VIZIO - M-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar (M51a-H6)

When I saw that deal post I wanted to jump on it for absolutely no practical reason. At this time in my life I wouldn't pay full price. Right now I'm using a Vizio M51a-H6 which I think sounds pretty good. I would have gladly paid the deal price for that upgrade.

VIZIO has good middle of the road soundbars, which is enough since you are settling for second level sound quality anyway for modern features like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and convenience. I paid $249 for mine in 2021. Frankly, it doesn't compare to a true channel based AVR/Amplifier system with dedicated speakers, but it will suffice. I have a VIZIO M-Series M51a H6 Soundbar that fulfills my needs for the family room, but I also have a Sony STR-DH750 7.2 Channel (5.1.2 setup) AVR system in my Retreat for a greater home theater experience.

I always recommend selecting a Soundbar from the same manufacturer of your TV. I have the VIZIO M-Series M51a (H6) Soundbar mated with a M-Series M65Q6-L4 TV and I keep the firmware on both up to date. I haven't had any major issues and when there's an issue, I simply reboot both units.

Can't you bump up your budget to $400? You can get this Vizio M51AX-J6 (this is mine, it's excellent) or it's sibling vizio m51a-h6. These are solid sub-$500 choices that come in at or around $300-$350. Look https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/vizio/m-series-m51a-h6

When I googled the M51-h I saw it for $299..

I bought Vizio M51A-H6 from Sam's $199 on 2023. It's 5.1 Dolby Atmos system with subwoofer and two rear speakers

My tv speakers were so bad I bought a cheap Vizio 5.1 and it’s great for my needs Left right and sub and I think two more speakers in bar Has a pretty good Bluetooth to stream pandora from my phone Paid $139 on Amazon refurbished several years ago. I noticed just this week that Walmart has news ones for $199. But I wouldn’t over look refurbished on Amazon. Warranty not bad

How does the Vizio 5.1 use Dolby Atmos and not have upfiring speakers? I’m asking because I’m mounting it to the ceiling (golf simulator build and have to put it above a net so I don’t destroy it) so I specifically bought that one because it doesn’t have the upfiring speakers but still has atmos

I have that Vizio 5.1 and it's definitely worth it for the price

It totally depends on the soundbar. I am still impressed with the Vizio 5.1 system’s ability to produce a really nice sounding virtual atmos experience. I also have a Polk Mini ax and in my opinion it doesn’t compare to the Vizio. I also have a Vizio 5.1.2 system and I’ll still stand by that system as THE top of the line budget system. Saying all of that I’ll conclude by saying, none of those systems match my Sony HT-A9, but I wouldn’t expect them to. I had an LG SP7Y and took it back within hours of purchase. It soured me on LG soundbars quickly. Also, if you’re looking for a budget system, don’t count out ONN’s 5.1 or 5.1.2. They both are surprisingly good.

https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/vizio/sv510x-0806 Rtings review is out.  In short it’s mediocre, and it can only do 2.0 over LPCM and has no HDMI inputs at all, so Nintendo switch is stereo only and other game consoles would need to be set to DD/DTS. As a result I wouldn’t recommend it, the older m51 series is better in every way, and there are bars at this price range that will properly do 5.1 LPCM.

EDIT: Woops I thought you were talking about the older higher-end m51-ax51.  But does it still work properly? Have you actually tested that it’s the proper channels?  In the Nintendo switch settings when you do sound test do you for sure hear 6 distinct sounds each from its own individual speaker? Also what TV and what firmware are you on? For me I don’t get 5.1 LPCM over eARC.  I get a simulated 5.1 that appears to be 5.1 but for example in the switch test the bass doesn’t activate and rear speakers get activated when they shouldn’t and the rear left and right are the same, and that’s the symptoms I’ve heard from pretty much anyone who has extensively tested it, even on PC.  Usually with an LG C series OLED.  In other words the surround is messed up. I have to use HDMI-IN for LPCM, from any source(PS5, switch, PC), to get proper surround.

Vizio M-series? Really good 5.1 for the price range for sure. V-series has a major issue though

Be careful with soundbars and TV combinations with a PC, I cannot get my x570 PC to pass 5.1 channels through the TV (LGCX ) to the soundbar (Vizio M-series) via eArc.

Found a Vizio M series for 80 bucks, it was a steal. It’s really good

M series is what i would buy. Reviews have looked like it punches above its price point.

[Here’s a list of top soundbars for under $300](https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/best/by-price/under-300) The Vizio M series is probably your best bet for a budget soundbar and overall sound experience. Note that dialogue usually only comes out of the soundbar itself and not the surround speakers, the surrounds are there to add an immersive experience for action scenes where sounds are coming from behind/around you but generally dialogue is limited to the soundbar itself due to the audio mix, so focus on a soundbar with good dialogue vs thinking that adding surround speakers will make your dialogue sound better.

Congrats OP! I did this early last year. I went from a basic ass Bose sounds to a Vizio 5.1 with atmos. Had to get a sound isolation pad under my subwoofer because I’m in an apartment building