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Vizio 510, Vizio 210, JVC BA1 another Davyo shoot-out w/ pictures - Page 6

post #151 of 508
11/11/10 at 9:04am
I can't use the JVC as my TV is on a cabinet and the JVC is just too tall.

Has anyone tried the Boston Acoustics soundbar? It has gotten some good reviews but not much about it on this board.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #152 of 508
11/11/10 at 11:10am
So I followed the steps for power cycling last night and it didn't work (big surprise). Then I woke up this morning, turned it on and the volume indicator lights were back. So it seems completely random. I'll probably return it, but need to find my receipt which I seem to have misplaced.

Chris
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post #153 of 508
11/11/10 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MLM View Post

I can't use the JVC as my TV is on a cabinet and the JVC is just too tall.

Has anyone tried the Boston Acoustics soundbar? It has gotten some good reviews but not much about it on this board.

Have not tried one or listened to one since the original model back in 2006 or 2007. Good balance. Good on music. Two channel only at the time and analog inputs (one) only meaning your TV needed RCA outputs. I think I remember you had to train the soundbar to recognize the volume commands from your remote that controlled the volume. This may have changed also.

The unit almost always gets good reviews for its sound. Not sure if BA ever added a matrixed or synthisized surround mode if this is important to you.
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post #154 of 508
11/11/10 at 1:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by suikostinger View Post

WOOPS, Forgot to mention which one. The JVC BA1.

Best thing to do is get the JVC BA1 from BestBuy online (they are also one of the cheapest as well for the JVC) and then if you dont like the JVC you can simply return it at one of their stores, so you wont need to pay for any shipping or wait for a refund.

Besides,, hearing a soundbar (or any system) for that matter "in a store" is never really a good way to judge what something is going to sound like once you get it home.

Cheers
Davyo
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post #155 of 508
11/11/10 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

Best thing to do is get the JVC BA1 from BestBuy online (they are also one of the cheapest as well for the JVC) and then if you dont like the JVC you can simply return it at one of their stores, so you wont need to pay for any shipping or wait for a refund.

Besides,, hearing a soundbar (or any system) for that matter "in a store" is never really a good way to judge what something is going to sound like once you get it home.

Cheers
Davyo

Yeah I see it, refurbished. Thanks.
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post #156 of 508
11/12/10 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by suikostinger View Post

Yeah I see it, refurbished. Thanks.

Try not to let the word refurbished scare you off. This can mean anything from taken out of the box then returned to rebuilt at the factory (not much of this anymore). If you do find one actually refurbished, you are probably getting a unit that is better than new. When they refurbish a unit, most manufacturers actually go over everything. It is like having a hand built unit that has actually been tested and passed testing compared to an assembly piece that gets tested when you take it out of the box at your home.

It sounds like Vizio may have lots of refurbished soundbars this year. I see an extremely large number of their units experiencing problems and being returned. Since I am fairly certain Vizio has no factory to actually repair and refurbish these units, I would stay as far away from a refurb Vizio soundbar as I could.
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post #157 of 508
11/12/10 at 2:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by drfreeman60 View Post

Try not to let the word refurbished scare you off. This can mean anything from taken out of the box then returned to rebuilt at the factory (not much of this anymore). If you do find one actually refurbished, you are probably getting a unit that is better than new. When they refurbish a unit, most manufacturers actually go over everything. It is like having a hand built unit that has actually been tested and passed testing compared to an assembly piece that gets tested when you take it out of the box at your home.

It sounds like Vizio may have lots of refurbished soundbars this year. I see an extremely large number of their units experiencing problems and being returned. Since I am fairly certain Vizio has no factory to actually repair and refurbish these units, I would stay as far away from a refurb Vizio soundbar as I could.

Agreed,,, I have never had a problem buying a re-furb,,,,,buying re-furbished or re-conditioned item can be better than buying new for all the reasons you stated.

