Vizio Sb3651e6 36 51 Channel Wifi Smartcast Soundbar System Review
At a Glance
Expert'south Rating
Pros
- A true 5.1-aqueduct environs experience, thanks to discrete left and correct surroundings speakers
- SmartCast app provides outstanding integration with Google Chromecast
- Fantabulous IR remote, and extensive control via SmartCast mobile app
Cons
- Just average sound quality
- Subwoofer has trouble with dynamic deep bass content at very loud book
Our Verdict
Vizio delivers truthful 5.1-aqueduct environs audio in a streamlined footprint and at a very depression price point.
All-time Prices Today
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There'due south simply no substitute for a surround-sound system with detached speakers. The problem is, many consumers tin can't tolerate the aesthetic compromises or setup hassle that can come with it. While traditional soundbars are pleasing to the eye and simple to configure, they simply tin't recreate the audio magic that discrete speakers can deliver.
That'south where Vizio's 5.1 Smart Cast Sound Bar System comes (wait for model number SB3651-E6, which is how I'll describe it from here). This arrangement consists of a 36-inch soundbar; a compact, wireless subwoofer; and 2 satellite surroundings speakers. Audio voodoo need non apply.
The slim, low-profile SB3651-E6 is is the perfect complement to TVs of all sizes. The principal speaker is a sealed design, as opposed to some competitors that are ported for deeper bass response. Vizio leaves low-frequency duty to the included wireless subwoofer.
Vizio The main speaker in Vizio's SB3651-E6 Audio Bar System is a sealed cabinet measuring 36 inches broad.
The tall, rectangular, wireless sub is a rear-firing, rear-ported pattern that Vizio says is capable of frequency response downwards to the 30Hz range. Equally such, it does yeoman'due south work with most special furnishings, but you lot won't get anywhere shut to the full affect of explosions, depth charges, and subterranean bass. Physics is still physics.
With the sole exception of DTS: VirtualX on the Yamaha YAS-207 soundbar, artificial surround processing on soundbars has left me underwhelmed. The SB3651-E6 doesn't try to use DSP or artificial processing to simulate a surround-sound experience. Instead, a pair of dedicated speakers handle side-surround duties. The speakers are small enough to laissez passer inspection from most spouses, just they'll enhance eyebrows from home theater purists.
The surround speakers plug into the subwoofer with very long long speaker wires terminating with RCA connectors. While that makes connecting the speakers a slice of cake, you lot're limited to how far away from the sub you can connect the speakers. For that reason, you'll notice Vizio recommending the platonic placement of the subwoofer being near your seating position, as opposed to a corner, which volition boost bass output. And so long as your room isn't extremely large, y'all won't run into whatever problems with placement or cablevision length.
Vizio The surround speakers must be hardwired to the subwoofer, so Vizio recommends placing the sub almost your seating expanse.
Information technology'due south worth noting that there'southward no on-lath EQ or stage adjustments to aid dial in the subwoofer to your room's acoustics. Such features are few and far between when you're shopping in the sub-$300 range.
Smart accessories
Vizio's SB3651-E6 has the best set of accessories I've yet seen in a soundbar, including just about every cable you lot'll need: HDMI, Toslink optical, RCA analog, 3.5mm-to-3.5mm for mobile devices, and three.5mm-to-RCA phono are all included. You even go small pre-cutting Velcro straps to help you lot tidy upward your cables afterward installation.
Most manufacturers provide identical power cords for the sub woofer and soundbar. Not and so here. Y'all become two power cords of different lengths: I is 103 inches long and the other is 63 inches long. That's smart. You lot're more than probable to accept an electrical outlet nearly the soundbar than the subwoofer, so yous won't need to worry almost reaching an outlet for the sub, and you lot'll have less cable to coil up backside the soundbar.
Theo Nicolakis The summit of the sound bar has basic, functional buttons.
Sugariness industrial pattern
Whoever is in charge of industrial design at Vizio paid attending to seemingly every detail. Vizio gets high marks for making the consumer experience easy and intuitive.
For example, at that place are labels over the soundbar's inputs informing yous to download the mobile app first before you gear up information technology up. An excellent annotation on the HDMI port explains that you need to activate the CEC characteristic on the Idiot box (bold your TV supports it) for the HDMI audio return aqueduct (ARC) to work. HDMI ARC allows your TV to pass audio back to the soundbar over the same HDMI cable. I always make note of this in our reviews, but this is the kickoff time I've seen a manufacturer go the actress step to help avoid whatsoever potential frustration. I tip my hat to the Vizio team.
The best remote I've seen at this price
Theo Nicolakis The included remote has a small display, but you lot can't read it in the nighttime.
But about every soundbar I've reviewed that sells for less than $300 has come with a cheap remote control, and it stinks. Vizio'due south remote is the best I've seen with a soundbar at this toll point. It'southward sleek, well designed, intelligently laid out, and information technology delivered outstanding range in my home theater.
