Sound quality: In the Surround 2 mode, which is the most balanced of the three sound modes offered, ZVOX's SoundBase 570 delivers sound quality that falls in the range of good - it reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite obvious shortcomings. Bass is inconsistent - the lower bass has good impact but is prominent and boomy, while the upper bass is subdued. Midrange is nasal, and grainy. Treble is extended, but prominent and sizzly. Doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), and sounds somewhat echoey, congested, constricted, lacks fine detail and complexity, and a slight pulsating quality is noticeable on some program material. The Surround 1 mode is less echoey and has a more pronounced and rougher midrange, but has a more constricted sound. In the Surround 3 mode the midrange sounds more echoey. The sound base can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Very good overall. Setup: Programming the soundbase to respond to a TV remote was quick, easy, and straight forward. The SoundBase 570 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 wanted or needed to connect the TV. Ease of Use: This model can work seamlessly with most TVs if it is programmed or set to recognize the TV remote's volume and mute commands. If you decide to use the 570'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 console has all of the basic controls - power, source, volume, and mute; they are adequately marked, but they are placed on the front base under an overhang 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: Bluetooth pairing is very easy - when the Bluetooth input is selected the soundbase is automatically put into 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 console has all of the basic controls - power, source, volume, and mute; they are adequately marked, but they are placed on the front base under an overhang 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. The Bluetooth connection was erratic, sometimes previously paired Bluetooth source devices would not automatically reconnect when the soundbase was turned off and then than back on again so they would have to be manually reconnected.
