Several years back, I bought three Boston Acoustics Soundware XS 2.0 sub/sat speaker systems. They sounded great, but proved unreliable and flaky. All three had to be repaired once under warranty. When the control module on the system in the kitchen quit, that was it. I was done and I needed to find something else.
The soundbar needed to mount under a 32" TV and the size seriously limited my options. It is not that hard to find a soundbar that sounds good for TV programming, but I needed something that could also play music in the kitchen and most cheap soundbars sound like garbage for music. After reading a lot of reviews and customer feedback, I decided to try the Vizio SB2920-CS for $85 on Amazon.
The speaker system the Vizio replaced retailed for $450, so it was not surprise that the soundbar did not match it. The surprise was how good the little Vizio did sound, especially with music. I ran through familiar tracks from The Cult, The Commitments, Cherry Poppin' Daddies and The Eagles. The speaker put out fuller sound than expected with tight mid-bass that did not descend into the kind of flatulent faux low-end I've come to expect from a lot of lower-end speakers. I chose Hotel California from the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over album, because I thought the acoustic guitars and the drums in the intro might push it into dangerous territory. It didn't. The speaker sounded fine. Where it fell apart was with The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn from Alison Krauss and Union Station's New Favorite album. The bluegrass track is heavy with banjo, which sounded harsh and a bit too bright. Overall, however, the speaker is more than adequate for enjoying music in the kitchen while cooking and washing dishes.
The speaker has quite a few inputs (optical, coax, analog RCA, analog 3mm, USB and Bluetooth). It also has volume leveling and virtual surround features by DTS. The volume feature is useful. The "surround" feature is more of a gimmick, but it does add a little sense of space and impact with movies. It is an attractive speaker, but feels a bit flimsy when you handle it. On the upside, the weight is not a problem for mounting purposes.
Verdict: It is a killer soundbar for a small TV in a secondary environment that doesn't break the bank.
The soundbar needed to mount under a 32" TV and the size seriously limited my options. It is not that hard to find a soundbar that sounds good for TV programming, but I needed something that could also play music in the kitchen and most cheap soundbars sound like garbage for music. After reading a lot of reviews and customer feedback, I decided to try the Vizio SB2920-CS for $85 on Amazon.
The speaker system the Vizio replaced retailed for $450, so it was not surprise that the soundbar did not match it. The surprise was how good the little Vizio did sound, especially with music. I ran through familiar tracks from The Cult, The Commitments, Cherry Poppin' Daddies and The Eagles. The speaker put out fuller sound than expected with tight mid-bass that did not descend into the kind of flatulent faux low-end I've come to expect from a lot of lower-end speakers. I chose Hotel California from the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over album, because I thought the acoustic guitars and the drums in the intro might push it into dangerous territory. It didn't. The speaker sounded fine. Where it fell apart was with The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn from Alison Krauss and Union Station's New Favorite album. The bluegrass track is heavy with banjo, which sounded harsh and a bit too bright. Overall, however, the speaker is more than adequate for enjoying music in the kitchen while cooking and washing dishes.
The speaker has quite a few inputs (optical, coax, analog RCA, analog 3mm, USB and Bluetooth). It also has volume leveling and virtual surround features by DTS. The volume feature is useful. The "surround" feature is more of a gimmick, but it does add a little sense of space and impact with movies. It is an attractive speaker, but feels a bit flimsy when you handle it. On the upside, the weight is not a problem for mounting purposes.
Verdict: It is a killer soundbar for a small TV in a secondary environment that doesn't break the bank.