Cheers
Davyo
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post #158 of 508
11/12/10 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjlacasse View Post

I've had my 510 for a couple of weeks now and the volume indicator lights have gone out as well. They came back briefly for about a day and then went out again and have yet to return. I really like the sound the system produces but it looks like I'll have to pack it up and bring it back and go back to the drawing board for 5.1 surround sound (with wireless option).

Update: I just contacted Vizio support and they want me to try this unique power cycling technique:

1- Power off sound bar
2- Unplug from outlet
3- Press and hold in the power button on the sound bar for 30 seconds (while it is unplugged from the wall)
4- Release the power button
5- Plug in the sound bar
6- Power back on

I'm at work so I can't try it now but will post back with the results in case anyone else has this issue.

Yeah... that's technically improbable (resetting a unit with it completely unplugged).

If I had to guess, the right sequence is:

1- Power off sound bar
2- Unplug from outlet
3- Wait a minute, and then plug in the sound bar
4- Press and hold in the power button on the sound bar for 30 seconds (while it IS plugged in)
5- Release the power button
6- Power back on

Disclaimer: Perform at your own risk
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post #159 of 508
11/12/10 at 9:45pm
Quote:
3- Press and hold in the power button on the sound bar for 30 seconds (while it is unplugged from the wall)
Is often recommended to drain any residual charge in the filter capacitors in the power supply (reducing the voltage to zero, thus insuring that memory and other circuits retain no data).
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post #160 of 508
11/14/10 at 6:06pm
Guys,
I've had the same issues with the lack of lights. Called Vizio, they are sending a new soundbar with RMS to get rid of the first one. I also have an issue of changing channels on the Vizio TV and when I get to the new station, there is no sound (blue light is out). The only solution is to either change channels and hope or power off the unit and turn it back on. I also wanted to use it icw my older Pioneer receiver as the primary speakers for the tuner and CD but didn't have any audio out jacks. Quick solution was to get a 1/4 jack to RCA converter and use the headset jack on the front of the receiver. Works great! Thanks for keeping all of us up to date on the VHT510. If I have any additional problems, I'll most likely pack it back up and return it to Costco...
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post #161 of 508
11/15/10 at 9:42am
Most of the SBs I've researched don't seem to offer any audio/headphone output jacks. Are there any quality SBs that have a audio out jack? Also, which SB offers you the option to hook up your own wired sub?

TIA
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post #162 of 508
11/18/10 at 10:14am
After a few weeks of my 510 sitting in its packaging I was able to set it up before leaving to Seattle for a few days. Got back early this week and had some time to play around with it. Liking the unit so far and seems to be a good replacement for my Onkyo HTIB. I noticed the hiss/whine noise when I got close to the SB this morning. It doesn't bother me enough to wrap it up and exchange/return. Crossing my fingers that I don't have any more problems with this unit.
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post #163 of 508
11/19/10 at 2:14am
I bought the Vizio VHT510 at Costco on October 27th as I mentioned in another tread on this soundbar. I set it up on October 28th and it worked fine for a couple of weeks before the dreaded LED volume indicator light failure began. The lights started and stopped periodically, but now seem to have failed completely. Otherwise it still works fine, but I think I will return it to Costco while I still can. I don't really see any point in exchanging it given that this seems to be such a common problem with this model. It really is a shame. I am now considering a Yamaha YSP-3050 82W black digital sound projector which I can get from Vann's for just under $550.00 with no tax and free shipping. With the $350 refund (including tax) I will get back from Costco for the Vizio, the extra $200 for the Yamaha YSP-3050 won't seem so bad. Has anyone compared the two soundbars? I know the Yamaha is more expensive, but if the sound quality is better and it is more reliable, I will be happy.
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post #164 of 508
11/19/10 at 4:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rxcats View Post

I bought the Vizio VHT510 at Costco on October 27th as I mentioned in another tread on this soundbar. I set it up on October 28th and it worked fine for a couple of weeks before the dreaded LED volume indicator light failure began. The lights started and stopped periodically, but now seem to have failed completely. Otherwise it still works fine, but I think I will return it to Costco while I still can. I don't really see any point in exchanging it given that this seems to be such a common problem with this model. It really is a shame. I am now considering a Yamaha YSP-3050 82W black digital sound projector which I can get from Vann's for just under $550.00 with no tax and free shipping. With the $350 refund (including tax) I will get back from Costco for the Vizio, the extra $200 for the Yamaha YSP-3050 won't seem so bad. Has anyone compared the two soundbars? I know the Yamaha is more expensive, but if the sound quality is better and it is more reliable, I will be happy.

