Sound quality: Klipsch's Stream RW-1 had fair overall sound quality. Bass has good impact but is prominent , boomy and goes fairly deep. Midrange is fairly even but is grainy and muffled. Treble is extended but is very subdued and a bit sizzly. 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 except wired is slightly less muffled. The speaker is monophonic. When combined with a second unit to form a stereo pair, because these are two separate speakers they can be placed to provide better stereo separation than many other models and the midrange is muffled and congested - score remains fair.
Ease of use: We found the Klipsch Stream RW-1 ease of use to be good overall. Volume controls are in a prominent place but nothing to indicate that it is a volume control except + and - symbols which are high contrast and backlit, no index markings and lacks audible or visual indication of when you reach the max settings. Also, the volume control is an unlabeled multifunction control with the mute function to reset unit. Works with line in input. The mute controls is well marked, well placed, clear indication when it is engaged and mutes the line input. Selecting sources requires app to be installed, app can switch between wireless sources but can't switch to line input source in App which requires physically plugging in the 3.5mm jack to activate line in port which in turn disconnects from WiFi content. However, WiFi content has priority when reconnected. 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 in DLNA systems. Remote 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 a bit hard to see but has mute symbol (the small speaker symbol next to the volume slider),when engaged clearly indicates that the unit is muted (with a not symbol). App - source selection: only works for Wi-Fi and lacks ability to select line inputs. Transport controls uses standard play/pause, skip controls, lacks scan but has a scrub bar. The app occasionally glitched, stopped responding or lost connection to speaker.
