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Vizio's New True 5.1 Soundbar S4251W

218K views 1K replies 239 participants last post by  cardkid1 
#1 ·
#702 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by spoonmandts  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24679944


It produces true 5.1 when directly connected to the source (bluray+dvd players/game consoles/cable box). If you're connecting it to your tv, your tv is not sending 5.1 from its optical to the sound bar(most don't unless otherwise noted). Note: When it's being fed a bonified 5.1 signal, the logos will light up on the sound bar.

I have tried the direct connection, and the sound is better. The Dolby logos stays on a few seconds and goes off. Is this normal?
 
#703 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ttlnb  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24680735


I am not surprised by your disappointment. Even if you are getting a 5.1 signal to the sound bar, NO sound bar is going to compete with a good 5.1 system. With a sound bar the speakers are in front of you and you can't change the physics of that. They can try to play phase tricks and bounce sound off walls to give a faux surround experience but it is simply not going to be as good as speakers placed all around you. Sound bars are good at giving better sound than the pitiful TV speakers and a faux surround sound with the right material. Do not expect miracles from them. You probably have to lower your expectations even more if you had a decent 5.1 system:(

This is a new type of sound bars with the surround speakers in the back of the room. The surround sound effect is more convincing than the traditional sound bars with all the speakers in the front. All in all, it is one step closer to a setup with a receiver and separate speakers, but without all the wires. My main problem is with the size and quality of the drivers used in this system, particularly the sub.
 
#704 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidt1  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24681252


I have tried the direct connection, and the sound is better. The Dolby logos stays on a few seconds and goes off. Is this normal?

Yes, that's normal, when you get 5.1 the logo lights up at the very beginning of the audio only for a few seconds then turns off.
 
#706 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidt1  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24681273


This is a new type of sound bars with the surround speakers in the back of the room. The surround sound effect is more convincing than the traditional sound bars with all the speakers in the front. All in all, it is one step closer to a setup with a receiver and separate speakers, but without all the wires. My main problem is with the size and quality of the drivers used in this system, particularly the sub.

That's why the not yet available 54 inch 5.1 Vizio soundbar is intriguing. First, you get wider separation between left and right front channels with the increased width, and I believe the drivers overall are more substantial
 
#707 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by taichi4  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24681762


First, you get wider separation between left and right front channels with the increased width, and I believe the drivers overall are more substantial
That's the only beef I have with this soundbar. Or maybe its the signal itself and how the sound is mixed. Have tried lowering the center speaker's presence but hasn't done much to help.
 
#708 ·
I think the greater separation between left, right and center on the 54 inch is a big asset.


If only Vizio would bring it to market after all the previewing and hoopla. Their marketing department doesn't seem really savvy with regard to human psychology. If you dangle a carrot in front of someone for a long time, but never let them eat it...they'll grab the first turnip they see.
 
#709 ·
I am so regretting buying this sound bar. The sub is so bad I have to turn it way down to avoid that thudding noise and localization problem. I get the Dolby logos with all the TV channels I am watching including comedy shows from the 60' which I am sure do not have surround sound effect.
 
#710 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidt1  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24689462


I am so regretting buying this sound bar. The sub is so bad I have to turn it way down to avoid that thudding noise and localization problem. I get the Dolby logos with all the TV channels I am watching including comedy shows from the 60' which I am sure do not have surround sound effect.
Are you sure its not defective? I'm not a subwoofer expert, but I've owned a couple different ones and this sounds about the same.


The dolby digital thing with TV channels has been that way for a while, some channels if OTA encode their audio into DD regardless of the source audio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Television_Systems_Committee_standards#Audio
 
#711 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidt1  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24689462


I am so regretting buying this sound bar. The sub is so bad I have to turn it way down to avoid that thudding noise and localization problem. I get the Dolby logos with all the TV channels I am watching including comedy shows from the 60' which I am sure do not have surround sound effect.

can you record the thudding noise you're talking about and post it on youtube?


I am not sure what you are talking about but my sub sounds fine.
 
#713 ·
Davidt1,


You are coming from a decent 5.1 system and going to a sound bar, your expectations are too high. I had a similar problem and after trying many sound bars in my home even the over $2k models with good external $1k+ subs, I found a good 2.1 system to better IMHO. Maybe this would be a better solution for you.
 
#714 ·
Does anybody have a newer Samsung plasma? Reason I'm asking because you need to set the Digital Out settings from PCM to DTS or Dolby Digital to get the 5.1 sound, When I first bought this soundbar I was thinking like everybody else it's an okay sound quality, until I enabled DTS from the TV and can now tell the difference.


You need to have optical from soundbar to the TV for it to work.
 
#715 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by bowlopho  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24693332


can you record the thudding noise you're talking about and post it on youtube?


I am not sure what you are talking about but my sub sounds fine.

So does mine. I would also ask what is the environment of the room the soundbar is in. Carpet? Drapes? Anything else? Or mostly flat hard surfaces?
 
#716 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidt1  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24693555


I have owned real subs before, so I don't consider the cardboard-like box that Vizio calls their sub a sub at all.

well yeah obviously this sub does not compare to a "real" sub.


This soundbar system goes for as low as $180-$250 and you expect the sub to perform like a $200-$300+ sub?


Even if it's not as powerful as other subs and it doesn't give room shaking bass, I am not sure of the thudding sound you are referring to because I do not have that issue with mine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigpoppa206  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24695461


So does mine. I would also ask what is the environment of the room the soundbar is in. Carpet? Drapes? Anything else? Or mostly flat hard surfaces?