Yep,, the Vizio LED problems, that's why I returned my 510.

With the Yamaha YSP's (and I have owned a few), they are very dependant on having walls to reflect the sound off of.

In the right shaped room with lots of wall's to bounce the sound, the YSP's can sound amazing and rival a true 5.1 system,, just make sure to add a sub.

One bad thing about the YSP's though,,, they are not real user friendly,, the manual is very thick and the set-up and menu's can be a pain,, but once you have it all dialed in,,,, it pays off.

In a big open room the YSP's dont work as well.

Cheers
Davyo
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post #165 of 508
11/19/10 at 5:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

Yep,, the Vizio LED problems, that's why I returned my 510.

With the Yamaha YSP's (and I have owned a few), they are very dependant on having walls to reflect the sound off of.

In the right shaped room with lots of wall's to bounce the sound, the YSP's can sound amazing and rival a true 5.1 system,, just make sure to add a sub.

One bad thing about the YSP's though,,, they are not real user friendly,, the manual is very thick and the set-up and menu's can be a pain,, but once you have it all dialed in,,,, it pays off.

In a big open room the YSP's dont work as well.

Cheers
Davyo

My television (Samsung PN50B650 50 inch plasma) is mounted to a partial wall on the reverse side of the kitchen. There is enough room on the side of that wall to place a wired sub. I plan to mount the soundbar on the wall just under the HDTV. The television projects out directly to the opposite wall which is about 14 feet away; sitting on the sofa watching the HDTV is about a 10 foot viewing distance. All of my walls are concrete with the exception of the wall facing out of my 5th floor apartment; that wall is mostly glass windows with just a bit of concrete and wood to the top and bottom of the windows. I would say the room is nearly square with the television viewing area being slightly closer to the concrete wall rather than the mostly window-wall opposite it. This may not be the info you would need, but does this sound like something that might work well with the Yamaha YSP-3050?
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post #166 of 508
11/19/10 at 10:56am
It sounds like your room would work well with the YSP. However, as Davyo says, these can be tricky to trim in correctly. There are numerous choices for soundfield, sound type, delay, plus setting up with the supplied mike and stand for your preferred seating position.

Two caveats.
  1. I have never come across a YSP that was able to play very loud, if that is a criteria. However, in your room which sounds quite live, you may get more output than in my room which is heavily carpeted with soft sheetrock walls. On the same subject, I have always been disappointed with the dynamic range on the YSP.
  2. Possible problems with too live a room causing too many reflected signals or reflected signals overpowering the direct signals. This mainly means to be very judicious as you add the surround (and bass) effects.
Many pros when setting up a YSP will start with the basic 2-channel set up to get the basic frequency response correct, then work with multi-channel or the different sound modes. To get things right, this may mean a great deal of tailoring the accoustics of the YSP to your room.

Good luck.
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post #167 of 508
11/19/10 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

The exchange went good and bad,,, I called Costco and told them there was a issue with just the bar itself (LED lights were not working) the said no problem, bring it in instead of the whole system and we will just swap out the bar for you as you have asked us to do,,,, I said cool,, went down to Costco and swaped out to a new bar,,, drove back home and hooked it up only to realize each bar it set to match up wirelessly with the included sub,, they are paired to each other, and only each other,,, I thought the bar would pair with any of the same model of sub,,, not the case,,,, so I had to drive back down to Costco and also swap out the sub,,,, lesson learned on my part.

