The Vizio M Series M215a-J6 is a budget-friendly 2.1 setup released in 2021. Like other models in the manufacturer's M Series lineup, it supports lots of different audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, which is commonly found on most streaming platforms. Given its more affordable price, it comes with fewer features than the Vizio M Series M51ax-J6 or the Vizio M Series M512a-H6—there are no rear satellites included to improve its surround sound, for example, and it doesn't have a discrete center to improve vocal clarity. That said, it remains a versatile offering for its budget price tag.
Our Verdict
The Vizio M215A-J6 is good for mixed usage. Overall, this simple 2.1 bar is ideal for listening to music, with a balanced sound that ensures voices and instruments are clear and present in the mix. It has a typical selection of enhancement tools compared to other bars in its price range, like bass and treble adjustments. While it tries to stand out from the competition with its additional features, including Dolby Atmos support, unfortunately, it's not as good as its competition for movies and TV shows. There are lip-synching issues due to high latency, and the lack of rumble in the low-bass takes away from the immersive feel. If you mostly listen to music but still want a versatile bar, it's a fair choice—however, movie lovers will want something more premium.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Gets loud.
- Dolby Atmos support.
- Lacks low-bass.
- High latency over all connections.
The Vizio M215A-J6 is great for dialogue-focused TV shows and podcasts. It's a 2.1 setup, so it doesn't come with a discrete center—however, voices remain clear and present in the mix, and you don't have trouble following along with the action on screen. There's even a dialogue enhancement tool on hand to make voices more clear and crisp. Unfortunately, the bar's latency is high, so you'll notice a bit of a delay between the audio you hear and the visuals on screen, especially when characters are speaking. You have to focus to notice the issue, so it may not be a deal breaker, but it's worth noting if you're sensitive to lip-synching issues.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Dialogue enhancement feature.
- High latency over all connections.
The Vizio M215A-J6 is good for music. The bar offers a balanced sound, especially in the mids, which is where most voices and lead instruments reproduce. As a result, it's suitable for listening to most music genres, and you get a detailed sound that's pleasant to the ears. You can even customize its sound using its bass and treble adjustments, which is nice. It gets loud enough to fill larger rooms with sound, too. However, the bar struggles to reproduce the deep rumble with bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop, so you don't feel the floor shake when you listen to these types of music.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Gets loud.
- Lacks low-bass.
The Vizio M215A-J6 is decent for movies. Although it's a 2.1 bar, it supports a lot of different audio formats, including Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos content. Both are commonly found on streaming platforms as well as Blu-ray discs. That said, the bar has to downmix these formats into stereo to play them, so you can't take advantage of the immersive technology within. The lack of bass is evident in action-packed scenes, and you notice some delay with lip-synching due to the high latency. It's a versatile bar, but unfortunately, it doesn't reproduce high-quality movies as well as other options on the market.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Dolby Atmos support.
- Lacks low-bass.
- High latency over all connections.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 11, 2022: Added the Vizio M Series M215aw-K6 as a Market Comparison to the Latency box.
- Updated Oct 20, 2022: Added a market comparison with the Vizio V Series V214x-K6 to the 'Height (Atmos)' box.
- Updated Sep 27, 2022: Added market comparison for the Vizio M Series M213ad-K8 to the 'Style - Subwoofer' box.
- Updated Sep 22, 2022: Review published.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Vizio M215A-J6 is available in 'Black', and you can see the label for the model we tested here.
If you come across another version of the Vizio M215A-J6, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Vizio M215A-J6 is a 2.1 soundbar released in 2021. Despite its budget-friendly price point, it offers versatile performance, as it supports more immersive object-based formats like Dolby Atmos. As with the comparable TCL Alto 8i, its Atmos performance isn't very impressive, but it's probably the best you can get for the price. That said, for a little extra, you can find a much more immersive sound with the Vizio M Series M51a-H6 or the Vizio M Series M51ax-J6.
See also our recommendations for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, the best budget soundbars, and the best Vizio soundbars.
The Vizio V Series V51-H6 and the Vizio M Series M215a-J6 have two different setups, and, based on your listening habits, you may prefer one over the other. The V Series is an affordable 5.1 setup with rear satellites included, unlike the M Series, so it's much better for listening to surround sound. That said, unlike the M Series, it doesn't support Dolby Atmos content. The M Series' Atmos performance isn't the most impressive, though.
The Vizio M Series M215a-J6 is a better 2.1 bar than the Vizio V Series V21-H8. They're both budget-friendly options, but only the M Series supports Dolby Atmos content. Its default sound is also more balanced out-of-the-box, so you don't notice as much extra boom in the bass. That said, if you don't watch a lot of Atmos movies, you may prefer the more affordable V Series.
The TCL Alto 8i and the Vizio M Series M215a-J6 are both budget-friendly setups with Dolby Atmos support; however, the Vizio is better overall. Since it comes with a dedicated subwoofer, it can reproduce more low-bass, so you feel more rumble in action-packed scenes. There are more sound enhancement features on hand to customize it, as well as DTS support, which the TCL lacks. Neither bar offers a stellar Atmos performance, but they're an affordable alternative to more premium options on the market.
The Vizio M Series M51a-H6 is a 5.1 soundbar that offers better overall performance than the 2.1 Vizio M Series M215a-J6. The 5.1 option has two rear satellites, dramatically improving its performance with Atmos and surround sound. Its discrete center channel means that it has greater vocal clarity, too. The 2.1 is a fair option if you just listen to stereo content, like most music, as it's a more affordable choice. That said, the 5.1 Vizio performs better overall.
Test Results
