Sofabaton X1S vs Harmony Elite Review - Which is Better?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ค. 2024
- Sofabaton X1S vs Harmony Elite Review - Which is Better?
Buy the Sofabaton X1S - amzn.to/3U1TbPq
Receive 15% off when you use promo code Youthman during checkout.
Join Us for MWAVE 2024 (June 21-23, 2024) - midwestavexperience.com/
Platinum Channel Sponsor: Arendal Sound - bit.ly/Arendal_Sound
Subwoofers - bit.ly/Arendal_Subwoofers
1723 Speakers - bit.ly/Arendal_1723_Series
1723 THX Monitor - bit.ly/Arendal_1723_Monitor
1723 Subwoofer 2V - bit.ly/1723_Subwoofer_2V
1723 Subwoofer 1S - bit.ly/1723_Subwoofer_1S
Use the affiliate links below and help support the channel with no cost to you.
TV's (98" and larger) - shop.howl.me/youthman/collect...
Audio Advice - bit.ly/Audio_Advice
Best Buy - howl.me/clwC9rCV7qx
Amazon - www.amazon.com/shop/youthman
The AV Experience Podcast:
TH-cam - bit.ly/The_AV_Experience_Podc...
Spotify - bit.ly/The_AV_Experience_Podc...
Apple - bit.ly/The_AV_Experience_Podc...
Upgrade Your Home Theater - bit.ly/MWAVE_Sales
Weekly and monthly Zooms on Patreon - / youthman
The AV Experience Podcast - bit.ly/The_AV_Experience_Podcast
MWAVE 2023 Tickets and Info - midwestavexperience.com/
FREE Home Theater Design Tool - bit.ly/Home-Theater-Design-Tool
Recommended Home Theater Gear - www.amazon.com/shop/youthman
Submit your Home Theater - hometheatertours.com.
Ways You Can Support:
Patreon: / youthman
Youthman Courses - www.youthmancourses.com/
Youthman Merch - teespring.com/stores/youthman/
Donation via Venmo @Youthman
____
Disclosure: Affiliate Links are used in the description of this video. I earn from qualifying purchases.
Valencia Bespoke Series Theater Seats:
Monza Carbon Fiber (NEW) - bit.ly/Valencia_Monza
Tuscany Ultimate Luxury - bit.ly/valencia-tuscany-ultim...
Oslo Ultimate Luxury - bit.ly/valencia-oslo-ultimate...
Naples - bit.ly/Valencia_Naples
Valencia Cinema Series Theater Seats:
Venice - bit.ly/valencia_venice
Budapest - bit.ly/valencia_budapest
Piacenza - bit.ly/valencia_piacenza
Piacenza Powered Headrest - bit.ly/valencia_piacenza_powe...
Verona - bit.ly/valencia_verona
Verona - Powered Headrest - bit.ly/valencia_verona
Valencia Premier Series Theater Seats:
Oslo - bit.ly/valenciaoslo
Oslo XL - bit.ly/valenciaosloxl
Zurich - bit.ly/valenciazurich
Tuscany - bit.ly/valencia_tuscany
Bern - bit.ly/valencia_bern
All Valencia Seating - bit.ly/valencia_all
____
Bulb Projectors:
Epson 4050UB - bit.ly/Epson_4050UB
Epson 5050UB - bit.ly/Epson_5050UB
Sony VPL-HW65ES - bit.ly/Sony_VPL-HW65ES
JVC LX-NZ3 - bit.ly/JVC_LX-NZ3
JVC DLA-NX7 - bit.ly/JVC_DLA-NX7
Laser Projectors:
Epson LS11000 - bit.ly/Epson_LS11000
Epson LS12000 - bit.ly/Epson_LS12000
JVC DLA-NZ7 - bit.ly/JVC-DLA-NZ7
JVC DLA-NZ8 - bit.ly/JVC_DLA-NZ8
JVC DLA-NZ9 - bit.ly/JVC-DLA-NZ9
Sony VPL-XW5000ES - bit.ly/Sony_VPL-XW5000ES
Sony VPL-XW6000ES - bit.ly/Sony_VPL-XW6000ES
Sony VPL-XW7000ES - bit.ly/Sony_VPL-XW7000ES
AVR's and Processors
AVR-X2800H 7.2ch AVR - bit.ly/Denon_AVR-2800H
AVR-X3800H 9.4ch AVR - bit.ly/Denon_AVR-X3800H
AVR-X4800H 9.4ch AVR - bit.ly/Denon_AVR-X4800H
AVR-X6700H 11.2ch AVR - bit.ly/Denon_AVR-X6700H
AVR-X8500H 13.2ch AVR - bit.ly/Denon_AVR-X8500H
AVR-A1H 13.2ch AVR - bit.ly/Denon_AVR-A1H
Marantz AV10 - bit.ly/Marantz_AV10
_____
My 7.2.4 Dedicated Home Theater System:
Speakers:
(3) JTR Noesis 212HTR - bit.ly/JTR_Noesis_212HTR
(8) JTR Noesis 110HT-SL (Surround & Heights) - bit.ly/JTR_110HT-SL
(2) JTR Captivator RS2 Subwoofers - bit.ly/jtr-captivator-rs2
Video:
JVC DLA-NZ7 Projector - bit.ly/JVC_DLA-NZ8
150" Seymour Center Stage XD (2.35:1) AT Screen
