Sound quality: In the Music mode Cambridge Audio's TV5 (v2) delivers sound quality that falls in the good range - it reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound. The bass has good impact and goes deep, but is somewhat prominent, boomy, a bit muddy. The midrange is slightly nasal, and somewhat hazy. The treble is smeared; while most of the treble is subdued there is a prominent upper treble peak that can give it a harsh quality with some program material. This model doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded) and generally sounds somewhat congested and lacking in detail and complexity. The TV and Film modes don't sound much different than each other, but sound less full than the Music mode, while the Voice mode makes voices more prominent by somewhat muting tones outside of the voice range. There was no significant difference between HDMI, optical, analog, and Bluetooth inputs. The system can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Very good overall. Setup: Programming to respond to a TV remote was quick, easy, and straight forward. Although the Cambridge Audio website says that the unit is HDMI CEC capable, no instructions for turning on or off this feature are provided. All appropriate cables for TV connection are included with the system. Ease of Use: This model can work seamlessly with a TV - it can respond to the volume and mute buttons of an HDMI CEC compatible TV's remote when it is connected to the TV via the HDMI ARC ports (provided the feature can be enabled), or you can program the soundbar to respond to the volume and mute controls of the remotes of many TVs. If you decided to use the soundbar's own remote you'll find it somewhat cluttered but easy to use. The soundbar console only has volume controls which can also unmute unit if it has been muted with the remote. While they are adequately identified, they are hidden under a removable grill. The console display shows power, muting, and DSP (digital sound processing) mode status. The source indication consists of unlabeled color coded light that requires the instructions to decode, and while the volume level change indication is visible from the typical listening position no volume level is shown.
Features setup and ease of use: Good overall. Setup: Pairing a Bluetooth device required a long push of a well marked button - easy and straight forward. Ease of Use: The remote is somewhat cluttered but easy to use. The soundbar console only has volume controls which can also unmute unit if it has been muted with the remote. While they are adequately identified, they are hidden under a removable grill. The console display shows power, muting, and DSP mode status. The source indication consists of an unlabeled color coded light that requires the instructions to decode, and while the volume level change indication is visible from the typical listening position there is no volume level is shown.
