Sound quality: JBL's Xtreme had good sound quality overall. Bass has good impact, but is prominent and tubby and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is fairly even, but is a bit congested, dark and overwhelmed by the bass. Treble is extended but prominent and sizzly. Does a so-so job of recovering room ambience and lacks detail. No significant difference between Bluetooth and wired sound quality. Provides a decent volume level in a medium- to a large-sized room. When two units are used as a stereo pair, sound quality remains the same, except bass is tubbier. Since two separate speakers are used, the sound stage can be made wider depending on placement, and it recovers a little more room ambience. However, after stereo pairing via the JBL Connect feature, an audio glitch is evident with audio dropouts before it gets stable.
Ease of use: We found the system's ease of use to be good overall. Although volume controls are in a prominent location and use raised button controls, they are low contrast. There is also nothing to indicate that it is a volume control except + and - symbols, and no index markings or graphical display volume level. However, the speaker does produce a tone when you reach the max setting. Bluetooth pairing is very easy. The unit lacks a dedicated source switch; but, incoming calls take priority over audio playback, and a Bluetooth audio connection takes priority over wired audio playback. To switch between line-in and Bluetooth audio sources, stop Bluetooth playback. There is a delay before the speaker begins wired playback. Line-in port is well labeled but in an poor location and must be accessed underneath a zipper. This unit lacks a remote; not an issue if it's being used within arm's reach or if it's being used with a mobile Bluetooth device, which can be used like a remote itself.
