Now that it has been some time with the KubikOne, sharing my listening impressions further. Firstly, the music:
One of the reasons I had dialed back on listening to music in the recent past was the act of firing up all of the chain before settling down to listen. It may be actually as simple as switching on all the electronics but with time at a premium, it had cut into the hobby. Now, armed with the all in one box of KubikOne which requires me to only either plug in a CD in my UDP203 or even better, connect with my AK70 through AptX - I am actually listening to more music
The signature is very different from my previous Paradigm speakers as KubikOne is definitely more mellow. However, the good part is that it is mellow without becoming a Wharfedale. The vocals still are plenty clear and do not sound recessed. With the multiple bass settings, I can adjust the bass to my liking without it becoming over powering. Even with the "movie" mode equivalent setting, the bass is never boomy. I think the active pairing has been done very well. Since it is a sound bar, the imaging is limited and the speakers do not disappear. It does not affect my listening as I have a listening spot but for those who prefer a spatial imaging, it may be worthwhile checking.
There is no particular preference of its signature as I have listened to Jazz, metal, rock, bad hindi classic CDs. You name it. If anything, it has made the old hindi classics from Kishore Kumar so much tolerable despite the bad recordings. They always sound bright on my Paradigm set up.
However, do note that sound is not small in spite of the limited imaging and the speakers punch above their weight, or size in this case. They go plenty loud with distorting.
Sound for TV:
My previous Samsung LCD had really crappy speakers but my LG C7 actually has pretty decent speakers. I had listened to some YouTube videos of AC/DC on my TV speakers and the sound was pretty "large". However, KubikOne takes the movie experience multiple notches above. The bass is tight and adequate though a SW will come in the near future. The dialogues are clear and makes my AV set up so much more enjoyable.
In a nutshell, this speaker has revived my music listening habits through the sheer convenience it presents. It is so much cleaner with multitude of wires missing. It can never replace a really good tower set up but I will settle for a set up which I listen to more than just see more
It is a niche product purely in terms of it being tagged as a sound bar which comes across pricey. I see it as a pure active stereo set up which is significantly cheaper than a full blown set up I had initially planned for. Active speakers + good DAC + wireless/multiple source inputs = All within 1.1L
