Thread: Vizio Speaker System

Next year I want to upgrade my plasma to an LCD unit and I have looked at the speaker system that goes below your unit. Any opinions on the quality of sound? MY wife just doesn't want a bunch of speakers all over the ceilings or walls. Thanks

Originally Posted by shodobe

Next year I want to upgrade my plasma to an LCD unit and I have looked at the speaker system that goes below your unit. Any opinions on the quality of sound? MY wife just doesn't want a bunch of speakers all over the ceilings or walls. Thanks

Begging the question about "upgrading" from a plasma to an LCD...

I think what you are talking about is called a soundbar. I've commented on these several times in this forum, and you might want to look back for some more detailed information.

There are advantages and disadvantages of a soundbar. The two biggest advantages are that it looks clean, and that all the connections are pre-made and hidden, thus making configuration easy.

However, there are a number of downsides. First, although soundbars claim that they provide a full 5.1 sound, the rear channels rely on bouncing sound off the side and rear walls. The result is not very satisfying and never gives a good rear channel experience. In addition, the main speaker separation is smaller than what is recommended for good stereo. The end result is kind of a fuller TV sound, but not home theater.

Second, soundbars generally have limited connections. Often, they rely on doing the switching in the TV and only handle a single input that connects to the TV output (more on that in a bit). The better units will have a couple of HDMI inputs that will allow you to connect a Blu Ray player or sat receiver through the soundbar.

If you need to feed from the output of the TV, be aware that many, if not most TVs do NOT pass rear channel information through the optical TOSLINK output. You will only get stereo sound. That may not be an issue, if you are happy with just having a fuller TV type sound.

Just like conventional speakers, there is a big difference in sound quality among manufacturers and models. The better ones can sound pretty good, given the limitations above. The cheap ones can be as bad as the speakers in your TV. Listen carefully and do your homework. Always good advice.

I am looking for a fuller sound more than a true 5.1 sound. It has to be much better than the speakers that come with each unit. What I meant as an upgrade was plasmas produce more heat and use more energy. I love my plasma and if they would produce one that didn't do as I mentioned then I would stick with a plasma. I have had mine only 2 years and probably by the end of next year technology will change a bit.