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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 Bose Portable Smart Speaker

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose Home Speaker 500
Bose Portable Smart Speaker

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 28, 2024 07:50 PM

Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 04, 2024 07:32 PM

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Missing store
Bose Home Speaker 500 Picture
Bose Portable Smart Speaker Picture

Variants

  • Home Speaker 500 (Luxe Silver)
  • Home Speaker 500 (Triple Black)
  • Portable Smart Speaker (Luxe Silver)
  • Portable Smart Speaker (Triple Black)

Our Verdict

Bose Home Speaker 500

Bose Portable Smart Speaker

The Bose Home Speaker 500 is a better speaker than the Bose Portable Smart Speaker overall, though they have different strengths. The Home Speaker 500 can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. It can get louder with less compression present at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volumes. That said, the Smart Speaker is battery-powered, and much more portable than the Home Speaker 500. It also offers a slightly better-balanced sound profile out-of-the-box.

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Luxe Silver
Home Speaker 500
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Luxe Silver
Portable Smart Speaker
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Triple Black
Home Speaker 500
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Triple Black
Portable Smart Speaker
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.3
6.9

Soundstage 
 

8.7
7.4

Dynamics 
 

7.2
5.9

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
7.1

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Style Photo
Bose Portable Smart Speaker Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

4.3
9.4

Dimensions Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Dimensions Photo
Bose Portable Smart Speaker Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

226 in³ (3,702 cm³)
148 in³ (2,420 cm³)

Weight 
 

4.9 lbs (2.2 kg)
2.4 lbs (1.1 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC & Battery

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

6.7
7.3

Build Quality Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Build Quality Photo
Bose Portable Smart Speaker Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Great

Water Resistance 
 

No
Water-resistant (IPx4)

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Controls Photo
Bose Portable Smart Speaker Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Controls Photo 2
Bose Portable Smart Speaker 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

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
Bose Portable Smart Speaker In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
7.1

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.62
-0.63

Std. Err. 
 

3.50 dB
2.94 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

55.0 Hz
55.0 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

17.0 kHz
19.1 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
7.4

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

2.41 dB
1.16 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

7.2
5.9

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

90.5 dB SPL
89.0 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.19 dB
4.32 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
5.6

Battery Life 
 

N/A
5.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

N/A
2.6 hrs

Power Saving 
 

No
Yes

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

10
9.4

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
Great
Show Text 

App 
 

7.7
7.7

App Picture  

Bose Home Speaker 500 App Picture
Bose Portable Smart Speaker App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Music
Bose Music

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Bass/Treble

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

No
No

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.2
8.2

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
4.2

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

57 ms
-56 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

88 ms
86 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

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

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

8.1
7.5

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Unspecified
Wi-Fi 5

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

45 ms
28 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

Yes
Yes

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Check Price

Luxe Silver
Home Speaker 500
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Luxe Silver
Portable Smart Speaker
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Triple Black
Home Speaker 500
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Triple Black
Portable Smart Speaker
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Bose Home Speaker 500

Bose Portable Smart Speaker

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bose Home Speaker 500 vs Bose Portable Smart Speaker: Main Discussion

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