Pioneer UDP-LX500
PS5
Audio:
Marantz AV7706 11.2 Processor - bit.ly/Marantz_AV7706
Monolith 11X Amplifier - amzn.to/2VB4CAg
GIK Acoustics - bit.ly/GIK-Acoustics-1
Theater Seating:
Tuscany Ultimate Luxury - bit.ly/valencia-tuscany-ultim...
Valencia Tuscany - bit.ly/valencia-tuscany-ultim...
Lighting:
Lutron Caseta with Hub - amzn.to/2V1vp9n
CB Concept SMD5050 LED Lighting - amzn.to/39LpmtG
Banana Plugs and Speaker Wire:
Sewell Banana Plugs - bit.ly/sewell_banana_plugs
Sewell Speaker Wire - bit.ly/sewell_speaker_wire
All Sewell products - bit.ly/sewell_direct
Misc:
Harmony Elite Remote with Harmony Hub - amzn.to/326SnNT
XLR Cables - amzn.to/3577Mk6
Orbi Wifi Router - amzn.to/2V227rh - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Buy the Sofabaton X1S - amzn.to/3U1TbPq
Receive 15% off when you use promo code Youthman during checkout.
Sofabaton should just hire you to directly help them create the ultimate theater remote. I would pre-buy one right now.
Thank you kindly. They just sent me an email this morning thanking me for my feedback and shared their plans to include much of those in the next version.
It’s such a shame Logitech stopped supporting their Harmony remotes.
One of the top 10 tech fails of this century.
@@webberfan1234 Stupid move buy a company that really only shined with its remotes.
@@mattgiunt just tell us you don't know anything about Logitech. It's okay.
@@mattgiunt
I would say they are most known for their mouses and keyboards.
Harmony is still firmly king :)
I’m still really interested in the Unfolded Circle Remote 2
@@Youthman Michael, come do a theater tour and try out the Remote 2. I have it configured pretty well now and am absolutely LOVING it, though it is heavily reliant on Home Assistant in my setup. Much happier than I was with the Harmony at this point.
Just more proof that Logitech didn’t have to kill the Harmony product line.
The Harmony Elite is still king. The best remote you can buy for your setup in my opinion is one you can setup via IP and control. But hose are normally dealer program like Control4, URC and Crestron. Once you get them setup they always work as programmed. I believe in a dedicated theater room where you have spent a lot on things like KScape why cheap out on the remote.
i also know the Logitech can also do lights etc its just a better remote and used can be had for less that a X1S
Thanks for the honest review. I really want one of these remotes but I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer for someone else to come up with a good one.
Thanks for this follow-up video! I love how clearly you describe things. Without your previous video, I'd likely not been able to program it well enough to use.
I've had the X1S for a little over a month, here's my thoughts...
I love it! I never really gave Harmony a fair chance. The cheap feel and small buttons sort of put me off of their lower end models, and 10 or 15 years ago I really needed more customization that URC remotes gave me. I'm sure a more recent Harmony would have been much better. I do own a Harmony HUB, but not the companion remote - soI never gave that a fair shot either.
What I love about the X1S :
1. it's simple, and seems to be designed for devices that pretty much only use a 5-way button.
2. it's easy for my wife to use.
3. feels really nice and high quality.
4. the way it wakes up and illuminates when you pick it up is great.
5. its ability to control an apple TV via Bluetooth is awesome. It works really well. I was using IR before, and it always felt kind of clunky and I don't have as many controls.
