Vizio VSB210WS
Manufacturer: Vizio Part number: VSB210WS
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The VSB210WS, Vizio's very first sound bar system, delivers reasonably full-bodied sound for a very affordable price.
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CNET editors' review
Vizio VSB210WS price range: $272.99
- Reviewed by: Steve Guttenberg
- Edited by: Jeff Bakalar
- Reviewed on: 03/26/2009
- Released on: 02/15/2009
The good: Stereo sound bar speaker with 2.4GHz wireless subwoofer; easy setup; gloss black finish; includes remote; eliminates the need to buy an AV receiver.
The bad: Has trouble emulating true surround sound; skimps on video connectivity options; frustrating LED indicator system; some remote control limitations.
The bottom line: The VSB210WS, Vizio's very first sound bar system, delivers reasonably full-bodied sound for a very affordable price.
Vizio bills itself as "America's HDTV Company," but the company has begun dipping its toe into the home audio side of the electronics pool with the VSB210WS. Billed as a "High Definition Sound Bar," the $349 package features a sleek-looking single speaker paired with a full-size 2.4GHz wireless subwoofer. While high-definition TV is something that is clearly objective, high-definition sound is something completely different. While we wouldn't sign off on the "high-definition" moniker for the VSB210WS (or any sound bar we've heard to date), we did find it to be a credible performer for the price. It's a stereo speaker, so it cannot promise much in the way of surround sound. That said, Vizio engineers gave the VSB210WS a noticeably fuller, more bass-rich sound than your average entry-level sound bar, and the inclusion of a wireless subwoofer makes it a good deal.
Design and features
The VSB210WS's sound bar and subwoofer are attractively finished in a high-gloss black plastic. Construction quality feels substantial and the speaker's brushed metal end-caps are distinctive. A removable black cloth grille covers the four 3-inch-high mid/bass drivers and two 0.75-inch aluminum dome tweeters. A built-in 15-watt-per-channel stereo amplifier powers the drivers. The 9.2-pound sound bar measures 4.82 inches tall by 39.95 inches wide by 4.33 inches deep.
Toward the center section of the front edge of the speaker cabinet, you'll find the power, input selector, volume, mute, and processing controls. Conveniently enough, the sound bar's built-in feet can double as wall brackets.
The small, black plastic remote control duplicates the speaker's controls and adds a subwoofer volume control. While this is a welcome addition, the sound bar doesn't have a dedicated display panel, so you'll have to make sense of the flickering LED lights to determine volume, input, and processing functions.
The 10-segment LED array is located behind the grille. The first seven white LEDs indicate volume level and input selectors. LED numbers five through seven correspond to the three audio inputs, the orange eighth LED indicates that the speaker and subwoofer have linked, and the last two blue LEDs refer to the sound bar's processing modes (These processing modes include SRS TruSurround, which produces virtual surround sound, and SRS Labs' TruVolume, which promises to minimize volume fluctuations.). When you mute the unit, the volume LEDs will flash. If you think all of that sounds confusing to read, our hands-on experience wasn't much better. This is something you'll simply have to get used to in order to understand the various functions of the sound bar.
The frustrating LED arrangement wasn't our only gripe with the system. You have to point the remote directly at the VSB210WS or it won't work--there's no leeway here. We also found that the remote turned the volume up or down a bit too quickly.
Connectivity is fairly basic: just two stereo RCA analog inputs and one optical digital input (one stereo RCA cable is included).
System setup is quite simple, as you only need to hook up your audio connections to the VSB210WS and adjust the subwoofer volume to your taste. But since the VSB210WS doesn't switch video sources, like your Blu-ray player or cable box, you'll have to remember to switch those on your TV manually, or set up a macro on your universal remote to handle the job.
