I have a small soundbar on my 43” 4k TV. Looking at trying powered speakers,(Edify 1280ts to be specific), they have great reviews- asking if anyone uses a set up in front with powered speakers, what can one expect from dialogue? Some have mentioned a “phantom” center channel online… any input/ advice really appreciated-

I'm also curious on people's responses to this. I've had 3 or 4 soundbars on my smaller TV, and something has always gone wrong with them that required replacing. I don't need an a/v receiver, since that TV is only used with the roku, but do want bluetooth capabilities. Once my current soundbar fails on me, I'm going to switch over to powered speakers with a separate sub. At a guess, the sound should be the same if not better, since all of my soundbars have only output 2.1 anyway.

Speakers whenever possible. I have a basic setup, a receiver with left and right speakers. One of the important things is that it connects to everything: beyond any TV inputs it also directly connects with my record player, Spotify, Bluetooth, and has a radio if I need.

Every few years my wife gets the idea in her head that a soundbar will work for us and reduce the amount of gear in the room so we buy one and sound test it with our favorite music and they’re just never good enough so it gets returned.