Sound quality: Harman Kardon's SB26 sound bar had good overall sound quality. Bass has decent definition but so-so impact and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is smooth but slightly nasal, and treble has good extension but is noticeably recessed. There's good recovery of low-level detail and room ambience--a sense of the acoustic space where the recording was made--in the bass through midrange, but the sound lacks treble air. The surround mode feature increased the apparent height and width of the sound; while it's more diffuse and echoey, it's not more 3-dimensional. This sound bar can provide satisfying volume levels in a medium-sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Good overall. Setup: Programming the soundbar to respond to a TV remote was quick, easy, and straight forward - once you find the instructions. The programming instructions are in the on-line Owner's manual; the soundbar and its packaging make reference to the unit being programmable, but there is no reference to this feature or the on-line Owner's manual in the quick start guide that comes with the unit. No instructions for turning on or off the HDMI CEC function are provided in the quick start guide; the on-line instructions indicate that when the soundbar is connected with an HDMI cable to an HDMI CEC compatible TV the TV's remote can only be used to turn on the soundbar when the TV is turned on; it does not claim a TV remote will control the soundbar volume or mute controls as with the typical HDMI CEC connection. The soundbar and its on-line instructions make reference to the Apple and Android mobile device Bluetooth remote control apps, but no download instructions are provided. All appropriate cables for TV connection are included with the system. Ease of Use: If the soundbar has been programmed to respond to a TV remote control volume and mute commands it can work seamlessly with most TVs. The soundbar's own physical remote is uncluttered and its controls are well labeled. We found The app remotes to be easy to use and glitch-free. The console is a weak spot - it has power, volume, and mute buttons but none for TV source selection, and although all of the controls are easy to access most have poor contrast and are hard to see. The SB26 does not have much of a console display - it shows power and muting status but lacks a volume level or TV source indicator. It does have an OSD (on-screen display that is superimposed on the TV picture of an HDMI cable connected TV) that provides numerical volume, muting status and DSP (digital sound processing) effects information that is visible from wherever the TV can be seen. The OSD info shown is momentary, which minimizes how much it obstructs the TV picture; there is no option to temporarily turn it off if you find that it is bothersome.
Features setup and ease of use: Good overall. Setup: The soundbar and its on-line instructions make reference to the Apple and Android mobile device Bluetooth remote control apps, but no download instructions are provided. Pairing a Bluetooth device required a long push of a well marked button - easy and straight forward. Ease of Use: The soundbar's physical remote is uncluttered with controls that are well labeled, but the Bluetooth source selection can't be made from the remote. We found the app remote general sections (used to control the soundbar like the physical remote it comes with) easy to navigate, well marked, well organized, and glitch-free. The console is a weak spot - it has power, volume, and mute buttons, but the only source selection control that it has is for Bluetooth, and although all of the controls are easy to access most have poor contrast so are hard to see. The SB26 does not have much of a console display - it shows power and muting status but lacks a volume level or TV source indicator. It does have an OSD (on-screen display that is superimposed on the TV picture of an HDMI cable connected TV) that provides numerical volume, muting status and DSP effects information that is visible from wherever the TV can be seen; the info shown is momentary when the HDMI ARC (as in the TV) source is used but stays on the screen for all other sources.
