Customer Reviews

VIZIO VHT210 2.1 Home Theater Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer (Black)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I bought this soundbar in mid-October and I really like the sound it produces. I am no audiophile, but the sound is much better than my Panasonic G10 TV speakers. The surround sound is good, and the subwoofer produces deep bass that really makes movies come alive. On certain shows the bass can become overpowering, but adjusting the sub volume and overall bass cures the problem.

Unfortunately, I am already on my third Vizio VHT210 because he build quality is just terrible. On the first one, the LED volume indicator lights stopped working after two days. I exchanged it, but my second one had a loud buzzing sound coming from the bar when plugged in. I exchanged that one as well, and just like my first one the volume LED's stopped working after a couple of days. After some research on the internet -- specifically AVS Forums -- I found many people having the LED problem with the Vizio's, and to a lesser extent the buzzing problem.

It is a shame Vizio's quality control is so poor because I really like the sound this soundbar produces. I intend to replace this one with another brand. If you can find one that does not have the buzzing or LED problems, then it is an excellent soundbar for the price ... unfortunately I am 0-3 with it and that's unacceptable.

I bought this at a big box retailer(thankfully) as a pre-Christmas gift for my wife, who's been wanting a television with "smart volume" since our good old Sony 27-inch died. Let me preface my comments by giving kudos to Vizio with keeping as many employees based in America as feasible within today's global sourcing business reality. However, this level of quality control isn't going to keep customers.

The wireless subwoofer, while a great idea, just plain didn't work. I don't mean the bass was muddy, or not strong enough, it didn't physically work. The sub's wireless receiver never got "in sync" with the soundbar, even after placing it face-to-face with the soundbar's faceplate as Vizio's online tech help recommended.

The smart volume feature did function, and kept commercial volume at the same level as the programming. It did, however, exhibit a tendency to boost volume during television shows seemingly at random. This caused us to have to lower the volume, which negated the benefit of not having to mute commercials.

On the plus side, the soundbar is a nice looking piece of furniture/electronics, simple black with pleasant blue l.e.d. function lights. It blended well with the television and other electronics in our credenza, and the subwoofer is small and unobtrusive. If the non-working sub was the only issue I would gladly have exchanged it for a new unit. As it is though, I opted for a refund instead of exchange because the smart volume feature was so inconsistent.

Its too bad, this could be a great product with a little more R&D on the smart volume and better quality control on the sub. We've never had a single problem with our 3 year old 42" Vizio l.c.d. television, and I hope Vizio addresses their tech issues so we can keep those jobs here in the U.S. of A.

Like other users have said the L E D lights last two days and then go out... I'm on my second unit with the same problem.. It sounds great,butthe inconvenience is uncalled for.. I hope they let me try another brand..

I am not a techie so I wanted to upgrade the sound system for my Sony Bravia 46" TV and DVD player without a lot of complicated wires and dials. I really liked the look of the Visio VHT 210 2.1 soundbar with wireless subwoofer. However, I had mixed feelings before I made this purchase. On the one hand, Consumer Reports gave it a very high rating. On the other hand, some reviewers complained about poor quality. I finally went with Consumer Reports and bought it.

It was very easy to hook up to my TV, using the cables included. (If you want to upgrade to an optical cable you should buy it along with the Visio. They're very cheap.) It took maybe 10-15 minutes to hook up everything. I set the soundbar on my TV stand, right in front of the TV base, and the subwoofer on the floor to the side. Some people have complained about the wireless link between soundbar and subwoofer not working but I had no problem and am very happy with the sound. My room is 39' x 17' and it fills that space.

Some reviewers complained about how the LEDs function. There are two orange ones that blink on and off depending on whether the subwoofer is turned on or off. There also are blue lights that indicate volume. Frankly the blue lights could be brighter. On the other hand, I don't need lights to decide how loud I want the volume to be.

In summary, I like this product very much. It's unobtrusive and provides much better sound than the speakers in my Sony Bravia TV, a real upgrade and for a very reasonable price.

