Sound quality: Sony's MHC-V13 had Fair overall sound quality - this model has sonic shortcomings that leave a lot to be desired when listening to music but don't rule it out for dialog. With the Equalizer settings set to produce the most even sound using the Sony Music Center app, bass has good impact, but is tubby and somewhat prominent, and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is somewhat muffled, grainy, a bit dark and grating, has a very noticeable plastic resonance, and is somewhat overwhelmed by the bass. Treble is fairly extended, the overall quality is a bit subdued, generally smeared and slightly sizzly. Does a so-so job of recovering room ambience, and the overall sound is somewhat congested. There is no significant difference between Bluetooth, USB, CD, and aux input sound quality. Provides a decent volume level in a medium sized room. When stereo paired with another unit the bass becomes more prominent and tubby, the room ambience recovery becomes echoey, and while there is more apparent stereo separation the sound field still doesn't extend much beyond the speaker enclosures; the overall sound quality improves slightly but remains in the Fair range.
Ease of use: We found the Sony MHC-V13 ease of use to be Very Good overall. Bluetooth pairing requires the press of a high contrast button; then discover with your device. There is an indication when unit is in pairing mode and when it has paired. Volume control is a labeled and high contrast, and has a non persistent numerical display that is easily repeatable. Source selector button is ambiguously labeled "Function"; unit has a display which momentarily indicates with words which source has been selected, then goes into source details which may be ambiguous concerning the actual source selected (name of BT device, # of CD tracks and total time, # of USB folders).
