In Sd1 surround mode, the vocal was detailed and clear, if perhaps a touch hot-something that eventually became grating over time in this mode. The kick drums had real visceral impact and drumlike timbre that was missing from all the other bars I could hear the decay of the drumhead that followed the strikes. It only took a few seconds of my very first track on the Zvox-John Mayer’s “Gravity”-to recognize the value of its deep, powerful bass. I found it edgy, but I’m guessing those with compromised hearing will hear appropriate compensation rather than being bothered by it. The Accuvoice button disables the PhaseCue processing and pulls vocals up even beyond what I heard on the Sd1 mode. In the mix, sometimes making them harder to discern. Sd3 took the staging out another big notch in all directions depending on the content, it had the effect of making some elements originate from the side walls and pushed the vocals deeper back Sd2 tamed the vocals a bit and expanded the front image in all dimensions. Sd1 applies the least amount of processing, providing the most etched vocals while still delivering a rather large soundstage that went easily beyond the ends of the bar and was both tall and noticeably deep. Experimenting with the settings on different material revealed not-so-subtle differences. By default, the bar is always in one of these three modes there’s no way to defeat it fully. More critical is the surround button that cycles through three levels of the company’s long-established PhaseCue surround processing, which is said to manipulate phase information in the signal to spread the sound and create a soundstage far beyond the edges of the product.
#ZVOX SOUNDBAR TV#
The bar has IR learning to operate volume and mute from your settop box or TV remote, though you’ll probably also want access to the supplied remote, which offers bass/treble adjustments and can activate Zvox’s Accuvoice dialogue booster and Output Leveling dynamic compression feature for late-night listening. The credit-card remote is a bit larger than a playing card and uses membrane buttons.
#ZVOX SOUNDBAR BLUETOOTH#
There are no HDMI inputs, but you get one each digital (a shared optical or coax), analog RCA, and Bluetooth (aptX). None of the other tested bars came close. In my room, bass sweeps revealed substantial output below 50 Hz and still noticeable bass at 40 Hz before it dropped off. DSP-controlled Class D amplifiers provide 140 watts of power in total and allow the bass to push cleanly down to a claimed 42 Hz (with no –3 dB point specified).
#ZVOX SOUNDBAR DRIVERS#
Inside the bar are three forward-firing 2-inch full-range drivers placed left, center, and right, and a pair of 4-inch long-throw woofers.
#ZVOX SOUNDBAR MANUAL#
Manual controls for power, volume, and input are on the bar’s right side. There’s an alphanumerical display on the right that becomes momentarily visible behind the metal grille when adjustments are made to volume, input, or the listening mode. At 12.6 pounds, it feels and looks substantial next to the toy-like demeanor of most soundbars. There are separate EQ settings for wall mounting or either tabletop position. The brushed black aluminum cabinet measures 43.9 inches wide by 5.7 inches tall, or you can lay it on its back and it’ll stick up just 3.2 inches. The SB500, recently reduced from $600 to $500, is the middle soundbar between Zvox’s SB400 and new SB700 it’s recommended for TVs 50 to 90 inches. Only recently have they introduced traditional soundbars, but with the same commitment to creating standalone theater systems that deliver uncommonly prodigious bass without a separate subwoofer. Zvox was an early purveyor of the soundbase, or rather, SoundBase, to respectfully recognize the company trademark they created before anyone else began using that phrase to generically define the category.
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