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Vizio V Series 5.1 soundbar

"Vizio's V-5.1 5.1 soundbar is a cost-effective way to add good surround sound."

• Easy setup

• Immersive surround sound

• Warm music playback

• The middle channel is a weak link

• Some lackluster "features"

For more than a decade, Vizio's stance on sound bars has consistently been about delivering tons of value without breaking the bank. If you were on the market to improve the sound of your TV without making a large investment, Vizio was often the best place to look.

Well, although we all live in the wrong world of 2020, at least one thing hasn't changed. Vizio's new $ 250 V-Series 5.1 soundbar system is an affordable surround sound setup – even if a few too many cost-saving measures have been taken this time.

Out of the box

I will always be amazed at how easy it is for Vizio to set up a soundbar. I was in no hurry to plug it in for testing, but if I raced a watch I would bet I could go from unpacking to listening to music in 10 minutes.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

The system includes the bar itself, a pair of surround sound speakers, and a wireless subwoofer. Admittedly, there is not a ton here that could slow you down. But it's really just a matter of connecting your bar and your subwoofer to the power supply, making a physical connection between the bar and your display, laying the supplied speaker cable from the surround sound speakers to the subwoofer and turning everything on.

From there, the bar automatically searches for a content-generating entry. Be ready to act quickly and connect your phone via Bluetooth or stream something on your TV as the Vizio voice prompt is out of date after the first announcements that it is looking for an entry.

Apart from this little annoyance, that's all. No WiFi can be configured with this bar – which we'll discuss in more detail later – and there are no other setup frames that you can jump through. It's probably as close to plug and play as a soundbar system.

design

According to Vizio, this year's budgetary system was treated rather inconspicuously, which may be an understatement. The bar itself does not differ significantly from the latest sound bars that were on my media stand: With a length of 36 inches, it is only two inches shorter than the Sony HT-G700 that stood before it.

Nick Woodard / DigitalTrends

However, the rear speakers and subwoofer are small. The sub-cabinet houses a 5-inch woofer, and the speakers are slightly outshone by some older Vizio-Rears that I dug up for comparison. The size, frankly, worried me that Vizio might have become too compact (are we making ants home theater?) And sacrificed the sound. But as we will see shortly, the system grabs a punch for its size.

There are three drivers in the bar, one each for the front left, middle and right channel in a 5.1 system. Go to the back of the soundbar and you will encounter multiple connections. There's a retro 3.5mm stereo audio input (the good old red and white inputs) as well as an optical connector, an HDMI ARC connector, a 3.5mm AUX input and a USB connector Vizio says he only supports WAV and MP3 formats.

Would I have liked to see Vizio drop the old school stereo audio inputs in exchange for another HDMI port? Yes. Is this a pretty solid lineup of connections for the price, regardless of that? Also yes. Just keep in mind that certain connections limit your sound format options. The stereo inputs naturally only produce two-channel sound. You can receive surround sound through the digital optical link, but you will miss the DTS Virtual: X format that the V-Series is equipped with.

Vizio's standard soundbar remote control is also updated to be a bit rounder and gentler than its more brick-like older relative. The new remote control also appears to be more functional. With the buttons for EQ, Setup, Level and Effect you can play with the sound settings. I've never been a big fan of these old Vizio remotes, and it seems like Vizio is moving in the right direction with something that reminds me of my Nvidia Shield clicker.

properties

There are some legitimate features built into this bar, but some things that are "technical" are strangely cloaked by Vizio Marketing to be far more important than they really are.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

You can stream music – and only Bluetooth. And that's good. The connection was solid and the sound was good. Despite all the advances in Bluetooth technology, Wi-Fi is still the king when it comes to streaming audio, and bars like the Yamaha YAS-209 have proven that it is possible to have this type of function in a budget bar.

The V-Series bar has a useful function called Front Surround Mode for setups where it is not possible to mount surround speakers in the back of the room. This workaround is to attach the rear speakers on either side of the soundbar, move the subwoofer to the front of the room, and then access Front Surround mode using your remote control. According to Vizio, the bar will use DTS Virtual: X to create virtual surround sound in this configuration. The result is acceptable, but there is a reason why speakers in the back of the room are called "ideal setup".

Then there are things like dual stereo mode – an example of a function we have termed “technical” – that sends the same audio to all five speakers. This feature works to be clear, I'm just not sure when this is needed or wanted. Watching movies is generally best in normal surround, where dialogs and actions take place in the front left, center, and right, and the back provides background noise. And listening to music is literally designed for left and right stereo sound. Although the dual stereo mode is functional, there is no ideal time to use it.

