VIZIO - Vizio M512E-K6

I own the elevate M-512-K6, it's the best bang for your buck you'll ever buy this side of a clearance black Friday sale.

About 16 months, I had the previous version for another 2 years. I'm a huge fan of these Vizio sound bars.

[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.

The Elevate SL512X-0806 is a waste of money, if you're going to go for the Vizio Elevate it has to be the M series M512E-K6, [see comparison here](https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/tools/compare/vizio-m-series-elevate-m512e-k6-vs-vizio-elevate-se-sl512x-0806/33243/78229). [List of top 5 soundbars for under $500](https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/best/by-price/under-500)

Depends on what you’re looking for really, the SL only has eARC connection and nothing else. No HDMI IN, no video passthrough, no optical, no remote and has overall lower ratings across the board than the M Series elevate. The M Series Elevate has been on sale for $450 in the past ([see here](https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B09ZX1W6Q6?cpf=amazon-new)). Even at $500 it’s still a better overall product than the SL given all the extras and overall better sound quality.

I’ve had it for about 6 months now, no issues. I think you replied to another comment of mine. I understand you’re worried about reliability (maybe due to the rotating drivers?), but I don’t think you need to worry for a few reasons: 1) The M512E-K6 has been out for a few years now, so they’ve likely ironed out any manufacturing defects by now. Also, this is Vizio’s second sound bar with rotating drivers, so any lessons they learned from building the first one, they’ve applied to this one. 2) This is a very popular 5.1.2 soundbar, mostly because it’s stylish, very well built, and almost nothing sounds as good on the market for the price. The majority of the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. You have to take Reddit with a grain of salt. People mostly come here to complain, so it’s biased towards people with issues, and not the 99% of people who don’t have any issues. 3) If it gives you peace of mind, you can set the up-firing Atmos speakers to always UP, so they’re not rotating as much when switching between Atmos content and regular content. You’ve mentioned you’ve been saving for this bar for a while, and I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed by it.

Well, you don’t have to update the firmware lol. I updated mine and had no issues, mind you that’s just one example. And no problem, you will love it.

Glad I got the M512e-K6 then. Sounds amazing, especially for the price.

I have a Vizio M512E-K6, which is 5.1.2 (2 up-firing in the bar) and while it definitely makes a difference. I do hear sound effects above my head, especially if they’re bass heavy. Does it compare to discrete down-firing height speakers? No, but it does sound immersive, and it’s definitely better than no height drivers at all. Also, make sure to crank the height levels to the max.

Man ima tell you right now. As someone who had the elevate since its release, it’s not worth the headache bro. It’s a great sounding soundbar, but it’s like that EX that seems so good at first until over time you start to actually see more about them to the point that you just despise them and wondered what you even seen in them at first? Yea lol. Too many software ridden issues, I actually just went through a mini crash out phase. The soundbar just decides it wants to take a vacation time to time and doesn’t respond to you no matter what, won’t even turn on. Will have to wait a few days for it to decide it’s ready to come back. Man I could go on but long story short, look elsewhere for a soundbar, especially for the price. Sounds great, horrible software and customer service.

Sorry I seen this so late, also I don’t have any good recommendations as I haven’t looked at any soundbars since 2020 release. Though I am curious if you ended up getting a setup and which system did you go with?

It doesn’t come close to my component 5.1.2 setup in my living room, but in my bedroom have a Vizio 5.1.2 m series sound bar that is pretty decent for being a sound bar. It has little rear surround speakers and a sub. Then upfiring atmos speakers in the bar itself. It was like 450 when I got it 3-4 years ago. [doesn’t appear to be available anymore though](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sku/6446231.p?skuId=6446231&sb_share_source=PDP)

I would steer you towards Vizio. I’ve got a Vizio 512 and it’s really, really good for the price.

I'm ngl foe the price the vizo m series 5.1.2 is alright...I mean don't get me wrong none of these are even CLOSE to my all klipsch 5.1.4 system w/ the new klipsch rp1200sw sub, but for my bedroom the vizio m series does great...I will say tho, anyone that wants a GREAT surround system, a subwoofer with a low freq response is SO important...my old sub was the r12sw, which had a frwq response down to 30hz...my new one, goes down to 16.5hz...its literally like an earthquake in movies

Vizio M Series 5.1.2 and call it a day. Great freaking soundbar for the money. Heck, it rivals my Samsung Q850 which is normally a $1000 system.