Have not tried music yet on the 510.

Anyhow, everything is working great and still loving the VHT510 !!!!

Cheers
Davyo

Hi, after reading your review on the Vizio soundbar, it sounds like something I might be interested in.

Will I be able to get 5.1 sound from this system if my blu-ray player is connected to my LG 55LH90 and this system is connected via optical?

It sounds like there are no HDMI ports on this soundbar, so optical is the only way to hook it up.
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post #168 of 508
11/19/10 at 8:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

My Vizio 510 up-date:

Put on a movie tonight and the 510's level LED's are not working,, the red and blue LED's are working ok, but none of the level LED's (center, sub, ect..).

This is my second 510,, the first one I exchanged because of the whinney noise and no LED's working at all after a few days.

Needless to say Im a bit pissed,,, I love the sound of the 510 but Im not so sure Im going to exchange this one for another one.

From my personal experience and from many postings on here, the new Vizio soundbars (210 and the 510) seem to have a problem that is affecting more than just a few of their new'est bars.

My first gen Vizio bar worked perfectly for over a year and is still working perfectly for the friend I sold it too.

My current Vizio 55" 552 LED/LCD panel has also worked perfectly for the last year with no problems ( the Vizio LED 55 incher has an AMAZING picture as well).

But these new Vizio bars dont seem to be having the same luck.

I really like Vizio products and will continue to buy them but Im thinkin my 510 is going back to the store today for good,,,,,, guess I might be buying "another" JVC BA1.

Cheers
Davyo

Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

Hey Mike,,,, yea, you cant go wrong with the JVC,,,, and I dont think I have read of any problems with them either.

The Vizio does sound better but not enough to justify the issues and having to pack it up and do exchanges on it.

You should be very happy with the BA1,,,, it really is a killer soundbar !!!!

Cheers
Davyo

Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

A Davyo soundbar update:

So I returned the Vizio 510 yesterday because of the LED's going out, even though the LED's started working again the next day it just kinda scared me a bit and Im thinkin they would have gone out for good next time around.

The Costco employee made a comment to me that they have been getting more than a few of the Vizio bars returned,,, that must suck for Vizio and I really do feel bad for them as I have had great luck with all the other Vizio products I own and have owned in the past.

Anyhow,,,, I ordered another JVC BA1, should be here first of next week so Im back in the JVC camp again,,,which I dont feel bad about in any way as the BA1 really is a great soundbar.

Cheers
Davyo

Just realized you've had plenty of issues with this Vizio soundbar. What a shame. Maybe I will just stick to the JVC BA1 or something like the Sony HT-CT150 with HDMI inputs (although I can't seem to figure out why having an optical to the TV is a bad thing).
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post #169 of 508
11/20/10 at 2:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chopchop0 View Post

Just realized you've had plenty of issues with this Vizio soundbar. What a shame. Maybe I will just stick to the JVC BA1 or something like the Sony HT-CT150 with HDMI inputs (although I can't seem to figure out why having an optical to the TV is a bad thing).

Yep,, I no longer own a Vizio bar,,, while I really loved the VHT210 and VHT510 they just have some issues that need to be fixed,, so for now I will just stick with the JVC I now have again.

As far as optical, the reason its bad is the optical output from a TV only outputs a stereo signal (only 2 channels) if you have a soundbar that only use's two channels then thats fine,,,,,,, but if you have a soundbar that can decode more than 2 channels its a bad thing to use the optical out from a TV as you would be sending a muti channel capable soundbar only 2 channels.

Cheers
Davyo
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post #170 of 508
11/20/10 at 4:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by davyo View Post

Yep,, I no longer own a Vizio bar,,, while I really loved the VHT210 and VHT510 they just have some issues that need to be fixed,, so for now I will just stick with the JVC I now have again.