The 2.4GHz wireless subwoofer is styled to match the sound bar speaker. The subwoofer cabinet's gracefully curved sides and rear are finished in gloss black, while the top panel is set off with a chrome edge. The box features a 6.5-inch woofer that is located behind a removable black cloth grille. Vizio did not supply a power rating for the subwoofer. It weighs 15.5 pounds and measures 12.3 inches tall by 11.18 inches wide by 11.87 inches tall.
While wireless operation may ease placement hassles, the VSB210WS subwoofer still needs to be placed near the sound bar for optimal quality. Also, remember the sub must be plugged into an AC power outlet. We were happy to see that it's so easy to change the subwoofer's volume, as we were always adjusting it after we changed movie and music discs. Unfortunately, we couldn't find one setting that satisfied all of our listening examples.
The Sony HT-CT100 sound bar/subwoofer system ($299) offers some stiff competition for the VSB210WS. The Sony system doesn't offer a wireless sub, but the 3.1 channel system offers source switching for up to three HDMI devices. This svelte Sony sound bar is a mere 2.75 inches tall by 31.5 inches wide by 2.6 inches deep, so it's a lot smaller than the Vizio bar. The HT-CT100 medium-density fiberboard subwoofer is 19.75 inches high and 14.25 deep.
We should also note that Vizio will soon offer the VSB210 ($200) sound bar, which appears to be the same as the VSB210WS, but without the subwoofer.
Performance
The VSB210WS has a fuller, more bass-heavy sound than most budget-priced sound bar systems. There's a satisfying weight to the sound of movies and music and listening in stereo never produced the processing artifacts (hollowness or tizziness) that plague some sound bars. With the VSB210WS, traditional stereo worked best for music, while switching on the SRS TruSurround forced the sound into a much harsher, more aggressive edge.
This wasn't the case with movies, as the SRS TruSurround did open up the sound by projecting it a bit wider than the sound bar's actual physical width. We found that the Sony HT-CT100 did better in that regard with ZZ Top's "Live From Texas" Blu-ray. With that system, the sound of the hometown crowd's cheers spread out well to the sides of the CNET listening room. When we sent the same disc through the VSB210WS, the crowd's applause never escaped all that far from the speaker cabinet.
Next, we checked out the SRS Labs' TruVolume feature that reduces loud-soft volume fluctuations. We used battle scenes from the "Black Hawk Down" Blu-ray, and noted a slight reduction of loud-soft dynamics. While it does actually work, we can't say it's very effective. The fiercest bomb blasts and street fighting assaults in "Black Hawk Down" were reined in by the VSB210WS, whether the SRS Labs' TruVolume was turned on or off. We've found that this is a common problem with sound bar speakers, and we judged the VSB210WS to be about average on that score.
Moving onto the "Across the Universe" Beatles musical Blu-ray, dialogue sounded very natural and pleasantly warm. The gospel choir singing "Let It Be" sounded fantastic.
KD Lang's "Ingenue" CD had a big warm sound, but rocking out with Bruce Springsteen wasn't as satisfying. The VSB210WS can only play so loud before you can hear it straining. Further listening proved that stereo separation is certainly not a strong point.
In sum, the VSB210WS is a reasonably accomplished sound bar plus subwoofer combination, considering its affordable price tag. That said, if you don't need a wireless sub, we'd recommend the similarly priced Sony HT-CT100 for its superior sound quality and additional video connectivity.
User reviews
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Tested MANY soundbars, opted for this 1 - Read review!
by Supergenie on November 27, 2009
Pros: WAY better sound then one would think for the price! Toslink , SRS works very well, Sub and 2 RCA inputs. Great looks to boot! Solid construction. Decently loud. Clean sound - not a tin can performer by any means!
Cons: Would have been really nice if it had a headphone out jack! Remote usually needs to be directly in line.
Summary: OK, I tested many soundbars including Yamaha, Sony, Panasonics and others. They are all good, but here was a hands down winner. What makes this soundbar so good?
