VIZIO SB3820-C6 38-Inch 2.0 Channel Sound Bar

This sound bar was bought to be used with my TCL 4 series. Like most all TVs the speakers were not very good, at all. I'm definitely not an audiophile, but I do like to enjoy decent audio when watching movies and shows. But I'm not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a crazy 7.1 channel setup. I looked at a lot of brands that I'd never heard of but that seemed to have decent reviews. But with a $100 budget, many of the choices were ugly to me. I like the look of the vizio sound bars. The reason I chose this model of the smaller $75ish 32 inch vizio, is because this model had DTS AND Dolby(the cheaper one only had DTS). This one also has 2.75" speaker drivers compared to 2.5". I honestly don't know how much of a difference any of that really makes, but I am really happy with my decision. I like that it comes with all the audio cables needed for the different inputs. I'm using optical, but it's nice to have the coaxial and 3.5mm to RCA cable if needed later. No support for HDMI ARC, but honestly if you need that option you'd probably be buying a more expensive option anyway. It does support Bluetooth if you want to stream audio from your mobile device. There are buttons on top of the sound bar for basic control, the included remote is needed for things like turning on and off the surround option and adjusting the bass/treble. There is a line of white LEDs down the left side of the front. This is just for basic feedback to tell you what the volume level is and for displaying what input you're using. Some people have complained about this and said that it's confusing. I found it to be simple and easy to understand. The sound quality is really a step up from a normal TV. I was really impressed, and I think most people would be happy with it for $100. There is an output for a subwoofer if you want to add one. I think that it has enough bass for most people, but I'm glad there is that option. I don't think you can do much better for the price. I've been using mine almost daily for 2 months with zero performance issues. No rattling or defects, so far. Update: almost 3 full years later, this thing is still working as good as the first day I got it!

This is an excellent sound bar. I have been looking at these for a while to supplant the speakers on my Samsung TV and to get rid of some large external speakers including a huge sub base woofer. I really wanted to try a unit that was only one piece with no additional speakers or wires and this seemed to fit the bill. The sound on this unit is excellent, with a good audio range and adjustable bass and treble. It comes with three audio cables, including an optical cable and a regular RCA stereo cable. It is also ridiculously simple to use. I didn't even read the instructions. I simply plugged in the power cable and the optical cable, set the bar in front of my Samsung TV and powered it on. It has both a remote with batteries included and like buttons on the top of the speaker. Blu-Rays, Digital downloads, TV and games all sound great with deep lows and clear highs. I mostly use this speaker with the volume at about 25% and it is usually more than loud enough. I often have to lower it when it's late so as not to disturb the rest of the house. The Bluetooth functionality is equally flawless. I simply press the BT button (on the remote or the speaker) and go into the Bluetooth discovery option on whatever device I am using. (I tried it with a windows phone, an android phone, an iPhone and an iPad) The Visio speaker comes up, I click connect and that's it. The sound is great and it is quite loud even at below 50% volume. This now doubles as a nice portable speaker for my deck on nice days. This is an extraordinary value for the price. No buyer's remorse here.

I felt compelled to write this review. Here's why. For the first several weeks I was very happy with it. The sound (this was my first sound bar) was quite good and did exactly what I wanted it to do...bring out the dialog. I'm 69 and my mid range hearing is not so good any more. In fact it brought out much more than I expected. I realized I had been missing a lot more audio than I thought. I could even enjoy music over it, even with the lack of bass. I was about to add a subwoofer when the remote stopped working. Now what do I do? No easy sure way to use something else; no remote app for this model, maybe a universal remote with one of the codes I found on the internet but no guarantee. I thought about buying another remote but what actually was wrong? The remote, the sensor in the bar, who knows? Off to find a new sound bar. In the meantime I decided to try it on my computer. Wow! This thing makes a great computer speaker. It's right above the computer on a shelf on a wooden desk. Separation, detail, even bass was amazing. I may add a subwoofer at some time but it's pretty good as is. And it's easy to just reach up to turn it on. Once the volume was adjusted I used the computer to change levels. So, no remote needed. So I went on a hunt for a new soundbar for my TV. I won't go with Vizio again because of the remote problem. I'm getting a Yamama bar. Here's why: they have an app for your smart phone that can run it if the remote craps out. I can only hope it sounds as good as the Vizio. Look at the reviews. This remote thing is a major issue for Vizio and I'm certain is hurting sales. In my case I was lucky. I'm so happy with it on my computer I would have bought it just for that. However, because of the remote issue I can not recommend this product. I'll add my thoughts on the Yamaha bar compared to this one when I have some time with it. Update: Just before throwing out the remote I decided to try it again...and it works. (sigh). Others have described this hit or miss behavior with the remote. I had aleady tried things other did to get it going, unplugging the bar for a while, etc. and it didn't work for me. Now it's working again.

