Vizio VHT510

Vizio VHT510 Surround Sound Home Theater With Wireless Subwoofer

Most sound bars are just that: long, bar-shaped speakers you can mount (or place) below your HDTV to get better audio output than what your television's speakers can pump out. Despite what the marketing material might say, though, many can't provide true surround sound, and they can't match the performance of a dedicated home theater system. Vizio's $389.99 (direct) VHT510 Surround Sound Home Theater stands out as an exception. Thanks to a clever addition to the standard sound bar formula, the VHT510 offers true 5.1-channel sound. The sound bar itself limits the peripheral imaging of the front channels, but the rear satellites give the system a sense of depth and space other sound bars can't match. Vizio adds two rear-channel speakers and a wireless subwoofer to the sound bar mix, giving you a full 5.1-channel sound system. The rear satellites connect to the subwoofer, which itself communicates with the sound bar with 2.4GHz radio signals that offer a maximum range of 60 feet. It's a clever way to enable rear channels without running cables from the sound bar/receiver/home theater components across the length of the room. The main sound bar measures 4.5 by 40 by 4.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.8 pounds, making it ideal for HDTVs between 38 and 42 inches.