The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" 2.0 Channel Sound Bar is a simple 2.0 soundbar that performs fairly well with stereo content. Since it lacks a subwoofer, it doesn't produce any thump or rumble, which can be a bit boring during an action film, but its sound profile is otherwise well-balanced and neutral, making it great for movies with lots of dialogue or TV shows. The bar can get pretty loud, too. However, it doesn't have very many input options, like HDMI, and only supports Dolby Digital surround content. That said, it's still a great option if you mostly just watch shows on Netflix but still want something that'll be a likely upgrade over your TV's integrated speakers.
Our Verdict
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" 2.0 Channel Sound Bar is decent for mixed usage. It has a pretty neutral, accurate sound profile but lacks low-bass since it doesn't have a subwoofer. This makes it less ideal for watching movies and listening to bass-heavy music, but if you mostly just watch TV, listen to podcasts, or enjoy less bass-heavy music, then it's a solid choice.
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Compact design.
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Good stereo soundstage.
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Balanced sound profile.
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No HDMI inputs.
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Lacks sub-bass.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" 2.0 Channel Sound Bar is great for dialogue and TV shows. While it doesn't have a dedicated dialogue enhancement feature, its neutral sound profile accurately reproduces voices, so your favorite sitcoms should still be easy to understand. You can also cast your favorite podcasts and audiobooks to this bar from your phone with ease via Bluetooth.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" 2.0 Channel Sound Bar is alright for music. While it lacks the deep thump and rumble you'll find in bass-heavy music like dubstep or hip-hop, it should still sound alright. It'll be better-suited for pop or rock music though since it reproduces vocals and instruments well.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" 2.0 Channel Sound Bar is mediocre for movies. While it has a well-balanced frequency response overall, it lacks the thump and rumble key to a good action movie. Its surround sound performance is also poor - it's limited to Dolby Digital files and, even then, downmixes to stereo anyways. On the upside, its stereo soundstage is good.
- 6.4 Mixed Usage
- 6.8 Dialogue/TV Shows
- 7.1 Music
- 5.8 Movies
- Updated Apr 29, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jan 11, 2021: Audio Format Support - ARC updated from 'N/A' to 'No' to ensure consistency across reviews.
- Updated Sep 21, 2020: The Dynamics tests have been reconducted due to a value input bug.
- Updated Mar 24, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Mar 19, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated Mar 19, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Mar 17, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Mar 16, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
There's a 20-inch variant called the SB2020n-G6M, and a 29 inch variant called the SB2920-C6, although we don't know how these perform in comparison.
Compared To Other Soundbars
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 is a simple budget soundbar that's quite a bit more versatile than many other 2.0 soundbars we've reviewed. Though it lacks a bit of sub-bass when compared to 2.1 systems with a dedicated subwoofer, it has an otherwise well-balanced, neutral sound profile that can make it a worthwhile upgrade over your TV speakers. See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best budget soundbars, and the best soundbars with subwoofer.
The Vizio SB36512-F6 is a much better soundbar setup than the Vizio SB3220n-F6. The SB36512 has 5.1.2 channels and can support Dolby Atmos for a significantly superior surround sound experience. That said, the SB3220n is the better option if you're tight on space and want something easier to install and use.
The Sonos Beam is a better soundbar than the Vizio SB3220n-F6. While both bars have fairly well-balanced, neutral sound profiles, the Sonos packs a bit more thump and rumble. It also has a dedicated center channel, which helps voices sound clearer, and an even wider soundstage. It doesn't support Bluetooth, unlike the Vizio, which also has a regular audio jack for better mobile device support and can play files from a USB key.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 is a better soundbar than the Bose Solo 5 if you can go for something a little bigger. While the Bose feels better-built and gets a bit more bass thanks to the integrated subwoofer, the Vizio's soundstage is significantly better. You'll prefer the Bose if simplicity is your main goal, but the Vizio provides a more well-rounded experience.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 is a better soundbar than the Sony HT-S100F. The Vizio has a more neutral, better-balanced sound with more bass and clearer treble. It also has a better stereo soundstage and surround performance. The Sony has HDMI ARC, though, so you can use your TV remote to control it, which some listeners may prefer.
