With sound effects and expansive 3D surround sound getting all of the focus, some manufacturers forget about voice intelligibility, but not ZVox Audio. The AccuVoice AV157 acts as a hearing aid to those who have difficulty discerning voices and to drown out background sound.
But are these TV speakers worth the money or are they overhyped? Let’s find out through our ZVox Accuvoice AV157 review.
What We Like
- Excellent for dialogue and voice enhancement
- Patented AccuVoice Technology
- Built-in class D amplifier
- Dolby Digital Decoding
- Alphanumeric display
- Large and easy-to-read remote
- 3 full-range speakers
- Molded composite cabinet
- PhaseCue Virtual Surround Sound
- SuperVoice Technology
- ZVOX Output Leveling
- Not very expensive for the features
What We Don't Like
- No HDMI
- Not compatible with some Bluetooth speakers
Design
The AccuVoice AV157 TV speaker is designed to reduce background sounds so the TV dialogue is front and center. The speaker comes in three different colors to match your interior. Our sound experts note that although the cabinet can be in gray, brown or black, the grille remains dark.
Some of our team members feel the AccuVoice AV157 TV speaker lacks a high-end appearance since it’s made out of plastic, but its capabilities are undisputed. One thing in this speaker’s favor is its small size. The AccuVoice AV157 is very small, so small in fact that it doesn’t even reach 20 inches.
It is by far the most compact option, even giving some of the smallest soundbars a run for their money. The speaker takes on a minimalistic design and doesn’t feature anything on the front, not even a control panel. What it does have is a display screen that indicates the volume, input, and sound mode.
ZVox Accuvoice AV157 Features
Sound Quality
Our audio engineers were eager for the ZVox Accuvoice AV157 review to determine whether it’s worth the money and the hype. We were surprised to find out that not only was the speech greatly enhanced but the music and sound effects were elevated as well.
One of our experts even pointed out its suitability as a center channel speaker all on its own. Is it capable of supporting your living room or bedroom TV to pump out room-filling sound? It depends. If you have a small living space, our audiophiles have complete confidence in the little TV speaker.
You may need to pump up the bass and engage the advanced audio features to fill a larger room. When in doubt, you can also daisy-chain the AV157 with other home theater components to improve your listening experience.
SuperVoice Levels and Audio Modes
The AV157 comes with both SuperVoice and AccuVoice technologies. Let’s take a look at AccuVoice first. This feature comes in six different levels, with each tier more optimized than the last. The first level does the basics to tamper background noises, music and sound effects while leaving the voices more prominent.
As you turn it up from two to three and eventually 12, you will notice an incredible difference with each level. If you do not suffer from significant hearing loss, you may only need until level three to be satisfied with the effects.
What does SuperVoice mode do? You may think the AccuVoice is good enough, but SuperVoice takes dialogue enhancement to the next level. There are 6 levels to the SuperVoice settings, and the highest level takes voice amplification and optimization to a whole different standard.
You may think that dialogue enhancement may come with more distortion. However, our experts put your worries to rest after carrying out multiple ZVox Accuvoice AV157 reviews. The speaker performed surprisingly well with minimal to no distortion with the innovative technologies on full force.
You can also find the ZVox Output Level control feature (OL), which tames sudden loud sounds. If you’re watching TV at night and want to minimize noise, use the output level controls to reduce sudden and loud commercials.
Virtual Surround Sound
The ZVox Accuvoice AV157 features PhaseCue virtual surround sound coupled with Dolby Digital decoding. Our team of engineers says this is the next step above entry-level audio. Why is it virtual? You need at least 5 channels of audio output plus a subwoofer to qualify as full surround, in other words, a 5.1 system [1].
The AV157 doesn’t have this, so the next best thing is to simulate surround sound mode virtually. With the surround sound mode, you can experience the closest thing to having a full home theater system.
Power
You will need to connect the AV157 to a power source, so make sure you get a long enough cable to enable flexible placement. The ZVox speaker itself will generate enough power on its own due to it being an active model.
Drivers and Amplifiers
What brings the powerful and expansive sound isn’t just the technology, but the amplifiers and drivers embedded within the speaker. The AV157 has three 2×3-inch full-range drivers that handle the lows, mids, and highs. That means there is a left and right channel plus a center channel for dialogue clarity.
As an active speaker, the AV157 has a built-in 24-watt class D amplifier that will match the voltage signals for minimal loss and maximum performance.
Input and Connectivity
Due to the lack of HDMI connection options unlike the best HDMI eArc soundbars we reviewed, you need to rely on the optical digital Toslink, subwoofer output and headphone jack or 3.5mm analog cable. Unfortunately, if your TV doesn’t support these connections, then you may need to invest in an adapter.
Another downside to the device is the lack of a wireless connection. There is infrared, but you won’t find Bluetooth connectivity or Wi-Fi with the AV157. Our professional sound engineers say there is a way around this. Simply hook up your Amazon Echo Smart Speaker via the 3.5mm jack to stream music without a remote control.
