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vizio v21 h8 review

Vizio V21 H8 Review

True Score

77
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Mixed Reviews
74
4

Experts

88
559

Consumers

Expert Rankings

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  • yIrftHsl

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.

VIZIO V-Series™ 2.1 Home Theater Sound Bar
SAVE $67
$181.86
$114.95

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.

True Score

77

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
  • Height
    40
  • Subwoofer
  • Surround Sound Supported
  • Voice Assistant
  • Wall Mountable
  • Weight
    4.6
  • Width
    12
  • 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

All Stores

  • VIZIO V-Series™ 2.1 Home Theater Sound Bar
    Save $67
    $181.86
    $114.95

    Availability

    In Stock

    Free Shipping

    No
  • VIZIO 2.1 V-Series Home Theater Sound Bar - V21-H8
    $213.24

    Availability

    In Stock

    Free Shipping

    No

Score Card

E

Expert Score

74

*.75

We place a 75% weighted value on Expert Test Scores

C

Customer Score

88

*.25

We place a 25% weighted value on Customer Scores

True Score

77

Any product with a True Score above 70 is a Mixed Reviews

Expert Score Breakdown

  • Rtings
    A

    Trust Score

    70
    The Vizio V21-H8 is decent for mixed usage. On its ‘Music’ preset, this soundbar has… read more
  • Techgear Lab
    B

    Trust Score

    64
    While the Vizio V-Series 2.1 Home Theater Soundbar may be the least expensive soundbar in… read more
  • CNET
    D

    Trust Score

    83
    Excellent home cinema sound on a budget, DTS Virtual:X improves immersion, Versatile connectivity, with, HDMI… read more
  • Tom’s Guide
    D

    Trust Score

    80
    Vizio’s latest inexpensive soundbar delivers wide sound, big bass and plenty of options. read more

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