As far as optical, the reason its bad is the optical output from a TV only outputs a stereo signal (only 2 channels) if you have a soundbar that only use's two channels then thats fine,,,,,,, but if you have a soundbar that can decode more than 2 channels its a bad thing to use the optical out from a TV as you would be sending a muti channel capable soundbar only 2 channels.

Cheers
Davyo

What do you recommend for the JVC soundbar, then? Is there any other way to hook it up except for optical?

Seems like the more threads I go through, the more people seem to like the JVC, even though the Sony soundbar does have HDMI.

Edit: Just found a nice explanation of optical vs HDMI. I can't tell lossy from lossless music when listening to my MP3s (once I get above 192k or 224k or so), so I think optical will be ok for me as it can still do 5.1/DD/DTS.
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post #171 of 508
11/20/10 at 4:49am
I am off Tuesday, so I am taking the Vizio 510 back to Costco then. I am still undecided on what to replace it with. Now I am considering the Aperion SLIMstage30 with 8A Subwoofer. They are offering it for $649 with the subwoofer or $449 without through November 29th which is $150 off of the regular price. What I REALLY WANT is Aperion Intimus 4T Summit Wireless 5.1 System (or even 7.1 System), but that is out of the question right now. I know Aperion has a one year trade up policy, so that may be one reason to go with that one; it is possible (even if not terribly likely) that I could trade up by the end of next year. Does anyone have an opinion on the Aperion SLIMstage30? How does it compare to the other ones being mentioned here?
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post #172 of 508
11/20/10 at 5:59am
I found a great deal on the JVC BA1, so I decided to jump on it.

Thanks for your help, Davyo. Seems like these are still available, and maybe they are pricing them right to clear out excess inventoryu before the new one is released?
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post #173 of 508
11/20/10 at 9:55am
I just returned my Polk Audio 6000 to Best Buy and went shopping at Costco. There was an employee standing next to the Vizio 510 so I asked him if Costco was getting many of these returned. He said they have been selling as fast as they get them and they have been reordered quite a few times. He then said there have only been one or two returns out of each shipment. I bought one so maybe I'll luck out.
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post #174 of 508
11/20/10 at 11:22am
I just got the HTP-SB300 Soundbar, but have 45 days before I can return it. It's sounds great, but my only gripe is I cannot adjust subwoofer volume and for that reason I am considering JVC BA1, although lack of HDMI kind of puts me off. Maybe there is a new model coming?
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post #175 of 508
11/20/10 at 2:45pm
I have the Vizio 510 hooked up now. It sounds really good, much better than the Polk Audio I had. The first thing I heard was a commercial that wasn't 5.1 and then the 5.1 show started. The difference was night and day. So far no problems with it.

I see in the instructions you can program it for having all five speakers in the front of the room. Has anyone tried this?
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post #176 of 508
11/20/10 at 8:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rxcats View Post

... I am now considering a Yamaha YSP-3050 82W black digital sound projector which I can get from Vann's for just under $550.00 with no tax and free shipping. With the $350 refund (including tax) I will get back from Costco for the Vizio, the extra $200 for the Yamaha YSP-3050 won't seem so bad. Has anyone compared the two soundbars? I know the Yamaha is more expensive, but if the sound quality is better and it is more reliable, I will be happy.

YSP-3050 is probably one of the best soundbars that don't require separate placement of surround sound speakers. In fact it has every thing found in a true surround sound system except for the fact that its surround sound speakers are placed in the same front enclosure with other speakers (i.e. left, right and center channel speakers). However, making people believe that the sound generated by the speakers in their front come from their back requires a lot of tricks and most of the time is not that successful. So it is almost certain that you won't be able to get the same accurate surround sound stage image from YSP-3050 as the one you can have with VHT510.

On the other hand, YSP-3050 has many features that VHT510 lacks. For example, it has multiple HDMI and optical inputs, 1080p switching, HD video upscaling, and built-in FM tuner. These features are usually found in a/v receivers and are very useful. And it is also obvious that the Yamaha products have much better reliability.

