Vizio 5.1 VHT510 Wireless Soundbar System
The Vizio 5.1 VHT510 surround sound home theater is another sound bar + wireless rear surround speakers combo, which looks to be a new trend in pre-packaged home theaters These systems provide the compactness of a sound bar with the full surround sound experience given by 5 real speakers in surround sound positioning.
This system includes everything you need for a home theater – built-in amplifier, front soundbar with left, center and right speakers, wireless subwoofer and rear speakers.
The wireless rear speaker option is interesting. Rather than having a standalone wireless rear amplifier, the speakers connect to the subwoofer. This has some advantages and disadvantages. A big plus is the fact that you have less wiring to do. The downside is that your options for subwoofer placement are limited. If you want to place your rear speakers for surround sound then your subwoofer must be at the rear as well. Of course, you could always use longer wire and put your speakers and subwoofer wherever you want, but that slightly defeats the purpose of a wireless system.
Another interesting choice made by Vizio is the single optical input. They recommend routing all audio through your TV. While this isn’t a big deal, it would be nice to have the option to directly connect your home theater sound inputs to the sound bar without having to pass through the TV.
These are superficial issues. Most important in any home theater system is sound quality. And here, Vizio delivers. By all reports the sound quality is excellent, providing great value for money in the sound department.
The one main issue I have found is the LEDs on the soundbar seem to frequently stop working after a few days of use. This doesn’t affect the sound quality of the system, but it is a disappointing build quality issue. On the other hand, Vizio seem happy to replace any units that stop working, so it’s not a deal-breaker.
All in all, the Vizio VHT510 is an interesting offering. It makes some bold choices – using the wireless subwoofer as the receiver for the rear speakers and only having one audio input means that it won’t be to everyone’s taste. But for those looking for a sleek, minimalist design with great sound quality at a reasonable price, it is worth a look.
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