This sound bar is a great value. I hooked it up directly to my apple TV since the Apple TV is the only source connected to that TV. This way I can airplay music to it without turning on the TV. My TV has horrible speakers - even dialogue in tv shows was difficult to fully hear. Forget playing music with them. This soundbar fixed all that - movies, tv shows, and music all sound rich and full. I got the 38" model and it perfectly matches the width of my 39" tv (which is a little older so it has a wider bezel than most new LCDs). There is plenty of bass for music and movies and I have left the settings stock, meaning I could crank up more base if I felt the need. I have always used 3.1 / 5.1 home theater setups that have a dedicated subwoofer. This was my first soundbar so I was a little concerned with its ability to put out good bass from such a small enclosure, so the option to add a subwoofer really sold it for me. I'm perfectly happy with it just the way it is though. Anybody that is complaining about poor audio quality is probably streaming music over bluetooth and/or using analog RCA cables for the input. Just like connecting a DVD player to an HDTV with cables that cant handle the HD signal, the end result will be crap. Use a digital cable such as digital coaxial or digital optical cable (toslink). And avoid bluetooth, even with a good connection bluetooth audio reduces quality immensely. The only disappointment I have had with this product is that it does not automatically turn on when a source connected to it turns on/sends signal, as it says it will in the user manual. I believe it does in fact turn itself off after a period of inactivity/no active source, but it doesnt seem to turn on automatically. I didnt buy the soundbar for that feature so its not a huge deal, but still annoying to have the manual explaining a feature that does not in fact work/exist.

This soundbar speaker provides an excellent upgrade to the speakers in my 50" Samsung TV without adding rumbling bass that will disturb people in other rooms. With the speaker installed, I can crank up the volume while using loud fans and exercise equipment and all dialog is crystal clear, even at very high volumes. Installation was very easy. I attached this speaker to my Samsung TV using the included optical cable. I then went into the settings on my Samsung and disabled the internal speaker so that the only sound would come from this soundbar. I have a DirecTV HR24 DVR in the room so I went into the remote control settings menu and configured "AV1" to control a VIZIO SOUNDBAR. I then went into the "remote lock" setting of the DirecTV menu and told it that I wanted all sound controls to be routed to the AV1 device. In doing so, the remote control of my DirecTV DVR now is able to adjust the volume and mute the soundbar without any extra fiddling! Perfection! At this time, the speaker works as seamlessly as if it was built into my TV. I made two adjustments to the configuration of the speaker. Firstly, I cranked down the bass all the way. If you live in close quarters, this is going to help prevent your neighbors from hearing things because bass travels through the walls more easily than treble. Secondly, I disabled the "eco" feature so that the speaker would stay on 24x7. That way I don't have to power it on each time I want to use it. Both of these adjustments were very easy and were covered in the well-written printed documentation that came with the soundbar. From my experience, I think the 38" is the right answer if you have a big TV (42" or larger). The built in speakers of a 42" or larger TV are probably powerful enough that the 29" version of this soundbar won't make enough of a difference.

