40" 2.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT Sound Bar Review by Timezone

This VIZIO 40" 2.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer (Model Number BHT215) is absolutely fantastic! I whole-heartedly love it! Consumer Reports ranked it in their top three (3) choices and I see why they did. The quality of engineering and the quality of manufacturing of this product and the quality of the sound output and the volumes that the output can reach without distortion are extremely AWESOME AND IMPRESSIVE! One thing although, DON’T expect an overwhelming BOOMING Subwoofer where explosions rattle the chandelier and heavy bass drum that blows wind through your hair. If you want that kind of 'Earth-Shaking' Subwoofer you must invest in a unit that has much more power (and hence higher price). However, the Subwoofer supplied with the BHT215 sound bar superbly fills in the lower end of the sound spectrum to match the beautiful Midrange and wonderful Highs that this VIZIO Sound Bar produces. I turned on the Surround Sound feature, and turned on the "WOW" feature, and I put the treble and bass levels to seven (7) to get the optimum sound quality that his bar can produce (but you can set the many control options to satisfy your taste). I highly recommend this sound bar to bring out the quality of sound that your HDTV can produce which will then match the quality of picture that your HDTV has! I WOULD DEFINITELY BUY THIS SOUND BAR AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!

(Posted on 12/11/12)

Unbeatable sound for the price, nicer than you might think! Review by SmokedRibsGuy

This is a solid unit, not a cheap imitation sound system as many people probably think. I will keep the review mostly factual, since sound quality is very subjective. Although I will say it is an awesome upgrade from TV speakers, and really rocks out like a theater when watching movies. I had the neighbors complain one night when I only had the Bass on 4/10, the Sub on 3/10, and the volume on 11/20! And by neighbors I mean across the insulated wall, not a separate dwelling. That would be simply amazing and I'm not sure even Bose could do that on low settings, lol.

The soundbar unit is 40" wide, and comes with little legs on either end, and it's very attractive, as far as electronic aesthetics go. There's a separate subwoofer, which also looks quite sleek for a glossy black box. It's roughly the size of two shoe boxes upright. The subwoofer is wireless, but DOES need its own power plug (so you can't really put it "anywhere", it has to be placed near a plug or at least have an extension cord to it). The box claims it has 60' range, which seems crazy but I don't have the ability to test that. If you need to be placing this thing 60'+ away then you need a smaller room! I would guess most people would have it in a range of 3 to 20'. Personally mine is about 10' away and works flawlessly with no discernible lag time. It also has its own power switch on the back so if you don't plan to use it then you can cut its power for later. It's not really needed for everyday TV viewing, mostly just a movie or music thing for most people, the soundbar's bass is still very nice itself for normal viewing. One small caveat- the soundbar sits a little higher than the sensor on my Samsung 50" LED, so I have to hold my TV remote up as high as I can reach and aim in downward to use it. I plan to get a 3/4" black board the width of the TV's base and boost the TV up some day. Until then I reach to the stars. You wouldn't have this problem if either or both devices were wall-mounted.

The soundbar powers up via an adapter power cord which is of course included. You can hook it to your TV via HDMI, optical, coaxial, or 1/8" analog jack (headphone-style). The manual lists the analog hookup (1/8" jack) as "good", the coaxial and optical hookups as "better", while the HDMI is "best". If you don't own a spare HDMI cable then it's probably not advantageous to buy one simply to hook up this audio system. HDMI is designed to transmit audio & video, so if you're just running it from your TV to the soundbar it's not necessary to use HDMI. I use an optical cable and it works wonderfully. (By the way, you can purchase an optical cable & an HDMI cable together for around $9-$10 on Amazon--don't buy them in the stores for $15-$60 a piece!) It has 3 total HDMI ports- 2 ins, and one out. So you can in effect use this unit as an HDMI switch...which in layman's terms mean you can funnel 2 HDMI devices into it, and then put them into 1 HDMI slot on your TV. This may be helpful if you have one-less HDMI port on your TV than you want. To do this the soundbar must be on, and then set to whichever input you're wanting to use. Example- you have your Bluray player and your Xbox in the soundbar's HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 respectively. Make sure you have another HDMI cable going from the soundbar to your TV of course. You must then turn on the soundbar to use either one. Say you want to use your Xbox, turn on the soundbar and set it to HDMI 2 (assuming that's where it's hooked up) and set your TV to whichever port the soundbar is hooked to. Sounds complicated to the technologically illiterate maybe, but it's easy if it's in front of you. But what if you just want to watch TV through the soundbar, and not use your Bluray player or Xbox (or whatever is hooked up via the HDMI ports)? Then you'll need to run either an optical, analog 1/8", or coax cable to the unit if its HDMI ports are use up by other devices.

The included remote has a slide-out section at the bottom that has the input sources (HDMI 1, 2, Optical, etc), the BASS, TREBLE, and SUB (subwoofer) control. It also lets you toggle on/off the Surround effects and TruVolume effect. When this slide out is closed it is a very sleek and simple remote. It has a circle in the center which is your volume control up & down. A play button in the center. A small mute button below, and a small power button above. That's it, sleek, easy & simple.

The spec sheet included says the soundbar's decibel level is 83dB, and the subwoofer is 87dB...which is slightly quieter than a push mower(~ 90dB, according to a quick Google search). Needless to say, with both of these babies cranked that's quite loud for a living room! Amazon lists the wattage as 185 Watts, although it doesn't specify if this is total between both the bar and the sub, or one or the other. This Wattage spec is not available anywhere else, including here on Vizio's website, CNET, the box or the manual that comes with the unit. So since it's the only source, we'll have to assume it's accurate.

