Just got the Coby 3D soundbar from Amazon and it impressed me so much I thought I would give it a review. My timing was off...Amazon dropped the price ten dollars to 92 dollars, which is amazing. I know when you think COBY you think of cheap stereos, not hi fi. I read about this and heard rave reviews from the Electronic CES show that just ended. This is currently the only product with the special 3D affect, but it won't be the last.
Its size is a little longer than a typical center channel speaker, but much heavier. Very solid construction.
This product is hard to describe, but 3D is a good description. When you turn that off, the life of the music goes flat when it is "regular stereo". In fact, the 3D affect is so good that I doubt I will ever turn it off.
I know that you are a cynic about special affects, that they have been around on surround sound receivers for years and they usually sound awful.
This product sounds bright and clear and the music soundstage is all over the room. The "sweet spot" is everywhere. Is it 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound? No, it has no rear channel affects, but the frontal music is so great that you may not miss it. Let's face it, setting up a surround sound system, with receivers and speakers and wiring and subwoofer is a total pain. It costs a lot and its tricky to configure. Read some of the frustrated receiver users reviews and you will see what I mean.
This is crisp 3D sound. Just RCA inputs and a mini plug for your Ipod. No digital, HDMI, Special codecs.
But it sounds GREAT! If you didn't see the little box, you would think the sound was coming from a much larger system. Its small enough to use with a smaller TV, but it provides enough sound to satisfy even large screens. I tested it with my 50 inch and 60 inch plasma and it sounded great!
The closest product to this would be decent boxes with Dolby SRS, but this sounds much better. At 92 dollars its also a great choice for the Ipod.
This box uses 6 speakers and a subwoofer to recreate the sound. Purists will not approve because it does change the music, but I think it makes it better.
Every TV manufacturer should include the 3D affect with their larger TVs...but it might cut into the sales of their surround sound systems because I think this would satisfy 80 percent of the public. I work the soundboard at my church and have experience with audio products, so it takes a lot to excite me but this product does. (And NO...I don't work for COBY).
I usually would never buy a product without a lot of good reviews on amazon, but I trusted Leo Laporte(the tech guy on the radio) and this impressed him at CES.
It will not give you booming subwoofer bass, but it does accurately cover the sound spectrum. I hate that booming bass sound anyway, so its not missed.
If you want great stereo sound that has the whole room in its 3D sweetspot, this is an amazing value. Highly recommended if you can get over your preconceived idea's about what is needed to provide good sound for home theatre. I may get the 7.1 surround system for the living room 60 inch plasma, but this works great with my 50 inch panasonic plasma.
It comes with a remote, but the front buttons allow everything access, so I haven't even used the remote yet.
5 stars!
Tim in Anaheim Coby Multimedia 3D Soundbar Speaker System CSMP88 (Black)
I could not find more than a few mentions on the web about this speaker. One review on amazon and a few mentions from Leo Laporte on his podcast got me interested in this speaker. All I can say is WOW! Sound from this thing FILLS the room, very similar to the Bose wave radio but better! I've been listening to more music because of this little soundbar. For the price you can't beat it. All the sound processing is done by a special chip developed by Sonic Emotion. I don't know exactly how it works but it DOES! Buy it now you won't regret it!
If you do not have the space for a large surround sound system this thing is unbelievable for what it does. I am a audiophile so surround sound is not what I would consider good audio but when it come to cinema sound this unit is amazing for the money. Leo Laporte raved about the great sound that the little box produced so I had to try it. It produces great surround sound and it is perfect for small room. It certainly produces much better sound than the tv. Though it lacks on the low end adding a sub would take care of that but for smaller rooms it is sufficient. If you are looking for a low cost sound than go demo one.
Read other reviews and most are spot on. This device provides excellent sound amplification and quality. I am using it in a dedicated tv room that thanks to a home remodel project now opens into the kitchen. I was having trouble hearing since the remodel. Have a late model samsung plasma with pretty good built in amp and speakers but it fails in projecting the sound into the room. I am very pleased both with the item itself and it's ability when in 3D mode to fill the room with good quality stereo sound. The coby brand has some real issues with quality ,based on reviews, but this item has no DVD player etc.... To break so I am hopeful it will last. Remote works just fine but is a little touchy........ Line of site to center needed but works from across the room.
I wont boor you with the same info from other reviews but will add some specs and tech info;
The unit has 6-3" satellites, 4 facing forward 2/L and 2/R of the display and 1 ea on the left and right side.
And what looks and sounds like a 1" tweeter above the display. It also has a 4" down firing sub on the bottom. Total 80W power.
The sound is adequate for a 10' or 12' room in the mid frequencies but is a little quite on the low frequency side. I purchased a small 6.5" powered sub to supplement the 4" one in this unit. No Hum and only a very low hiss that I can only hear if I'm right next to the speaker. Fit and finish is top notch and Colby did a great job on this product.
Edit: I have a Harmony 510 PC programmable remote and when I went on-line to re-program it with the CSMP88, much to my surprise Harmony/Logitech has the codes for it. - Soundbar - Surround System - Emotion - Price'
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