HomeTheaterReview.com
By: Andrew Robinson
November 16, 2009

Sound bars have always been a bit of the redheaded stepchild of the home theater world for me, a replica of sorts for those unable to accommodate or afford a proper home theater. Of course I jumped to this conclusion before I had actually heard or even experienced a sound bar system and now that I have, I'm prepared to modify my views. I totally get it now. While I'm not about to ditch my reference home theater, I'll be the first to admit I've enjoyed my time with Vizio's new sound bar and wireless subwoofer - so much so, I actually found myself carting Blu-rays up to my bedroom system over my reference rig.

The Vizio VSB210WS retails for a very attractive $349.99 and is sold direct through Vizio's own site as well as through a bevy of retailers like Costco. Your $349.99 buys you a single speaker that looks a bit like a Bang & Olufsen product (if I'm honest), that houses four three inch mid/bass drivers and two three-quarter inch aluminum dome tweeters. Visually, the main speaker is quite stunning and is wall mountable or table ready via its attached stand. However, upon closer examination - especially to the touch, the materials are a bit "budget" - but then again, how often do we physically interact with our speakers? The grill is technically removable, but I get the feeling Vizio would prefer you didn't. A peek behind the curtain reveals the drivers are situated in stereo configuration with the tweeters resting along the outside edges of the sound bar. While the driver placement is better left a mystery, the inputs offered are not; located dead center on the back of the sound bar. The VSB210WS's sound bar features two stereo RCA inputs and a single optical Toslink input allowing for a total of three sources to be connected to and switched between via the main sound bar's remote. Source as well as input and volume control can also be handled via the VSB210WS's top mounted manual controls, though I doubt many users will rely to heavily on these. 

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