Sound quality: Klipsch's Reference R-4B delivers sound quality that falls in the good range - it reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite obvious shortcomings. Bass has good impact but is a bit boomy, and the deepest bass is lacking. Midrange is even, but a bit soft. Treble is extended, but is constricted and sizzly. Does a decent job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), but is slightly congested, and lacks a bit of detail. The effect of the voice mode ranges from none to making the sound harsh and grainy depending on the program material, and the surround mode makes the sound stage bigger and wider, but more diffuse. There was no significant difference in sound quality between the optical, analog, and Bluetooth inputs. The sound bar can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Very good overall. Programming the soundbar to respond to a TV remote was quick, easy, and straight forward. The system comes with an optical digital audio cable for TV connection; a stereo analog audio cable must be purchased separately if you want or need to connect your TV that way. If the Reference R-4B has been programmed to respond to a TV remote control volume and mute commands it can work seamlessly with most TVs. If you decide to use the soundbar's remote instead you'll find that the major controls on remote are well arranged, but the source selection buttons are hard to find due to clutter. The console lacks a power control but has auto on/off feature, and the source, volume, and mute controls are adequately identified and easy to see and access. Its display shows power status and has a muting indicator that can be seen from the typical listening position, but otherwise the display is only readable from arms length away. The source display consists of text and symbols, there are DSP (digital sound processing) effects mode indicators, and there is an indication when the volume is being changed, but no level is shown.
Features setup and ease of use: Very good overall. The remote's major controls are well arranged, but the source selection buttons are hard to find due to clutter. The console lacks a power control but has an auto on/off feature, and the source, volume, and mute controls are adequately identified and easy to see and access. Its display shows power status and has a muting indicator that can be seen from the typical listening position, but otherwise is only readable from arms length away. The source display consists of text and symbols, there are DSP effects mode indicators, and there is an indication when the volume is being changed, but no level is shown. Pairing of a Bluetooth device required a long push of a well marked button - easy and straight forward.
