaces a cheap newer unit that had these features. They would be nice but the overall improvement in ease of use and sound on the older higher quality unit we use now makes it a significant improvement.
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How many speakers do you have, eg front pair, centre, rear surround pair, etc.
3 speakers: front pair and front centre
Do you use a soundbar (a long front speaker with multiple drivers - some soundbars can do phantom multi-channel sound) ?
Nope
Do you use a subwoofer ?
Yep
Are any speakers wireless ?
Nope
Are any of your speaker wires run inside walls, under carpet, under floor, in ceiling, etc ?
Nope
Do you use any speaker stands or wall-mounts ?
Nope
Do you use your home theatre speakers all the time, or do you sometimes just use the speakers in your TV ?
Home theatre speakers all the time
Do you use a programmable remote control ?
No but I want a useful/useable one
Do you use your home theatre speakers to also listen to music, or just for TV and movies ?
Just TV/movies
What was the more important criterion when you purchased your system: how it sounded, or how it would look in your room ?
Appearance first but I donât feel I compromised much on sound quality.
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How many speakers do you have, eg front pair, centre, rear surround pair, etc.
Soundbar/Sub
Do you use a soundbar (a long front speaker with multiple drivers - some soundbars can do phantom multi-channel sound) ?
Yes
Do you use a subwoofer ?
Yes
Are any speakers wireless ?
No
Are any of your speaker wires run inside walls, under carpet, under floor, in ceiling, etc ?
No
Do you use any speaker stands or wall-mounts ?
No
Do you use your home theatre speakers all the time, or do you sometimes just use the speakers in your TV ?
All the time
Do you use a programmable remote control ?
No
Do you use your home theatre speakers to also listen to music, or just for TV and movies ?
Just for TV/movies
What was the more important criterion when you purchased your system: how it sounded, or how it would look in your room ?
Neither - cost.
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How many speakers do you have, eg front pair, centre, rear surround pair, etc. 5.1, and 7.0
Do you use a soundbar? No
Do you use a subwoofer ? Yes, a vintage passive on the 5.1 that rivals most active modern ones and the 7.0 has main speakers with integrated passive subs that will rattle the walls.
Are any speakers wireless ? No
Are any of your speaker wires run inside walls, under carpet, under floor, in ceiling, etc ? 5.1: Rear through ceiling and walls, all fronts are local to the TV. 7.0: Rear through walls and ceiling, others just laying on floor.
Do you use any speaker stands or wall-mounts ? Rear speakers are on wall mounts on both, 5.1: Main fronts are floor standing, front centre is in custom TV unit slot. 7.0: Main fronts are on stands, front centre is in TV unit, sides are on floor stands.
Do you use your home theatre speakers all the time, or do you sometimes just use the speakers in your TV ? My TVs have speakers? 
Do you use a programmable remote control ? They are mostly programmable but not used excepting on/off for multiple devices because they are too complicated to manage with the various products.
Do you use your home theatre speakers to also listen to music, or just for TV and movies ? 5.1 system, Sometimes radio and music. 7.0 system, sometimes TV
What was the more important criterion when you purchased your system: how it sounded, or how it would look in your room ? Cost-performance.
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5.1 surround sound with bluray player for the main TV⊠Tower speakers, wireless for the rear two. Sub woofer box and centre mini bar sized speaker. Used mainly for Blurays and DVDs. We donât watch commercial TV. Has been used for audio cds, and games consoles. Always use surround sound where available.
Teenage son has a 5.1 surround sound setup that uses small wired speakers and a subwoofer. Doesnât have a bluray or dvd player. He uses his xbox one to watch movies and listen to Audio CDs. He also has his computer connected for surround sound online gaming.
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A big THANK YOU to everyone that has taken the time to reply with details of their setup.
Keep 'em coming ! All of this data will help define our future test methodology.
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5.1 system, all wired. Rear speakers mounted in ceiling (I ran wiring through brick wall up to and inside the roof space). Centre front speaker, two side speakers and a sub-woofer usually not turned (sound is OK without it). Plays via a receiver/amp and remote control for mode selection (rarely, like never, varied). Very rarely run a DVD - it has BluRay but I have never tried one. I ran speaker wires inside the walls as the house was built (1984) but have never used them. System now rarely used for music- have a Bose wave box in another room that also connects to our other TV via a Smart PVR (used for on-demand etc.). TV speakers all turned down (except when the TV systems get mucked about by our grandkids visiting to stay (Primary School ages)!
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Thanks to all those that contributed here to our test process. Here is the resulting Soundbar review (member content) along with a Soundbar buying guide.
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7.1 Speaker system for TV, 5.1 for my computer, 2.1 for Son in laws computer.
No soundbar though we are looking at some
Yes we have Subs on all of them
No wireless, 7.1 uses optical for TV and Blu Ray.
Wiring is concealed in conduit for 7.1, others are âfree roamingâ wires
Wall mounts for satellite speakers on 7.1, others are not
Sometimes just use TV speakers (about 5% of time)
No programmable remotes
7.1 speaker system used for listening to music, streamed services eg Netflix, gaming on the XBox and PS4, TV & movies. Others used for gaming, music, streamed services, movies, web browsing.
Performance was most important criteria in choice closely followed by cost.
Once again, Iâd like to thank everyone who has replied to this thread.
We have another Soundbars test underway now, and have used your feedback to further refine our test methodology.
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Weâve updated our soundbar review (member content). Check it out to see the latest results.
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purchased a JBL CINEMA SB110 soundbar. Choice recommended it and it seemed ideal for my present circumstances: a small apartmentâŠ
The specs claim it has an inbuilt sub woofer. It doesnât. There is no noticeable bass boost I am extremely disappointed. I now have to source a separate sub-woofer. Please pass on this criticism.
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Note that I am not a Choice staff, just a moderator. Choice staff will see your comment and in the meantime my quick research shows the product is documented as having two wide range speakers and two 2.5" woofers. Those woofers are not terribly large, to be expected in a small form factor. Are you stating these are not in the product?
This youtube review may be helpful. There is a user question about the bass in the comments, and the reviewer replies 4/5 and evident at about 4:00 in the video. Perhaps your item is defective?
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The Choice review in relation to specs:
Subwoofer dimensions (cm, H x W x D) na
Which indicates that it doesnât have a subwoofer. The Australian website also indicates this as well. Some foreign JBL websites indicate it has a subwoofer, but these would not covered by the false and misleading claims under the ACL.
Choice canât be responsible for any ambit claims made in advertising or marketing by the manufacturer when it distributes it products to retailers. I note that many Australian retailers advertise it as having a subwooferâŠwhich is possibly misleading.
If it is a recent purchase and you believe that information available in Australia (on the retailers website or at point of sale), was used to form the decision to buy the soundbar (assuming it had a subwoofer), under the ACL you have grounds to return it to the place of purchase for a refund.
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