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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bose Home Speaker 500 vs JBL Authentics 500

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose Home Speaker 500
JBL Authentics 500

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 28, 2024 07:50 PM

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Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Apr 14, 2025 08:15 PM

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Bose Home Speaker 500 Picture
JBL Authentics 500 Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
  1. Recommended in 5 articles:
  2. Bluetooth
  3. Home
  4. Alexa
  5. JBL
  6. Smart

Variants

  • Home Speaker 500 (Luxe Silver)
  • Home Speaker 500 (Triple Black)
  • Authentics 500 (Black)

Review

See Bose Home Speaker 500 Review
See JBL Authentics 500 Review
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Our Verdict

Bose Home Speaker 500

JBL Authentics 500

The Bose Smart Speaker 500 and the JBL Authentics are wired home speakers with different strengths. They're both similarly well-built and have great, intuitive control schemes. However, the JBL has a more balanced default sound and can get louder with less compression artefacts present at max volume. That said, the Bose has a better voice assistant performance and can pick up commands even in noisy environments. It also has better directivity, so audio sounds consistent from different listening angles. 

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Luxe Silver
Home Speaker 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Triple Black
Home Speaker 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.3
7.7

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
7.6

Soundstage 
 

8.7
7.3

Dynamics 
 

7.2
8.4

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Style Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

4.3
2.9

Dimensions Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Dimensions Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

226 in³ (3,702 cm³)
1,629 in³ (26,700 cm³)

Weight 
 

4.9 lbs (2.2 kg)
17.5 lbs (8.0 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

6.7
6.7

Build Quality Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Build Quality Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Great

Water Resistance 
 

No
No

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
No

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Controls Photo
JBL Authentics 500 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Controls Photo 2
JBL Authentics 500 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 In The Box Photo
JBL Authentics 500 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
7.6

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.62
0.04

Std. Err. 
 

3.50 dB
2.58 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

55.0 Hz
44.3 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

17.0 kHz
19.9 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

8.7
7.3

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

2.41 dB
4.99 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

7.2
8.4

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

90.5 dB SPL
102.8 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.19 dB
2.81 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving 
 

No
N/A

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

10
9.3

Alexa 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Google Assistant 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
Yes

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Excellent
Good
Show Text 

App 
 

7.7
9.6

App Picture  

Bose Home Speaker 500 App Picture
JBL Authentics 500 App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Music
JBL One

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Graphic

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

No
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.2
7.5

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
5.3

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

57 ms
269 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

88 ms
244 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

195.2 ft (59.5 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

8.1
7.6

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Unspecified
Wi-Fi 6

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

45 ms
161 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

Yes
Yes

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

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Luxe Silver
Home Speaker 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Triple Black
Home Speaker 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Black
Authentics 500
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Back to Top

Bose Home Speaker 500

JBL Authentics 500

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Bose Home Speaker 500 vs JBL Authentics 500: Main Discussion

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