Sound quality: Sony's SRS-XB12 had fair overall sound quality. Bass has little impact is subdued and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is somewhat grainy, nasal and bit constricted and edgy. Treble is a bit prominent, somewhat sizzly and upper treble is muted. Doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience, sounds somewhat congested and is lacking in detail. Bluetooth and wired sound quality are similar. Provides a decent volume level in a small sized room. The speaker is monophonic. When two units are combined to form a stereo pair; its sound stage can be made wider depending on placement and room ambience is so-so - score remains fair.
Ease of use: We found the Sony SRX-XB12 ease of use to be 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 labeled and multifunctioned button which is also the power button on unit 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 sources involves plug and unplug - The line input has priority over Bluetooth when plugged in with slight or no delay. Unambiguous. Aux input label is low contrast.
