We were pleasantly surprised last year when Vizio, a company best known for its value-packed HDTVs, made a major leap forward in the sphere of supplementary sound with its impressive sound bar lineup. We were particularly taken with the company’s S4251w sound bar surround system, which garnered our coveted ‘editor’s choice’ award for its ability to offer excellent performance on a budget, as well as something we almost never see in the genre: honest-to-goodness 5.1 surround sound.
The very latest addition to the family, the new S5451w, proves Vizio’s audio department is still cooking with gas. The system leapfrogs off its predecessor’s design, but goes big by stretching the sound bar’s length to an extensive 54-inches – suitable for TVs 55-inches and larger. With high expectations, this $500 system pulls its weight, serving up some of the best overall value on the market.
The S5451w arrived at our offices in a suitably gigantic box, and though it weighs only 9.5 pounds, freeing the couch-length beam took a bit of effort. Unsheathing the bar unveiled perhaps the weakest point for Vizio’s series: a rather underwhelming design aesthetic. It’s not an eyesore by any means, but it is a tad boring. Matte plastic around the backside meets a plain-Jane front face with hard angles at the corners and silver accents at the edges. It’s a design with a utilitarian vibe that looks much better mounted on the wall under a matching Vizio TV than it does on its own.
The rest of the system made a similar impression. The system’s small surround satellites remind us a bit of a budget pair of computer speakers, and the wireless sub is similarly unremarkable, cast in a long rectangle of flat black plastic, partially covered in grill cloth, with a large port as its only distinguishing characteristic. With all of that said, the system managed to blend in well with most of the TVs we tested it with and, hey, at $500, we aren’t complaining.
Included with the speaker system is a nice collection of accessories, with everything necessary for set up. That includes RCA connection cables for the satellite speakers, optical, and coaxial digital audio cables, an HDMI cable, power cables, and an RCA cable. Also in the box was a small remote complete with batteries and an LCD display, a quick start guide, and a wall mount template.
FEATURES AND DESIGNS
Apart from its mammoth width, one of the S5451w’s prime upgrades over the S4251 is the inclusion of a pair of HDMI ports, including an input and an ARC-compliant output which allows for easier connection and integration with ARC-compliant TVs.
Vizio keeps the front of the sound bar clean, with only a small row of pinpoint LEDs at the left corner breaking up an otherwise straight black grill. Rather than clutter up the sound bar with an informational display, Vizio places it on the remote control in the form of an LCD display. It took a while for us to adjust to looking at the remote for input status and volume level indicators, but we soon appreciated how the remote operated as the central command center. The remote covers all the basics, then goes a step further, offering level adjustments for each individual channel, basic EQ, stereo and surround mode switching, and even Bluetooth pairing and playback control from your mobile device.
As for internal components, beneath the S5451’s front screen are a pair each of 3-inch drivers for the left, right, and single 3-inch driver for the center channel, all accented with a 4-inch driver utilized as a “deep bass module.” Vizio doesn’t let all that extra space go to waste, either. Vizio claims the bar’s larger air chambers are utilized to build more bass response, and we’re here to tell you: The bar puts out some heavy hits in the lower register, even when the sub is laying low.
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