The Vizio V Series V51x-J6 is a budget-friendly 5.1 soundbar and the next generation of the Vizio V Series V51-H6. It's one of the few setups in its price range that includes discrete satellites, which you can place around your couch to get a more immersive surround sound. Its subwoofer is a little smaller than its predecessor, but it's still designed to pack a punch with sound effects and bass-heavy tunes. Plus, you can plug in a voice assistant device to control the bar with your voice, which is a cool touch.
Our Verdict
The Vizio V51x-J6 is satisfactory for mixed usage. Dialogue in TV shows and podcasts is clear and accurate in the mix right out of the box, and voices and other instruments in your favorite music are even and balanced. A little extra punch in the bass range adds some excitement to the mix. It's also a great choice for 5.1 surround sound formats like Dolby Digital, thanks to its discrete satellites. However, without Atmos support, you can't take advantage of some of the most immersive formats on the market.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Gets loud.
- No graphic EQ.
- No height channels.
The Vizio V51x-J6 is good for dialogue-centric content like TV shows and podcasts. Since it's a 5.1 setup, there's a discrete center channel that's designed to improve vocal reproduction. Dialogue is clearly reproduced, so it's easy to follow the action on-screen. Plus, its dialogue enhancement tool is on hand if you want to make voices more crisp. However, you're limited to Bluetooth connectivity if you want to stream podcasts to the bar.
- Supports Bluetooth.
- Dialogue enhancement feature.
- Doesn't support Wi-Fi, Chromecast built-in, or Apple AirPlay connectivity.
The Vizio V51x-J6 is decent for music. Voices and lead instruments in your favorite tracks are reproduced with clarity right out of the box, making it suitable for listening to lots of different genres. There's a little extra punch in the high bass, too, which adds some excitement to the mix. You can even customize its output by adjusting its bass and treble. That said, there's slightly less low bass than last year's model, which is disappointing if you love to feel the rumble in genres like EDM and hip-hop.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Gets loud.
- No graphic EQ.
The Vizio V51x-J6 is fair for movies. It's one of the only bars in its price range with discrete satellite speakers, which are a great tool for enhancing the cinematic feel of your favorite movies. Sound effects stretch into the space around you, just like in the movie theater, and dialogue and other effects are clearly reproduced. That said, you can't take advantage of the most immersive height formats like Dolby Atmos, which is disappointing if you watch a lot of content on streaming platforms.
- Gets loud.
- No height channels.
Changelog
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Updated Oct 24, 2024:
We've added a comparison between this soundbar and the Vizio SV510X-0806 in Audio Format Support: ARC/eARC.
- Updated Sep 03, 2024: Updated Stereo Dynamics, Stereo Frequency Response With Preliminary Calibrations, Surround 5.1 results with new methodology from Test Bench 1.3 and accompanying text. Added text to Audio Latency: ARC, and Audio Latency: Optical boxes.
- Updated Aug 28, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench Update 1.3. If applicable, we've retested stereo sound based on the manufacturer's recommendations. Additionally, we've expanded our audio latency tests to the following boxes: Audio Latency: ARC, Audio Latency: HDMI In, and Audio Latency: Optical. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Jan 05, 2024: Added market comparison for the Hisense AX5125H in the Height (Atmos) box.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
This soundbar comes in Black, and you can see the label for the model we tested here.
If you come across another version, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Vizio V51x-J6 is a 2021 soundbar that's the next generation of the Vizio V Series V51-H6. It lets you plug in a third-party voice assistant-enabled device and control it with your voice. However, it doesn't support Dolby Atmos content and lacks a Full HDMI In port.
See our recommendations for the best 5.1 soundbars, the best budget soundbars, and the best Vizio soundbars.
The Vizio V Series V51x-J6 and the Vizio SV510X-0806 are both compact 5.1 soundbar setups. Overall, the 2024 Vizio SV510X-0806 offers a bit more bang for your buck due to its Atmos compatibility, improved surrounds performance, and ability to integrate with Vizio TVs. The older Vizio V Series V51x-J6 model features optical support, though, which is a bonus for older TV owners. Beyond this, there's not much to split the two when it comes to performance, so both are viable choices.
The Vizio M Series M512a-H6 is better than the Vizio V Series V51x-J6. The M Series is a better-built setup that supports Dolby Atmos content. It has a better soundstage and performance and can reproduce a more extended low bass. However, the V Series has better surround performance.
The Vizio V Series V51-H6 is a bit better for mixed usage than the Vizio V Series V51x-J6. The V51-H6 gets louder, and it reproduces a more extended low bass, meaning you can feel more thump and rumble in your audio.
The Sonos Arc is better for mixed usage than the Vizio V Series V51x-J6. The Sonos is better built and supports Dolby Atmos content. It also has a room correction feature and better soundstage performance. It has built-in voice assistant support, though you'll have to purchase a separate third-party device to use voice assistants with the Vizio. However, the Vizio comes with EQ presets.
Test Results