6. Battery life is acceptable.
What I don't love:
1. there is no warning before the battery dies.
2. the app feels buggy. I can start an activity on the app, but I can't control devices.
3. only 2 IR ports, and no option to expand. (after some googling and soldering, I rigged a solution)
4. using an app instead of a PC is convenient, but cumbersome if you are making complex macros.
5. RF reception could be better. I had the base station on a metal rack shelf, with another rack shelf 1U above it. Being sandwiched between the metal shelves made it unreliable. It took quite a while to troubleshoot that!
6. This a REAL problem. It's the worst remote at learning IR I've ever used, and I've had dozens of learning remotes. If your device isn't in their database - just return the Sofabaton and find another solution.
7. simple but effective Alexa integration.
How I use it:
I have two 7.1 systems in the same room - one is a TV and Denon AVR for daytime, and the other is a Sony projector and Marantz Preamp for night time/movies. The TV and projector each have their own Apple TV. The projector also has a Shield TV.
To get reliable IR everywhere, I needed to jerry rig an IR distribution block to attach it to the IR flasher outputs on the Sofabaton Hub. The Marantz, and Sony Projector have "ir" hardwired in via 1/8" connectors. The TV and Denon have IR flashers taped to their ir sensors. The shield and Apple TV work via Bluetooth. Because all of my devices have discrete on/off, and input selections, the activities have ran flawlessly.
My lighting is controlled via IR, but I can't make the Sofabaton learn the codes. That is disappointing, but not a deal breaker. I can easily have Alexa turn the lights on and off, or use a separate Insteon remote for lighting.
To answer your concern with the chunkiness of controlling devices - Is that a only a problem for people like you who are constantly tweaking things? I almost never need to touch my projector, TV, or AVR settings. I just control the Apple and Shield.
Great that Sofabaton is evolving, as I may need at least one at some point. Perhaps 1 or 2 generations away from achieving or surpassing Harmony’s great capabilities. I enjoyed VIP status with Harmony being able to simply send an email to my contact and get commands and features programmed within minutes or hours on my Harmony.
what a great review! Thanks for your thoughts.
As a fellow long-time Harmony Elite user, it sounds like you nailed the differences. We treat the Elite with great care to extend it's life. But nice to see this is catching up. I am nervous about making changes to my Harmony programming as it is a bit glitchy these days. Hope they do a touchscreen model, change the back button, and choosing the landing page is huge too.
lots of insight. Thanks for the opinion.
Looking forward to your take on the Haptique RS90
I'm still looking for something to replace my Harmony Elites (Family Room and Master Bedroom) and a Neeo (pre-sale to Control4). Unfortunately, as pointed out in this video, the SofaBaton is close but it is not ready to be that replacement. I fear the day I have to change the projector in my dedicated theater as I will either have to ditch the Neeo or get creative with how I power on and off my projector (12V trigger???).
I got one when it went on sale few months ago, still sitting sealed. Hopefully sofabatton continues to provide upgrades on the unit for next few years rather than putting out a new model.
Thanks for the review and the previous set up video. I think they are just about there. I will probably wait for another generation or two before I buy a Sofabaton and keep using my Harmony Eiite.
I like their progress but it’s not a perfected product yet.
@@Youthman Seems close. I was sooooooooo tempted until I watched this review. Your previous video for the setup had me add it to my cart. Problem for me is my harmony elite battery is lasting only 2 or 3 days now. I've ordered a replacement battery kit from Alliexpress but it won't be here till end of August it seems haha.
Hey there could you please let me know if I could simply reuse the IR blasters from my Harmony with the Sofabaton hub? It would be cool to simply plug in the Sofabaton hub without having to re-run IR blasters.
They are headed in the right direction. I will still keep my Harmony Elite for my main system.
Up stairs we have one of the first Sodabatons it works, not much is asked of it though.
I purchased an X1S after watching your initial X1S video. Unfortunately, I think I will return it. I did get my Anthem MRX1140 and nVidia Pro and Pany 820 disc player set up as devices but I have had no luck on activities. Input switching and on/off switching are too inconsistent. As well, I don't see how this, or I guess any universal remote, is of any help with a PS5. And having dual primary buttons (the track ball click and the center of the thumb wheel click) is needlessly confusing. I do like many of the X1S's features but for me using 4 separate controllers is actually simpler and more reliable.
