- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Review Updates
- Best Soundbar
- Best Mid-Range
- Best Budget
- Comparison
- Lineup
- Page Updates
- Conclusion
- Comments
We've currently tested 12 Bose soundbars. Bose is an audio-centric brand that focuses on creating premium-feeling, well-built products that are just as sturdy as sleek-looking. While they may lack extensive audio customization, their balanced and neutral sound reproduction makes the soundbars relatively easy to use. Although we've only tested some of these soundbars on their own, we plan to retest them with their full setups.
Updates
- 11/05/2024 Bose Smart Soundbar reviewed
- 12/04/2023 Bose Smart Soundbar 300 updated
- 11/17/2023 Bose Smart Soundbar 600 updated
- 11/15/2023 Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar reviewed
- 10/12/2023 Bose Smart Soundbar 900 updated
Best Bose Soundbars
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Best Bose Soundbar
Mixed Usage7.3Dialogue/TV Shows7.3Music7.7Movies7.1Channels5.1.2The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is the best Bose soundbar we've tested. This 5.1.2 setup is the next generation of the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 with noticeable improvements, including an AI Dialogue feature designed to enhance vocal clarity in your favorite movies and TV shows. There's even an integrated subwoofer that brings more rumble in the bass. For a standalone bar, it performs well with multi-channel content like Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos, so you get an immersive sound right in the comfort of your living room. You can always add a subwoofer to improve bass reproduction or satellites to enhance the surround sound.
Like other premium soundbars, this setup comes with a room correction feature designed to optimize its sound based on the unique acoustics of your living room. It's called ADAPTiQ. With it on, the bar reproduces voices and lead instruments with great clarity, and there's a touch of extra brightness in the mix. You can always adjust its bass and treble to your liking, too. Plus, there's built-in Alexa voice assistant support for hands-free control.
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Best Mid-Range Bose Soundbar
Mixed Usage7.2Dialogue/TV Shows7.3Music7.3Movies7.0Channels3.0.2The best mid-range option is the Bose Smart Soundbar, which replaces the previous Bose Smart Soundbar 600 with very minor tweaks like support for connecting your Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Truly Wireless to the bar. Compared to the top pick, it's a 3.0.2 configuration that's considerably smaller to fit in tight spaces, but it lacks a room correction tool. Thanks to its side-firing drivers, balanced-sounding center channel, and the TrueSpace function, however, it creates a fairly wide soundstage for its size, which is great for immersing yourself in music. The soundbar supports most wireless connections for easily turning on your favorite tracks. Plus, for movies and streaming, there's support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital at low latencies.
Overall, the sound is rather balanced and retains dynamics well for clear vocals and separation of instruments, and it outperforms its size. However, like most small bars, it can't quite provide the fullest-sounding low rumbles during tense action scenes without an outboard subwoofer. That said, you can always add a bass module or satellites later if you need to fill out the space more. While it doesn't have a full equalizer, you can use treble and bass to make changes. There are also controls for Atmos height adjustments, AI Dialogue mode to enhance speech if necessary, and Wall EQ changes the tuning if you mount the bar are available, too. Still, if you can't fit the larger Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar in your space and aren't too concerned about room correction, it offers good value.
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Best Budget Bose Soundbar
Mixed Usage6.2Dialogue/TV Shows6.7Music6.6Movies5.6Channels2.0The best Bose soundbar in the budget range is the Bose TV Speaker. At just under 24 inches in width, this soundbar can easily fit under smaller TV stands and computer monitors, taking up even less space than the compact Bose Smart Soundbar. It's only a 2.0 setup, so it isn't as versatile as the more premium models in Bose's lineup, but it's still a fair choice if you mostly listen to dialogue-focused content like podcasts and TV shows. Given its neutral sound, dialogue and lead instruments are clear and present in the mix. You miss out on the rumble in the bass that brings genres like EDM to life, but you can always add on a separate sub from the manufacturer if you want.