Firstly, for ...Summary: OK, I tested many soundbars including Yamaha, Sony, Panasonics and others. They are all good, but here was a hands down winner. What makes this soundbar so good?
Firstly, for those who like their sound quality, this will surprise even the audiophile enthusiast. The 20 Watts/per Channel is a serious 20 watt. So it has a very good punch. As far as its ability to reproduce highs and lows, extremely impressive. In fact, if you close your eyes, you will in no way believe the sound is coming from that small speaker!
Also, if you buy the soundbar by itself without the wireless sub,you can save tons and that particular soundbar has a Sub-out. That is the one I opted for. I was able to plug my own choice of Sub to it. Having done that, all I can say is "WOW!!!!!!. THe 2 soundbars are identical for specs and sound. Just that one has the wireless Sub.
Having said that, I tested several types of music on this soundbar. Country, rock, pop, metal, jazz. Reproduction of Horns was impressive. High notes had no harshness. This unit does not sound like it is in a can. The SRS adds that third dimension that really works extremely well. Movies sound great too.
I was surprised that this entry level is upper end sound, upper end looks and upper end quality build. Hats off to VIZIO on such a great product! I would strongly recommend this to people whose budget is not way up there but don't want to compromise their ears!8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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One Satisfied Customer!
by jtfever on March 11, 2009
Pros: Istallation is a breeze, you really only need to plug a Toslink cable in and your done!
The Wireless Subwoofer works flawlessly and sounds incredible
The piano black finish matches my Toshiba LCD perrfectly.Cons: Nothing comes to mind....Really!
Summary: I picked the VSB210WS up at Sears after a long search for a soundbar with SRS that was affordable. After hooking it all up and hearing it in my home ...
Summary: I picked the VSB210WS up at Sears after a long search for a soundbar with SRS that was affordable. After hooking it all up and hearing it in my home I knew I made the right decision, This thing sounds incredible: full rich sound with nice tight bass, the SRS works better than I even imagined. Listening to music it sounds better than most home stereos I have heard. The wireless Sub is fantastic, you can place it anywhere in the room and the bass is strong and tight. Some little things I appreciated are that the led display on the unit goes dark after 5 seconds so it does not distract you when watching the screen and the stand which converts to a wall mount is included and a breeze to hang. The Toslink is awesome because it is the only cable you need to connect (most HDTV LCD/Plasmas have a Toslink out that plugs directly into the soundbar) Doing it this way means whatever is on the TV is what is played through the soundbar without having to juggle a bunch of different inputs. All this for around $350.00 it is a no-brainer in my opinion.
6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Vizio Did it right
by chethammer on September 27, 2009
Pros: Versatile mounting bracket makes putting it on the wall or setting it on a mantle a breeze. Crisp and clean sound that is loud as you want it to be. Wireless sub can be anywhere within 30 feet of sound bar. Price is best in class.
Cons: 1. Absolutely worst remote ever!
2. sub can be a little overwhelming
3. no mounting hardware provided
4. RCA inputs instead of HDMI (why they did this I don't know)Summary: I think the RCA's instead of HDMI's might be because people with older systems might not have HDMI inputs. Just a Guess. The remote is easily remedied by ...
Summary: I think the RCA's instead of HDMI's might be because people with older systems might not have HDMI inputs. Just a Guess. The remote is easily remedied by using a Logitech harmony and running just the optical from your television to the soundbar. If you have HDMI cables from the devices to the television this is the only cable you'll need and you can chuck your rca's. bottom line is every one of these systems has flaws as well as beauty. It's all in what you want. I wanted an easy to install system with no wires to run under my house or across the room. I also wanted that system to be able to play movies with better sound than my TV speakers could muster. I got that and I'm pretty happy with it. I have to say I didn't buy it blind because my in-laws bought one first at Costco. My free plug to them.