Yes a touch screen would make navigating much simpler. Harmony Elite couldn’t power the PS5 either
Actually...I watched your 1st X1S video a few more times and that along with trial & error (I think I may have shortened my equipment's lifespan because I turned it on and off so many times) and I did get it to work. Fingers crossed it will continue to work. So I am keeping it.
Why is it so hard for a company to make a simple universal remote??
Likely because it’s not as simple as you think. Just imagine how many thousands of devices they have to make sure it’s compatible with.
Still using Philips Pronto!
Does anyone out there know if the Harmony database is still up?? More specifically, is anyone able to create a new activity??
Database is still available however no new devices are being added. I had to manually program each button for a new device not in the database last month
@infinite999ammo and so it begins.
What about the AVA remote?
AVA requires a dealer to program.
Very surprised the Unfolded Circle crew haven’t reached out to send you one. I know they’ve been sending out units for a while now. Makes no sense to not send it to you to get more eyes on it. Maybe they’re waiting to have bigger inventory 🤔🤔
I honestly don't think they want a huge influx of orders right now. The demand has far exceeded expectations and they don't have the system in place to keep up with orders. I'm guessing when they find a solution to increase production capacity, they'll be more willing to send a few out for review. I LOVE MINE.
They can’t even get them to people who ordered 3 years ago
@@nothingtoseehere93 I got on the list the day the Kickstarter closed in ‘21 (was closing on a house and couldn’t let anything hit the credit card or I’d have backed) and received mine Dec ‘23.
@@nothingtoseehere93 it hasn’t been 3 years since the Kickstarter campaign ended.
Not sure. They know I’m interested.
The back button killed me from buying one just yet.
Any chance you'll be reviewing the Haptique RS90 universal remote?
I’ve never heard of them.
Neither have I. Interesting design though. I actually like the angled screen.
I commented on the CEO’s post on LinkedIn.
Well, it appears that I spoke with the founder on Facebook last November and he reached out to me again in February. I have soooo many conversations on TH-cam, Facebook, email etc, I forgot about it. I reached out to them tonight and he emailed me back stating they will soon be sending me an HRS90 for review.
@Youthman That's awesome!!!!!!!! Thank you for your diligence in looking into it! You Rock!!!!! Can't wait to catch that review!!!!
Does the remote show volume level?
Volume level will show on your display of your AVR or Processor.
@@YouthmanThanks. My problem is I’m using Apple TV and it just shows a bar without any numbers. Not able to see my display on my McIntosh MX122 that does have numbers like you said. Just looking for OSD.
After dealing with harmony for so many years and not 100% right, tried SofaBaton X1 and X1S I gave up and went with Crestron Home. That’s almost set up with my installer. Someone needs to come up with a reasonably priced remote that works. That track ball on SofaBaton is stupid.
You know Youthman, I bought that sofa baton, only to get frustrated. They send me a used one, when I ordered a new one. So, I get the new one, only to get frustrated again. I could not for the life of me pair the hub with my modern. So I emailed them, because they isn’t no customer service number. The following day a Chinese guy calls me, only to get even more frustrated. I could not understand the dude. I told him to get an English speaking guy. OMG, he emailed me, that was just as bad. His writing was horrible. I sent it back. WOW! Unbelievable. No customer service.. horrible
Home Theater Gurus beat you to it! 😂
Seems like a solid choice if you don't already have a Harmony that you're hanging on to and praying that it won't die.
Anything that uses an app or their own system to talk to devices, it’s crap.
It’s so SAD that company’s have to go backwards to give a superior product compared to companies that had it figured out for a decade! Rip harmony
That’s the issue. Sofabaton hasn’t had two decades to develop their product
👍 👍
Looks like Harmony would be best for my situation, but I just can't invest in unsupported technology.
That’s the dilemma we all are facing.
Next try Remote Two by Unfolded Circle please. Would love to know what you think.
Me too. I’ve reached out to them for the past two years since they announced it. Feel free to reach out to them
I have been using it since December. It's going to be the one to beat once they can find a solution to ramp up production. They can't keep up at this point. But it's great hardware, IR is a weak spot, but connecting to a Home Assistant configuration I am controlling almost my entire theater via IP, which has been super reliable.
Logitech has the nerve to call this Elite but it isn’t Backlit. 🙄🤨🤔🤦♂️🤷♂️. My Harmony One is. 😎
Very sad that Logitech stop making remotes, as they were, and still is king.
looks like you have some interesting followers
It’s bots. Spam. I’m blocking them all