DESIGN: A+ The bar has very simplistic styling with a column of LEDs that light up to tell you different things, like the volume level, when it's searching for input devices, etc. The fabric lining on the speaker occasionally needs to be dusted. The remote is very easy to use and comfortable to hold. SOUND: B+ If all you want is an improvement over your TV speakers, you are definitely gonna get it. I am not an audiophile (though I do have numerous pairs of decent headphones) but I can say that the sound is good. Not surround system and home-theater good, but good. Dialogue in TV shows (those epic drama ones in which everyone seems to be whispering for some reason) is finally listenable! That was the biggest thing for me. This is especially true if you use the TruSurround and TruVolume features, which I will get to... Music plays well, but if you have a good pair of bluetooth speakers, you can definitely see the disparity in sound quality. This is most likely since this sound bar is meant for mainly TV use. FEATURES: A+ Using Bluetooth to connect to your phones, tablets, computers, etc. is easy and can be done with the remote. There are two buttons on the remote, for TruSurround and TruVolume. TruSurround simulates a surround sound experience. Unsure how to explain this, but the sound seems "more spread apart" in terms of the lows, mids, and highs. The bass is great in this mode. If you sit close enough to the sound bar, it actually does feel like you're sitting in a surround sound experience. For me, though, there was a bit too much distortion in some dialogue with this feature on. If I am watching a movie (which is when you'd want this on!) unfortunately I'll turn this feature off. Music sounds good with this feature on. TruVolume normalizes the volume level so the really loud and really soft noises aren't as far apart in volume level. This is a REALLY GOOD feature for movies and shows in which the dialogue is difficult to hear! I recommend turning this feature off if you're listening to music. If you want, you can go into settings and change the individual sound settings, just as you would with a car stereo or any other speaker system. PRICE: A+. Home run. For $100, this purchase was a no-brainer for me. After years of missing out on distorted TV-speaker dialogue, turning this speaker on felt like wearing glasses for the first time :-)

The sound from this bar is clean, clear, crisp and LOUD! A very decent amount of BASS, with a sub woofer output should you want to connect one. I found out I ordered a longer bar than is recommended. How did I find out? The packaging for this bar states that it is for a 42" or larger TV. I purchased it for a 32" TV. The concern, I believe, is that if the speakers are too far from the TV's center it will not seem as though the audio is coming from the actors. My brain is making the leap and tricking me so all is well. I use my TV for music for the most part anyway (Comcast Music Choice and Fire TV Music). It is disappointing that Fire TV Music has such poor audio quality since it is there that I can make personal music choices unlike Comcast. Fire TV just sounds plain bad. It did on the TV speakers and now on the bar; it is just un-listenable. Safe to call it "LOW FIDELITY" As far as connecting an input to this bar from your TV you have many options and most all the cables you may need are included. I really liked that they included the cord to to connect the bar to a sub. This cord is over and above what is required to connect the bar to the TV...very nice touch VIZIO. Now I need to go to my storage and try to find my sub :-) My TV only offers 2 audio outputs, head phone and optical. Included with the bar were a headphone-to-2 RCA connector cord, and a fiber optic patch cord, among others. That allowed me what would be considered the worst quality connection and the best quality connection possibilities. If you don't have OPTICAL OUT on your TV do not despair...the worst possible option (headphone-to-RCA patch cord) sounds FANTASTIC! I can detect no loss of fidelity between the two. You will not be missing out. Now to the reason I gave it 3 stars rather than 5. The back of the remote just keeps sliding off. It is not broken in any way. Just poorly designed. I often use the sound bar in dark or nearly dark conditions. It is taking time to train myself to not go where I normally would to use the any of the buttons. So how about the POWER button? It is not the top left button on the remote as you will see and are used to on any other remote in your home. For some strange reason instead of the power button being in the far upper left of the remote they felt this was a good place to position the INPUT button. Power is upper right. Volume UP/DOWN is traditionally placed on the left side of the remote with a paddle switch or separate buttons. Located in the standard volume UP/DOWN positions are the TruVolume and the TruSurround HD. The volume UP/DOWN are located on a FLAT 1-3/8" (34.9mm) x 1-3/8" (34.9mm) multi-function EVER SO SLIGHTLY RAISED square. To be honest I can't even tell that it IS raised at all most of the time. If you go for the volume in low light you may operate any of 3 other function controls. Lastly, if you were hoping the VOLUME controls are the 2 well raised buttons on the right (traditional location) you would be wrong. Those are your BASS/TREBLE controls. I am not sure I would buy this bar again knowing what I do now about the remote. As I said I often use the remote in low or no light. The problems I mention here may just be my own...but I doubt it. All of these tiny buttons and controls are all scrunched into a small 2-3/8" (60.3mm) x 1-3/8" (34.9mm) upper 40% of this little remote and they are not raised enough and not far apart enough to be used just by touch. I well believe that just 3 functions on the remote will account for 90% of it's use. POWER (that CAN be felt but it is in the wrong place...you'll get used to that) and the VOLUME UP/DOWN that exist on a square, fully smooth (NO tactile feedback...I'd hate to see a blind person trying to operate), 4-function piece of plastic that is raised about 1/32" (0.8mm). On the bright side for me, I found out fairly quickly that my cable box remote controls the basic functions of the sound bar. I hope you get so lucky. Knowing what I know now I should have purchased a bar in the 28"-32" (71mm-81mm) class looking for features such as the control panel on the bar being mildly illuminated and a proper remote perhaps with illumination itself. My roommate may buy mine from me for a location that is always well lit and has a 42" TV. I'll lose $20 on the deal but I can get the absolute right bar for me.. I don't return items that are not what I would like due to my own failure in researching. So, for better or worse, the bar is mine. There is one thing you cannot fault; THIS THING SOUNDS AMAZING! - Good Shopping!!!

