Zvox Accu Voice AV855 review: a soundbar that makes dialog clear | Tech Radar

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I reviewed a soundbar designed to boost dialog for the hard of hearing, and the results impressed me

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The Zvox Accu Voice AV855 soundbar is utilitarian in a lot of ways, but this isn’t about style. It’s about making dialog easier to hear, particularly for those with hearing issues, and the Accu Voice AV855 excels at making speech clearer even for the hard of hearing. I do wish the spatial audio was a little more pronounced, and that at least Bluetooth connectivity was included.

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The Zvox Accu Voice AV855 is not my favorite soundbar, but it does something unique for the hard-of-hearing that will make it the ideal buy for some people. Just about every other soundbar has a dialog mode that can help boost that part of a movie or show, but none does it quite to the extent of Zvox.

It’s not the first soundbar I’ve come across for this purpose. The smaller Zvox AV157 that the company put out last year worked to achieve similar results, though the AV855 is better in every way (unless you want a smaller soundbar). Of course, it’s pricier, too.

As a regular soundbar, the Zvox Accu Voice AV855 checks most of the boxes, incorporating things like HDMI ARC (missing from that AV157 I reviewed last year), but comes a little short for those that don’t care about its voice-boosting “Accu Voice” feature. There’s no Bluetooth or Wi Fi Streaming, the spatial audio feature isn’t all that impressive, and, most importantly, the audio can sound a bit boxy.

On the aesthetics side of things, the Zvox Accu Voice AV855 is fairly utilitarian looking. Basically, it’s a black, rectangular box with minimal curves, notable mostly for the durable metal housing it’s in. That’s okay in my eyes, because this is a soundbar with a purpose (which I’ll get to in a bit).

Its height is a bit lower than some soundbars, measuring at just under two inches, making it slot under a TV a little easier than some other models I’ve tested.

What is somewhat exciting about its design is the fact that, along with its four front-facing drivers (two for the center channel), it has two upward-facing ones for adding height to spatial audio — though this comes with a major catch that we'll return to in just a moment. There also are bass ports on each side to help improve the low-end response.

Another thing I appreciate on the Accu Voice AV855 is the fact that it has an LED display hidden behind the grill, so that every time I make any kind of adjustment, it will actually display whatever level it’s at or adjustment that’s been made. This is something that’s often missing on soundbars that are double the price.

The port selection here is pretty good. Having HDMI ARC is typical — though was missing from the smaller AV157 I reviewed last year — but it also has optical, line-in, line-out, and USB connections. There’s no wireless or Bluetooth connectivity, unfortunately, so it doesn’t quite double for listening to music off any source other than your TV.

Interestingly enough, there are no controls on the soundbar itself. All the manipulation comes via the remote (so don’t lose it). Thankfully, the remote enables you to adjust the Accu Voice for dialog boosting, the Phase Cue for spatial audio, bass, treble, and volume, along with things like changing input and muting.

Since the AV855’s focus is mainly on providing a robust dialog mode for those that have trouble hearing speech in media (or just want it clearer), the feature list outside of that is a bit muted. There’s no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi streaming, as I mentioned, and it can’t be paired with other speakers.

It does, however, come with spatial audio. Now, it doesn't support Dolby Atmos or DTS: X, so the results are notably less pronounced than I was expecting. Audio just sounds a little bigger when using this feature, which is called ‘Phase Cue’, but not as distinct as when I’m using full-fat Atmos. At least it has three levels to select from, though.

The star of the show is Zvox’s dialog booster. It's not like Zvox is the only company offering this, but the way the company implements it is much more aggressive than you'll find elsewhere.

Most dialog modes just do a minor boost to the mid-range where voices typically sit. Accu Voice does that, but boosts it significantly more than any other dialog mode I’ve used. Dialog modes on other soundbars typically have three levels. The AV855 has 10. But there’s more to it, as this soundbar also attenuates or reduces the high and low frequencies at the same time, and in more and more extreme fashion as you go up the levels.

Now, if you don’t have any issues with hearing (let’s exclude Christopher Nolan movies), then the Accu Voice mode gets increasingly unpleasant to listen to, with the sound increasingly resembling listening through an old phone with its boxy-all-sharp-mids results. But this feature, at least at its most extreme settings, is not for you.

Those that do have hearing issues will find it incredibly helpful, as it does a fairly good job at isolating voices. In this respect, Accu Voice does its job well – and it's far cheaper than the Sonos Arc Ultra and its AI-aided dialog-boosting modes, which are also designed with the hard of hearing in mind.

