Zvox Z-Base 550 is the new Low-Profile Single Cabinet Surround Sound System from Zvox. The Zvox Z-Base 550 is 26 inches wide by 3.6 inches high by 14.5 deep. Its medium-density fiberboard cabinet is a good deal more solidly constructed than your average plastic single speaker system. A black perforated metal grille covers the entire front baffle, and we think the high-gloss black side “cheeks” add an upscale flair to the otherwise no-frills look of the black vinyl covered speaker.
There is one bass port on the speaker’s rear panel; blocking that port will result in less bass. The Z-Base 550 doesn’t have any buttons or controls at all on its front or rear panels; so if you misplace the small credit card-style remote, you’re stuck. The remote is a straightforward affair, with power, volume, mute, subwoofer volume, treble, and PhaseCue controls. That last one needs some explanation: think of it as a “space” control. With the PhaseCue control turned all the way down you just hear the sound of the Z-Base 550’s three speakers without any processing, turn up the PhaseCue and the apparent soundstage width increases to create a bigger, more room-filling sound.
Also note that both inputs are active simultaneously as one mixed output–if you have your DVD player and cable box plugged in and playing concurrently, you’ll get a jumbled up version of both. What you’ll want to do is just use the TV’s audio outputs directly to the Z-Base, and then perhaps hook up an audio-only product (iPod dock, CD player, satellite radio) as well, and just be sure to only have one powered on at a time.
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.
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.
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.