Review on ZVOX SoundBase 570 30" Sound Bar With Bluetooth, Built-In Subwoofer, And AccuVoice For Enhanced Audio Experience by Marc Alvarez

I bought the ZVOX Soundbase because I wanted something small and simple that lacked lots of buttons, lights, wires, or speaker stands that a toddler would find irresistible. My wife and I were both excited to get rid of all the components that came with a 3.1 system w/ a big ol’ receiver and sub. I’ve now had the ZVOX for eight months, and this is the review I wish had existed back before I bought it.The ZVOX is a clean, compact unit that looks great and feels solid under the TV. The built-in subwoofer was a huge selling point for me, and it really does put out a lot of bass. The five-speaker setup is perfect for most home theater applications with bright, clear dialogue even without the Accuvoice enhancer turned on. All in all the sound is excellent. For what it is, I give the ZVOX a 10/10 A+ 100 for Movie, TV, and video game audio. Outstanding.Music is where the sound begins to falter. In terms of steaming music from my phone or laptop via Bluetooth, the audio is only acceptable. When the song contains active bass or a quick, steady beat, you can hear the ZVOX and its little built-in subwoofer fighting to keep up; and sadly it usually can’t. There is a noticeable "suck-out” as the ZVOX tries to do everything at once. Sometimes it completely skips a bass hit or volume-shifts down to accommodate one. It sounds like a very slight, quick volume adjustment up and down as the ZVOX redirects power here and there to keep up with all the aspects of the song. My tiny Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth speaker sounds far better.The "suck-out” is only noticeable via the Bluetooth connection, but it is at its most extreme when playing vinyl. My biggest complaint with sound bars in general is their apparent incompatibility with a turntable, and I was hopeful the ZVOX would be an exception. Unfortunately for me, it is not. I have a Technics SL-Q202 connected to the ZVOX via a Schiit Mani pre-amp through the analog input, and I might as well have no turntable at all because the Soundbase renders it completely unlistenable. I tried different configurations and even a different turntable, built-in and separate pre-amps, different inputs, all three sound fields, fine-tuning bass and treble settings, and even an external powered subwoofer; but always the same result. Case in point: the ZVOX is not for turntables.Speaking of an external powered subwoofer, I thought I was being clever by purchasing one and connecting it to the ZVOX through the separate sub output (a really cool feature, by the way). I assumed this would take the bass out of the equation and fix the suck-out problem. It did not.As for the Bluetooth, it works great once it is connected, but sometimes I have to pair, count to ten, then re-pair because the pairing would cancel itself within a few seconds. To this day I’m not sure whether it is my phone that causes this (iPhone 6s) or the ZVOX, but no other device I pair with has given me this issue. It only takes an extra few seconds though, so it’s not a dealbreraker. Also it’s not every time.The orange LCD display works great, but it is extremely bright and kind of ugly. Again, this is not a dealbreaker. It does what it’s supposed to do, but there are times while we are watching a movie or listening to music when I’d like to discreetly adjust the volume or change the audio settings, and the ZVOX makes this impossible. Anything you do is flashed bright orange for all in the room to see. It can be distracting. Yet I also like the simplicity, so it’s a trade-off.The remote is tiny, but it is also simple and easy to use. I’ve seen reviews that claim it is too small and cheap-feeling, but I have no complaints. We never really used the Accuvoice dialogue enhancer nor the output leveling. I did try out the output leveling a few times and found it hurt sound quality just a little bit, so I never turned it on again. I like the ability to switch between the three sound fields and adjust bass and treble, but to be honest I hardly ever used those features.Overall I really like – even LOVE – the ZVOX for movies, TV, and video games – but not music. It is serviceable as a Bluetooth speaker, but I expected more sound quality in that arena. If you are looking for an upgrade to your TV speakers or a simplification of your home theater I cannot recommend the ZVOX enough. Even for a somewhat big room, the ZVOX is a crowd-pleaser.If you plan on playing a lot of music (especially vinyl) or connecting a turntable at all, you will be disappointed.I am giving the ZVOX four stars out of five because it is pretty excellent for what it is. It does not claim to be an audiophile system for music – nearly all the literature you’ll find online is about the unit’s ability to make TV and movies sound great, and despite the shortcomings I found it does exactly that extremely well.Epilogue: I am keeping the ZVOX, but will be hooking it up in the bedroom where we hardly ever listen to music – we make our own. This weekend I bought a proper receiver and re-connected my old speakers in the living room paired with that new powered subwoofer. After hooking everything up I put on a record and after eight long months of scratching my head my turntable sounded great again. Relief washed over me in an awesome wave. Now I just have to make sure my 19 month-old doesn’t screw around with it.