The overall sound of the Zvox Accu Voice AV855 seems influenced by the Accu Voice feature, and always has a little bit of boxiness to it. It’s not something that really gets in the way when I watch a TV show (and I feel most people won’t notice), but is more noticeable when watching movies that typically have more audio elements, like a more filled out soundtrack. Music is similarly affected.

The low-end is actually fairly pronounced — something I was quite surprised by considering soundbars typically lack in this category when not paired with a subwoofer. It doesn’t go as low as a system with a sub, but it still had some rumble.

Ultimately, it does what it's designed for very well, but what it's designed for just isn't what everyone necessarily needs. I'd happily recommend this to people who find they need speech made clearer to follow movies and shows, and it does offer the added benefits of better bass and directionality than the built-in speakers of most TVs.

Zvox Accu Voice AV855 soundbar review: price and release date

How much does it cost?

369.99 (about £290 / AU

570)

369.99 (about £290 / AU

570), the Zvox Accu Voice AV855 is among the more expensive of the best cheap soundbars out there. The Zvox AVV157 I mentioned before was initially released at

249 / £159 / AU

458 but is now about $200. It certainly comes with more limitations, such as worse sound and no HDMI ARC, but it’s quite a bit cheaper.

When it comes to other cheap soundbars, the Majority Naga 60 can be bought five times over for the price of the AV855. And it sounds a bit better, too. However, it doesn’t touch the power of the dialog mode of this soundbar.

If you really need that dialog boosting mode, then the price is a relative drop in the bucket. The Zvox Accu Voice AV855 is only available in the US at the time of writing.

33.7 x 5 x 1.85 inches / 856 x 127 x 47 mm (soundbar)

HDMI ARC, optical digital audio, USB, Line-in (Aux), Line-out

The dedicated dialog modes are the star, and upfiring speakers are nice, but it lacks of a lot of other mod cons.

The Accu Voice feature works wonders for intelligibility, but the soundbar itself can be a bit boxy.

The design is good if utilitarian, but the built-in display is very welcome.

The price might seem high for a cheap soundbar, but it’s worth it for the Accu Voice feature if it's what you need.

You have trouble hearing dialog The Accu Voice feature works extremely well at its stated function. If you have issues with hearing, this is the best bet for focusing audio on the dialog of your chosen media.

You want all the fine tuning at your fingertips The remote, as utilitarian as the soundbar, enables you to adjust all the AV855’s settings in one place — no need for an app or anything complicated.

You need a short soundbar Its height may not seem like a huge deal, but many soundbars can end up blocking the receiver on the TV, or even the bottom of the picture. So the AV855’s short stature (though it’s fairly wide) is a consideration for getting it.

You care about audio quality above all else Its features, particularly the Accu Voice one, are nice, but they don’t make up for sound quality. If this is your top priority, I suggest looking elsewhere.

You don’t need dialog boosting The Accu Voice feature is the main reason to get this soundbar. If you don’t feel like you’re having trouble hearing dialog, there are other soundbars to consider instead.

Majority Naga 60 The Majority Naga 60’s biggest asset is its low, low price. Even though it is a single unit, it does have a built-in subwoofer and ability to project 3D audio. Of course, both are a bit limited and the soundbar itself has a habit of distorting at higher volumes. Read our full Majority Naga 60 review

Zvox AV157 The Zvox AV157 is a cheaper option for getting that dialog boosting feature. It’s not quite as robust with that boosting and skips the spatial audio (as well as the HDMI ARC), but it is quite a bit cheaper. Read our full Zvox AV157 review

I used the Zvox Accu Voice AV855 soundbar regularly for a week, streaming all sorts of media from movies to shows and music.

I pressed every button on the remote to check out the different modes as well as EQ settings. I also spent some time with the Accu Voice and Phase Cue features.

I’ve tested a lot of tech gear over the years from laptops to keyboards and speakers, and so have been able to use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test.

James Holland loves checking out gadgets of all sorts, whether it's audio equipment, laptops, or vacuums (especially of the robot variety), and does so for a number of Future Publications including Tech Radar, Top Ten Reviews, Homes & Gardens, and T3. He's built up an expertise for in-depth reviewing over the last four years. When he's not putting in the work on the latest tech, he loves to travel, play music, and eat questionable food.

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I reviewed a soundbar designed to boost dialog for the hard of hearing, and the results impressed me