Is a soundbar a good, less-expensive alternative to a home theater?

A soundbar will not give you true surround sound but will give better sound then the TV Speakers

Soundbars are less complex and expensive than a full receiver + 5 speakers + sub.

They work better in smaller rooms with symetrical side-walls to bounce sound off of.

There are 3 grades:

* Crap sound bars that only accept left/right RCA inputs for stereo.
* Better sound bars that accept Optical for 5.1 (and may have left/right RCA inputs)
* Better sound bars that come with a subwoofer or have a RCA jack for the subwoofer so you can add your own sub later.

The DAC's are ... not great. But they work. They do a better job than TV speakers but unless you get the better bar with a subwoofer - you will miss out on the low end sounds.

I know 'real' speaker companies like Energy, Polk, Klipsch, Boston, etc. all make soundbars and decent 5.1 units start about $150.

Atlantic Technology got a great review for their soundbar but it is $850.

You can buy a decent Denon/Bostion box system for $599 from B&H Photo. So if the soundbar comes close to this price - you may as well buy a full sized AV Receiver, speakers and sub.

Hope this helps.