Review: Vizio Elevate SE 5.1.2 Soundbar

At a time when many of the best soundbar makers are seeking innovative ways to add more features, Vizio is doing less. The brand’s latest Elevate soundbar, the SE 5.1.2, is remarkably sparse on inputs, dodges Wi-Fi streaming and smart features, and supplants a physical remote with a unified app. The good news is, this feature yard sale is aimed straight at your wallet.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

In the age of hyperinflation, the Elevate SE provides convincing, even thrilling Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D-audio performance for $500 or less. The slim and stylish package includes components you won’t get from rivals at this price, like a dedicated subwoofer and dual surrounds. You’ll even get the signature spinning side speakers that set apart previous Elevate models, which face forward for stereo and traditional surround tracks and roll up toward the ceiling for an immersive dome of sound with 3D audio.

There's no shortage of ways to spend half a grand on sound, from higher-fidelity network-ready stand-alone soundbars to all-in-one powered bookshelf speakers that load up on inputs. That said, there are precious few comparably priced systems that spread the sound around like the Elevate SE, letting you simply sit back, strap in, and enjoy the immersion.

Curvy Cube Connection

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The Elevate SE comes in a succinct package that’s delightfully easy to haul into your TV room. You may be dubious that all the pieces could fit into such a compact box, but it’s all there, from the main bar’s fabric-wrapped tube to the cutest little oval-shaped surround speakers you’ll ever see. When I say all there, of course, I mean everything Vizio has provided—which doesn’t include a remote or, in the case of my review unit, any basic instructions.

Instead, I found a QR code for Vizio’s control app and a box of accessories with power cords, an HDMI cable, and the long-winding wires that connect the surround speakers to the pillar-shaped subwoofer. It’s all pretty intuitive to get going; the bar and sub connect automatically when plugged in, while labels on the surround speakers and color-coordinated cable tips assure proper configuration. The hardest part is running the speaker cables through your room, but Vizio thankfully provides ample length for most setups.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

TV connection is also straightforward, with only one option in HDMI eARC—just match the provided cable to the ARC input on both ends. There’s no optical input for older TVs, but since optical doesn’t support 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos that’s mostly a moot point. HDMI ARC also lets your TV remote automatically control soundbar power and volume. (Some older TVs may require turning on “CEC” in the settings.)

All other controls and settings are handled by the Vizio app, which connected to the bar over Bluetooth in seconds once I plugged it in.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Basic Controls

While I miss the option for a real remote, Vizio’s app is stable and relatively easy to navigate. The main screen provides basic EQ modes in Movie, Music, and Direct, with deeper options under the Personalize tab. I recommend choosing the Direct mode for starters (Movie is on by default). It's the most well balanced and, unlike the other modes, plays audio unaltered by effects or surround virtualization.

Tapping the Personalize tab provides settings like Bass and Treble, basic channel levels, and the seemingly useless “Cleardialog” setting. It's worth diving further into the Advanced Audio tab for all channel settings where you can balance the surrounds, subwoofer, and overhead effects with the center channel to put dialog out front. The Effects tab offers a few more options like Night Mode to quiet bass, and Virtual X surround virtualization, which is curiously on by default but feels superfluous in a multi-channel setup.

There’s no auto-calibration here, so it took some time balancing everything by ear, but I appreciate the system's array of options. Once I got things locked in, the Elevate SE’s components flowed together brilliantly. It didn’t take long before I had music, surround sound, and Dolby Atmos effects swinging around the room in concert.

There are a few quirks to Vizio’s minimalist setup. There’s no real way to gauge volume, for example. The onboard display’s single LED is nearly useless, and neither the app nor the TCL TV I'm currently reviewing gave any volume feedback. I also got tripped up swapping to Bluetooth at first, as the app's prominent Bluetooth key is only for initial pairing. After that, choosing Bluetooth in the input section up top wakes the bar from sleep and auto-pairs it to your device.

Without Wi-Fi, you’re foregoing fancier streaming options like Spotify Connect and AirPlay, or any form of voice control. The only other way to play is a USB port which technically supports WAV files from storage drives but offers no apparent way to control playback directly.

Dive In, Roll On

As basic as the Elevate SE is on the feature front, its four-piece configuration provides a front-row seat to immersive sound that stereo setups and stand-alone Dolby Atmos bars can’t match.

Firing up Skyfall immediately dropped me into the action. Bullets whizzed by my face, their rounds clinking off the concrete and reverberating throughout the room. The buzzy dirtbike chase careened through the soundstage from back to front and left to right with pulpy grit, while the whole room seemed to woosh through each tunnel as the combatants duked it out on top of a train. The subwoofer’s little 6-inch driver may not shake the room, but it brings some heady punch to everything from jet engines to explosions, and like the surround speakers, it blends fluidly with the main bar.

Adding the height element of Dolby Atmos (or DTS:X) predictably ramped things up further. With a stealthy spin of the Elevate’s side speakers, starships and helicopters glided seamlessly overhead as if strung on wires. The brutal outback of Star Wars Outlaw was immersive and engaging, precisely placing characters and effects. Throwing on Ant-Man, the sloshing water as Scott infiltrates the plumbing in the main heist seemed to spill out of the sides of the TV.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

There’s not a particularly notable level of finesse or fidelity to each individual element. Bass can be a bit smooshy, lacking the musicality and articulation found in pricier systems like the Samsung Q990D (8/10, WIRED Recommends) or even Vizio's original Elevate bar (9/10, WIRED recommends). Up above, dialog from the main bar can sound a bit flat and nasally in basic fare like sitcoms, especially when compared to stand-alone bars like Bose’s Smart Soundbar (8/10, WIRED Recommends) or Klipch’s Flexus Core 200 (8/10, WIRED Recommends).

The system steps up for higher-quality content, and maybe most notably, I rarely felt the need to raise the volume for dialog or lower it for bombastic moments. Vizio has done well balancing the sound signature across frequencies, making everything from the latest Severance episode to your favorite hip-hop and jazz tunes accessible and enjoyable.

When it’s all working together, the Elevate SE is a rip-roaring good time. You can go much cheaper for a surround-only setup in something like Vizio's 5.1 Soundbar SE (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but that leaves the height speakers out. If you want a true Dolby Atmos (and DTS:X) experience at $500 or less, Vizio’s latest Elevate keeps the dream alive.