Sound quality: JBL's Cinema SB350 had fair sound quality. Bass has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is boomy and somewhat prominent. Midrange is muffled, and treble is recessed and the upper treble is rolled off. This model doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience--a sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded--and lacks detail. The Virtual Sound mode imparts an echo to the sound. There was no significant difference in sound quality whether we used an HDMI, optical, or Bluetooth connection. The analog input has a similar tonal balance but sounds a bit hazier than the others. The sound bar can provide satisfying volume in a medium-sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Good overall. Setup: Programming the soundbar to respond to a TV remote was quick, easy, and straight forward. All appropriate cables for TV connection are included with the system. Ease of Use: If this model has been programmed to respond to a TV remote control volume and mute commands it can work seamlessly with most TVs. That's a good thing because its own remote's buttons are cluttered and not clearly labeled. The soundbar console's power, source, volume, and mute controls are easy to access. The console display manly consists of unlabeled color-coded lights that indicate the source selected and the DSP (digital sound processing) effects mode setting that requires the instruction manual to decode. The volume indicator shows if it is being increased or decreased but does not show the level.
Features setup and ease of use: Fair overall. Setup: Pairing a Bluetooth device required a long push of a well marked button - easy and straight forward. Ease of Use: The remote's buttons are cluttered and not clearly labeled. The soundbar console's power, source, volume, and mute controls are easy to access. The console display manly consists of unlabeled color-coded lights that indicate the source selected and the DSP effects mode setting that requires the instruction manual to decode. The volume indicator shows if it is being increased or decreased but does not show the level.