You can also rely directly on the music streaming platforms on your smart TV. The navigation and controls are done via your TV remote.
Setup
You get everything you need to set up this amazing speaker in the box. You can find the necessary cables and the infrared remote control.
You will need a power supply cord to start up the device. You then pick the type of connection you want, and our team always recommends optical cables in the absence of HDMI availability.
Make sure your TV supports the right inputs. Our experts stress this because the speaker may have a universal power cord input, but it lacks the more optimal HDMI. Setup doesn’t get much easier than this as all it takes is plugging in the right cord and you’re good to go.
Remote Control
Our team appreciated the fact that the buttons on the remote were large and the labels were easy to read. The remote felt very sturdy and able to withstand some impact. From this small device, you can access all the control such as AccuVoice and SuperVoice.
You also control the three surround sound levels with a button that’s clearly named. The volume, mute, input, and power on/off are also there.
Value For Money
What do our experts think about the ZVox AccuVoice AV157 in terms of value? It’s an excellent addition to your home as a voice enhancement device. You can hear voices more clearly than ever with the innovative technology that is meant to work with hearing aids. ZVox even produces hearing aids that work well with their speakers.
With all the features that you get, the AV157 really isn’t a steep investment. What’s great about the unit is the vast leveling the bonus features provide. AccuVoice, for example, has 12 levels to help users find the best setting for their needs.
The class D digital amplifier in the active speaker does all the work for you in optimizing voltage signals to pair well with the rest of your setup. Many soundbars and speakers don’t have a display screen, which can be quite troublesome when you’re trying to find the right controls.
Although the display panel on the AV157 is basic, it does the job well. The red numbers and letters can be seen easily even through the black grille. Aside from the AccuVoice and SuperVoice audio breakthroughs, the AV157 also has virtual surround sound. Dolby Digital decoding abilities only work to improve the sound output. If you need more power, the AV157 can integrate easily with the rest of your system.
On top of all of that, the ZVox speaker is very sturdily built with a high-quality molded composite cabinet. Then there is the ZVox OL feature, which will eliminate any chance of unbalanced sound. Is the ZVox excellent value for the money? The answer is a resounding yes!
Warranty
Your viewing experience after bringing the AV157 home will never be the same again, which is why you want the unit to last as long as possible. However, no one can predict the future, so our audiophiles always stress the importance of an iron-clad warranty.
The ZVox warranty is quite standard, offering 1-year protection of the speaker. While this may not seem very impressive, our experts encourage you to look at it from a different perspective. If something were to go wrong with these devices, it usually happens within the first month or so.
A faulty device or one that arrives damaged are the most common reasons to invoke the warranty. Aside from these issues, your device should work for many years if nothing goes wrong in the first few weeks.
Alternatives for ZVOX Accuvoice AV157
The AccuVoice AV157 isn’t the only dialogue enhancing tool out there, and you may be wondering how it compares to others. Our team members want to preface this by saying there is little competition on the market in terms of the advanced voice-enhancing technologies ZVox has embedded.
If you feel that 12 AccuVoice and six SuperVoice levels plus 3 surround sound modes are too much, then there are other soundbar options. Look for soundbar models that have a dedicated center channel for speech.
You can discern these options from the rest because they are classified as 3.0 or 3.1 models. The number three indicates how many channels there are in total, with three being the makeup of the left, right and center channels.
The digit behind the decimal refers to how many subwoofers are in the system. You don’t need a sub to have dialogue improvement, although it will help. The TCL Alto 9+ is a 3.1 channel soundbar that will help with voice clarity. Other options include the LG SN6Y, the Klipsch Bar48, and the JBL Bar 3.1 among many others.
Of course, you don’t have to stop there. As we mentioned before, you need at least 5 channels to quality as a full surround system. Why not go for the best and pick from 5, 7, or 9 channels while you’re at it? As long as the soundbar or speaker has at least three channels, there will be a driver dedicated to speech improvement.
To maximize your experience, you can also look into advanced audio technologies and formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X to name a few. Depending on the brand, they may also include proprietary technologies in their devices such as S-Force from Sony, Meridian from LG, and more.
FAQ
What is Zvox AccuVoice?
The ZVox AccuVoice is a speaker created to enhance and clarify speech. Specifically, the AV157 model is equipped with 12 Accuvoice levels, six SuperVoice levels plus three surround sound modes, OL controls and PhaseCue. All of these technologies plus the Dolby Digital decoding will allow you to hear every whisper and balance the sound from your content.
ZVox Accuvoice AV157 Review Conclusion
Our team’s ZVox AccuVoice AV157 review is a highly positive one. Each of our experts was thoroughly impressed with the effects of the AccuVoice, SuperVoice, PhaseCue, and surround sound features. The content was vastly different than it was without the AV157 and it was very easy to set up and integrate into the home theater system.
