Vizio has always been a practical, consumer-driven company focused on delivering high value at the lower end of the market. Its S3851W sound bar lives up to that legacy, offering excellent value and true 5.1 surround sound in an easy to set up package priced at just $279 (about £171, AU$312).

The whole reason sound bars exist is to do one (or more) of three things: save space, save money and/or make setup easy. For the ease of setup, many sound bars offer so-called "virtual surround," a technique that uses multiple drivers in the front unit to bounce sound off the walls and ceiling to create the illusion of rear speakers without having to run wires or do any mounting.

Vizio, however, takes a different approach with the S3851W. The unit houses conventional left, center and right channels in the front unit, then wirelessly pairs to a powered subwoofer in the back of the room that drives two rear speakers that wire directly in to it.