CES 2010 – VIZIO has announced a new lineup of wireless HD audio products  including 2.1/5.1 home theater systems and new soundbar products with wireless subwoofers.

New Soundbars

VIZIO VHT212 Soundbar

The new soundbar products include the VHT200 2.0 HD and VHT212 2.1 HD. The VHT200 is a standard two-channel soundbar, while the VHT212 adds a 5.25-inch wireless subwoofer and wireless iPod dock (shown above).The VHT212 has four 3-inch high-efficiency mid/bass drivers and two 0.75-inch performance neodymium tweeters. Other sound system components can be connected to the soundbars through an S/PDIF input jack or a pair of RCA analog inputs. The soundbars support Dolby Digital audio and SRS TruVolume and have a new remote control. SRS TruVolume eliminates the annoying volume jumps between, for example, TV programs and commercials.

The VHT200 and VHT212 will retail for $149.99 and $249.99, respectively; initial shipments are scheduled for April 2010.

VIZIO VSB201 Soundbar

VIZIO has also updated its current VSB200 2.0 and VSB201WS 2.1 soundbars. Both support SRS TruSurround HD for virtual surround sound and SRS TruVolume. Both soundbars are 40″ wide and feature four 3-inch high-efficiency mid/bass transducers and two 0.75-inch aluminum dome neodymium tweeters plus a digital sound processor. The VSB201WS, shown above, adds a 6.5-inch wireless subwoofer over the VSB200.

The VSB200 and VSB201WS will retail for $199.99 and $349.99, respectively, and will be available in January 2010.

VSB201WS Product Page

VSB200 Product Page

VHT512 5.1 Home Theater System

VIZIO has also introduced a new 5.1 surround sound home theater system, the VHT512. It is fully wireless. A front soundbar has center, front right, and front left channels with four 3-inch mid/bass speakers and two 0.75-inch performance neodymium tweeters. The rear speakers have two 2-inch drivers and a 1.2-inch tweeter. It also includes a 6.5-inch wireless subwoofer and wireless iPod dock.

The VHT512 supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II and SRS CircleCinema HD (includes SRS TruSurround HD 5.1, SRS TruVolume, and SRS CircleSurround) technologies.

The VHT512 will retail for $399.99 and is scheduled for availability in May 2010.

The Vizio sound bar with wireless subwoofer is a smart-looking system.  It will blend in with many types of decor and if you have a Vizio TV, then it’s sure to blend in well.  The sound bar has a mesh front over with a brushed metal Vizio badge right in the middle.  The rest of the housing is high gloss black plastic with “chrome” edging.  On the bottom of the sound bar housing are some metal brckets that double as a stand or wall mounts.  This same motif is applied to the subwoofer as well (mesh front cover, high gloss black cabinet).

Sound bar front

Specifications

• Sound Bar: 4 x 3″ mid/bass transducers, 2 x 3/4″ aluminum dome tweeters
• Sound bar frequency response: 80Hz – 20 kHz
• Amplifier: Integrated Class D at 15×2 channel and 0.01% THD
• Wireless subwoofer: 6.5″ long throw (high excursion) drive
• Subwoofer frequency response: 35Hz to 80 Hz
• Wireless range: 30 feet, clear line of sight
• Inputs: SPDIF, 2 x RCA on back of sound bar; 24v DC on backs of both sound bar and subwoofer unit
• Sound pressure level: 90 dB @ one meter
• Dimensions: Sound bar- 39.95″ wide x 4.8″ high x 4.3″ deep; Subwoofer: 11.2″ wide x 12.3″ high x 11.9″ deep
• Weight: Sound bar – 9.1 lbs, Subwoofer – 16 lbs

Setup

Vizio works hard on making sure their products are easy to set up and this system is no exception – I don’t think it could be much easier.  The contents of the box consist of the sound bar, subwoofer, two power supplies and other small  bits (manual, remote, RCA cable, mounting hardware), so it’s very easy to unpack.  Once everything is plugged into power, and you’ve connected one set of the audio input jacks to your audio source, you’re ready to go.  The power button on the sound bar unit controls the entire system (even the wireless subwoofer).  Also, the sound bar and subwoofer should already be “paired”, which was done at the factory.  (If things aren’t working correctly, the manual describes the pairing procedure).

Sound bar back panel

The other major piece of setup will be where you place the subwoofer and this may take some tweaking.  With other systems (and larger subwoofers), the position of the subwoofer was not as critical since the sound seems to fill the room wherever you put it.  However, this Vizio subwoofer didn’t produce that same kind of sound and I could always tell where the subwoofer was (instead of feeling/hearing it all around me).  Definitely try different positions and orientations until you find a spot that works well for you.

Usability

Getting set up is a breeze, and skimming through the instruction manual, the sound bar doesn’t look too hard to operate.  There are just a few buttons along the top of the sound bar: power, input (to switch between inputs), Vol +, Vol -, Mute, TVVOL (enables the SRS TruVolume leveling to prevent loud commercials), TSHD (toggles SRS TruSurround HD effect on and off).  The remote control has the sames set of buttons, with two extra ones – to increase or decrease the volume of the subwoofer.  The controls are pretty self-explanatory, and my confusion started when reading the manual about the LED array the shows the system status.

