ZVOX SB380 Soundbar for TV with AccuVoice Dialogue Boost, Aluminum Soundbar with Built-in Subwoofer, Wall Mountable Home Speaker Bar for Clearer Sound, 35.5" TV Sound Bar

This sound bar is super easy to set up if you have digital optical out on your television. We recently replaced an aging Sony SXRD projection TV and picked up a TCL 55S405 55” 4K set. The sound on the TCL model was not good, not that the Sony was great, but it made it difficult to hear people speaking clearly. We would turn it up to hear the voices and then we’d have to quickly turn it down once action or music started, annoying to say the least.I did some quick research and this looked like what we needed as I didn’t want a separate subwoofer in the bedroom. I ordered it and it arrived quickly. Unfortunately the first one I received was dead on arrival. :-( So I contacted Amazon and for the first time in dealing with them, they were not helpful at all and told me that they would contact the seller since it was third party and call me the next day. They never called me back so I contacted ZVOX who is the seller and they arranged a replacement to be shipped out to me. If I had known it’d take five days to get the new speaker, I would have requested to return the item for a refund and reordered from Amazon for the two-day shipping.Set upOnce the replacement speaker arrived I quickly hooked it up hoping we didn’t receive another dud. It is so simple to hook up, you can just use the supplied optical audio cable or RCA stereo cable. We used the optical for the superior performance, going from the TV to the sound bar OPT 1 (it has two optical in ports) and plugged in the power. The speaker lights up this time which put a smile on my face.We didn’t want the TV speakers to be on now so I went into the TV settings and turned the internal speakers off. Then followed the short instruction list of features and settings. After putting the supplied batteries in the remote I went through the various settings until settling on the Accuvoice and Output Leveling. The thing I didn’t know about was that the sound bar can learn your remote and you don’t need the sound bar remote unless you want to change sound settings. So in less than five minutes I had the TCL remote controlling the sound bar. The sound bar turns on and off with the TV and I can turn the volume up and down plus mute. That is all I really need. Now my wife is happy since there is no complication to just using the TV. It even has settings for placing it facing up, sitting on a shelf facing toward the listening area or mounted on the wall to enhance the sound of each set up.SoundThe ZVOX SB380 sounds great, especially compared to the built in TV speakers. The voices are clear and legible and we no longer have to turn it up and down constantly. It won’t replace a real surround setup, but that is not what it was made for. There is plenty of low end for a bedroom, but you will need a separate subwoofer if you really want big bass. We love this thing for it’s simple setup and design.

My mom is pretty hard to buy for. But this last time I visited I knew this might be a great gift. Everytime I visit her we watch a little tv and the volume is always going up and down to accommodate her aging ears. I wasn't sure if it was a gimmick or not - but they have a 30 day return so I thought I'd give it a go. This was replacing an LG soundbar that didn't solve the her hearing issue. Setting it up was pretty easy - there is unfortunately no HDMI, I knew that before buying however. Once it was set up I could tell the difference instantly, the voices were much clearer and this was on the lowest boost (AC1) - My mom asked me what I thought and I stressed to her what matters is what she thinks. I was able to stay for a couple days after setting it up. We pretty quickly bumped it to AC2, and turned on the sound leveling. Right now it's on AC3. I don't know any other way to say this... each increase of the AC level makes it sound less hi-hi / theater like to my ears but again, that's not the point.The first evening with AC set to one, Sound leveling Off, and Surround set to 1 (we never changed the surround level), We barely touched the volume, but she did mention how some things were loud - So I turned on the sound leveling, which definitely impacts the 'theater quality' and bumped the AC to level 2. My Brother came over and he too immediately noticed the difference, commenting that is sounded clear and much better than the old sound bar. Yet there where still a few times we played with the volume so I bumped the AC to level 3. and this is where it was when I left. This soundbar has 6 levels for accuvoice, Zvox makes soundbars with just AC on or off... I wonder what level the is equivalent to? In the end we watched TV with the sound on '11' which was *maybe* one level higher than I would have listened, certainly not as loud as my Mom used to listen at, and with her hearing more of the content.The remote was quite a bit nicer than I expected, but Mom won't be needing it as the soundbar can learn your TVs Power, Volume up, Volume down, and Mute and respond to them. This is one spot where the documentation fails slightly - For one thing the directions for setting this up are not included I had to download them... Oh and a side note, they brag about the one page of directions - yes they are one page, one very large page printed on both sides and folded six times (yeah, marketing people) - Anyhow back to the programming the sound bar to respond to your TV - you need to download the directions from there website. and then the directions won't work, it simply will not enter 'learning' mode. Well the missing detail from the direction is the sound bar must be OFF at the beginning of the setup. It didn't take me long to figure that out, but it should have been clearly stated. (I did try it a few times using first the remote then the physical buttons before discovering it needed to be OFF first - at which point the remote or the physical buttons worked)So in short - super happy - it sounds great, it does sound better with the AC lower and the sound leveling off, but it still sounds great as i configured it for my mom - and that was the whole point. Does my mom hear every word now? no - But we can watch tv quieter than we used to, and we adjust the volume significantly less then before (like 90% less)We are thinking of getting this sound bar for my mother-in-law as well. And I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for anyone that is looking at getting a sound bar in general. Personally, I have a Marantz AV receiver and lots of speakers - but for a sound bar this thing sounds great - and better than the $150ish sound bar we got from the big box store.BTW I purchased https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DW1XOCY/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_F84cEb6F6FJF8 to mount it under my moms TV

I wanted something that'd improve the clarity of speech foremost, but then I got greedy. I also wanted more dynamic, louder bass, but without an additional subwoofer. I also wanted ease of installation and of use. The ZVOX SB380 has taken care of all these things.Speech is clearer, even without activating the 'accuvoice' feature. The bass isn't as powerful as some setups with an external sub, but lows still rumbles beautifully and fill my small living room with gentle and yet substantial reverberation that is difficult to describe. The overall sound of this setup is of a quality truly far removed, and above that of default television speakers. It's not just that its louder, it brings the audio to life, like you all of a sudden have the hearing of some predatory animal; small things stand out, a footfall on grass, a bullet wizzing overhead, the hum of a space shuttle's interior, everything, every sound flourishes most beautifully, yet effortlessly somehow.A breeze to set up. Once you program your remote to control the sounder ( an extremely easy and well thought out task) the convenience of this thing stands out even further. The remote it comes with is rather flimsy, small and unobtrusive-not to mention responsive, and like I said; you won't hardly need it once you program your own ( took 6 minutes).There may be better options out there for what you're looking for. If you want crystal clear audio with beautifully balanced surround sound and quality, if not thumping, bass in a single unit, this is your sound bar! Oh! the unit is quit a bit larger than other sounders but can be configured to lay flat with speakers facing up if you like. Buy it!!!