The soundbar is also wall-mountable. The little legs come pre-installed to set on your TV stand right out of the box, but are removable for wall mounting, and a template is included with exact measurements to make holes to mount on your wall. Basically everything you need is included except cables (as is usually the case with electronics). Even the batteries for the remote are included, but here's a 1-up: the remote batteries are pre-installed for once!

The quick start guide that it comes with is quite handy. It has very nice color 3D-like illustrations for hookup, room placement, etc. Beats the usual broken-English text only manuals.

On another subjective note regarding sound quality- it sure isn't 5.1 surround, but like most people say it's the next best thing. I haven't found myself reflexively turning to one side when a character in a movie speaks, like I've done with different Bose systems, but it is very spacious and spoken voices seem to come straight from the TV. Way more realistic and crisp than TV speakers. And the bass is quite nice, since TV speakers have next to none. And again, it is louder and more detailed than you might think when your hear the words "Vizio" and "soundbar" and "less than $300".

Bottom line: If you're on a budget and can't afford to (or just don't want to) spend $500-$2500 on a surround system or a Bose or Polk system, this is the device for you. Make sure you find the model "VHT215" since Vizio makes a few different soundbars, some with the subwoofer (2.1) some without (2.0). So far according to personal experience and many reviews read, this model VHT215 is the top of the 2.1 line.

Cheers!

(Posted on 11/28/12)

A MUST HAVE Review by Big J

Purchased this item at Sam's Club for my 47" Vizio TV and have been using it for over 2 months now. This is a must have for your tv because tv speakers just don't cut it. Got rid of my surround sound system with all the wires and replaced it with this item. Suprisingly pleased with sound output from bar and subwoofer. They should just build the tv with this already inside like my Mitsubishi 55" has but it is a must-have item for your Visio or any other make. Well worth the money spent and you'll be happy with it compared to other makes that cost even more.

(Posted on 11/14/12)

Just Superb Review by Lucien7

I just don't know why you would buy anything else, unless you have thousands to drop on a high end system. I actually ditched a JVC surround sound system and all the wires for this and couldn't be more happy.

I bought a Yamaha YAS system at first and was not impressed, the vocals were muddy and it distorted on things like gunfire in action movies.

The VHT215 has plenty of low wall shaking bass with the wireless sub (which you can hide almost anywhere!) and the highs make vocals cut through with ease. I don't really care that it is glorified 2.1, because when sitting on my couch and the sound bouncing off the walls to simulate surround, it is almost as good. I couldn't be happier.

(Posted on 11/9/12)

Great sound bar Review by Bo

I bought this sound bar to go with my 60" Visio LED Razor TV. I had a full surround sound unit with 5 speakers and the sub but this system is much easier to use and there is not so many wires everywhere. The sound is great and works outstanding with my Vizio TV. I would definatley recommend this product for anyone who enjoys thier home theater.

(Posted on 10/27/12)

great unit Review by dave

I was not sure which sound bar to purchase as i wanted to replace my larger unit with something smaller. after reading all the reviews i finally decided on the vht215. it was extremely easy to set up and sounds better than i hoped for, really glad i got it. just wish my cable remote could be programmed to operate it. unfortunately it looks like the cable unit only supports a 3 digit code and this sound bar is either a 4 or 5 digit code.

(Posted on 9/20/12)

Awesome sound Review by 2agile4u

Like many reviewers I researched sound bar home theater systems for months until I decided on the Vizio VHT215. I read a number of reviews on this product on CNET, Amazon and on the Vizio website. I purchased mine at BJs wholesale. What can I say?? Awesome! Wow! The sound was not what I expected. Keep in mind that in my mancave I have a Denon home theater system along with Polk Audio speakers which cost well over $1000. Don't get me wrong my Denon system rocks and I don't think a sound bar can compete with it! However, the Vizio VHT 215 sounds great too. I couldn't believe that this quality of sound can issue forth from just a sound bar with a wireless subwoofer. What's great is that it's just 2 pieces of equipment & very few wires. It goes well with my new 55" Panasonic Smart Television and looks so classy. My wife loves it too.

(Posted on 8/17/12)

AWESOME SOUND FOR MONEY Review by Dan

I replaced a messy 5.1 system with gobs of wire and speakers. This bar and subwoofer sound as good if not better than what I had before. It's so clean too. The simulated surround really sounds like sounds are wider than the bar and even around me. The subwoofer is great. And wireless, again less wires. Get this system. It is great.

(Posted on 6/24/12)

Exceeded My Expectations Review by John

Purchased the VHT215 from Costco. Chose this unit over Samsung's HW-c450e because I have had good experience with my Vizio TV which I have had for a year. The price of the VHT215 was less expensive than the Samsung and I also thought the appearance and style was better than Samsung.

From start to finish, the installation was easy and the instructions clearly written. I used the 3.5mm to RCA connection. In no time my unit was in place and ready to turn on.

Wow! My wife and I were shocked at the performance and quality of the sound. The VHT215 very much showed us how poorly the speakers on our TV had been under-performing. The VHT215 will bring some enjoyment back to watching movies, probably much to the discomfort of our neighbors from the great bass of the subwoofer.

The VHT215 certainly exceeded my expectations.

(Posted on 5/24/12)

good product Review by none

After I had bought the Boston Acoustic TV25 unit I was unimpressed . I returned the BA TV25 and bought the Vizio vht215 for $100 less. The Vizio unit is great. I am using it with a 46" Phillips TV and it sounds terrific. There is plenty of power and the sub woofer rocks. It has HDMI hook ups and is easy to operate. Music sounds great with an ipod through this sound bar. I recommend it.

(Posted on 3/22/12)