X

Zvox Z-Base 580 photos

The Zvox Z-Base 580 has a nearly perfect sound bar design and a solid feature set, but it won't please critical listeners and the smaller Z-Base 555 is a better value.

Matthew Moskovciak
Covering home audio and video, Matthew Moskovciak helps CNET readers find the best sights and sounds for their home theaters. E-mail Matthew or follow him on Twitter @cnetmoskovciak.
Matthew Moskovciak
34686425_OVR.png
1 of 6 Sarah Tew/CNET

Zvox Z-Base 580

We've been fans of Zvox's sound bars for years, but we've often griped about a few missing features: no front-panel display, digital inputs, or true input switching. Zvox has recently released two new Z-Base units (the 555 and 580) and there's virtually nothing to complain about on the design and features end. The new front-panel display is excellent, there are two digital inputs plus true input switching, and the Z-Base pedestal remains by far our favorite sound bar design.

Still, the Zvox Z-Base 580 ($600 street price) fell a little short of our (admittedly high) expectations. That's largely because of its sound quality, which isn't bad, but didn't impress us as much as previous Zvox units. We also didn't think the Z-Base 580 sounded that much better than the smaller (and cheaper) Z-Base 555, although the 580 does get louder thanks to its size and an additional subwoofer on the bottom, making it a better choice for large rooms.

If you're not picky about sound quality or are just looking for an upgrade over your built-in TV speakers, the Z-Base 580 is an excellent choice for large rooms, especially since the Z-Base 580 gets just about everything else right. But if you're planning on playing a lot of music or looking for big home theater thrills, you'll want to look competitors like the Harman Kardon SB 16 or Vizio VHT510.

34686425_FT.JPG
2 of 6 Sarah Tew/CNET

Design

Zvox's Z-Base design is so superior to the design of other sound bars, it's shocking that it hasn't been copied yet. Most sound bars have a tubelike shape and are designed to sit in front of your HDTV. That arrangement can work fine, but it can look awkward and sometimes the TV's IR receiver is blocked. The Z-Base design gets around all of these issues by acting as a stand for the TV. (The Z-Base 580 is designed to hold TVs 37 to 72 inches, up to 160 pounds.) The result is the Z-Base 580 looks more like a piece of furniture than an obtrusive home audio system.
34686425_RMT.JPG
3 of 6 Sarah Tew/CNET

Remote

The included remote is adequate, although unexceptional. Most of the buttons are the same size and there's not enough button separation to easily control by feel. On the upside, there are larger buttons for volume up/down and mute, which make them easier to locate quickly. Overall, the remote has a generic feel compared with the more thoughtfully designed Z-Base unit.
34686425_BK.JPG
4 of 6 Sarah Tew/CNET

Back panel

Connectivity is above average on the Z-Base 580, although there are no HDMI ports. The lack of HDMI is more of a convenience issue than anything else; you're not going to be missing any of the subtle (or even negligible) benefits high-resolution soundtracks offer via HDMI on a system like this. In short, you'll either need to run all your HDMI components directly to your HDTV, then use the HDTV's audio output; or you'll need to run separate audio cables from each device directly to the Zvox.
34686425_DT.JPG
5 of 6 Sarah Tew/CNET

True input switching

On the upside, Zvox offers true switching between all its inputs. That may seem like an obvious feature to point out, but previous Zvox systems only offered "mix" inputs--meaning that all the inputs were active at the same time.
34686425_SD.JPG
6 of 6 Sarah Tew/CNET

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos