Vizio M Series M213ad-K8 Soundbar Review

The Vizio M Series All-in-One is a sleek standalone bar with a trapezoidal design that resembles the Vizio M Series M21d-H8R. It's made of plastic, and it's wrapped in tight cloth. The controls are on the side of the bar.

There's no external subwoofer; however, there are two subwoofers integrated into the bar itself.

The Vizio M Series All-In-One is fairly wide, though it should still fit between the legs of most 55" TV stands. It isn't very tall, so it doesn't block your TV screen.

It has a good build quality. The bar is mostly made of plastic, which feels solid and sturdy. It's wrapped in cloth, and the fit is tight, so it doesn't seem like it rips easily when you handle it. It's likely to collect dust over time, though.

• Manuals
• Wall mount template
• 2x wall mount brackets
• Remote and batteries (2x AAA)
• Power cable (8.0 ft / 2.4m)
• HDMI cable (4.9 ft / 1.5m)

The Vizio M Series All-in-One has a decent stereo frequency response. It's fairly balanced in the mids, so voices and lead instruments in music are clearly reproduced, and you don't have trouble hearing dialogue in your favorite TV shows. There's a little extra emphasis in the high bass to bring some punch to the mix. It's suitable for most types of stereo content, including TV shows as well as most music genres.

However, fans of bass-heavy music genres like EDM and hip-hop will be disappointed by the lack of low bass. The integrated subs are a nice touch, but they still can't bring as much rumble as setups with a dedicated subwoofer, like the Vizio M Series M215a-J6.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One has bass and treble adjustments to help you switch up its sound based on your preferences. However, if you like a more balanced sound, we recommend using its default settings.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One has a fair stereo soundstage. The soundstage is perceived to be a touch wider than the bar itself, but it doesn't have any tricks to make it seem wider than that. Its focus is just okay, so sound effects like instruments in an orchestral recording seem to come from more general areas, as opposed to each instrument seeming like it comes from a specific location that matches where the musician sits on stage.

The Vizio M Series All-In-One gets quite loud, so you don't have any issues filling a large, open space with sound. However, when you push it to max volume, there's quite a bit of compression. You'll want to listen at a more moderate level for a clear and pure audio reproduction.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One is a 2.1 bar, so it doesn't have a discrete center channel. Instead, it uses its left and right stereo channels to mimic a phantom center. Vocal clarity isn't quite as impressive as what you find with bars that have discrete centers. Still, you don't have any issues following the dialogue on screen, as the frequency response is fairly balanced in the mids where most voices reproduce.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One has to downmix 5.1 surround sound formats like Dolby Digital into stereo to play them. The resulting sound isn't very clear and real sounding, as sound effects don't seem to stretch into the space around you. Instead, it seems like audio is coming from a speaker placed in front of you.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One is one of the few bars in this price range that supports Dolby Atmos content. Atmos is designed to make it seem like sound stretches all around you, above you, and behind you. However, since it's a 2.1 bar, it has to downmix Atmos content into stereo, so you can't take advantage of this technology. Sound effects are clearly reproduced thanks to the balanced frequency response, but you don't get the feeling that they're happening in the space around you. Instead, sound seems focused in the space in front of you. You don't notice a lot of rumble in the bass during action-packed scenes, either.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One has the same selection of sound enhancement features as the Vizio M Series M21d-H8R. It's a budget bar, so you don't have a room correction feature. As a result, it sounds a little different depending on the room you're in. That said, you can account for this a bit using its bass and treble adjustments and its presets: Movie, Music, Game, Direct, and Dialogue. Dialogue doubles as a voice enhancement feature, too.

The bar connects to your TV over Optical or HDMI. It also has an AUX VA port, which you can use to connect third-party devices to control the bar with your voice, like an Amazon Echo or Google Nest.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One supports many audio formats over ARC. You're likely to come across both Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos content on most streaming platforms, while DTS is more common on Blu-rays.

The bar supports many audio formats over HDMI In. It supports surround sound formats like Dolby Digital as well as lossless and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos. However, it has to downmix this content into stereo to play it.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One can playback Dolby Digital and DTS over Optical. You'll find these formats on many streaming platforms and Blu-rays.

Audio latency is excellent over an ARC connection. The audio you hear is in sync with the video on screen with lots of commonly found audio formats like Dolby Digital. Some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently, though.

Audio latency also falls within good limits over a Full HDMI In connection. You don't notice lip-synching errors with common audio formats like Dolby Digital or Dolby Atmos. Some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently, though.

Audio latency is a bit higher over an Optical connection, which you may need to use if you're connecting the bar to an older TV. Especially with Dolby Digital content, you're likely to notice some lip-synching issues. Some apps and TVs compensate for this differently, though.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One can passthrough some of the highest-quality bandwidth signals, including Dolby Vision Passthrough. Text on the screen appears clear and crisp when you connect the bar between two different devices, like a TV and a PC.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One lets you wirelessly stream audio to the bar via Bluetooth.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One doesn't have a display. Instead, there are some lights on the front of the bar that illuminate and fade depending on the commands you input. You can see the manual to learn the different patterns it displays. Also, when you change the EQ mode or switch to another input, the bar provides audio feedback.

There are some buttons on the right side of the bar. You can use them to power it on and off, change the input, activate Bluetooth pairing, and adjust the volume.

It's a simple remote that lets you control all of the bar's features. It has a similar design to other Vizio remotes; however, unlike the Vizio M Series M21d-H8R, there's no display screen included.

The Vizio M Series All-in-One doesn't have built-in voice assistant support. That said, if you own a third-party voice assistant device with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant capabilities, you can plug it into the bar using the AUX VA port. From there, you can control the bar with your voice.