VIZIO 5.1.2 Elevate Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos, 13 Speakers, Wireless Subwoofer, Alexa - 2023 Model, Black

Okay.....so as I usually do, I spent days researching and doing my due diligence to find a surround sound system to upgrade from my older Samsung surround system. I'm a tech nut, and won't purchase anything without doing much research. So after all was said and done, I landed on this Vizio M-Series Elevate. And I couldn't be happier if I tried! The system speakers paired almost instantly, and I recommend setting up the rear speakers and subwoofer first......getting them hooked up and powered up before finally getting to the sound bar and TV. Within just a minute or two the entire system was up and running. Then its just a matter of learning the remote and how you like your particular sound set up.The elevate speakers on the sides of the sound bar are absolutely fantastic! Yes.....they light up for an added effect, and that just kind of tops things off. Although I'm not looking for a lighting system, this is just as added bonus. I was leery of the 8" subwoofer, since my Samsung had a 12 inch woofer, and its a down-firing speaker also, and I was concerned about that as well. But fear not, for you folks who might be thinking the same thing. My test movie was one of the new Star Trek movies.....knowing that would have all the sounds and effects to make for a proper test. I thought I was in an IMAX theater!! And I'm not exaggerating either. I want to offer as truthful a review as I can......that was not the only movie I used for a test and everything that followed was just as thrilling. As for regular TV programming, it changes the game entirely. My regular TV shows take in a whole new meaning!The "Dialogue" feature on the remote actually does what it says it does, and brings up the dialogue for not only regular TV shows, but also in movies as well. I played a Transformers movie, and at one point the dialogue was harder to hear and bringing that up definitely helped. If I had one point I don't actually care for, and of course it just my opinion.....but the sound bar as very bright LED's that indicate levels up and down. So if you're increasing say, volume or decreasing speaker volume in the back or front, it indicates using these bright LED's, and I suppose my preference would be the old way using numbers to denote higher and lower, or up and down. Although while I say that.....I've already gotten used to the bright LED's and finding I'm liking them.Lastly.....though I could go on and on, the remote programming is relatively easy to learn. I went online, or had to since it only came with a quick set-up guide. But even using that, I found that it was quite easy to learn the various functions offered through the remote. And there are quite a few thing it'll do, but once I had the overall setup the way I wanted it for movies and regular TV, there's really nothing else to do. I'll change a few things here and there depending on what I'm watching, but once its set, its pretty much set and that's a huge plus for me! I highly recommend this product.....it has all the features I wanted and then some. And the price was right in the range I had set for myself, and I have zero complaints on the price, especially for the value I'm getting! I've also purchased stands for my rear speakers. I always had my others on a credenza behind our couch just sitting there. These speakers deserve to have stands, and I have no doubt it will increase my listening pleasure. Oh yeah.....by the way for you ladies out there. My wife of course loves the new system, but her first complaint was the fabric covering the sound bar and speakers. While they look really great and fancy with the fabric.....she said I'll have a tough time dusting them when it comes time to dust!! That's okay though since I do most of the dusting anyway! HAH!

Pros:The looks: the Soundbar looks fantastic and sleek. The subwoofer is wireless, which helps with the aesthetic aspect. The surround speakers also look great, specially when installed on the wall.Audio: obviously the audio is the main thing, i'm not a audiophile but I am totally satisfied with the product, it works exactly as I expected when I bought it. The subwoofer is powerful, the Soundbar has clean fantastic sound, even when I turn it down I don't miss anything. The surround speakers really do the job, it does a great job for immersion, for both movies and games.Note: The audio is very dependent on the source, if the source of the audio is not surround, 5.1, dolby atmos etc, don't expect this to work wonders.Note#2: I did some research and everywhere I looked they recommended using HDMI ARC/EARC to get the best out of this soundbar. Smart TVs Samsung/LG and many others have ARC/EARC, which has the most bandwidth so look for the HDMI ports on your TV, you should really use this connection.Physical setup: this is really quite easy, everything you need is in the box, a small book detailing all the physical setup comes in the box. You only need the screwdrivers, if you plan on wall mounting anything, you will need the wall anchors and screws that fit to your wall. But the wall mounting supports are included for the soundbar and the small surround speakers.Accesories: as I said (almost)everything your need is in the box. I especially appreciate that they include a high bandwidth HDMI cable that works with ARC/EARC with zero problems.Cons:Upward firing speakers: these speakers don't really do the job, they work by "bouncing" the sound to your ceiling, which depending on the material might actually absorb the sound. They totally rely on the content being played, not much content will have any use for these speakers so I wouldn't expect much sound really that comes from above.Audio setup: this is apart from the physical setup, this is the configuration that you have to do on your TV and soundbar to get them to work. This is not plug and play, you have to go through all the options on both the sound bar and your TV.A manual comes in the box, but it is really really unclear, as to all the setup options. A QR code comes that should send you to a web page that explains everything, said web page is nothing of the sort, it links to the product page that lists the product features, basically the same as the amazon product page.As I said before I'm not an audiophile, and this was the first soundbar I have ever purchased, so it took a couple(5) of youtube tutorials to get this working like I needed it to. Even after the youtube tutorials, the final piece of the puzzle had to come from Vizio's own support, my rear surround speakers were not working as expected, I went into a chat with support and they did pinpoint my issue in about 3-4 questions, I had to choose a 2 specific options on my TV to get them working.I will give recognition to Vizio chat support, or at least my agent, they really knew what to ask to get straight to the issue.I'm giving 5 stars because evertything works just like I expected, the immersion is fantastic, and I have even got a few praises for this setup.