Vizio could make this remote fifty-fifty better by making the white lettering and symbols larger and more than pronounced. Every bit it stands, you'll need very practiced lighting to run into what is on each push button. A small LCD displays the input or book, which is essential because the soundbar has only a few lights on its left-hand side to indicate what it's doing at any given time.Unfortunately, the LCD uses almost yellowish-green text on a black background and isn't always clear. And because it's not backlit, the display is useless in the nighttime. If y'all memorize what each push button does, yous tin can learn to navigate information technology by touch.
Google Chromecast is built in
Theo Nicolakis The Vizio soundbar pairs easily with the SmartCast app and has rich integration with streaming content.
As good as the physical remote is, Vizio's feature-rich SmartCast mobile app is fifty-fifty improve. Here once more, information technology's the all-time I've seen accompanying a product in this price range, and it'due south improve than the apps that come with many more than-expensive speakers.
Vizio has made a strong commitment to Google's Chromecast technology and this app works across Vizio'south entire produce line, from TVs to speakers. If you're all in with Vizio from an entertainment perspective, the app is a unified command mechanism for your Vizio Boob tube, your Vizio soundbar, and your portable battery-powered Vizio speakers (such as the Vizio SmartCast Require 360).
The app lets you do much more just adjust the volume and switch inputs, you can even re-name individual inputs so they announced as Blu-ray, Cable, Apple Tv set, or ChromeCast instead of HDMI, AUX, Optical, and and then on.
Theo Nicolakis Vizio'due south SmartCast mobile app gives y'all extensive control and customization of the soundbar's sound features.
I was thoroughly impressed with all the unlike things I could do to fine-tune my audio setup. I could conform treble and bass, adjust middle-aqueduct and environment-speaker volume. I even had options for altering surround residual, subwoofer volume, and different EQ pre-sets.
The app gave me the option of identifying each speaker to ostend that my setup was correct, besides. I but wish Vizio had included a pink dissonance option to level-match the individual speaker volumes. For those of you who desire to really geek out, I recommend using the free THX Tune-up app bachelor for iOS and Android. It volition help you lot punch in the SB3651-E6 (or any sound system for that affair) rapidly and without any boosted measurement tools.
A sonic functioning that has its limits
Like every soundbar I've tested, I prepare up the Vizio SB3651-E6 in my basement home theater, where I take a dedicated Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 7.2.six object-based audio setup anchored past SVS Ultra speakers and SB13-Ultra subwoofers. I placed the Vizio SB3651-E6 on a tabular array directly in a higher place the SVS Ultra eye channel and the surrounds directly on top of the SVS Ultra bookshelf speakers that handle surround duty. The Vizio surroundings speakers were approximately ii feet behind my primary listening position.
Theo Nicolakis The sound bar'south back has perfectly placed stickers giving users articulate instructions.
I fired upwards Star Wars: Rogue One to give the Vizio organisation a workout, which revealed the soundbar system'south strengths and weaknesses. Chief among its strengths is the fact that information technology creates a true surround-sound feel. The rear side surrounds do their job. I did observe the surrounds to be far too ambitious with their default settings; however,. I had to tame their book down to balance things out.
Secondly, dialog was clean and intelligible. It appears as though this has been fine tuned by design. Unfortunately there is slightly thin and boxy quality to the sound. To be fair, that'south non uncommon at this toll point. I take a large, open up space, so I needed to creepo the volume upwardly a chip. The soundbar had some trouble keeping upwardly. Equally I raised the volume louder, I noted some audible harshness.
The sub was the weak link in the concatenation. It tried its all-time, but had some problem with certain scenes. Trying to recreate the Death Star'southward destruction of the urban center of Jedha at the opening of Chapter 19 brought the sub to its knees. Likewise when the 10-Wing fighters assail the Imperial facility on Eadu in Affiliate 25, the woofer was vibrating so violently during explosions that I heard audible distortion and chuffing from the sub's port. The subwoofer will give you lot a sense of some low-end impact, but information technology just doesn't have the power and finesse larger subs do. Scenes with lots of depression-finish dynamics will give it a claiming.
Theo Nicolakis The Vizio comes with an exhaustive set of accessories.
All the high tech comes with sonic trade-offs
Vizio's SB3651-E6 offers a lot of bang for the cadet. The SmartCast app is fantastic, the physical remote is better than about at this price, and Vizio provides all the accessories you'll need. The individual environment speakers give yous an authentic surround experience with a tiny footprint, and the main soundbar delivers highly intelligible dialog.
But that bang has some trade-offs. The Vizio will struggle at high volumes and the sub volition face stiff challenges with dynamic, low-stop content; fortunately, none of those shortcomings are enough to derail the whole package at this price.
Vizio's SB3651-E6 is a low-priced, entry-level system for consumers who prize loftier-tech features and want a genuine surround-sound feel with the smallest possible footprint.
Correction:This review originally reported that the infrared remote command that comes with the SB3651-E6 was a Bluetooth model.
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Source: https://www.techhive.com/article/583163/vizio-smartcast-sound-bar-sb3651-e6-review.html
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