5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Sounds great!
by jimdon29607 on April 25, 2009
Pros: movie charater walking on the walks the sound seemed to travel around the room. great reproduction of surround sound. The price is great. Wireless subwoofer fantastic. Great over sound.
Cons: poor manual. took a little time to figure out the controls buttons
Summary: Great price, look and fantastic sound. Compliments my 1080p Samsung very well.
Summary: Great price, look and fantastic sound. Compliments my 1080p Samsung very well.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Soundbar for the Cost, Great Value
by edsker99 on June 16, 2009
Pros: Overall sound quality is rich and full from the highs produced by the tweeters in the bar to the lows produced by the wireless sub. Setup was, 10 minute job. Surround sound field is good for Movies in HD Mode, TV shows arn't too shabby either.
Cons: The documentation wasn't the best, didn't include optical cable (I had one). Doesn't produce surround sound field as well as some of the more expensive competition (ie. Polk Soundbar 360, SoundMatters SlimStage, etc.) but costs much less.
Summary: Excellent Value and sound quality to finish off an LCD/Plasma TV Setup. Dramatic improvement over speakers that came with my Samsung LCD HDTV. Geat for Movies and Sports too!
Summary: Excellent Value and sound quality to finish off an LCD/Plasma TV Setup. Dramatic improvement over speakers that came with my Samsung LCD HDTV. Geat for Movies and Sports too!
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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nice product before thermal overload issue
by uphogman on February 18, 2011
Pros: nice sound for a basic 2.1 channel soundbar. fine for a bedroom. wireless subwoofer which really sounded great and worked well.
Cons: cheap remote that failed the 1st month. I wasn't going to get a replacement from Vizio but the volume control on the unit itself stopped working. failed prematurely with a known thermal overload problem that was higher than normal.
Summary: 3 months out of warranty unit would go into thermal overload with or without anything connected to it. Spoke with Vizio numerous times, reset it according to their tech dept, ...
Summary: 3 months out of warranty unit would go into thermal overload with or without anything connected to it. Spoke with Vizio numerous times, reset it according to their tech dept, blew out any dust but problem persisted. Vizio said if it's out of warranty there's nothing they can do. They said I should buy extended warranties. Spoke to salesperson in the store and he said there was a thermal overload issue but Vizio did not want to acknowledge it. Vizio gave me two out of warranty repair facilities but after calling them they only do repairs on TV's. A company called ASI built the soundbars for Vizio but they got bought out by a company called Aura Sound. After speaking with someone probably low on the food chain, they said there was a higher than normal failure rate with either the chip or application of it in the product but that's all they would say. All in all if someone could fix it, the repair cost would probably equal the cost of the product which I really thought was pretty nice. Vizio is so large that they really don't care about failure rates. They have more people in Customer Unsupport trying to pacify the irate customer than they do building the product. They just leave you hanging out to dry. Too bad; it's the last Vizio product I'll buy even though I thought it was a fine soundbar for the money when it worked.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Steer away from this item!Believe what you read on CNET
by jackiejr57 on December 26, 2010
Pros: I bought this sound bar new thirteen months ago. Loved it and I never had a problem until approx. one month out of warranty.
Cons: One month out of warranty the volume started turning off and on. It showed a fault on the diagnostic led's saying that it was shutting down on a thermal overload. Checked the manual and made sure that is wasnt a caused by something external.
Summary: Called and explained to Vizio customer support what I had read on CNET"s web site concerning the same issue and support about this product. They confirmed what previous customers ...
Summary: Called and explained to Vizio customer support what I had read on CNET"s web site concerning the same issue and support about this product. They confirmed what previous customers stated with the exact same problem. You cannot get it repaired or even obtain parts. Customer service showed some sincerity and politely said that I should have purchased an extended warranty and agreed that this thirteen month old sound bar is now literally a piece of junk. Lesson learned! My daddy didnt raise no fool. A first and last time Vizio customer here!!!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not worth the aggrivation
by pbon on November 17, 2010
Pros: This unit has good sound quality for the price point
Cons: Vizio doesn't honor the warrwnties, and is very bad at customer service
Summary: My vizio sound bar became useless to me when the optical imput broke (will no longer hold the cable) even though the cable was never removed after the intiak hook ...
