Vizio Elevate Soundbar Deals
Thirty second exam
If you like the chat design, you'll appreciate the Vizio Elevate soundbar. When it recognizes the Dolby Atmos input, the side speakers physically flip up, revealing the Dolby Atmos logo before plunging into a bubble of sound. It's a nice celebration trick, sure, but it's also an effective way to move from a standard 4 surround soundbar with satellite speakers to a full XNUMX Dolby Atmos system.XNUMX all without installing in-ceiling speakers to accommodate the extra. . channels. Sound quality is somewhat boomy with a heavy emphasis on booming bass and a lack of clarity in the upper registers, but if you want Dolby Atmos sound without buying a receiver, this is a well-balanced alternative. of the best sound bars from LG, Sony and Samsung.Price and launch date
The Vizio Elevate started at CES 2 and launched late last year. That said, you're going to see it on store shelves for a while, as Vizio will keep releasing the soundbar throughout the year. In terms of cost, it's looking at $46514, around $6, AU$950, though it's not available in both territories right now, making it one of the more expensive soundbars around. The Elevate comes with 11 satellite speakers and a wireless subwoofer for the high initial cost, but you can find similar systems for half the cost, like Vizio's SBXNUMX-FXNUMX, which runs $XNUMX. The reason you pay more for the Elevate is essentially that it has swiveling speakers and auxiliary drivers on the soundbar that deliver louder sound. Of course, if you're looking for power and clarity, and don't mind paying even more, we'd advise checking out the Samsung HW-QXNUMXT soundbar or the LG SNXNUMXRG. Both are more expensive and don't veer when listening for Dolby Atmos audio, but provide better balanced sound. Still, the Vizio Elevate is a good deal to consider if you have a Vizio OLED.
Integrated
The Vizio Elevate does have a unique design: Instead of being an all-black unibody bar, the Elevate incorporates swiveling speakers on the sides. Otherwise, it's still primarily an all-black unibody bar, but that little detail makes it stand out in a crowded field. That said, to accommodate the swiveling speakers, the body is a bit deeper than traditional soundbars, measuring 2 x 2 x 2 inches (H x WXD). It's still wall-mountable despite the extra depth, and it'll pair well if you decide to go with the Vizio OLED it was developed for. Inside you'll find a full lineup of drivers (XNUMX, according to Vizio) with about two drivers per channel. These drivers will increase power output, but their closeness to each other is what creates the reclusive sound. So how do you achieve a bigger soundstage? Well, this is where satellite speakers come in. To power and monitor the satellites, you'll run an included power/signal cable from the back of the subwoofer to each of the XNUMX satellites. Unfortunately, they're not wireless, but the proprietary power cables Vizio uses should be long enough to cover any living room, and the subwoofer, thank goodness, is wireless. Flip the bar over and you'll see the ports. Here you have an HDMI-ARC port that connects to your TV, and XNUMX HDMI-In ports that you can use to connect game consoles, Blu-ray players, or streaming devices. While HDMI-ARC is your best bet for connecting to a TV, since it's the only way to carry Dolby Digital data, you can also connect via a standard XNUMXmm cable or optical audio, and it's Nice that the Elevate is flexible enough to support them all. Lastly, the Vizio Elevate comes with a basic plastic remote. The remote isn't anything special in terms of build quality, but it does come with a display that makes it easy to navigate menus and change soundbar settings. We generally prefer GUIs for this sort of thing, but we like how easy it was to activate things like Night Mode, which reduces bass with the push of a button.
Features
Unfortunately, there aren't many helper functions. Unfortunately it's really just a soundbar, there's no built-in smart assistant or smart platform, so it just takes incoming audio and pumps it out. While we can live without another smart assistant in our homes or other expensive streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, not having features like automatic room calibration on a soundbar at this price is a huge miss. Of course, you can adjust the EQ yourself using several different presets, but automatic room calibration is one thing the Sonos Arc has for $XNUMX less than the Vizio Elevate. The good news? You may not get a built-in smart assistant here, but the Vizio Elevate is compatible with Alexa, Siri and Google Home, plus it comes with Chromecast built-in if you just want to play a song from your phone without having a smart assistant. involved. The latter is good if you want to stream music from your phone without relying on Bluetooth, while the former is a good bonus for people who have a Google Nest Mini or Amazon Echo Dot. Naturally, it's not as feature-rich as some of the competition and, at this price, it really hurts the Elevate's value.
Performance
The good news is that as a Dolby Atmos soundbar, the Vizio Elevate can really stand out. With Atmos on and firing on all cylinders, the Elevate is an immersive experience that puts you in the heart of the Amazon when you watch Our Planet on Netflix or the dirty and dangerous plains of the post-apocalyptic future in Mad Max: Fury Route. In fact, since the soundbar played Dolby Atmos, we were very impressed. The mix could have had a bit more surround presence, but as a general rule, this is exactly what Dolby Atmos sound should sound like. The downside, unfortunately, is that for normal stereo or XNUMX surround sound, the Vizio Elevate simply doesn't do much to improve audio: it presents partially flat-sounding audio tracks that lack a lot of detail. This can be a problem when you want to get the most for your money with Blu-ray XNUMX or streaming movies, and it really makes games like Overwatch, which have a lot of detail when using headphones, feel less immersive. The Elevate also has plenty of bass. This can be great when you want wall-shaking action sequences, but it can be less appealing when you just want clear, clean dialogue at night. Thank goodness, there is a night mode that you can activate, but even in this mode, there is still too much bass. The music, on the other hand, has a bit of bass but a good focus on the mids. You won't get sparkling vocals in the upper registers though, and sound will only be delivered from the main soundbar and not the satellite speakers, so don't expect a clubby atmosphere in your room. Finally, it's not available on the Elevate, but it would be nice if the soundbar could tell what kind of content is playing at any given time and adjust the equalizer to match. This is one of the main features of Samsung's line of soundbars, and unfortunately the Elevate doesn't quite match it. You will need to change the equalizer every time you switch from movies to music to games. Grief.Should I buy the Vizio Elevate soundbar?
Buy it if...
You want solid Dolby Atmos sound in a boxIf the thought of running spools of thread around your living room sounds like an exercise in frustration, the Vizio Elevate offers a simple and commendable Dolby Atmos experience. You like to show off cutting-edge technology
Watching rotating speakers go up to the ceiling when the soundbar notices a Dolby Atmos signal never goes out of style. It feels futuristic and will clearly impress your guests.
Don't buy it if...
You want a feature-rich soundbarCompared to another high-end soundbar like the Sonos Arc, the Vizio Elevate is clearly a bit short on features. It has no automatic calibration, no built-in smart platform, and no built-in smart assistant. Looking for pristine sound with tons of clarity
Unfortunately, the convenience of a soundbar comes at the expense of a more limited soundstage. Yes, you'll get solid 3D sound with Atmos on, but it's not the clearest or most immersive XNUMXst surround sound system we've heard for the price. Cost - Vizio Elevate Sound Bar: ▼