A Sound Stand That Passes The Bar.…
© 2015 BOB SKIDMORE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
BOB SKIDMORE
CORRESPONDENT
The day of the bulky CRT
television receiver or monitor has long passed. If you don’t have projection
TV, most of us don’t, then you probably have some form of a flat screen. They
come on all sizes and shapes that can easily be hung on the wall or tabletop
mounted. The problem is sound quality and sound dispersion.
There are several ways to
improve a flat screen’s sound quality with a sound bar being the most popular,
but perhaps not the most practical. Sound bars are long and can be heavy making
them more difficult to place or wall mount. Some come with wireless subwoofers
that enhance the bass, but take up even more space. So, is there an
alternative?
The Vizio S2121w-DO is a 2.1 Sound Stand with a built-in subwoofer.
It’s a tabletop unit that is designed to accommodate flat screens up to 55” and
sixty pounds. This makes it possible to place the flat screen on top of the
Sound Stand thus minimizing space requirements.
If you have a wall mounted flat
screen the Sound Stand still works well since it takes up so little space and
still offers great sound.
(TIP: Always place the base of the flat screen in the center of the
Sound Stand. This is where the interior supports are positioned and will
prevent possible damage to the Sound Stand and the set itself.)
The Sound Stand offers an
analog input with RCA jacks and an analog input with a 3.5mm jack. A digital
optical input and a digital coaxial input are also provided for connection to
your flat screen. In addition it does accept Bluetooth connectivity making it
possible to listen to smartphones, tablets or MAC/PCs as well. Since it does
have analog inputs you can easily add a satellite radio receiver, CD player or
Internet radio to the mix. This makes for a nice home theater system in places
like the bedroom, den or screen room. The specs are quite impressive too, and
include Dolby Digital, dts TruSound, dts Studio Surround and dts
TruVolume and a sound pressure level of 101db with a frequency response of
55Hz – 19Khz. Led indicators on the front panel show sound level and input
selection. The power requirement varies from 100-240vac, 50/60Hz, making it a
true worldwide product. Power can be set to shut off automatically after five
minutes of silence.
(TIP: TruVolume
automatically regulates sound levels such as blaring commercials; TruSurround
HD make the sound more realistic; dts Studio Surround is a simulated surround
sound effect; Dolby Digital is a surround effect to enhance cinema sound.)
However, don’t expect true
surround sound that can only be attained with a five (5:1) or seven (7.1)
speaker array.
(TIP: You can improve on a surround
sound effect by keeping the sound level of the flat screen “on”, but at a much
lower level than the Sound Stand. Since most flat screens tend to disperse
sound from the sides or rear, the sound will bounce off the wall and somewhat
create a wrap around effect.)
The 14 controls
are self-explanatory and are activated by the supplied remote. Four basic controls are duplicated and
accessible on the side panel of the unit. The response time to a newly selected
input is somewhat slow. This is typical of many digital devices and can’t be
avoided in the Sound Stand.
In general, the
Vizio Sound Stand is a nice practical solution to improving sound quality in
small areas. Since it has speakers on three sides and a subwoofer on the bottom
it can reproduce a powerful clean sound for such a small box and it comes with
all the cables. What I wish they had included, however, are selections for
recreating the sound effect of various venues such as theater, arena, concert
hall and clubs, but then again this is something that is also lacking with most
sound bars.
GADGETEER’s RATING: ★★★★★
MSRP: $249.95
Bob Skidmore is a freelance
writer, who may be contacted at bob.thegadgeteer.skidmore@gmail.com, or followed at twitter.com/bskidmore for the latest gadget industry news. He does not represent,
or endorse any of the products he reviews and his opinions are solely his
points of view and not those of the manufacturer. The manufacturer generally
supplies products at no cost for the articles and no other compensation is
received. THE GADGETEER is highly selective as to products he feels worthy of
review so as not to waste the reader’s time, thus the reason for many superior
ratings.
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