Initially when I got this sound bar I was amazed by the virtual Dolby Atmos and DTS:X technology. I have vaulted ceilings so upfiring speakers would not work. However playing Dolby Atmos content I was able to hear some of those effects. However with everyday use I'm now really annoyed with the subwoofer and how boomy and out of control it has become. It's not just bad bass but a bunch of distortion as I've had to turn the subwoofer level all the way down. Also it still doesn't play well with my 43 inch Vizio MQ6 TV as the hdmi handshake takes forever upon startup leaving me with no sound briefly at times. I've even considered switching to optical instead and manually turning on the soundbar but that would remove get Atmos when watching movies. Vizio must do a better job with the software and firmware for these devices.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This was really easy to set up. The instructions were thorough and easy to follow as well. The left and right speakers can be wall mounted if wanted and come with the brackets. Included were the screws that go into the speakers but not the screws needed for the wall. It does list which screws to use though. Same goes for the sound bar. I didn't mount them. The manual shows the best placement and then the next best placement. I used the latter. I was hoping the little speakers would have been wireless, but the wires are extremely long and the cable ties were included for excess. The speakers and subwoofer don't connect to the sound bar and can be placed in another part of the room. The actual setup for the sound is a bit trickier. The remote has a ton of options and can be tweaked exactly to your liking. I guess I wouldn't say tricky, but a lot of time is needed to fiddle with all of the settings. The sound bar has a row of lights that represent levels for each component. The remote also has a digital display at top to show which part of the menu you're on. This system allows connection with different home assistant devices. As long as it has Bluetooth connectivity which is neat. The sound is amazing and I have to say that when movie mode is on it really does give a theater-like experience. I can feel the sound.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] If you’re looking for a sound bar with fantastic and advanced sound continue reading. I’m talking about the VIZIO 5.1 Sound Bar Speaker System M51a-H6. If you’re spending more time watching movies, you’ll be shopping for this unit this weekend. If you want ATMOS and DTX:X audio this sound bar package packs it with nine speakers, yes 9. A great combination of sound bar speakers, remote subwoofer, and surround sound speakers. One more GREAT point to keep you reading…shop, find it, and be absolutely surprised that you can get this quality at that price point. So as you can tell I’m thrilled with this sound bar and my VIZIO TV. Plug and go. It’s that easy. I have been a fan of large speaker systems that take up a ton of room, wires everywhere because I wanted the sound that I thought you could only get from that setup. More good news. All the sound you’ll want you get with this setup. In addition one remote and a powerful remote at that. If you don’t have a VIZIO TV I read that this remote can learn your TV remote to keep you at 1 remote. Total control with the remote. You control left, center, right, sub, surround, height speaker, effects, equalizer, inputs etc. One really nice element is a remote with a display. Makes it really easy to understand and control your environment. There are some cool things I haven’t done yet. I have used by smart speaker to control things but you can also connect your smart speaker directly to the sound bar. Last the accessory package has everything you might need. HDMI, optical, wall mounts, etc. Ever buy something and then need to order a cable or HDMI cable, or something else. They even provided cable ties to keep your surround sound speaker wire nice and neat. Bottom line, you’ll be thrilled.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] When trying to set up there are no definitions of the terminology or modes. I'm not conversant in most of the terms so it is confusing. I'd really like to know how to keep the commercials being so loud! I'd also like to see a display on the bar which has lcd words, not just different lights that take an interpreter to decipher

On the surface, this a great soundbbar. Sounds good, supports surround sound, HDMI ARC connectivity. The problem is getting it to properly connect with your TV over HDMI. At present this sound bar only connects properly to my Sony Bravia X90J TV about 70% of the time. It has gotten a lot better with the recent 1.2.0.3 firmware update (was only about 30% of the time before that). but it still has issues. The issues appear to be timing related. With HDMI connection, when you turn on the TV, the TV sends a command to the sound bar to turn it on as well. At some point after that, there is an HDMI handshake to setup the HDMI audio connection. This is where the timing issue comes in. If I have it setup for the TV and sound bar to come on at the same time, the HDMI audio handshake works about 70% of the time. When it does not work, the TV simply does not see the sound bar and reverts to using its own internal speakers. If I have the sound bar already awake/on when I ask the TV to look for the sound bar, it works 100% of the time. I have had repeated contact with the Vizio support team on this issue and every time I do, they want to walk me back through the basic support steps like is it plugged it, what kind of cable am I using, etc. This is a timing issue between the TV and the sound bar with the sound bar not being ready when the TV tries to communicate with it. I am hoping for another firmware update but it has been several months since the last one (July 2021) so I am loosing confidence that this will ever be fixed.

The sound quality of the entire system is magnificent! I watched Top Gun (1986) and even with a movie with not so great sound, it came through the speakers very nicely! You can hear the thunder of Jurassic Park's dinosaurs (especially the T-Rex's stomps). My issue is with the subwoofer intermittenly going on and off, which essentially effects the surround sound speakers it has attached. I still haven't figured how to best resolve this, so that is why I'm giving it 3 stars. It does get annoying that the surround sound goes on and off very often. They should give instructions on how far apart the subwoofer and base need to be. That is my next (and last) troubleshooting solution to do. I did take 2 stars for that because it is a two-tier issue. It effects the subwoofer and the speakers attached to it. If you can get it to work properly, you'll enjoy the sound quality for the price.

The M-Series soundbar was easy to connect and setup. It also looks very nice visually. I'm enjoying the quality of sound, and the subwoofer and surround speakers add depth, clarity and bass. The remote is nice and provides plenty of sound options depending on what each person enjoys. However I do find the remote a bit complicated with all the options and wish there were a phone app with few options. But overall I'm very pleased with the SB

I was pretty impressed with the heft of the unit,I truly expected the satellite speakers to be cheap little lightweight plastic things,to my surprise they are approx 2 lbs apiece and solid, sound great,the sub does very well,not an earth shaker,but good low end, I recommend it highly

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I got this system about two weeks ago and I’m loving it. The sounds bar looks great under my tv. The sounds system as a whole works great, I’ve watched a couple of movies since getting it and it feels like I’m sitting in a theater rather than my house. I also love the Bluetooth feature, it’s great for connecting my phone and playing music. I crank up the music while working out, this thing gets loud and it’s still crisp and clear audio. Great system overall I highly recommend!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Way too much bass for an apartment building even with the sub at minimum level is bothering me. After 2 days of exhausting tuning, I realized that it can't recognize the audio signal from my apple tv 4k if I change the app. If I see a DolbyAtmos movie on Apple tv+ and switch to Disney+ it recognizes the DolbyAtmos signal but the sound is very distorted like from a very deep tunnel. Always need a restart. Too many times the voices are missing at all. I always have to change the audio source because I use a Xbox. After all good reviews I expected a more plug and play situation.