100%, best systems for the money and it's not even close.

Ya i like my 9.2.4 eArc 2 10” subs and 4 surrounds blends nice in a open concept kinda area. It was a almost 1800$ back when i got it for 200$ off an older couple a subwoofer plate fried so subs and surrounds didn’t work i called Nakamich ended up sending me 2 new plates for me to swap out after trying a couple things first. They didn’t chsrge me a dime just asked if it worked if i would send mine back w/shipping label they had sent so they could see what happened. You cant get much better customer care then that and they knew I bought it used. Also have a Vizio Mseries 5.1.2 and a jbl 9.1 i do like there 10” sub im using it as a blutooth speaker in my lil garage part of my basement.

The best stand alone is definitely the ambeo max. But I suspect with some creativity could use a surround unit despite your room configuration and if you can pull that off you can get some truly terrific sound for far less. The (VIZIO M Series 5.1.2) is amazing and can be found new for around $300 sometimes. I’ve seen them on the secondary market for $100. I promise you it is the best you can get dollar for dollar.

On 10/30/24 i purchased a brand new M-series Vizio 5.1 dolby atmos soundbar from walmart. This unit was brand new in the box, with all hardware still in sealed plastic bags. After setting up unit, it would not switch to the hdmi port consistently. Once it did, it would continue to switch from whatever imput to a random imput. I called the tech support. Gave them the serial number. They checked serial number and went thru over 40 minutes of troubleshooting before it was determined the unit was faulty out of the box. After checking, he determined I bought the unit that day, and it was under warranty. I was told I would get a unit the NEXT DAY ( I asked if I might get it by the next monday) He asked me to verify the purchase, by texting the reciept. I sent him a copy, he asked for a better version, sent him that. He approved the exchange. Got my email addrees, mailing address etc. Was told I would get an email regarding sending the unit back. I never received any phone call back, or email regarding the faulty product. So here we are Tuesday, November 5th and I still have not received the promised unit. THis company sold me a lemon. Now a week later, they tried to say i bought the product in July! After this over an hour on the phone with them approving giving me a WORKING UNIT! So, now they say my unit was not brand new, that it was bought before, and they do not have to do anything about giving me a broken BRAND NEW unit out of the box! They said deal with walmart. A I live 30 miles and a bridge away from Walmart. B They allready approved and never said anything about it being renewed when I was troubleshooting it! SO now they are selling renewed as new? Such horrible practice. I want a brand new working system like they promised! This is the worst. I bought a brand new product and now they dont want to give me a replacement because of the replacement cost. They also said they were going to give me this years model as well!

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

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.

I own number 6 and another Vizio one that isn't on here, the first version of the Elevate sound bar. The m series listed is in my bedroom and it's actually a pretty good soundbar I kind of wish the sub and the surrounds were slightly bigger but it still has a good sound stage with clear dialogue. The Dolby Atmos speakers are on the bar towards the center so it's kinda hard to make out over head effects without doing it virtually. The 2020 version of the Vizio Elevate is in my living room and it's an amazing soundbar! It's a 5.1.4 setup with the Atmos speakers on the bar and the rear surrounds facing up. The ones on the bar rotate up with Atmos is detected. The sub is 8" and it really packs a punch, can be a bit overpowered but you can turn it down to your liking. The sound stage is huge with clear dialogue and having 4 ceiling facing speakers for Atmos really helps hear anything that's mixed for over head effects. This soundbar doesn't really get much love but I think it's really great especially if you can find it on sale, it's normal price is $1,000 but right now Best Buy has it for $540 which is actually a great deal for this soundbar.

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

Vizio's sound bars are surprisingly great. I have an old 5.1 system. The only issue I've encountered is one where it shuts off randomly, but maybe the new systems like that one don't have that problem.

3.1.2 is the soundbar with 3 integrated speakers (Left, Center, Right), 1 subwoofer, and 2 upfiring speakers integrated into the soundbar that bounces sound off your ceiling. It will not give you real surround sound compared to a 5.1 or 5.1.2 atmos system. I would go with Vizio if you want surround sound (Left, Center, Right, Rear Left, Rear Right, Subwoofer). Vizio also has Atmos-Surround solutions with their Elevate series.