After the Black Friday frenzy, there are still sound bar deals out there if you know where to look, and what to look for. For example, VIZIO's highly rated S4251w-B4 5.1-channel soundbar system is available now on Amazon (in stock) for $180 - that's $150 below its regular list price (35% off) with free shipping.
Here's the link (click through to view current price/availability):
Sound bars are great at improving the quality of TV sound without the need for a complicated entertainment system with lots of speakers. But one thing you normally can't get with a sound bar is a real sense of surround sound: sound that comes not just in front of you, but behind you as well, like it does in a movie theater. There's only so much you can do with a single speaker in the front of your room.
But the VIZIO s4251wB4 gets around this problem by including a pair of wireless rear speakers that you can place behind your couch on a wall or a bookshelf to give you rear discrete surround sound. They say "wireless" but technically the rear speakers are connected via a wire to the wireless subwoofer module that is included with the soundbar. The only other option would be to include amps in the speakers themselves which would require that the rear speakers be plugged into a power source. With VIZIO's solution, you can put the wireless subwoofer in a corner or somewhere near the rear wall, and just run thin speaker wires from the sub to the rear channel speakers. Because bass sounds are fairly non-directional, you won't know that the sub isn't near the main speakers, you'll just hear (and feel) the low bass during those intense action scenes or anywhere else the music or video content needs it.
According to VIZIO, the unit can crank out up to 102 dB SPL (Sound Pressure Level) with less than 1% of total harmonic distortion. It includes Dolby Digital and DTS decoding on board and includes two digital and two analog inputs, as well as Bluetooth connectivity to your phone or tablet. On most TVs, connection is as simple as a single optical digital cable, so you won't have to work too hard to get it set up.
Our own Ken Sander reviewed its big brother, the slightly newer model S5451w-C2, and found that it offered "nicely balanced sound for both music and movies." This specific model (the S4521w-B4) was reviewed by CNET and earned 8.1 out of 10 (9.0 for sound quality). Read the full CNET review here. So getting one for almost 50% off is a steal.
By the way, the S4251w-B4 is brand new, but it was first released in 2013. Amazon has the 2015 model on sale now also, for $228 (or $198 if you're an Amazon Prime customer). Here's the link to the 2015 version:
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