Customer Ratings & Reviews

Might be a good sound system if I can find/purchase power cable that fits. Item did not have a power cable when purchased. Best Buy has been no help.

First, I would only recommend this for use in smaller room as the unit is not powerful enough to fill a large room with sound. I tried this in our bedroom and the sound was more than adequate for that room. The set up was very easy with just one optical digital cable needed. The Bluetooth streaming worked fine from multiple devices. When I tried it in our main TV room, there were points where the sound just wasn't enough to fill the room regardless of how loud you turn it up - yes it was loud, but all sound was focused to the center of the room. To be fair, the equipment I have in our TV room is much more powerful, so that's what I'm comparing this soundbar to. A few things to consider - no HDMI connections, not compatible with DTS-HD, short cord on power unit, and limited sound modes. The bottom line, this is perfect for a bedroom, dorm, or smaller room in your home. I could also see this working good for people in apartments. If you have a larger TV in a big room, I think there are better choices. Though for $99 this is a great value and better than speaker in an TV.

I've had my eye on soundbars for a while now, and one that did Bluetooth was a must. For the price, the audio on the NS-SB515 is very good. It's easily both loud and clear enough to be heard over both screaming toddlers and dishes being washed in the sink. The wireless subwoofer is fantastic as it can be placed almost anywhere (the power cord being the limiting factor). The device itself is wider than I would like, and it seems like mounting it for a wall-mounted TV is the preferred course of action here - but for those of us with heavy wooden TV hutches, we'll find ourselves short on space in a hurry (especially if you have a Kinect or Wii receiver up there too). The ability to remotely turn up or down the subwoofer and main audio independently is highly useful, as is the ability to remotely pair a bluetooth device. The remote control is pretty small, light, and imminently easy to lose - especially if you have little ones running around. The soundbar is sensitive enough to the remote that you can have it literally buried behind the TV, or try to turn it up or down across the room and it will still pick it up. The device remote codes don't seem to exist either in manual form or online, so - your best bet at avoiding death by remote overload is to have a trainable universal remote. The lack of an optical audio cable is a real issue; most newer TVs do not have audio-jack out - so don't even bother walking out of the store without an optical audio cable. I had two issues during setup: first, my LG TV's software needed an update in order to be compatible with this soundbar. When I plugged in the soundbar and turned off the TV's internal speakers, no sound was forthcoming... I was able to stream from my iPhone just fine (so I knew I didn't have a dud). I also was able to connect directly to another optical-audio device and that also worked. But no dice on any of the devices I had connected. Was this a big deal for a techie? No. Would this be a big deal for your not-so-tech-savvy uncle? Yep. Some TVs have a smart pairing ability and do not offer a PCM setting in the audio menu - which is directly mentioned in the Insignia manual. In other words: you might want to have your AV-savvy friend helping you if something goes wrong. Updating the TV software is a pretty extreme step to end up on and not something to be done by newbies. The second issue was that the power cord for the soundbar itself is *ridiculously short*. We're talking 2-3' max. That they include a mounting guide for this guy is laughable, because you'd never be able to get the darn thing plugged in if it was anywhere else but right next to your power source. I actually had to cut a new hole in the back of my TV hutch just to make sure the cord would reach. Those two issues aside, I'm pleased with the device's post-setup performance.

Works then doesn't work. Not impressed with the product. The demo at the store was super. At home it is not impressive.

Packaging was sound, nothing loose or rattling around in the box. Everything was wrapped good. The sound bar is simple, but does enhance the sound coming from your TV, and it gets pretty dang loud too. The wireless sub-woofer is great, fills the room with plenty of low end, and you can adjust the Bass lvl with the included remote. No running wires through ceilings or under carpets for the sub connection. I also like the down firing sub so there is no chance of it getting damaged by kids, dogs ect. The included remote is basic, but has every button you would need to control the sound. There are 3 "settings" on the remote. Standard, Theater, and News. I tried all 3 and have to say that Standard sounds the best to me. I watched a show on Hulu and connected my phone via bluetooth to the sound bar (very easy to connect the two) to listen to some tunes and everything worked and sounded good. Not as good as my more expensive Vizio sound bar. But good if all you are using are the TV speakers. I plan on gifting this soundbar to my Daughter to go along with the TV I bought her for Christmas. This is perfect for her. If I didnt already own another sound bar I would definitely consider using this myself. Its good enough.

I know there are higher powered sound bars, with wireless subwoofers, with more flexibility and better name brands on the market. However, none of them have reached my preferred price point of under a hundred bucks, until now. The first thing I did, after connecting the device to my TV, was play a game on my PS4 Pro... The connection I used was an optical cable and the game was Star Wars Battlefront... Just about everyone is familiar with the theme song of Star Wars with its highs and lows being a near perfect test for just such an occasion. I have to tell you, the sound quality was extremely impressive, and I was in no way expecting to hear sound this deep and clear from a budget level sound bar! If this is your number one reason for buying a sound bar and you're on a budget, then you're in for a real treat with this puppy as the sound is full and pleasing to your ears. The bar features 3 EQ presets to control the level of bass you have coming out of it and this is important because, the volume adjustments tend to be on the larger size. News - is almost completely devoid of bass and has very little activity for the subwoofer (I use this a lot at night). Standard - is fairly well balanced across the spectrum and has a decent amount of activity from the sub. Theater - is over the top, full range, and heavy boosts to the bass channels. In every one of these settings the sound quality holds up well and you never hear even an ounce of distortion even with the bar turned up fairly high. This is another impressive quality in my opinion. With the sound bar you also have 3 choices for your input... RCA - red and white stereo cables (the only cables included) Optical - High quality fiber optic cable and the best option for sound period Bluetooth - Wireless connectivity from just about any device Spend a little extra and buy the Optical cable, you won't be disappointed with the quality at all. Now speaking of Bluetooth, the bar is capable of remembering connections from up to 8 different devices and that's more than enough for most people. In our house, we've used a total of 3 connections. However, you have to turn Bluetooth off from all previously connected devices to get these to work as there's no way to add a new connection until you do this. Anyway, overall I am extremely impressed with the setup and even though a higher powered LG setup went on sale, a few days later, I've decided to keep the Insignia because, it has been just a very impressive surprise in terms of overall value and quality!