Summary: My vizio sound bar became useless to me when the optical imput broke (will no longer hold the cable) even though the cable was never removed after the intiak hook up. I called vizio "support" and was told that they do not honor their warrenties on such problems, I tried to "elevate" the incident by calling their HQ. and was promised a customer service manager would contact me. They never did. All things considered, you are much better off dealing with Sony, or some other honest company
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Okay Until It Stopped Working
by joek54 on October 28, 2010
Pros: Sound was decent. Easy to install.
Cons: Stopped working. Sound works for 5 minutes, then cuts out for a minute or two. Comes back on and cuts back out. Emailed Vizio support. Never received an answer. Internet research reveals that this is a common problem.
Summary: Not worth the money for the length of time it works. As soon as my warranty was up, unit quit working. Thanks Vizio.
Summary: Not worth the money for the length of time it works. As soon as my warranty was up, unit quit working. Thanks Vizio.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Beware of Factory Refurbished Units
by jtdaz on October 16, 2010
Pros: Good sound.
Cons: Seven months after purchase audio now cuts out every five minutes for about 20 seconds. Vizio tech support says unit needs to be replaced but refurbished units only have 90 day warranty... so I am out of luck!
Summary: Refurbished unit failed after seven months. Vizio only provides 90 day warranty on refurbished units. Buyer beware!
Summary: Refurbished unit failed after seven months. Vizio only provides 90 day warranty on refurbished units. Buyer beware!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vizio
- Part number: VSB210WS
- Description: Be the envy of all your friends! Continuing to raise the bar in home electronics, VIZIO brings you the VSB210WS Sound Bar. Designed for the home theater enthusiasts, this universal sound bar is for everyone and works with most HDTVs. Complete with cutting edge sound technologies such as SRS TruSurroundHD to hear rich bass and clear dialog and SRS TruVolume to automatically limit abnormally loud sounds, the Sound Bar will give you the High Definition experience that you've always desired. Your friends will be so green with envy they may never go home. VIZIO - where vision meets value!
General
- Product Type Sound bar system
- Speakers included Sound bar,
Wireless subwoofer Speaker Features
- Speaker Type Active
- Woofer size (inches) 3 in,
1 in,
6.5 in - Max (RMS) Output Power (Total) 65 Watt
- Response Bandwidth 35 - 20000 Hz
- Signal-To-Noise Ratio 105 dB
- Output Level (SPL) 90 dB
- Audio Amplifier Integrated
- Connectivity Technology Wireless - 2.4 GHz radio frequency,
Wired - Controls Input selector,
Mute,
Volume,
Subwoofer volume control - Additional Features 3D surround sound mode ,
SRS TruSurround HD Speaker Details
- Features Sound bar - Bookshelf - Wired,
Subwoofer - 15 Watt - 80 - 20000 Hz - Wireless,
1 - 35 - 100 Hz - Driver Details Right/left channel speaker : 4 x Mid/woofer driver - 3 in,
Right/left channel speaker : 2 x Tweeter driver - 1 in,
Subwoofer : 1 x Subwoofer driver - 6.5 in - Driver Details 4 x 3 in Midrange,
2 x 1 in Tweeter,
1 x 6.5 in Woofer Connections
- Connector Type 2 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ),
1 x SPDIF input ( TOSLINK )
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included Audio cable
- Included Accessories Mounting hardware,
2 AC power adapters - Remote Control Remote control - Infrared
Power
- Power Device Power adapter - External
- Power AC 120 V ( 60 Hz )
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Vizio products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Vizio
- Address:
39 Tesla, Irvine, CA 92618 - Phone: 1-888-849-4623
