Sound quality: ZVOX's SB400 earned a score of poor in our sound quality assessments - we found that this model's volume level wandered between the level we set it at and a lower level and could differ significantly depending on the program material. If not for the volume level problem, the SB400 would have scored fair for sound quality - it has sonic shortcomings that leave a lot to be desired when listening to music but don't rule it out for dialog. It has three sound modes and settings for three listening positions. In the Surround 2 mode (the most balanced of the three sound modes) and the face forward position setting the bass has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is prominent and boomy. Midrange is somewhat muffled, and grainy. Treble is extended, but sizzly. Doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), sounds somewhat echoey, congested, and lacks fine detail. The Surround 1 mode is less echoey and has a more pronounced and rougher midrange and a slightly constricted sound, in the Surround 3 mode the midrange sounds more echoey; we found the magnitude of these differences varied depending on the program material. The Accuvoice feature makes the midrange prominent, tinny, and harsh, and distorts the treble. There was not much of a difference between the face forward and the wall mount position sound settings. The face up position sound setting sounds similar to the face forward position sound setting if the treble control is adjusted to compensate; the main difference is that the sound is direct in face forward position and diffuse in face up position. There was no significant difference in sound quality between the optical, coaxial, 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. Setup: Programming the soundbar to respond to a TV remote was quick, easy, and straight forward. The SB400 can also be controlled by TV remotes from major brands without programming; while activation and deactivation of this feature is quick and easy, it is not intuitive so instructions that are hard to follow have to be referred to. The system comes with optical digital and stereo analog audio cables for TV connection, a coaxial digital audio cable must be purchased separately if it is needed for TV connection. Ease of Use: This model can work seamlessly with most TVs if it is programmed or set to the TV remote's volume and mute commands. If you decide to use the SB400's remote instead you'll find it's easy to use although the labeling can be a little confusing because of the button spacing. The soundbar's console has well marked power, source, and volume, controls. A momentary press of the power button mutes and unmutes the volume, but there is no marking on the unit to indicate this. All controls are on the right side towards the rear where they may not be easy to see or access. The console display momentarily shows the source selected, the numeric volume level, mute status, and the DSP (digital sound processing) effects mode setting, it is large enough to be seen from a typical listening position.
Features setup and ease of use: Good overall. Setup: The console has optical digital and coaxial digital audio inputs that share one input setting and can't be selected individually (the idea is to use one or the other, but not both). If both are connected the coaxial input has priority over the optical input. Bluetooth pairing is very easy - when input is switched to Bluetooth the soundbar is automatically in pairing mode. Ease of Use: The remote is easy to use although the labeling can be a little confusing because of the button spacing. The soundbar console's power, source, and volume, controls are well marked, a momentary press of the power button mutes and unmutes the volume, but there is no marking on the unit to indicate this. All controls are on the right side towards the rear where they may not be easy to see or access. The console display momentarily shows the source selected, the numeric volume level, mute status, and the DSP effects mode setting, it is large enough to be seen from a typical listening position.
