Sound quality: Sony's HT-S350 delivers sound quality that falls in the Fair range, meaning that it has sonic shortcomings that leave a lot to be desired when listening to music but don't rule it out for dialog and movie effects. In the Standard sound field mode bass has good impact, but is somewhat prominent and boomy, and the deepest bass is lacking. The midrange is fairly even, but is somewhat muffled and grainy. The treble is fairly extended but subdued, somewhat smeared, and the mid-treble is muted. This model does only a so-so job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), and sounds somewhat congested. When playing back stereo program material in the Standard mode the sound field extends a bit above, but not much beyond the sides of speaker array, and there is no sense of depth. The other sound modes have effects ranging from not much to noticeable, which may include making the sound field taller, or making the bass more prominent and boomy. The Voice mode made sounds in the vocal range sound a bit more etched, which may make them stand out more. When Dolby Digital 5.1 channel program material is played back in the Standard mode the width and height of the sound field expands, and depending on the program material can extend well beyond the sides and well above the top of the soundbar. The other sound modes made the sound field a bit bigger; the Music sound mode also sounded a bit muffled. The Voice sound mode made voices a bit more prominent. There was no significant difference in sound quality between the HDMI, optical, and Bluetooth inputs. The system can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV ease of use: Acceptable overall.
Features ease of use: Acceptable overall.
