Sharper Image SBT2015BK Volta Bluetooth Sound System Base For TV, Built-In Subwoofer, FM Radio, RCA Input Only

I got this for my mother because she was using just the built-in speakers on her Sony flatscreen. There are limited inputs available on this unit, which would be a turn-off for more tech savvy individuals, but for her usage and needs, she absolutely loves this unit. It produces surprisingly suitable bass for such a small unit, which far surpasses her modest needs. Other reviewers have noted that they have to use the Sharper Image remote to control sound volume, but I found a workaround suitable for people with modest needs: I connected the headphone out from the TV into the AUX input of the speaker base. I adjusted the speaker base volume to mid-range manually, and now my mother can adjust the volume using her single universal cable remote by adjusting the TV volume up and down. This would not work for people who want studio quality sound, but if that is your need you would be investing in a $1000 receiver instead of this all-in-one speaker base. As it stands, the speaker base improves the sound quality immeasurably, and looks really good under the TV. She also loves the fact that it functions as an FM radio, and luckily our local stations come in clear as a bell despite our somewhat rural location. I like the bluetooth function when I'm cleaning the house, and have successfully paired my phone, my media player, and tablet to the unit; all of them running some flavor of Android from Kit Kat to Lollipop. If your needs and usage are modest and realistic, this is a fantastic unit. My mom couldn't be happier.

Sounds great. Arrived in a large box, well-packed and protected. I was able to hook it up to my TV/cable box without an issue. I want to rate this 3 stars because I have quite a few nitpicky complaints, but the quality of sound deserves 5 stars so I'm compromising at 4.My complaints:1. No clock display. I already was aware of this after reading other reviews so I'm not complaining because of the false advertising in the product picture. I bought this knowing it doesn't have a clock display. I just really think it's useless for the display to constantly say "LINE" or "RADIO" while you're using that input.2. Not compatible with PS4 (unless you buy a converter box and digital optical cable). Our whole reason for buying this soundbar was because we were tired of constantly turning our volume up or down while watching Mad Men and other "conversationally quiet" shows/movies on Netflix. We had to buy a digital optical cable and a converter box just to be able to use this speaker with the PS4. And the converters need a power source, so every time we want to use the PS4 we need to unplug the audio cables from the cable box, plug them into the converter, and plug the converter into an outlet. First world problems, right? I'm not a techy person so this makes no logical sense to me. If the HDMI is enough to carry sound from the PS4 to the television speakers, then why is it not enough to carry sound to the soundbar that ALSO uses HDMI?? We have a pretty open TV set-up so it's not that much of a hassle, but anyone who has a cable management system will find this to be a deal breaker. Here are the names of the cable and converter I purchased from Amazon to hook up to the PS4: BlueRigger Digital Optical Audio Toslink Cable... &Portta PETDTAP Digital Coax and Optical Toslink...3. This won't pair with my cable remote. So we're now using 3 remotes for our television, soundbar, and cable.4. Turning it "off" with the remote just puts it in a light-flashing standby mode. I also knew this from reading reviews, but I didn't know that when you turn the main switch off in the back it resets the volume level. And when it resets, it's set to the highest volume level. So I either need to leave this on standby mode and feel guilty knowing that it's sucking up power just to flash the word "standby" to a dark room all night OR I can quickly wake myself up in the morning when I turn it on and it blares the news at top volume until I can the volume lowered. Neither option should be available in modern technology.5. The bluetooth doesn't like to sync with my laptop. It easily syncs with phones, and it easily synced with my laptop the first time. But I've only gotten it to sync twice since that first time without sitting in front of it for 20min, alternately resetting the soundbar and my laptop.tl;dr Sometimes I feel like this soundbar is messing with me, like a grumpy cat hogging your spot on the couch. But it has really good sound, so I can't say it's a total loss.

They say you get what you pay for. That isn't true. Sometimes you get more. Sometimes you get less. This device is the latter case.When you turn it off, it doesn't show the time. (It never did, despite the image in the cover pretending it does). It just flashes "STBY" in bright letters at night. So you're better off leaving it off. When I contacted support about this, I was told that the clock feature doesn't exist and they couldn't do anything about it so too bad so sad, basically.Within a year, the bluetooth had started failing. I emailed customer service within a year of purchase about this and if I'm reading my email correctly, the response I got was "crickets."Not long after, the tiny remote died. No replacement device appears to be available. That killed the Radio option. Without the remote, you can't change channels. It's permanently stuck on the Pittsburgh NPR station. Which wouldn't be bad except we moved to Michigan.Now the only way to use this device is by connecting it to another device with physical wires and turning the volume up and down on the device itself.Now I have a Sharper Image of how this company works, and wouldn't touch one of their devices again with a ten foot pole.