Sound quality: Harman Kardon's Onyx Studio 5 had Good overall sound quality. Bass has good impact and goes deep but is a prominent and boomy. Midrange is somewhat even but a bit muffled and grainy and the bass can overwhelm the lower midrange. Treble is fairly extended but is a somewhat subdued and smeared. Does a decent job of recovering room ambience; overall sound is somewhat congested. No significant difference between Bluetooth and wired sound quality. Provides a decent volume level in a large sized room.
Ease of use: We found the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 5 ease of use to be very good overall. Volume controls are low contrast, there is nothing to indicate that it is a volume control except + and - symbols. Bluetooth pairing requires a press of a low contrast button and then the selection of unit from Bluetooth selection list on source device; unit provides an obvious indication that the unit is in pairing mode as well as when pairing has actually occurred. Switching inputs: Bluetooth has priority, line-in audio plays, but is automatically overridden by connected wireless audio playback, when wireless audio is stopped (does not need to be disconnected) line-in audio resumes. Aux input label is low contrast.
