Not as powerful as the Bose. =) was mainly looking for something that could be heard when we have a lot of people at the house (boxing fights). I was certain the sound bar wouldn't accomplish that.
I first bought a samsung sound bar from bestbuy and returned it. I switched it for a $300 sony souundbar with sub, and again it was ****. http://www.amazon.com/CineMate®-Ser...86792&sr=8-1&keywords=bose+cinemate+series+ii I went with the bose cinemate series ii and havent regret my purchase one bit. The base is powerful enough to shake your room and the highs are the best I ever heard from a 2.1 system. Don't listen to people that argue about them being overpriced, they sound better than the $300ish sound bars.
I noticed a couple of people complaining about using a soundbar then not hearing a difference. Same happened to me, then I realized the Comcast box sends crappy sound and there's no menu option to fix it. Apparently they removed the in-depth audio options in a software upgrade. You can't use HDMI, if you go optical you get good sound. I'm sure a lot of people overlook this.
I will say this. The sony soundbars offer the best overall experience. If you can find a htct 100 for a good price get it It's a good value. The IR sensor is on the soundbar and not on the subwoofer like the 150. Also if you care about 3d gaming or 3d movies the 550 has 3d pass thru. You have to mess with the AMP settings to get the right sound for your living room. I love it has 3 hdmi inputs
Sorry for quoting myself below, but thought this worth the bump, and it saves me from describing the sound bar again. Amazon has this marked down $300 bucks to $399.00, which is a steal, in my opinion. I love the one in my bedroom. I get real surround effects, and the sound is very natural and open. Music is fantastic, and so is the sound on HD films and stuff. I just watched Sound City (which is great, but that's for another thread), and was blown away again by this setup. This is $150 under what I paid for mine on sale, and I thought I'd gotten a good deal. This sound bar will not disappoint you! An FYI, folks! (large image below!) Spoiler http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005YXXU0U...e=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B005YXXU0U