Of course, the bar's performance isn't quite as impressive as more expensive models. There's no Atmos support, and it has to downmix surround sound formats into stereo to play them. Its soundstage is smaller, too, so you don't get the feeling of sound stretching around you. That said, that's not really what this bar is for. It's a simple plug-and-play option that marks a solid upgrade over any existing TV speakers, and overall, it's a great choice if you mostly listen to stereo content and are content with Bluetooth as your sole wireless connection.
Compared To Other Brands
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Balanced sound profile.
Although the soundbars we've tested lack a subwoofer by default and struggle to create a thumpy bass, their other sound profiles are balanced and fairly neutral, making them suitable for various audio content. -
Well-built design.
Bose soundbars are generally well-built, with a premium look and feel. -
Easily upgradable setup.
You can upgrade their current soundbars by purchasing a separate subwoofer or some satellites, which is great if you want to expand your setup down the line.
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Lacking low bass.
Without a dedicated subwoofer, Bose soundbars lack thump and rumble integral to genres like EDM and hip-hop. -
No height channels.
Some Bose soundbars don't support Dolby Atmos content found on many 4k Blu-rays or some streaming services, so you won't get the most immersive experience when watching movies. You'll have to pay for the premium setups to use these formats. -
No Full HDMI In port.
You can't use Bose soundbars as a hub between external devices like a Blu-ray player and your TV.
Bose vs Samsung
Samsung and Bose both produce a wide array of soundbars, from top-of-the-line setups to more budget-friendly models. Samsung soundbars tend to have more customization features on hand and more physical inputs for video passthrough. Meanwhile, Bose soundbars use psychoacoustic principles to extend sound past the edges of the bar itself.
Bose vs Sonos
Sonos and Bose are direct competitors in the soundbar market. Sonos soundbars usually offer the same features and similar performances—while their sound quality is impressive, you won't find as many sound enhancement tools and less robust app support for Android devices. Sonos supports DTS content, unlike Bose soundbars, and if you already own products in their ecosystem, you can usually connect them all to stream audio throughout your house.
Bose makes well-built and neutral-sounding soundbars. They tend to be very straightforward, and some setups are easily upgradable. However, due to their simple design, they don't have as many sound enhancement features as other brands and lack HDMI-In ports. Bose still provides a solid sound experience right out of the box, which is great for those who don't want to tinker with their settings too much.
Lineup
Bose has only a few soundbars on the market at a time. Unlike other brands, they don't tend to release new products every year, but rather, their premium products remain for sale for several years at a time. Some trends in their naming conventions can help you determine which features are available with your soundbar:
- Smart Soundbar lineup: Supports Dolby Atmos content with built-in voice assistants for hands-free control.
- Solo lineup: Discontinued compact standalone bar for smaller spaces.
- TV Speaker lineup: Another standalone bar for upgrading TV speakers.
Generally speaking, the higher the number, the more channels available with the bar.
Recent Updates
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This article has been updated to add the Bose Smart Soundbar as a replacement for the Bose Smart Soundbar 600 for its improvements to surround sound and Dolby Atmos performance.
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Aug 08, 2024: This article has been checked for accuracy and updated with minor text edits for clarity.
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May 15, 2024: We've made minor changes to this article's text, but we haven't tested any new Bose soundbars since the last update, so there are no changes to product picks.
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Feb 16, 2024: Previously, we listed the Bose Smart Soundbar 700 as our 'Best Upper Mid-Range' pick. However, it's no longer widely available, even through the manufacturer's website, so we've removed it from the list.
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Nov 21, 2023: Replaced the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 with the next-generation Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. Removed the Bose Smart Soundbar 300 as the 'Best Lower Mid-Range' pick as it's no longer widely available.
Conclusion
Bose is a well-known brand that focuses on well-built, premium-feeling audio products that reproduce a balanced, neutral sound out-of-the-box. While their soundbars are a little lackluster, especially compared to brands that offer more of a variety of setups, they still have a sound suited for most audio content, and you can upgrade most of their setups down the line. They're a good choice for those who want something simple yet sturdy without sacrificing audio quality.