The 3.1.2 channel Samsung HW-Q70R is a better soundbar system than the 2.0 channel Vizio SB2330n-F6. The Samsung comes not only with a subwoofer for more thump and rumble, but it has a dedicated center channel for a clearer reproduction of voices, as well as up-firing speakers on the bar for Dolby Atmos content. It has more sound enhancement features and supports most surround sound formats over HDMI. While the Vizio is a much more limited soundbar, it's a lot more compact.
The Samsung HW-R550 and the Vizio SB3220n-F6 are both decent soundbars. The 2.1-channel Samsung gets more low-bass thanks to the dedicated subwoofer and has more sound enhancement features; however, its stereo soundstage isn't as wide as spacious as that of the Vizio. While the Samsung has more input options, like HDMI, the Vizio also has a more compact design that's better if you're tight on space.
The JBL Link Bar is a slightly better soundbar than the Vizio SB3220n-F6. Both have fairly balanced sound profiles but the JBL packs more bass. The Vizio does have a better stereo soundstage and more sound enhancement features, but the JBL has much better input options, including HDMI support, and can play DTS files.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 is a much better soundbar than the TaoTronics TT-SK023. It has a significantly better-balanced sound profile, a much wider stereo soundstage, and many more sound enhancement features. While neither bar supports HDMI, the Vizio can at least play Dolby Digital surround content over optical. That said, the TaoTronics has an even more compact design, which some listeners may prefer if they're tight on space.
While the Vizio SB3220n-F6 and the Vizio SB3820-C6 are both 2.0 soundbars with an almost identical look, the SB3220n-F6 slightly outperforms the other. The SB3220n-F6 produces more bass and offers EQs to help customize your sound experience. Still, the SB3820-C6 is longer, it can get slightly louder with fewer compression artifacts, and it doesn't distort as much at max volume. It also has three additional surround sound features available.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 is a much better 2.0 soundbar than the Insignia NS-HSB318 2.0. It produces more bass, sounds better balanced, has a wider soundstage, and can play Dolby Digital files over optical. The Insignia feels more cheaply made and performs worse overall.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 is a better 2.0 soundbar than the Vizio SB2020n-G6. Although they both have a similarly decent build, the SB3220n-F6 can be wall-mounted, and it also has a slightly better-balanced sound profile. It even supports Dolby Digital content thanks to its optical connection. However, the SB2020n-G6 has an auto-off feature.
Test Results
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 shares an almost identical look to the Vizio SB3820-C6 38". The bar is very simple-looking and mostly black, with silver caps on each end. The front and top parts of the bar have a fabric cover which gives it a matte finish. The fabric tends to collect lint and dust, though, which can make this soundbar look a bit dirty over time, especially if it's placed in a busy room.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 is a compact soundbar. It should fit between the legs of many 55" TVs, though it might be a bit too tall to fit under your TV, unlike the TaoTronics TT-SK023 or the Insignia NS-HSB318 2.0, which are less tall. That said, it shouldn't block the bottom of the screen unless your TV screen sits directly on the table.
This soundbar doesn't come with a subwoofer.
This soundbar doesn't come with satellite speakers.
The back of this soundbar is plastic and has two openings - one for the connectivity inputs, and one for the power cable, which is detachable. Unlike the Vizio SB2020n-G6 that's meant to sit on a table, the Vizio SB-3220n-F6 can be wall-mounted. However, it won't lay flush against the wall.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6's build quality is decent. The front and top parts of the bar are covered in fabric, while the rear and underside are in plastic. The plastic feels fairly high-quality, but the fabric tends to get pretty dirty and can be ripped.
