As mentioned, the Zvox Z-Base 550 is sturdy enough to support up to a 90-pound display. Likewise, the base of TVs sitting atop the 550 should be no larger than the unit itself--Zvox recommends avoiding TVs with bases larger than 27 inches by 13 inches. The big advantage to the 550's design is that you don't have to worry about wall mounting, and--the dirty secret of many other "just sit it in front of your TV" soundbars--the 550 won't block the TV's remote control IR receiver.
The Z-Base 550 is sold on Zvox's Web site with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you don't like it, send it back and Zvox will send a full refund--including the original UPS ground shipping fees. The Z-Base 550 is also available from a limited number of dealers in the northeast United States.
Performance
Zvox doesn't claim the Z-Base 550 sounds like a bona-fide 5.1 channel system, but it's a gigantic step up from the speakers built into TVs. That's why we started our evaluations comparing the sound of the Zvox with a Vizio VO32L. Oh boy, the Mission Impossible III Blu-ray instantly sounded like a slam-dunk win for the Z-Base 550. The action sequences had credible impact and dynamics; switching over to the Vizio's puny speakers the sound was extremely harsh and dialog intelligibility was stymied by the TV's hollow sound. Of course, the Vizio was severely bass challenged compared with the Z-Base 550.
We also liked that the Z-Base 550 didn't require any fussing or setup adjustments, as soon as we made the connections it sounded fine. The built-in subwoofer really does produce a full sound, though its definition was on the soft side of neutral.
Unlike most sound bar speakers that don't provide much in the way of tone controls, you can dial-in the Z-Base 550's bass/subwoofer volume in nine steps. There are also nine discrete steps of treble adjustment at your disposal. The PhaseCue is equally adjustable, but if you add too much, the sound loses focus. Set to the minimum level you hear stereo, we used PhaseCue in the middle range to open up the soundstage, well out to the sides of the speaker.
The performances running through the Tony Bennett: American Classic DVD demonstrated the Z-Base 550's refinement. The orchestral string tone sounded nice and warm, and the speaker did a great job with the various duets with singers such as K.D. Lang and Diana Krall.
We finished up with a shoot-out with the $500 Denon DHT-FS5 soundbar and used the Mission Impossible III Blu-ray to sort out the differences. The Denon had greater overall clarity and produced a much larger, room-filling soundfield than the Zvox. That said, the Zvox had a richer, bigger sound, and dialog was more naturally balanced. With the Denon voices sounded a little thin. We liked both units for different reasons, but we'd give the nod to the Denon.
What You'll Pay
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