Vizio’s new soundbar rotates its speakers for better Dolby Atmos surround sound

Alongside a new lineup of TVs, Vizio is also announcing its latest soundbar systems at CES 2020. At the top of the heap is what the company calls the Elevate soundbar, a 10-channel, 5.1.4 sound system that features 18 drivers and a wireless subwoofer. But its neatest feature is that the left and right speakers on the soundbar rotate upward whenever you play Dolby Atmos content. For everything else (like music or standard surround sound), they point forward.

The Elevate measures 48 inches across and has an anodized aluminum design. And in a nice touch of integration, the Elevate can be seamlessly docked with the company’s just-announced OLED TV.

Compared to Vizio’s entry-level V-Series soundbar, it offers a 130 increase in clarity, loudness, and bass response. There are dedicated, upward-firing drivers in the satellite speakers as well. The P-Series Elevate can decode Dolby Atmos and DTS: X and supports Bluetooth 5.0 and Chromecast audio.

For the rest of the soundbar lineup, Vizio focused on a refined look that should make each one less of a dust and fingerprint magnet.

The M-Series 5.1 and 5.1.2 soundbars bring Atmos and DTS:X to “mid-range” price points (Vizio isn’t revealing actual prices yet), and the latter has upward-firing drivers built right into the bar.

Stepping down from those, you get the M-Series all-in-one soundbar (pictured below) that uses DTS Virtual:X for an immersive audio experience — even if it’s not proper surround.

Vizio’s soundbars all feature new designs this year.

Vizio has also made a number of smaller improvements to the remote, I/O, and has built HDMI 2.1 inputs and eARC into this year’s higher-end soundbars. Here’s the full rundown on those conveniences:

With this new generation of sound bars, VIZIO has also enhanced menu navigation, redesigned remotes to add backlit controls in premium models , and introduced multicolor input indicators to make the systems even easier to use.

In addition to providing instant feedback that improves the user experience, Vizio’s 2020 V-Series and the M-Series All-in-One sound bars benefit from the convenience of HDMI connections with ARC (audio return channel) for routing audio signals through a TV, and CEC control so the customer can change the sound bar’s inputs or volume with their TV remote. The step-up audio performance in the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X-equipped M-Series and Elevate models is paired with HDMI 2.1 inputs, along with eARC support, which allows the TV to pass through the highest quality, uncompressed, lossless Dolby and DTS audio signals from eARC-supported sources.

Vizio has made its smart home voice integrations more convenient as well with automatic signal detection and switching through the analog or Bluetooth inputs. This allows users to connect and talk to their voice assistant of choice (sold separately) and have the assistant respond through the soundbar regardless of the input in use.

Pricing and release date information will be shared in the coming weeks.