- Manual
- Wall-mount template
- 2x Wall-mount screws
- 2x Wall-mount brackets
- Remote
- 2x AAA batteries
- 11-ft power cable
- Coaxial audio cable
- Stereo RCA to 3.5mm audio cable
- Optical cable
Vizio SB3220n-F6 has a decent stereo frequency response. Since it doesn't come with a subwoofer, it lacks thump and rumble. That said, it still packs a pretty decent punch without sounding too boomy. The rest of the response is very well-balanced, so this soundbar has a pretty neutral sound profile overall.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" has a good stereo soundstage. Music and movie soundtracks sound quite a bit wider than the bar, which is quite nice compared to other soundbars with a compact design like the AmazonBasics 2.1 Channel Bluetooth which don't sound nearly as wide. The soundstage has good focus overall, but some songs sound a bit more diffused and lack separation.
Update 09/21/2020: We've discovered a value input bug that would cause the Dynamics box results to be slightly off. All soundbars reviewed since January 30th, 2020 have been updated.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 has good stereo dynamics. This soundbar can get loud without a lot of compression artifacts, which is ideal for listening in a large room or hosting a party. Our unit would shake significantly during our tests, so this could also be a problem at louder volumes.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6's total harmonic distortion performance is okay. The overall amount of distortion is a bit high, even at normal listening volumes. This won't be noticeable to everyone, though, and the difference at max volume isn't very big.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" has decent center performance. Since this soundbar doesn't have a dedicated center channel, it won't sound quite as clear as something with 3.0 channels, like the Sonos Beam. That said, the frequency response is still well-balanced, resulting in accurate audio and dialogue reproduction. You might notice a bit of distortion at higher volumes, but it shouldn't be an issue if you're just watching TV.
Like most 2.0 soundbars, the Vizio SB3220n-F6's surround performance is bad. It downmixes surround content to stereo, so it isn't able to reproduce objects in the surround image very clearly. You get the same immersive experience that you would with a multi-channel setup, so surround sound content will feel like it's coming from directly in front of you instead of from all around you.
This soundbar doesn't support Atmos.
This soundbar has poor sound enhancement features. While you can adjust the bass and treble, there are only two EQ presets. The auto-volume mode can be helpful if you're watching TV at night, but there's no dialogue enhancement feature. On the upside, there's a DTS virtual X surround sound feature, which could help playback sound more immersive, although we don't test this.
This soundbar has a limited number of inputs. There are a couple of analog connections, including a standard audio jack as well as an RCA input, so you can connect an older MP3 player or a turntable. There's also optical-in for Dolby Digital support, and a USB input so you can play files off a flash drive. There are no HDMI ports, however, so you won't be able to use this bar as a hub between your different home media devices.
Update 01/11/2021: The results for audio format support via ARC were previously set to "N/A", but we updated them to "No" to stay current with review scoring. Consistency across reviews makes it easier for readers to compare the products we've tested.
This soundbar doesn't have an HDMI ARC port.
This soundbar doesn't have any HDMI ports.
While this soundbar has an optical connection, it can only play Dolby Digital files. This shouldn't be an issue for most since lots of content is available in Dolby Digital; however, some Blu-rays are DTS only, so they won't play on this soundbar.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" has passable wireless playback options. It supports Bluetooth, so you can connect your smartphone or tablet and stream music wirelessly, but that's it.
Since this soundbar doesn't support HDMI, there's no video passthrough.
The Vizio SB3220n-F6 32" has a set of lights in the front of the soundbar that flash in different ways depending on your settings. Unfortunately, the patterns are rather tricky to see properly, and it's hard to remember what they stand for, too.
This soundbar has physical buttons on the top for basic operation. You can turn it on/off, change inputs, pair a Bluetooth device, and control the volume.
This soundbar comes with a very simple remote that allows you to control playback with a Bluetooth device, change inputs, and activate sound enhancement features. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a screen like the Vizio SB36512-F6 does, so it can be quite hard to know which feature you've just activated or which input you're on.