So I had to do it,,,, I went out and picked up the new Vizio 510 to compare against the JVC BA1 and Vizio 210 (returned my Sony CT-150 last week, for those of you keeping track of my soundbar exploits).
And the new winner is,,, drum roll please,,,,,,,,,,, the Vizio 510 !!!!!!
The details, and some pictures (just for fun) below.
As many of you might know I have been thru more soundbars than I can even keep track of at this point,, Yamaha's, Zvox, Sonys, JVC's and Vizio's just to name a few.
The JVC BA1 beat out ALL of them (in my opinion) and I was so sure it was going to stay my top choice I was not even planning on checking out the new'est Vizio 510.
I go into Costco today and there's the Vizio 510 just sitting there begging me to take it home and give it a shot,,,, how could I say no to yet another soundbar.
Hook-up was one optical cable from my BD player directly to each soundbar with my BD player set to bitstream,,,, tried PCM but that was not near as good with either soundbar.
First movie I use to compare the Vizio against the JVC BA1 is " I Am Legend" (the opening scene's/ deer hunting car chase) the JVC and the Vizio were about even,,,, I was almost ready to pack up the Vizio and take it back as I was no more impressed with it than the JVC.
Then I figured what the heck,,, I'll throw in the new Star Trek BluRay and see if I get the same results as I did with "I Am Legend".
WOW, is all I can say,,, the Vizio simply blew away the JVC BA1 when I played Star Trek,,, the Vizio 510 totally floored me,,, there was not even any need to go back and forth between each bar listening anymore.
After I poped in Star Trek and fliped the optical cable over from the JVC to the Vizio,,, the contest was over !!!!!!!
I heard things in the Star Trek soundtrack I never heard with the JVC,,, and I gota say, the Vizio really made my livng room sound like a full on moive theater,, the sonic quality, the room filling sound, the surround effect, the tone,, everything.
I couldnt stop watching the movie,,, I found myself wanting to hear each chapter of Star Trek like I was hearing and seeing the movie for the first time,,,, and that has NEVER happened to me before in all my soundbar testing.
OK, some side note's on the Vizio 510,,, the rear speaker wire's that connect to the wireless sub,,, not the cheap thin light guage wire's that seem to come with EVERY other HTiB system or soundbar,,, the 510 rear speaker wires are a nice thick guage, that really suprised me to be honest.
And if you wish to extend the wire's that's easy, just pop open the back of each speaker (there's a little door on the back of the speakers) and you can add more length if needed, the existing wire's look like they are about 15 feet (didnt not measure them as I will be adding much more length for my install) and placing the sub in the front of my room.
The very easy simple remote controls sub vol, bass vol, treble, center vol, rear speaker vol, mute, inputs, TrueVolume and Surround on/off.
Ok,, that's all I can think of for now,,, I gota go pack up the JVC for a return and do a nice clean install of the Vizio.
My soundbar search is now officaly OVER,,, no more buying and returning soundbars,,,done, finnished,,,no more shoot-outs,,, I have found "for me" the perfect soundbar.
The Vizio 510 is my new top pick,, followed of course by the JVC BA1 (if you dont want or cant do rear/or side speakers.
And dont forget,,, bitstream,,,, not PCM !!!!
Also, I did not try using the optical out from my LED/LCD panel as I think going directly to any soundbar from the source is best in most case's,,, I will be ordering an optical switcher from MonoPrice tonight so I can run the optical from my BD, HD DVD and HD cable box directly to the Vizio 510.
Below are some pictures just for fun,,,,,,, any question's feel free to ask as Im sure I left something out.
The Vizio 510 sounds simply amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers
Davyo
JVC BA1, Vizio 210, Vizio 510
Vizio 510 bar sitting on top of my JVC bar,,,Vizio 55" LED playing "I Am Legend"
Vizio 510 bar sitting on top of the JVC BA1,,,, playing Star Trek.
And the new winner is,,, drum roll please,,,,,,,,,,, the Vizio 510 !!!!!!
The details, and some pictures (just for fun) below.
As many of you might know I have been thru more soundbars than I can even keep track of at this point,, Yamaha's, Zvox, Sonys, JVC's and Vizio's just to name a few.
The JVC BA1 beat out ALL of them (in my opinion) and I was so sure it was going to stay my top choice I was not even planning on checking out the new'est Vizio 510.
I go into Costco today and there's the Vizio 510 just sitting there begging me to take it home and give it a shot,,,, how could I say no to yet another soundbar.
Hook-up was one optical cable from my BD player directly to each soundbar with my BD player set to bitstream,,,, tried PCM but that was not near as good with either soundbar.
First movie I use to compare the Vizio against the JVC BA1 is " I Am Legend" (the opening scene's/ deer hunting car chase) the JVC and the Vizio were about even,,,, I was almost ready to pack up the Vizio and take it back as I was no more impressed with it than the JVC.
Then I figured what the heck,,, I'll throw in the new Star Trek BluRay and see if I get the same results as I did with "I Am Legend".
WOW, is all I can say,,, the Vizio simply blew away the JVC BA1 when I played Star Trek,,, the Vizio 510 totally floored me,,, there was not even any need to go back and forth between each bar listening anymore.
After I poped in Star Trek and fliped the optical cable over from the JVC to the Vizio,,, the contest was over !!!!!!!
I heard things in the Star Trek soundtrack I never heard with the JVC,,, and I gota say, the Vizio really made my livng room sound like a full on moive theater,, the sonic quality, the room filling sound, the surround effect, the tone,, everything.
I couldnt stop watching the movie,,, I found myself wanting to hear each chapter of Star Trek like I was hearing and seeing the movie for the first time,,,, and that has NEVER happened to me before in all my soundbar testing.
OK, some side note's on the Vizio 510,,, the rear speaker wire's that connect to the wireless sub,,, not the cheap thin light guage wire's that seem to come with EVERY other HTiB system or soundbar,,, the 510 rear speaker wires are a nice thick guage, that really suprised me to be honest.
And if you wish to extend the wire's that's easy, just pop open the back of each speaker (there's a little door on the back of the speakers) and you can add more length if needed, the existing wire's look like they are about 15 feet (didnt not measure them as I will be adding much more length for my install) and placing the sub in the front of my room.
The very easy simple remote controls sub vol, bass vol, treble, center vol, rear speaker vol, mute, inputs, TrueVolume and Surround on/off.
Ok,, that's all I can think of for now,,, I gota go pack up the JVC for a return and do a nice clean install of the Vizio.
My soundbar search is now officaly OVER,,, no more buying and returning soundbars,,,done, finnished,,,no more shoot-outs,,, I have found "for me" the perfect soundbar.
The Vizio 510 is my new top pick,, followed of course by the JVC BA1 (if you dont want or cant do rear/or side speakers.
And dont forget,,, bitstream,,,, not PCM !!!!
Also, I did not try using the optical out from my LED/LCD panel as I think going directly to any soundbar from the source is best in most case's,,, I will be ordering an optical switcher from MonoPrice tonight so I can run the optical from my BD, HD DVD and HD cable box directly to the Vizio 510.
Below are some pictures just for fun,,,,,,, any question's feel free to ask as Im sure I left something out.
The Vizio 510 sounds simply amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers
Davyo
JVC BA1, Vizio 210, Vizio 510
Vizio 510 bar sitting on top of my JVC bar,,,Vizio 55" LED playing "I Am Legend"
Vizio 510 bar sitting on top of the JVC BA1,,,, playing Star Trek.