Length:: 2:20 Mins

Great idea -- I love the form of the device, easy to setup, worked well with the room, but construction on the VHT210 was poor. All three of the devices (the original and 2 replacements) that I've had in my home had a short life span on the led indicator lights on the front panel. Thankfully Vizio is easy to work with and will be refunding my money. I'll have to pass on this one.

I bought this sound bar from Sam's club just before Thanksgiving so we could enjoy the holidays with better sound quality than my TV can produce.
I love the wireless subwoofer, no wires going back to the main unit, could locate it most anywhere I wanted, just plug it in and it's ready.
The sound it produced was great compared to what I had.

Unfortunately within 24 hours the volume, treble, base, and input lights behind the front panel disappeared.
I emailed Vizio and received a case number and a call from the factory a week or 2 later.
They mentioned that there were others reporting the same problem and they are working on a resolution.
They suggested that it may be due to a poor soldering connection during manufacturing that becomes disconnected due to sound vibrations.

I have also had the sound bar stop producing sound 3 times since put into service in November of 2010.
I connected the sound bar to my TV utilizing the optical jack digital connection.
Vizio suggested changing some of my TV audio settings that may be causing the problem.
I tried this but did not seem to stop this random activity; it's a Vizio TV also.
I fix it by turning off everything and then make sure the TV is producing sound then turn the bar back on and all is fine.

I decided not to return this to Sam's for an exchange since it appears that others are having the same problem.
I am going to go the distance with Vizio support to see if they can resolve the problems since I like the sound it produces.
Wish me luck!

Bought online at Costco because it is easy to return products there and I had read about people saying the LED volume display would die after a day or two. Sure enough it did. I am going to try the VHT510 next and if I have the same problem try a different brand. The sound quality was great but you don't want to keep something that is broken, especially after just one day.

Bought one of these, after one day LED stopped working; sound quality also went away with failure of LEDs. Returned to Sams in Winston Salem, NC (University Parkway). Got a second unit had the same failure the following day. Researched this quality issue with VIZIO and they admitted to having an issue but offered offered nothing to resolve. Went to the Internet and found this problem is prevalent throughout the U.S., printed Customer Reviews and took with me to SAMs to return second unit. SAM's Manager became huffy and unprofessional with me regarding the written reviews, but did a refund. Electronics department employee admitted to having had these units returned for same defect.

Contacted VIZIO again, they likewise acknowledged the problem but offered no concessions except to purchase another higher grade model which does not have LEDs.

I am done with VIZIO and have a lesser opinion of SAMs. SAMS is getting on my do-not-shop list anyway with their new Homeland Security policy. Look for the cameras and do research if you do not know what I am speaking about!!! Everyone should follow suit and see how they fare when they cannot sell their products.

I too went through the LED problem. I tried posting it on Vizio's website but they would not post my review, instead all reviews on their website are five star reviews.

I agree also this is a good sounding product for the money but we returned two and decided to get our money back. Sam's club kept sellling even a second pallet of these after our complaint and others (was told one guy finally got satisfaction on the fourth one!)

Sam's club in Great Falls Montana kept selling these regardless. Vizio tech support are women who read from the manual and obviously know nothing about electronics. Not only that they paint a dark picture of "you can send it in to get repaired but it will take a long time to get it back". Sure thing, I always love shelling out a couple of hundred bucks just to immediately do with out the product I just bought for weeks or months.

Sam's Club has a 90 day return policy so when we took this piece of junk back we also took back our Vizio 37" TV we just bought.

We will never buy Vizio again and tell everyone this story about Sam's Club and Vizio. Would give it a five star if it worked like it should but give Sam's Club and Vizio zero stars for the charlatan customer service for a known bad product.

The sound is great, but after one day the volume LED status lights quit working, about to box it up and return it to Sam's Club. Vizio needs to address this problem, alot of people are having the same problem with the LED lights.