The Zbase 550 from Zvox
A hot trend in home audio is to create surround-sound environment without stringing speakers (and speaker wire) across the house. Thanks to an explosion of products known as sound bars and single-cabinet speaker systems, it has become pretty easy to add a quality sound system without ruining the decor.
Better, set up is a snap.
These systems don’t provide perfect sound since they do not include the rear speakers that best emulate a theater-like experience. Yet they are quite nimble — appropriate for the living room or a bedroom — and deliver a big, defined sound that makes watching DVDs or TV a more robust experience.
The best part is the do-it-yourself aspect to the set-up. While many people have a dedicated room for a true home theater experience set up by a professional — with viewing chairs and rear speakers – these systems are designed for the everyday rooms in your house where placing a series of speakers is a hassle and unsightly. With a sound bar or single-cabinet speaker, the wires are contained to where your TV is placed.
Sound bars are long and thin and look like short poles. They are designed to mount underneath a wall-mounted flat-panel TV. Like most audio products, prices vary significantly. Some models include built-in subwoofers while others do not. Also, many can plug directly into your TV or DVD player and do not require an audio receiver.
Sound bars come from top audio makers like Denon, Yamaha and Polk Audio. Even Vizio, known for making affordable flat-screen TVs, has jumped into the game with a lower cost, well-reviewed model.
We use a single-cabinet speaker system in our house, the the Zbase 550 from Zvox.
My TV sits on top of the Zbase, a slim rectangular box only 3.5-inches tall. With the TV on top, the black Zbase looks like it shipped with the TV. The sleek box has no controls. It comes with a remote — not very good, unfortunately — but it is easy to route audio controls through your TV’s existing remote.
Zvox developed a technology it calls “PhaseCue” to create a virtual surround sound effect. The Zbox is wired through the Blu-ray player connected to the TV. It sounds amazingly good and set-up took less than 15 minutes.
It is a sound-plus-style solution that has made family movie night a more theatrical experience everyone enjoys.
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[...] particular those who appreciate great sound. A more affordable solution to better sound is the Zbase 550 from Zvox, a product I reviewed last [...]
[...] particular those who appreciate great sound. A more affordable solution to better sound is the Zbase 550 from Zvox, a product I reviewed last [...]
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