If I were in your situation, I would also take a look at JVC TH-BA3
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post #177 of 508
11/21/10 at 11:15am
[quote=mike4361;19520367]I have the Vizio 510 hooked up now. It sounds really good, much better than the Polk Audio I had. The first thing I heard was a commercial that wasn't 5.1 and then the 5.1 show started. The difference was night and day. So far no problems with it.

My soundbar days are over. The Vizio lasted one day. Today when I turned it on there isn't any output from the subwoofer or the rear speakers. There was a flashing light on the subwoofer but that quit. The instructions are worthless (and I'm fairly smart with this stuff). I'll stick with the tv sound for a while.
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post #178 of 508
11/21/10 at 4:27pm
[quote=mike4361;19523827]
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike4361 View Post

I have the Vizio 510 hooked up now. It sounds really good, much better than the Polk Audio I had. The first thing I heard was a commercial that wasn't 5.1 and then the 5.1 show started. The difference was night and day. So far no problems with it.

My soundbar days are over. The Vizio lasted one day. Today when I turned it on there isn't any output from the subwoofer or the rear speakers. There was a flashing light on the subwoofer but that quit. The instructions are worthless (and I'm fairly smart with this stuff). I'll stick with the tv sound for a while.


I was just at costco today and saw that Vizio 5.1. Definitely looks nice, but your post again reminds me of why I decided on the JVC one (along with the reviews from people like Davyo)
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post #179 of 508
11/21/10 at 5:10pm
Thread Starter 
[quote=mike4361;19523827]
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike4361 View Post

I have the Vizio 510 hooked up now. It sounds really good, much better than the Polk Audio I had. The first thing I heard was a commercial that wasn't 5.1 and then the 5.1 show started. The difference was night and day. So far no problems with it.

My soundbar days are over. The Vizio lasted one day. Today when I turned it on there isn't any output from the subwoofer or the rear speakers. There was a flashing light on the subwoofer but that quit. The instructions are worthless (and I'm fairly smart with this stuff). I'll stick with the tv sound for a while.

[quote=chopchop0;19525256]
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike4361 View Post



I was just at costco today and saw that Vizio 5.1. Definitely looks nice, but your post again reminds me of why I decided on the JVC one (along with the reviews from people like Davyo)


Yea,,, the Vizio's are great sounding bars,,, too bad they break !!!!

I was chatting online with Vizio customer service a few days ago and asked them when they would be fixing the issue's that their new soundbars have and they would not admit to any problems,,,, they told me they have sold over 10,000 of these bars with no problems.
When I mentioned the problems being talked about here on AVS and mentioned on Amazon as well Vizio CS just said all electronics are bound to have a certain number of bad units (which it true) but they would not agree the problem was as widespread as it is !!!!
I guess there going to play the "there's nothing wrong with our product game" just like Steve Jobs has done with the iPhone 4.

That really pisses me off when companies pull that crap !!!

Cheers
Davyo
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post #180 of 508
11/21/10 at 5:15pm
I boxed up my Vizio510 last night and took it back to Costco before work. It was a mad house there since it is the last weekend day before Thanksgiving. Some guy came up to me while I was waiting in the return line; he asked me it the LED lights stopped working. He said he returned his for the same reason. Vizio had offered to send him replacement soundbar, but like me, he was afraid it would be defective too. He said he left a review about it on the Vizio website, but Vizio deleted it. It is kind of disappointing to know that they just delete anything critical.

I can really tell how poor my HDTV sound quality is now that I don't have any external speakers again. I emailed Aperion on Saturday with some questions about their SLIMstage30 soundbar. I should hear back from one of their "gurus" tomorrow. If the SLIMstage30 is something I can later trade up from (e.g. to an Aperion Intimus 4T Summit Wireless 5.1 System), I will very likey place an order tomorrow. Otherwise I may go with the Yamaha YSP 3050.
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AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Soundbars › Vizio 510, Vizio 210, JVC BA1 another Davyo shoot-out w/ pictures