I have tried everything and I have yet to be able to use this item. It made 2 loud noise then nothing, maybe because the box was damaged.

Got on sale for 80$ controller is junk sound is either to loud or to quiet. Not worth anywhere near the 150$ non sale price. Very disappointed

Has a great sound but have a lot of trouble keeping the woofer going..have to unplug and reply all the time.

This is an awesome system that really brings it to you. Dont waste your time on overly priced items. This one is sure to be worth your money.

The sound is good for the price, but the sub will continuously disconnect while playing low volume scenes, HIGHLY annoying

First, I am a Best Buy member, I just couldn't find my card. So... let's start with the bad, because we want to end on a good note. - Some people complained that it didn't come with an optical audio cable. Really people? I would never expect anything to come with a premium cable like that just like I wouldn't expect everything to include an HDMI cable. It comes with the RCA audio cable AND a 3.5mm-to-RCA female adapter. Not every TV uses an optical audio cable. They put what is universal in there BAD: As far as volume and bass, there is no good middle ground with this system. It is either too much or not enough. I will explain why... - This is my BIGGEST pet peeve when it comes to ANY sound system (radios, phones, speakers, w/e): The volume control changes too drastically when trying to just increase or decrease by ONE single level. The range of control is too narrow. Often, the volume is too low, so I press the button ONCE. Just a quick tap, and BAM it's WAY too loud! Press it down again and it's too quiet. I HATE this! I like my movies loud, but my wife gets annoyed. It would be nice if the change in volume was more gradual. - The 3 preset sound styles to choose from aren't that great. It's a nice thought to have them, but I want to be able to make a custom setting. Maybe a phone app like JBL has would be cool? Not one of the 3 presets is perfect. You HAVE to choose one too. Voices are too soft or too loud, background sounds are too soft or too loud, bass is non-existent or shaking the walls . Not one preset as a good combo for me. If I put it on one that I like, the bass is WAY too loud even on the lowest setting. Again, good for me, but my wife doesn't like the house shaking everytime I watch a movie. - This is only slightly annoying but some may like it.. The sound bar auto-shuts off if you pause something for too long bc no sound is going to it. So you just have to turn the speaker back on with the remote or button on the speaker. - Another slightly annoying thing... My wife and I BOTH like to connect to our blue tooth speakers. Well...this speaker does not remember 2 bluetooth devices. So, when my wife is using it and I want to connect my phone instead, you have to tell her phone to forget the connection then reconnect the speaker to my phone. GOOD: If you like it loud all the time or quiet all the time, this speaker is for you! - I like things loud and lots of bass. Because of the reasons in the "bad" section, this speaker will be getting moved out of the living room and into my game room for video games and music. - I LOVE the idea of a non-directional wireless woofer. Because the woofer is non-directional you can put it anywhere and it just feels like the bass is coming from everywhere! It is connected via bluetooth to the sound bar so there are no wires! Ours is hidden behind a chair and it feels great anywhere you sit! Because of this, I will not buy another system without a non-directional woofer. My wife loves that I can hide it too! She hates clutter and cords. - The remote is TINY and super simple to use! - The sound bar is super easy to read and tell what it's connected to. RED light = off , GREEN = wired input (usually your tv), BLUE = connected to blue tooth device (probably phone) - VERY easy to setup. If you cannot set this up, you probably should just go live in the woods away from technology. Actually, If you can't set this up, I'm amazed that you were even able to find my review! - Easy to connect blue tooth devices

I found this product on the website, but decided to buy it in store. I saved $30 by choosing an open box item that was in perfect condition.

This is a good soundbar! I don't like the subwoofer, so I don't use it. The soundbar by itself, gives good sound quality and volume! :)

I have yet to use this item when I do I will post a review. it was recommended by the Best Buy associate. & it had an excellent price

The sound bar has made our TV viewing experience better. We can hear the characters better.

I received the soundbar and found it to have great packaging which gave me hope, companies that spend time on good packaging usually care for the products they sell. Once I unpackaged the soundbar, I read the instructions which are great for the non-tech crowd. Very easy to install on the wall since a pattern for the mounting points is included. You have 2 options for wired sound input, 1 coxial and 1 digital optical cable. I found this useful because I have 2 audio sources, so I can run both to the sound bar. Now that I was all setup, I started trying multiple movies and sound sources. The mids to highs are amazing for a lower price point soundbar. The low is not extreme by any means, but for normal TV viewing or bass at night when the kids are asleep, it is perfect. I have a full 7.1 system for real killer sound. The surround effect from the sound bar fills the room with great delightful sound and even at a far distance, gives a movie theater like experience. Next was the Bluetooth, it connected to multiple Android devices within seconds, sound was crisp and did not have any weird noises, it may be mainly from the quality of the Bluetooth output of the devices, but I did not get the noises some were reporting. If you are looking for a great soundbar at a low price point, look at this one, especially if you get it on sale, snag it quick!

Makes a difference with the newer TV's that have decreased speaker functionality, especially when the remote works properly.

Not a bad soundboard for the bedroom. It does have alot of bass, highs could be better.

It's good for the price but I had a bad expiriance worked good for 2 days then just quit