Vizio has a well-deserved reputation as the maker of some of the best and least expensive soundbars. Year after year, these systems earn a place on our best soundbar roundup for their unbeatable value. Right now, Vizio’s SB3651-F6 5.1 surround soundbar package with SmartCast, is $50 less than the already low regular price of $250 on Amazon.com
— a 20% savings.
Soundbars come in lots of different configurations, from the simple, soundbar-only setup, to full-fledged Dolby Atmos systems. The Vizio SB3651-F6 walks that perfect middle ground: You get a true 5.1 surround sound system, complete with wireless subwoofer, and a pair of rear satellite speakers, without needing to spend more money on bells and whistles you may not need. It’s compatible with both DTS and Dolby Digital, the two leading 5.1 surround sound profiles. The system has Vizio’s SmartCast tech built in, which combines Chromecast — letting you stream from your favorite audio apps directly to your soundbar — plus the SmartCast app, which lets you control all of your Vizio sound systems throughout your home. The system is also compatible with Google Assistant. If you have a Google Home device or even a smartphone with Google Assistant, you can issue voice commands to control music on your soundbar. “Hey Google, play Rihanna on Google Play Music, on soundbar,” is all it takes to get the tunes cranked up. If casting music isn’t intuitive enough for you, the SB3651-F6 also has Bluetooth, so you can treat it just as you would any other Bluetooth speaker.
Vizio’s soundbar systems are a snap to set up. With a single HDMI cable connected to your TV and two dedicated wires connecting the rear satellites to the wireless subwoofer, all you need to do is plug in the power for the soundbar and the sub, and you’re good to go. The included remote control lets you adjust all of the settings, including volume, and input, plus it has a dedicated LCD display that shows you the system’s status at any given time. Advanced features like HDMI-ARC, let your compatible TV send audio to the soundbar without the use of a secondary optical cable.
We saw a $20 discount on this system around Black Friday of 2018, but this new deal is even better, and we think it’s well worth grabbing while you can.
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- Vizio has new smart TVs and soundbars for 2023, but the best may be yet to come
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- DTS Play-Fi wants to eliminate the speaker wires in your 5.1 home theater setup
- Vizio 2021 soundbars go big on Dolby Atmos and HDMI eARC support
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