This sound bar has very clear and well balanced upper and midrange. No need to adjust those levels. Other reviewers noted that the bass is lacking, but that's what you should expect and that's exactly what I was looking for. I have a wired subwoofer that I like, so I wanted a sound bar with an RCA subwoofer out. Very few still have this option. You're just stuck with the wireless sub that they come with. I got a 150watt powered sub at the thrift store for $5 (a steal) to go with this and I'd say it sounds like a $200-300 system now. Sub volume follows sound bar volume perfectly. I ran a long cable to the sub (25ft), through the crawlspace to the back of the couch, by using an old piece of coax cable (cable tv type) and some screw on RCA adapters for the ends. You can get crimp ends too if you have the compression tool. I get no static on the bass signal and it shakes the couch during movies! I mounted the sound bar at knee height and I get good room filling sound without loud spots when standing next to it. That makes it good for a party music too. The wall mounts leave just enough room to run cables behind and into the wall or up to the tv. Adjust the mount buttons a 1/4 turn out until they drop all the way into the cleat without too much force. If they are screwed tightly into the sound bar, they don't want to go all the way in. Only one good sheetrock anchor or stud is necessary per bracket, the other can be a wood screw just barely tightened. The inputs are a really nice feature too. Both coax digital and optical digital in is a nice touch that others don't have, plus 2 different analog inputs, AND a really good bluetooth connection that connects quickly and sounds as good as any other source. Without an LCD display, it's a little tricky to get set up, but the manual is good enough. Once set up, the lights are extremely unintrusive. Only 1 dim led remains lit after a volume change to indicate that the unit is powered on.

I understand it's reused, but they could inform of missing cables (optical and coax), only power and analog cables present. Remote command is a bit warn out. Besides all that, soundbar is working fine

You won't get a better sound bar in this price range! Overall awesome sound bar. For a small room or apartment it's perfect. The bass isn't amazing for obvious reasons, it's not a sub woofer, but does the job nontheless. The remote feels good but doesn't have the greatest range, again at this price I can't even be bothered. Bluetooth pairing is a charm, works every time and quickly. Only thing I'm not a fan of are the display lights, it's never clear what mode your sound bar is in unless you know what the lights mean by heart, like it'll show you're in the 4th option, no idea which one that is... All I know is number 5 is my TV and that's all I need to know. But for someone who wants to have it plugged into a bunch of different things it's gonna take some getting used to remember all these options. Highly recommend for the cheaper side of sound bars.

Muy bueno

Defective power cable (& the wrong model); missing manual, coax audio cable, digital optical cable, wall mount brackets & screws & wall mount template. Refurbished OK but it should specify that it's incomplete

Previously I had a full 5.1 setup. I shifted to a sound bar to simplify the setup and wiring. After lots of research, I selected this product based on price and internet reviews. My current setup is the sound bar with an external subwoofer along with a Vizio TV. Pros + Price - amazing for what you get... DTS, Dolby... + Sound Quality - it’s not going to match a full 5.1 setup, but it does a good job. If you have a large room, get an external subwoofer. Spend little time to tune the subwoofer phase and frequency. Truvolume sounds fine sometimes, but I have it turned off depending on what I’m watching. + Use - I’ve read complaints about the Led lights for controls. Honestly, It’s not a big deal and pretty straightforward. Just read the manual. The vizio TV remote also controls the basic sound bar functions. Cons - HDMI - missing but I have all devices (cable box, Fire TV, PlayStation, etc) connected into the TV via HDMI with the optical cable back to the sound bar. Simple and works well.