There are two causes you want a soundbar in your lounge. First, your TV’s built-in audio system aren’t superb. Second, TV dialogue may be exhausting to listen to (see cause one). Absolutely you’ve got observed that typically it’s a must to crank the amount simply to catch what’s being stated, after which the whole lot else appears method too loud. Any soundbar will assist, however the Zvox AV357 will assist a lot: It is particularly designed to spice up voices. Initially priced at $350, the Zvox AV357 is at the moment on sale for simply $150 — the bottom value on report.
ZVOX
Zvox AV357 24″ Wooden TV Soundbar
$150$250Save $100
Bored with studying closed-captions? The Zvox AV357 options 12 ranges of voice-boosting goodness, so you’ll be able to catch each spoken phrase, no studying required. That is the bottom value within the product’s historical past.
$150 at Amazon
Zvox has plenty of these “AccuVoice” soundbars in its lineup, however the AV357 is certainly one of few that is enclosed in a wood-veneer case. If you happen to’re not a fan of the everyday black-metal look of most electronics, you may discover this a greater match in your décor.
It measures 24 inches vast and is designed to sit down in entrance of your TV; this explicit soundbar cannot be wall-mounted, not until you provide your individual shelf for it.
Zvox provides one of many higher instruction manuals I’ve seen, with huge print, clear illustrations and plenty of setup info. It clearly explains how the soundbar connects to your TV’s optical audio port. Sadly, there isn’t any HDMI choice right here, which means you won’t be capable of management the soundbar along with your present TV or cable-box distant — not with out a little hoop-jumping anyway. The AV357 may be manually programmed to just accept quantity and mute instructions from most clickers.
If you happen to do not need to fiddle with that, Zvox’s distant is great, with clearly labeled tactile buttons.
The unit consists of three audio system in complete, together with a middle one which’s particularly for voices. There’s additionally some digital wizardry at work within the type of Zvox’s AccuVoice tech, which helps to actually isolate and improve dialogue. Though I have never examined this precise mannequin, I’ve tried a number of different Zvox audio system (together with one which made Yahoo’s checklist of one of the best soundbars of 2023), and belief me once I say AccuVoice works very well. There’s additionally an output-leveling characteristic designed to decrease the amount of TV commercials and three ranges of digital encompass sound (although utilizing the latter will disable AccuVoice).
I notably like the big, easy-to-read LED show on the entrance of the soundbar. It makes use of numbers to indicate quantity stage and abbreviations that will help you by way of mode alternatives.
My solely actual criticism is the dearth of Bluetooth connectivity; you’ll be able to’t use this as a speaker to stream music out of your telephone or pill. (Zvox touts an “Alexa-ready” characteristic, however that simply means plugging in an Amazon Echo speaker.)
That limitation apart, the Zvox AV357 is a wonderful alternative for older TV viewers or anybody battling listening to points. And at this value it is exhausting to move up.
ZVOX
Zvox AV357 24″ Wooden TV Soundbar
$150$250Save $100
Bored with studying closed-captions? The Zvox AV357 options 12 ranges of voice-boosting goodness, so you’ll be able to catch each spoken phrase, no studying required. That is the bottom value within the product’s historical past.
$150 at Amazon
When you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free delivery, in fact. Not but a member? No drawback. You may join your free 30-day trial right here. (And by the way in which, these with out Prime nonetheless get free delivery on orders of $25 or extra.)
Initially revealed