Control panel

The LED array is made up of 10 LEDs: 7 white, 1 orange, and 2 blue.  What gets confusing is the description of how this array works.  The first LED is the power indicator.  The next 6 (white) are the volume indicators and they have 3 levels of brightness for a total of 18 “notches” of volume (“this one goes to 18“).  However, the volume is not the only thing that these 6 LEDs indicate.  They also indicate subwoofer volume while flashing; LEDs 2, 4, and 6 act as input indicators (3 inputs on the back).  The 8th LED is orange to show subwoofer link status.  The 9th shows SRS TruVolume status and the 10th indicates SRS TruSurroundHD status.  If I’ve lost you – don’t worry, I felt the same way.  Regardless – once you get a feel for how it works, you’ll probably think no more of it.  The nice thing is that the array stays lit only for 5 seconds after you make an adjustment.  Vizio wouldn’t want to distract you from your favorite movie.

Performance

While I had this system set up, I watched several different types of programming: movies, sports (baseball games), and other miscellaneous programming.  I wanted a chance to test the TruVolume leveling system and I wanted to evaluate how the TruSurroundHD effect did as far as producing actual surround sound.  The Vizio sound bar was hooked up to the audio output from my TV and the TV’s internal speakers were turned off.

When watching movies, the sound bar did a good job of really making the “center channel” more audible.  The center channel is where a lot of the dialog is heard.  With the built-in TV speakers, you would have to turn up the main volume more (which makes everything louder), but the sound bar did a good job of really highlighting the dialog.  Also during movies, with the TruSurroundHD enabled, there was a slight amount of surround sound – I would give it a fair rating.  Not quite enough to make you think the monster was sneaking up behind you, but enough to be a nice improvement over non-surround sound.

During sports programming or other programming, the center channel is not quite as necessary, but the surround sound gives you more of a feeling that you’re actually in the ballpark.

One of the other main features of this Vizio sound bar is the TruVolume feature which limits the audio output so you don’t get commercials that are louder than the movie that you’re watching.  This feature is effective, but I also found that it doesn’t distinguish between regular programming and commercials, which is no surprise.  For example, when I was watching the lobby attack scene from The Matrixwith the TruVolume system turned on, a lot of the gunshots and higher output sounds seem “flattened”.  With the system off, it sounded just fine – with distinctive, loud gunshots standing out from the background of spent shells hitting the floor to the sound of techno music.  So, the TruVolume system works, but you may not want it on all the time (like when watching a movie).

Conclusion

While the surround effect is not amazing and the TruVolume audio output leveling system will limit all audio (not just the commericals), there’s definitely something to be said for a sound bar with wireless subwoofer for the price at which you can get the Vizio VSB21oWS.  The sound bar is still a significant improvement over the built-in speakers and a wireless subwoofer is really pretty awesome.  The wireless actually works very well – there was no noticeable delay of any kind and it worked out of the box.  I do wish the subwoofer was a bit more powerful and had a bit more frequency range on the lower end.  The LED indicator/status array was a bit wonky, but it’s definitely something that’s possible to get used to.  Major kudos to Vizio for making this system so simple to setup and use.

3.5 out of 5 stars

VIZIO VSB210WS Sound Bar Specs

• Four 3″ High-Efficiency hand built mid/bass transducers
• Two 3/4″ High Performance aluminum dome neodymium tweeters
• Wireless Subwoofer – 6.5″ long throw (high excursion) driver
• Subwoofer placement anywhere within 60 ft of sound bar – clear line of sight
• Latest Virtualization & Volume Leveling Technology from SRS Labs
• SRS TruSurround HD virtual surround
• SRS TruVolume eliminates undesirable loud commercials and channel to channel variances
• 2 Stereo RCA Input, 1 S/PDIF Fiber Optic TOSLINK Input
• Sound Bar Dimensions - 39.95″ (W) X 4.82″ (H) X 4.33″ (D)
• Subwoofer Dimensions - 11.18″ (W) X 12.77″ (H) X 11.84″ (D)

The VSB210WS will be easy to set up. It requires just one cable to connect to a television and one to plug it into the wall. The subwoofer works over the 2,4GHz band and pairs with the sound bar automatically. It remains to be seen what the sound quality is like, we’re still waiting for our review unit from VIZIO, but for $350, the package is pretty compelling.

Entries for the “Million Dollar Event” will be accepted through August 14, 2009. All you have to do is fill out a form and tell your Vizio story in 100 words or less. This isn’t just for Vizio owners, anyone who qualifies (18+ and US resident) can enter. The first drawing will be held on Monday, February 23, 2009 and each week thereafter through August 31, 2009. Winners will be chosen weekly at random.

Vizio Sound Bars

Vizio is also close to releasing two new sound bar products. Due out this month for $349.99 is the VSB210WS sound bar with wireless subwoofer. The VSB210WS uses four 3″ mid/bass drivers and dual 3/4″ aluminum dome neodymium tweeters. The unit also features SRS TruSurround for simulated  surround sound and is one of the first products to utilize SRS Labs’ TruVolume, which prevents extreme volume fluctuations when changing channels or watching commercials. The subwoofer communicates with the sound bar via 2.4GHz wireless signal. It features a long throw 6.5″ woofer providing bass response that extends from 35Hz up to 80Hz. The Auto Sync function ensures the subwoofer connects wirelessly to the Sound Bar for convenient plug and play operation. A sound bar only option, the VSB210, will be available in April for $199.99

Most soundbars suffer from weak bass performance. VIZIO’s solution is pretty novel and doesn’t impact the ease of setup these solutions have to offer. VIZIO has gone with a 2.4GHz wireless subwoofer that connects to the soundbar automatically. Otherwise the system needs just a single connection to the TV. 

The VSB210WS also features SRS TruSurround for virtual surround sound and utilizes SRS Labs’ TruVolume, which prevents extreme volume fluctuations commonly seen during commercials and while changing channels.

The VIZIO VSB210WS soundbar will be available in January 2009, for an MSRP of $349.99.