Sound quality: Tivoli Audio's Orb had good overall sound quality. Bass has good impact but is lacking detail, a bit subdued and lacks deep bass. Midrange is a bit nasal and hazy. Treble is subdued, a bit smeared and lacks upper treble. Doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience and is congested. Provides a decent volume level in a small to medium sized room. No significant difference between WiFi and wired sound quality. The speaker is monophonic. Because these are two separate speakers they can be placed to provide better stereo separation than many other models, the midrange is congested - score remains good.
Ease of use: We found the Tivoli Audio Orb ease of use to be good overall. Volume controls are not in a prominent place and are poorly located and are prone to accidental actuation and nothing to indicate what the volume control are except + and - symbols which are high contrast, lacks index markings and lacks audible or visual indication of when you reach the max settings. Works with line in input. The mute control is unlabeled play/pause control on top of unit (If wall or stand mounted) which lacks indication when it is engaged. Source selector is a labeled button on console that is poorly placed/hidden underneath the unit if wall or stand mounted with ambiguous indicators of source selection. Source selection from the app only allows wireless content switching but cannot switch to line-in source. WiFi: Setup requires an app downloaded to a device, easy but not intuitive - need instructions and is included in the app, involves switching between the app and device settings and inputting Wi-Fi network password. DLNA: DLNA is not mentioned and key steps are omitted and does not explain how to connect to DLNA systems. WiFi Direct (DDMS Mode): Wi-Fi Direct pairing requires a press of the setup button for 3 seconds and selection of unit from Wi-Fi selection list on source device; however, at time of testing a key step was missing from the online PDF instructions - a required password was not documented which did not allow completion of this connection type. Bluetooth: Switch to Bluetooth source via source button then unit is always in pairing mode when not already paired, shows a pairing mode indicator. Indicates when pairing mode has occurred and never times out. However, to pair with another device requires the press of a multifunction button not labeled Bluetooth. Remote Smartphone app: Volume control is well marked (slider next to a speaker symbol), and shows positional indication of level but no numeric or hash mark references, fine volume adjustments require a steady hand. Mute control is Play/Pause as mute is clear and well marked but doesn't mute line-in. Smartphone app only works for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth sources but lacks ability to select line inputs. App transport controls: Standard play/pause, skip controls, lacks scan but has a scrub bar. Overall app navigation can be sluggish and glitchy.
