Sound quality: Sony's XB41 had Good overall sound quality. Bass has good impact but is somewhat boomy, a bit prominant and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is fairly even but somewhat hazy and a bit grainy. Treble is a bit smeared and subdued and upper treble is muted. Does a so so job of recovering room ambience, and sounds congested and is lacking in detail. There is no significant difference between Bluetooth and Aux inputs. Provides a decent volume level in a medium sized room - but gets harsh at max volume. When combined with a second unit to form a stereo pair they provide better stereo separation than a single unit and room recovery improves to decent however, the overall score remains the same.
Ease of use: We found the Sony SRX-XB41 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 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. Unit also has NFC capability. 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.