The sound bar is next to my couch and on carpet with no drapes. Wait did you mean yours sounds fine or yours also thuds?
 
#720 ·
I picked this up on Saturday. Have only been running as 2.1 but am not impressed.


The soundbar has a very narrow soundstage, obviously because it's not wide. It's basically mono to my ears. The midrange is pretty decent but the high end extension drops off fairly quickly. The mid-bass is not good, sounding flubby and boxy and calling attention to the speaker itself.


I haven't had a subwoofer in a long time, but this one sounded fine to me. It had plenty of low end punch and rumble for my tastes.


The other downside for the system is that the audio connection seems to drop out whenever the audio stream is interrupted. What that means is any time I do the "skip forward" feature on my cable, or any time my cable stream gets the slightest bit garbled, the audio drops out for a moment. Very annoying for sports on DVR.


Other little annoying thing, the volume jumps are kind of high.


The positives, the speakers are fairly small. The remote with the LCD is pretty slick. It was easy to set up too, and it figured out my Vizio remote for volume (although I have a universal so it wouldn't be hard to do either way). And it's cheap.
 
#721 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by halfempty83  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/690#post_24707822


Has anyone been able to download the firmware update off the website? I tried and it sends me to a broken link / 404 page.

I tried just now and it looks like its working: http://store.vizio.com/s4251wb4.html and then click "support". The .bin file started downloading.


I don't have any desire to try update my firmware though.
 
#722 ·
Hi i have a intel nuc (computer) and a vizio e601-a3 and this soundbar ofcourse.


Currently the computer is connected to the tv and the soundbar is connected to the t.v. but i don't think i'm getting true 5.1 because i'm not impressed with this soundbar, its just louder than my tv speakers and has a lot of bass.. not sure if that's worth $300


Anyways, the computer has a free hdmi slot i can use, so is there an affordable(under $15) optical - hdmi converter out there so that i can connect the soundbar directly to the computer and get true 5.1 or is this not possible with a converter?


Thanks
 
#723 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by verismo  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/720#post_24712719


Anyways, the computer has a free hdmi slot i can use, so is there an affordable(under $15) optical - hdmi converter out there so that i can connect the soundbar directly to the computer and get true 5.1 or is this not possible with a converter?


Thanks
Is the HDMI slot on the computer or the graphics card? I ask because it might only pass the video part on and not the audio.


Are you running the digital audio out directly to the soundbar?
 
#724 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by verismo  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/720#post_24712719


Hi i have a intel nuc (computer) and a vizio e601-a3 and this soundbar ofcourse.


Currently the computer is connected to the tv and the soundbar is connected to the t.v. but i don't think i'm getting true 5.1 because i'm not impressed with this soundbar, its just louder than my tv speakers and has a lot of bass.. not sure if that's worth $300


Anyways, the computer has a free hdmi slot i can use, so is there an affordable(under $15) optical - hdmi converter out there so that i can connect the soundbar directly to the computer and get true 5.1 or is this not possible with a converter?


Thanks

-If your computer doesn't have an optical audio out, you can use a device like this: http://amzn.com/B00AHS8LD8 But this is typically used on the same port that you are getting video from. I don't know if it would work on an extra HDMI port.


-Most of my devices send 5.1 to my TV (m701d), and that passes through the 5.1 to my soundbar via optical. Unfortunately, my PC doesn't work as easily. First check to see if windows recognizes a 5.1 speaker set up in control panel. Most likely your TV is reporting to windows that it only has 2 speakers (via EDID) and thus your PC is only sending out 2.0 audio. I've found that blurays and movies can output 5.1 on my PC if I manually set them to, but games are hit or miss. A device like the one I linked to may be able to help because it has a switch to change the EDID to report 5.1, but I haven't tried it.
 
#725 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by verismo  /t/1451371/vizios-new-true-5-1-soundbar-s4251w/720#post_24712719


Hi i have a intel nuc (computer) and a vizio e601-a3 and this soundbar ofcourse.


Currently the computer is connected to the tv and the soundbar is connected to the t.v. but i don't think i'm getting true 5.1 because i'm not impressed with this soundbar, its just louder than my tv speakers and has a lot of bass.. not sure if that's worth $300


Anyways, the computer has a free hdmi slot i can use, so is there an affordable(under $15) optical - hdmi converter out there so that i can connect the soundbar directly to the computer and get true 5.1 or is this not possible with a converter?


Thanks

See if your Vizio TV lets you set the sound like CNET did here:


"Lastly, it's worth mentioning that in order to enable 5.1 output on a Vizio, you have to change the "Digital Audio output" option to Dolby Digital; it doesn't pass-through 5.1 signals properly by default."

http://www.cnet.com/news/20-tvs-tested-which-sets-can-pass-surround-sound-to-a-sound-bar/
 
#726 ·
I've had this bar for a little over two weeks. I like it a ton. I have it hooked up to my Sony Bravia 40" via optical. I have experienced only one quirk on occasion in that the audio does a quick one second dip. I reseated the cable. But what really seemed to cure it was turning off truvolume. But after hours now, it's happened twice. The dip is so quick it's almost not like a true dropout. Weird. Next thing I might try is another optical cable other than the stock one. Last thing I'll do is the firmware update. I've hesitated because I don't have any problems associated with full audio dropouts when switching inputs. Of course my cable provider has been doing updates overnight lately too, which always throws in the other variable of it being them. Anyone ever have this little glitch with this system?
 
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