VIZIO 54" 5.1 Sound Bar System

I own the S5451w-C2 (54") and the SB4051-C0 (40") versions of this sound bar. They're both good for what they do, but wow, the 54" version is heads and tails above the 40" version in clarity, separation of sound, range, looks, and just about everything else. It's probably about the best-sounding bar I've ever experienced, especially at this price. S5451w-C2: I have mine under a 55" TV, but that means it sticks out a few extra inches on each side. The sound bar itself looks great; it's got nice beveling on the sides, the Vizio logo is simple and understated, and the LED feedback on the bar itself looks professional. Very well-done. It's sitting on a mantle above our fireplace under the TV, and even with the extra width, it still looks pretty good... but this sound bar is sized exactly for a 60" TV. If you have that size television, it will match the width and look fantastic, although it should look good with a larger size TV, too. The sound from this thing is phenomenal! It fills our large-ish living room with sound, and with a sub that's bigger than the other (smaller) Vizio sound bars and with larger surround speakers (both rear and in the bar itself), you can really tell the difference in quality. The width of the bar allows for proper right/left separation, giving you a more true stereo effect than any other sound bar I've tried. The wireless rear speakers and sub work great, too - I've had this installed for a year, and it sounds as good now as the day I set it up. Sounds are clear and crisp, and Dolby Digital surround works and sounds every bit as well as you'd expect from a wired system. Especially for the price, in my opinion, it just doesn't get any better than this sound bar. SB4051-C0: I have this one mounted under a 46" TV in our basement, and visually, it looks okay - it's a couple of inches shorter than the width of the TV on each side. The square look and the silver sides make this system look dated, but in our basement, I was willing to live with that. I much prefer the look of the 54" bar (above). Because of the shorter width, right/left separation isn't anywhere near as good as the longer bar, and it sounds like the right, center, and left speakers are all producing sound from the same spot, which is to be expected with a smaller sound bar like this. The rear speakers, although small, are still very nice to have - they actually produce sound from behind you, unlike other sound bars at this price that don't have physical rear speakers. The sub produces decent bass, and we're happy with it, but I have to say, the sound from the entire system isn't anywhere near as good as the 54" bar above. It doesn't have the same clarity, with dialog sometimes sounding just a little bit muffled, especially at lower volumes. When it's turned up, it sounds fine, and it's WAY better than just using the TV speakers, especially since you get a true 5.1 system with rear speakers in this package. Am I happy with this smaller sound bar? Yes, but I knew what I was buying. For our basement, and for the price, it absolutely met our needs. Remote Control: both sound bars use the same remote, and it's very good. The LCD display means you get actual, readable feedback instead of relying on cryptic LED lights on the sound bars themselves, and it definitely makes setup and fine-tuning much easier. A back-light would be nice, but's that's a very nit-picky gripe. Besides, once I set up both of the bars, I basically never used the included remotes again. If your TV supports ARC over HDMI, then you simply use your TV's remote to control the sound bar - it works great. Our 46" TV is older, and even without ARC, I don't need the included remote - these sound bars can be programmed to accept any IR commands from any other remote, so just program it to use your usual remote and call it good. This feature is great, actually, because who wants to keep track of yet another remote? Love it. In summary, both of these sound bars are good, but holy wow, the 54" bar is just amazing. If you're wondering whether it's worth the extra dollars, and especially if you have a 60" TV, I'll give you your answer: yes, it's absolutely worth it. Buy the thing and be happy. Don't settle for less... it's THAT much better. Amazon lumps the reviews for all these models into one stream, which doesn't really help when trying to decide on one over the other. Having two of them, I can give an objective opinion. One important thing to notice: not all of the bars on here support HDMI. The two I reviewed both do, but not all of them. Read the specs closely, and buyer beware. I hope this helps!