Sound quality: Klipsch's RSB-8 delivers sound quality that falls in the Very Good range - although it has some noticeable sonic quirks it reproduces music and dialog very well. The bass has good impact, but is somewhat boomy and the deepest bass is lacking. The midrange is fairly even, but is somewhat soft and a bit hazy and grainy. The treble is fairly extended. This model does a decent job of recovering the actual room ambience of recordings (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), but sounds a bit congested. The various sound modes have a noticeable effect - the Dialog mode makes the midrange more prominent and harsh, the Surround mode makes the sound louder, more bassy, and a bit echoey, and the Night mode reduces the bass, lowers the volume, and makes the midrange sound a bit nasal. There was no significant difference between the HDMI, optical, aux, Bluetooth, and WiFi inputs. The system 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. HDMI CEC setup is quick and straight forward; HDMI CEC must be engaged for the HDMI ARC function to work, but unlike the typical HDMI CEC connection the TV remote is not claimed to control any sound bar function. It comes with an HDMI cable for TV connection, optical or stereo analog cables must be purchased separately if you want or need either of those to connect your TV. Ease of Use: If the soundbar 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 it's cluttered and that the response of the console to the remote's controls was somewhat erratic. App remotes that operate via WiFi can also be downloaded onto Apple and Android mobile devices; we found the general use section of these app remotes (used to control the soundbar for TV use like a physical remote) could only be used for muting the soundbar and adjusting its volume, and that those controls were occasionally unresponsive. Switching to the soundbar TV input couldn't be done with the app remotes themselves - it had to be done using the controls on the soundbar console or the physical remote supplied with the soundbar. The soundbar console lacks a power button but has an auto on/standby feature, and the source, volume, and mute controls are adequately identified and are easy to see and access. The console display has a highly visible muting status indicator and source and DSP effects mode indicators are readable from arms length; while it does indicate when the volume is being changed it does not show the volume level. The console display provides device status info by itself or can be used in conjunction with the app general remote screen.
Features setup and ease of use: Fair overall. Setup: WiFi setup requires an app download to an Apple or Android mobile device; if it is done using an app only it is straight forward (however it is slightly easier with the Android app than with the Apple app). If you have a router with a compatible WPS feature setting up on WiFi via WPS is fairly easy to do; although details that would avoid some possible confusion during the connection process are left out, the instructions do provide the basic information needed. While WiFi setup doesn't require that the soundbar be registered with the manufacturer for network functionality like with some other setups, we noticed that the Android version of the app may ask the user for access to the host mobile device's contacts and/or phone management function in order to use a particular Internet streaming service - something that we have never seen before and that strikes us as peculiar and intrusive. Bluetooth pairing requires a long press of a well marked button on the remote or console that is also used for Bluetooth source selection. Ease of Use: The remote buttons are well labeled but the layout is cluttered and the response of the console to the remote's controls was somewhat erratic. App remotes that operate via WiFi can also be downloaded onto Apple and Android mobile devices. We found both the general sections (used to control the soundbar like a typical physical remote) and the streaming content player sections (used to play audio streamed from the Internet, the mobile device, or from a computer on your home network) of these app remotes to have volume and mute controls were occasionally unresponsive. The general section of the app remotes was only useful for volume adjustment and muting - switching to any input other than an Internet streaming service could not be done with the app remotes themselves - it had to be done using the controls on the soundbar console or the physical remote supplied with the soundbar. Audio from Internet content provider Spotify can be steamed using the Klipsch apps or directly from the Spotify Connect app. The soundbar console lacks a power button but has an auto on/standby feature, and the source, volume, and mute controls are adequately identified and are easy to see and access. The console display has a highly visible muting status indicator and source and DSP effects mode indicators are readable from arms length; while it does indicate when the volume is being changed it does not show the volume level. The console display provides device status info by itself or can be used in conjunction with app remote screens.