Vizio also advertises its soundbar as "Voice Assistant Ready" due to its aux port and Bluetooth connection. This is total marketing: If this soundbar is considered "Voice Assistant Ready" according to this standard, this also applies to every modern loudspeaker, receiver or even television with the same two connection options. Yes, you can connect an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant device to the soundbar and it sends audio through the system. In fact, "voice assistant should be ready" to have a Wi-Fi connection and offer direct control through these smart devices. With this terminology, Vizio disguises its otherwise standard connections so that they are not.

To be fair to Vizio, there is a feature that allows the voice assistant in the bar to be active, even if the soundbar plays audio from another input, and the bar automatically mutes other sources so that the assistant can be heard. The same applies if you have a phone that is connected via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, you can accidentally transmit TikTok videos through your movie audio.

Audio quality

A few hundred words ago I teased how in love I was with products as small as the Vizio-Sub and the rear speakers that produce such a significant sound – and that's a lot of truth. For a solid week I've been throwing different content on it – from all kinds of music to various Netflix documentaries and TV shows, as well as the occasional Marvel movie and a Hamilton watch (or two) – and I can say that for sure people Those who buy this bar will be completely satisfied with this type and quality of surround sound.

Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

It contains all the basic elements that make for a good surround setup. The front stage effectively captures action scenes, the rear speakers provide adequate immersion, and the sub, although it is only designed for 50 Hz, rumbled enough to elicit a random bark from my previously deeply sleeping dog. I was also pleasantly surprised by listening to the music, as the Vizio bar produced a generally warm sound that was balanced enough to have fun.

Overall, it's the sound you should expect from a $ 250 package. But this bar is certainly not without its quirks. In my experience, the apparently lackluster center channel is the most important among them. When viewing vocal dominant content like Netflix’s comedy series The Degenerates or the Down to Earth documentaries, this wasn’t a big problem. However, when switching to action sequences in Guardians of the Galaxy or the busier areas of Hamilton, the dialogue couldn't keep up with all the other events in the scene.

You can turn up both the center channel and the dialog using the Vizio remote control, which is helpful to a certain extent. However, it is clear that some content simply outperforms the center compared to the rest of the sound produced by the system. Also, I wasn't a big fan of the various EQ presets – including the movie and music options that you can switch between with the remote – as they seemed to bloat the sound. Essentially, these EQ settings turned up all frequencies, making the action a little more booming but much less sophisticated. Listening in direct mode was preferable to me.

DTS Virtual: X is also available in this soundbar. DTS Virtual: X is essentially the less popular alternative to Dolby Atmos and is said to be able to add virtualized 3D sound to any audio sent through the soundbar. It should also work with almost any speaker configuration, and although I had a more immersive experience when I turned it on, my partner could not notice it without pointing it out. This result makes sense because with everything that virtual technologies promise in terms of audio, you can only achieve so much with three front-firing drivers.

In addition to changing the levels of the dialog and center, you can also adjust the bass, treble, subwoofer, surround level and surround balance. Although this sound may have its flaws, it was a smart move by Vizio to make the bar's audio so customizable that it pleases the palate of most people.

Our opinion

Vizio's new 5.1 soundbar system may not be the best way to add surround sound to your setup – which is a traditional home theater, by the way – but it is once again one of the most enjoyable. With the decent characteristics and good sound it throws into the mix, the V-Series is a value for the masses.

Are there any better alternatives?

Frankly, it's hard to find another bar in this price range that offers a full 5.1 system with a subwoofer and rear speakers. The Yamaha YAS-209 is still our favorite bar because of its versatility, features, and sound, but it doesn't have surround speakers and is currently a bit more expensive for $ 300. I prefer the sound of the Sony HT-G700, although I don't prefer the price of almost $ 600.

How long it will take?

Not only are they cheap, the Vizio soundbars also seem to have a knack for durability. They have a standard one-year warranty, but the Vizio system I bought for my parents eight years ago still works. I can't guarantee that this bar will have the same durability, but it should last for a while.

Should you buy it

Yes. At this price, you really can't get real 5.1 sound anywhere else. Even if you need to fine-tune the audio and deal with the lack of meaningful features, the Vizio V Series 5.1 soundbar is undoubtedly a lot.

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