Vizio V21 H8 Review
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The budget-friendly Vizio V21-H8 soundbar offers an immersive experience with a boomy sound profile. Clear vocals, audio-visual sync, and four EQ presets enhance dialogue-focused content, however, it doesn’t suport Atmos content and distorts at max volume.
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What Is Not on the Box
What the brand doesn’t always tell you…
our Verdict
The budget-friendly Vizio V Series V21-H8 soundbar features a boomy sound profile that offers an immersive movie-watching or music-listening experience. Its low latency ensures that audio and visuals stay in sync, and it also reproduces vocals quite clearly, so listeners will be able to hang on to every word when listening to podcasts or other dialogue-focused content.
However, the soundbar has a 2.1 setup, so it’ll have to downmix surround sound content. This also boils over to its soundstage, as its 2.1 channel setup makes it sound only as wide as the bar. Nonetheless, it offers four EQ presets for sound customization, and it is compatible with Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri if connected to a third-party device through its AUX port.
Reasons to Buy
- Gets loud.
- Four EQ presets.
- Wide soundstage.
- Dialogue enhancement feature.
- Lots of audio and input options.
Reasons to Avoid
- Doesn't support Atmos content
- Some distortion at max volume.
- Bass can overwhelm voices.
- Dolby Audio support through optical digital only.
- N/a
Specifications
- Bluetooth Enabled–
- Depth–
- Dialogue Enhancement Feature–
- Energy Star Certified–
- HDMI ARC–
- Height40
- Subwoofer–
- Surround Sound Supported–
- Voice Assistant–
- Wall Mountable–
- Weight4.6
- Width12
- Wireless Connectivity–
- Wireless Subwoofer Connectivity–
- Works With–
Overview
The Vizio V21 H8 is an entry-level soundbar that was released in mid-2020. It offers four EQ presets to choose from, and even though its soundstage is wide enough for users to enjoy three-dimensional sound, the best speakers in the industry allow for more customization with graphic EQs that have up to 7 presets. Also worth noting is that the V21 H8 supports audio formats such as Dolby Digital and DTS:X, but misses out on higher-end formats such as Dolby Atmos.
The Vizio H8 has a fairly decent port selection, consisting of one Optical Audio In port, one HDMI ARC port, and an Analog AUX port. In contrast, the best soundbars have about three or four HDMI ports, and they allow for wireless playback through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Chromecast, and Apple AirPlay, while the H8 is limited to just Bluetooth.
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Product Comparison
 |  |  | ||
| True Score | 77 | 81 | 85 | |
| Market Context | – | The Vizio V21 H8 is a 2.1-channel soundbar that gets slightly louder than the Vizio V21x J8; however, the J8 features an AUX port that can be used to connect other devices. You can see what else the J8 has to offer by reading through our Vizio V21x J8 review. | The Vizio V21 H8’s surround sound performance is nowhere as good as that of the Sonos Arc, and this is because the H8 is a 2.1-channel soundbar while the Sonos arc boasts a 5.0.2-channel setup. The Sonos also supports Dolby Atmos and works with voice assistants, two more advantages it has over the V21 H8. | While the Vizio V21 H8 ships with a subwoofer, the Vizio M21d-H8R does not include one, and as a result, the H8’s sound profile has considerably more bass depth compared to the H8R. Another difference is that the H8 gets louder than the H8R at max volume. |
| Voice Assistant | ||||
| Surround Sound Supported | ||||
| Wireless Connectivity | ||||
| Bluetooth Enabled | ||||
| Wireless Subwoofer Connectivity | ||||
| Dig Deeper | – | Read Review → | Read Review → |
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Score Card
E
Expert Score
*.75
We place a 75% weighted value on Expert Test Scores
C
Customer Score
*.25
We place a 25% weighted value on Customer Scores
True Score
Any product with a True Score above 70 is a Mixed Reviews
Expert Score Breakdown
Publications with higher Trust Scores are given more weight
ATrust Score
70The Vizio V21-H8 is decent for mixed usage. On its ‘Music’ preset, this soundbar has… read more- B
Trust Score
64While the Vizio V-Series 2.1 Home Theater Soundbar may be the least expensive soundbar in… read more - D
Trust Score
83Excellent home cinema sound on a budget, DTS Virtual:X improves immersion, Versatile connectivity, with, HDMI… read more - D
Trust Score
80Vizio’s latest inexpensive soundbar delivers wide sound, big bass and plenty of options. read more
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