Review on Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 Connectivity by Lindsay Siebert

Very good sound quality - got it with my traditional Kenwood receiver compared Bose speakers. High quality sound supported by a powerful subwoofer makes watching movies on a flat screen TV almost like being in the cinema. The Clearvoice function is particularly effective for clear dialogue in movies. Controlling the device from the iPad application is very convenient - you can control all functions and play Pandora or Spotify directly from the device. The application also clearly displays the health of the panel - this more than makes up for the lack of display on the panel itself noted by other reviewers. The only disappointment is the inconsistent operation over HDMI with ARC. The device does not turn on when the connected cable box and TV are activated - this has to be done manually (but easily via the iPad app). Then you have to manually set up the audio transmission via the HDMI cable. I had the same issue with a 5 year old Samsung soundbar replacing this one. I was hoping that over time the HDMI interface bugs would be fixed. Once tuned it works and sounds great. You'll have to do this setup manually every time you turn on the TV, but luckily the app makes it easy. Haven't had time to play with the Alexa skill yet.