Customer Reviews

ZVOX Mini Ultra-Compact Single-Cabinet Surround Sound System

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While there are some excellent deals on HDTVs right now, the speakers on any tv smaller than 50 inch are dismal. If you care at all about sound, the additional expense of a home theater system is a necessity.

We tried a number of different speakers, all priced about the same as the ZVOX mini. One kept going in and out; another could not handle the sounds of our video games; and some were just plain poor quality. I can't tell you how frustrated we were getting, taking back one type of speaker and trying out another.

The ZVOX mini blew them ALL away.

The speaker is smaller than most, but it has depth and clarity unmatched by anything else I've seen in the same price range. So if you buy a new tv, this is the complementary sound system you are looking for.

I got this to hookup to my bedroom flatscreen, I was using the tv's built in speakers and everytime my very loud central air conditioner turned on I could never get the TV volume loud enough to hear over my a/c. Now with this new speaker it's ooo loud and crisp and clear with a nice warm low end to it as well. Definitely worth it's price and way better sounding than a Bose system of the same caliber. This is the perfect speaker if you just want to replace your television's built in speakers.

I bought this sound system because I was having difficulty hearing the voices on my Vizio television. Sometimes the background music would drown them out. So, I bought this ZVOX. It's incredible! Now the voices are clear and the backgound music is still clear and crisp. It was too easy to connect (one red wire into the red connector and one white wire into the white connector). Even device-challenged individuals like myself will have no problem setting this up! My only complaint is the tiny, tiny remote. It's very easy to lose! But overall, a very good system that produces clear, crisp sound!

The ZVOX mini has a robust, quality sound with little or no distortion. I connected mine to a 22" TV/DVD combo unit in the kitchen, so I can play music CDs. I connected mini-mini headphone output/input (wire provided), plugged the speaker in, and the TVs sound control/remote automatically turns this sound bar on and controls the volume well. I am impressed.

I bought a ZVOX mini for my 40" Samsung LCD TV so that I'd have decent sound when I'm watching DVDs in my living room. I am incredibly impressed, and it really does a MUCH MUCH better job than a pair of high end computer speakers ever could, and it's not all bulky like a 5-speaker set with a receiver. It has a very impressive bass sound from a built in subwoofer, and the sound phasing feature definitely does a wonderful job projecting a 3-D like sound that not only fills the room but feels like it is coming from all directions. I'm still experimenting to find out whether the ZVOX mini can out-do my denon receiver based set of Mission cabinet speakers that I usually use for playing music, but at $199, I think that ZVOX mini really packs a punch and is a phenomenal value, vastly eclipsing the performance of sound systems not only in its price range, but also ones that are much more expensive.. Plus, ZVOX mini is very compact and spares one the wiring, clutter and other hassles of multi speaker systems. Couldn't be happier with this purchase. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

This ZVOX mini is really great! It punches out a theater-like sound and takes up very little space. It was just what I wanted. It is not a 5.1 system, but it does its job in adding great sound to my new TV. Movies and sporting programs are greatly enhanced. Enjoy!

I had only a small space and home theaters were just too big. This fit in my space and provided superior sound quality. It was easy to set up and use.

I called customer service (found the number on their website) to ask a question about the setup and the person I dealt with was very pleasant and helpful.

All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase.

My wife shocked me by wanting a flat screen in the bedroom. It's not a big room, but the entire wall was free. She gestured with her hands how big the TV should be in height and width. Turns out it translated into a 46" screen. In the bedroom! Who was I to argue? So we got us a new Samsung 46" very thin LCD. Sharp looking black color with their "Touch of Color" around the edges in Blue. Hung it on the wall. Looks great. Gorgeous machine. Turned it on. Gorgeous video. Turned up the volume. Hmmm... not so gorgeous audio. If my wife notices that, and she did, without me even saying anything, then believe you me, that audio ain't so great. Well we didn't have a lot of room for speakers and even I didn't want to mess around with a 5.1 surround system in the bedroom. Plus, money was an issue. So I did my research and got very intrigued with the ZVOX company's offerings. The Mini looked like it might do the trick - I could afford it, and it was a perfect size to put on the piece of furniture below the TV. But could something so little sound good? I bought it. Very simple looking, but smart, too. I hooked it up in two seconds like everyone else. I chose to use the headphone out mini connection on the TV, because Samsung decided I don't need variable audio output. But I wanted to use the TV remote to change the volume, and not use the very nice little one that ZVOX gives you. I thought, "Can big sound come through this skinny little wire?" Guess what - it can and it does. What an improvement. Now look, you won't mistake it for being in Carnegie Hall. But the fullness you get out of such a small cabinet is very pleasing. Make sure you adjust the "surround" knob to your liking. Either extreme (all the way up or all the way down) is probably useless, but every other setting adds a great depth and breadth to the TV - or whatever else you put into it (there's a second input). The beauty is, my Blu-Ray player has Pandora Radio, and the ZVOX really makes you want to use it! Oh, and don't forget to adjust the subwoofer level on the back panel. Initially I was NOT impressed because it turned out the subwoofer was turned all the way down. I can only imagine what the more expensive bigger models sound like. I can tell you this: I am in a "less is more" mode when it comes to clutter, and when my Sony 60 inch rear projection in the family room bites the dust, I am going to replace it with a wall mounted unit, of course, and I am seriously going to consider losing the 5.1 surround sound and go with a ZVOX for all my speaker needs in that room. 90% or more of the fidelity for 25% or less of the price while giving me more space in the room - sounds like the way of my future.

I just moved to a cottage that looks right over the street in which a bunch of teens and some adults like to ride scooters with no mufflers up and down it. Even with my flat screen TV at it's loudest, I can't hear it most of the time. If it's not the scooters, it's the cars zooming by heading to the beach. Well, this speaker system saved my sanity. It was so easy to set-up. Within minutes of me opening the box, I had it plugged in and working. I barely have the volume up and the sound is fantastic. For a basic system, this speaker system rocks!

First of all, be aware that the only input on this model zvox is a 1/8" phone jack, so if you are trying to hook it directly out of a modern tv you need to be sure you have analog outs on the tv or you will have to already have or go buy a digital to analog converter box to connect this model zvox. i personally thought it odd to not have an hdmi and/or optical input(s) on this thing, since it is marketed as an alternetive to your tv's onboard speakers, but i also found it perplexing that most new tv's DO NOT have composit rca audio outputs (welcome to the 21'st century!). Once i moved beyond the afore-mentioned irritants, i found the sound was nothing spectacular: I tried placing zvox in various room positons expecting a non-centralized sound-source effect (like the small bose radio that distributes sound really well) but this device never provided that surround-sound illusion. The stereo/surround spread/imaging was actually better from the tv's on board speakers, even when the zvox was positioned exactly where the tv's (a 43" 1080p HD Vizio with beneath-screen front-loaded speakers) are located!... also, the sound quality of the zvox was nothing spectacular, abit of mid-range muddiness, even with adjustments to the 'sub-frequecy' bass control knob (which didnt seem to do much...There are no other on board equalizers other that that one knob). Adjustments to the tv's onboard audio treble/bass yeilded no positive improvement.... Maybe i was expecting too much for two hundred $. i thought it would be like a 'poor mans' Bose system but, for my 200 plus dollars, i promptly returned the device. Bottom line: for me it did NOT produce a surround sound illusion... other reviewers seemed to praise this thing (which is why i bought it) so maybe i missed something wonderful, however i am happy without it.