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Vizio V Series V21-H8 vs Yamaha YAS-209

Vizio V Series V21-H8

Vizio V Series V21-H8

121 reviews

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Yamaha YAS-209

81 reviews

View Product Details

Best Soundbar Under $200 For Bass

RTINGS · The 5 Best Budget Soundbars

Best Cinematic Experience On a Tight Budget

TechGearLab · Best Sound Bar of 2022

#14 most mentioned

Reddit · r/soundbars

Great sound quality for the price

Powerful bass and expressive midrange

Easy to set up

Fast UI performance

Compact size, great for small spaces

Great sound quality for its price point

Well-balanced sound profile

Delivers big when listening to movie soundtracks with expertly placed surround sound effects

Amazon Alexa integration is a great extra feature

Easy to set up and use

Not ideal for linking other devices via Bluetooth

Reports of sound quality issues after some time of use

Remote can be difficult to open

Not as detailed as more expensive soundbars

Subwoofer is only a 6.25 inch driver

No HDMI ports

Verdict

The Vizio V Series V21-H8 is a great soundbar for the price, offering powerful bass and an expressive midrange. It is easy to set up and has a fast UI performance. However, it can be difficult to link other devices via Bluetooth and there have been reports of sound quality issues after some time of use.

Verdict

The Yamaha YAS-209 is an entry-level soundbar with a 2.1 setup that offers great sound quality for its price point. It has a well-balanced sound profile and delivers big when listening to movie soundtracks with expertly placed surround sound effects. Additionally, the Amazon Alexa integration is a great extra feature that makes it stand out from other similar products.

Reviews by Topic

Our analysis shows how reviewers feel about different topics. Please note these are not full reviews.

Sound Quality

youtube

DO NOT BUY - VIZIO V-Series 2.1 Home Theater Sound Bar With Wireless Subwoofer - Model V21-H8

It's the model number v821-h8 and it was at a pretty nice deal actually 159.99, not necessarily a steal of a deal based upon what costco can often giv...

Neutral

$400 range soundbar.

* Polk Audio Command Bar ← after tests, supposedly has high-end sound quality equal to the Sonos Beam and other expensive gear, could be interesting

Positive

reddit.com/r/Soundbars

Speakers

The Roku Smart Soundbar seemed like the perfect solution. I used it for a few weeks and ended up returning it. Here is what I experienced:

Positive

reddit.com/r/Roku

youtube

Yamaha YAS-209 Soundbar Review | Wireless Sub and Clear Voice

Erc is the preferred connection. It allows for the best sound, and it also allows you to control basic functions like power and volume from your TV re...

Positive

Speaker System

Vizio V21 review: Best soundbar under $200

5mm analog input and another, all-new 3.5mm connection for your "voice assistant speaker" (read: Amazon Echo Dot). Ty Pendlebury/CNETThe idea behind the "VA" (voice activated) input is noble enough. You connect your smart speaker to this port and the soundbar switches to the input automatically when it hears a command

Positive

Yamaha YAS-209 review: Great sound for TVs and music meets the convenience of Alexa

If you want to save a little money on an Alexa-powered speaker, though, it's worth considering the Polk Command Bar, especially if you can find it at $250. If there's only the usual $50 between them, I'd pick the Yamaha. It sounds better, it looks better and the microphones work more reliably when things get loud.

Positive

Connectivity

Do Vizio soundbars support changing the volume using Google Home?

I have v21 h8 and it is been very difficult to set up. Assistant can link via Bluetooth but then you cannot have other devices link to the soundbar. There is voice assistant aux in but sadly no ga gh product has 3.5 mm jack

Negative

reddit.com/r/googlehome

Very poor customer su[port from Yamaha

Also the you have to know how to reconnect the Alexa using mobile app if the network gets disconnected. All these, once you learn how, are manageable but require some technical expertise. Here is the frustration part. Yamaha tech support is very poor, a 1 star at best

Remote Control

Vizio Customer Service scores ZERO

After extensive research for soundbar/subwoofer ordered a Vizio. Pre-read quick guide prior to arrival. Got all & was baffled at remote being impossible to open, so after googling & still couldn’t open, called Vizio. Connection to wherever the call goes to was hardly audible, finally Rep suggested I use a small coin to pry the remote open, which I gently did, and the the ENTIRE remote fell apart with pieces flying everywhere, and her suggestion was then for me to just not use the remote

Waste of time and money

Yamaha used to be a decent company, but they should be ashamed of this product and their customer service. Updated review: managed to get Alexa and wifi to work after some back and forth with Yamaha via email. It seems to be functioning just fine now, and the Alexa system works okay. Still, I'm not convinced this was a good buy

Features

youtube

VIZIO V21-H8 36" SOUNDBAR W/ SUBWOOFER | COSTCO

Wireless subwoofer that looks top of the line, looks modern and small. You can place it anywhere in that room as well. Has the better options than the...

Positive

Harsh at high volumes

It is significantly better than the tv speakers though, and the Bluetooth is really well done, I can connect very easily and consistently from my phone. I haven't used the Alexa much but it does turn the volume up and down by voice command even at higher volumes, I'm impressed by that. Buying audio stuff without trying it first is always kind of a gamble, for the most part I'm happy with this but mostly the lack of being able to roll off the high pitches kind of kills this one. Otherwise I'm happy with it

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