Hi,
I’m considering buying the new B&O soundbar for my large TV in the living room and considering the Muso 2nd gen as an alternative as have the 1st Gen in another room and loved it.
As the TV is wall mounted perhaps the Soundbar would look and be better for the room but I know the sound from the Muso is amazing but maybe would not sit right under the TV and be to pronounced!!
Any comments?
Without a picture of your rooms i would personally be tempted to put Muso 1 under the TV and use a new Muso 2 for music duties where you had the Muso 1. Never been impressed with B&O for the money imo.
The Muso 2 has an HDMI ARC input, so I would use that for the TV.
Has to be a naim Muso… no other choice 
You might like to ask @Richard.Dane to amend the thread title!
(In case you’re not in UK and unaware, B&Q is the name if a chain of DIY hardware stores…)
Thread title amended.
B&O may be better than a Main though, whoever Main are?
Thanks Mike. Funny how the brain works - I had missed that completely! I guess I had subconsciously automatically corrected it.
Soundbars are a tricky subject. They all seem to be marketed at the user who loves written specs. Dolby Atmos for example is a gimmick on a soundbar. You’re never going to experience anything near surround sound. The build and performance of all the soundbars ime was poor. Most have gimmicky cosmetic finishes that rattle and/or inhibit performance.
The good bit about the B&O is that it has favoured an analogue socket instead of optical.
The bad, very bad, is that it can’t be connected to a subwoofer via wire. This makes the soundbar completely useless to me. No soundbar will produce sufficient bass.
I opted for a Dali Kubik One. It’s built simply, properly and connected to a subwoofer sounds very good. I’m not talking about big deep woofer thuds for effect. I’m talking full-range and well balanced. Via analogue.
The other soundbars I might prefer over a Naim Muso are the Dynaudio ones
Before buying my Muso 2, I tried to find a music 7 to audition. I couldn’t,t find one in the south of the country so went with the Muso 2. I use as a sound bar via HDMI, very pleased with it.
A soundbar is about producing better sound than the built-in speakers of modern TVs with their very slim cases, more like the sound that could be produced by CRT TVs which had at least some space in them, rather than producing true surround sound or deep bass. My last CRT TV, a Panasonic 28”, produced was hugely better than any flat panel I’ve heard, and had a pseudo-surround setting that threw a soundstage far wider than the TV and did create the effect of sound to the sides, though not rear. It also had some bass, fitting in its cabinet a mini transmission line effect contorted into the space available. When I heard a Muso I was impressed by the sound from such a small box, it also producing a wide soundstage, and bass that perhaps was not disimilar in depth to that old Panasonic. Of course course there is no real bass, so no good for movie bass sound effects, but at the time I thought it would possibly work well as a soundbar if it physically fitted, doubling as a better-than-average boombox for background music which my wife likes, she not being concerned about absence of bass, the added potential for TV usage is the only thing that might justify its cost to me.
I have no idea how any TV soundbars compare with the Muso having never listened to any, but many seem to be designed more for style, so will still have limitations, but likely much better than the panel TVs they are designed to complement and more like the better pre-panel TVs.
As I say, a subwoofer used for tv isn’t particularly for bass effects, it’s to give a full-range sound. Good for orchestral pieces, which is in just about everything.
A good example of how gimmicky processing ruins movies; someone is talking outside in the street. With the processed effects, the street noise, wind, trees, etc…is far too loud, unreal and gets in the way of dialogue (which is harsh and unnatural). With the simplicity of analogue (on my Dali) the voice is smooth, full, real, forward and the background street noise is distant, where it should be. When they make films, they don’t have mikes everywhere.
When it comes to av, I really do think people suddenly look at specs, features… When you buy Naim, do you look at the specs? Well I don’t. I just look at the price and trial it.
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