Review on 🔊 Immerse in Superior Audio: VIZIO M-Series 5.1.2 Home Theater Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X by Ruth Barrier

After a long search for a product, I was very excited about this soundbar. I almost rushed a few others, but I'm glad I waited for this one. If you're looking for an entry-level soundbar for your family room and don't know what Dolby Atmos is, then I'll be honest: this isn't the home theater setup for you. There are plenty of other systems that work hundreds of dollars less well, including the Vizio V line of speakers, which you can also get in 5.1. If you've heard of Atmos or are looking for the latest midrange, then this is it. Before you click the Buy Now button, make sure you're ready to start using Atmos. You need to make sure your TV supports it (if it has an eARC label on the HDMI connector then everything is fine), the content you are watching supports it, the device you are using supports it and All your settings are correct across the board (e.g. some TVs disable ARC by default and this should be enabled). If you have all of these things, then this completes it. The included HDMI cable is ARC, so you can use it to connect the soundbar. Make sure you use the connector labeled eARC on your soundbar and TV. HDMI is the best way, you don't want to use an optical cable if you don't have to. For my full review: Pros: * All round sound is great. I've only watched different types of shows for a few hours and it copes well with lots of dialogue, sporting events or very dramatic scenes. You won't be completely blown away, but depending on what you've used before, this could be a huge game changer. I ended up completely immersed in the content and that's all I need. * The left and right speakers have SUFFICIENT cable length. I haven't looked at it but I would estimate between 20 and 25 feet of cable for each side speaker and they connect to the subwoofer which is wireless but obviously requires power. Each side cable has an L connector on one end and a straight connector on the other. Make sure you know which one you want to run through your speaker stand tube before setting it up so you know where your cable goes. Only a straight fork will fit most racks. Read the setup guide, but in case you miss it, the blue connector is the left speaker and the gray connector is the right speaker. The speakers themselves are also color-coded on the inside of the connectors. in this way. * Updraft speakers can reproduce the Atmos sound much better than upstream digital/"fake" speakers I've heard in some other soundbars. * The remote control is a nice upgrade with a digital display that makes it easy to change inputs. Cons: *Depending on what content you're watching and whether it's surround sound, I've found that it can take around 5-10 seconds for the speaker to start playing sound while the TV is already playing a video. It was also out of sync (advance) by about half a second, but I fixed that in the TV settings by adding a delay. Not bad, but there shouldn't be that much delay between hitting the play button and the music playing. That's why I give 4 stars for Bluetooth. Everything else about BT is fine. * Equalizer and level settings on the remote control. ble. What's weird is that you can cycle through levels like bass and change them to + or -. Only once in each direction. And when you press something like "+" you now have to choose between + or - as there is no way for this setting to bring it back to neutral. I wish there were more levels. I would definitely recommend turning the bass and tweeters to +, maybe turning the side speakers to + as well. I gave 4 stars for the weird EQ settings on the remote. I personally connect these speakers to an LG 65NANO85 2021 TV, Chromecast with Google TV and tried Netflix (the Sophie documentary was titled Dolby Atmos according to Netflix). By the way, if you use Netflix, you have to be in the front line to get Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. At first I was only going to watch for about 10 minutes, but once I sat down the visuals and dynamics completely captivated me and I couldn't stop. Not only did it sound crisp and clear, but I felt like I was in a room. I couldn't notice the Atmos effect while watching it, but I felt surrounded and it was very natural. It was one of the greatest sensations I've ever had with a home theater sound system that wasn't an audiophile's home setup. At $500 (it will most likely drop to $450, maybe even $400 one day?) I really think it's a good value. It's pretty much the cheapest way to enjoy real Atmos entertainment right now, and I'm certainly glad I did. As this is a fairly new product at the time of review I hope others will understand what a great system this is. You won't get perfect sound and it's not premium stuff, but I think it will be a very practical solution for many people who want to enjoy their shows and movies in an immersive way.