Bose TV Speaker – Small Soundbar with Bluetooth Connectivity
Bose TV Speaker
Hear your TV better.
The Bose TV Speaker is a small soundbar that focuses on clarifying and elevating vocals and pronunciation, while delivering spacious and realistic audio performance. And a single connection has you ready in minutes.
A simple, one-step solution for clear sound.
Quality sound doesn’t need to be difficult, so Bose made it simple. With one connection from your TV to this small soundbar, you’ll be unboxed, set up and on the sofa watching your favourites in no time.
-
More clarity.
Enable “dialogue mode†on the remote to analyse what you’re watching and further enhance speech, so you can hear and understand every word more clearly.
-
More music.
With Bluetooth compatibility, you can wirelessly stream your favourite music and podcasts. Press the Bluetooth button on the remote to pair your device.
-
More bass.
Press the “BASS†button on the remote for some extra depth. Or expand your system by adding a wired Bose Bass Module for a more cinema-quality experience.
Easy to set up. Easy to use.
A single connection to the TV via an optical audio cable (included) or HDMI cable (sold separately) has you unboxed and ready in minutes. And with HDMI-CEC technology*, the Bose TV Speaker will automatically turn on when your TV does and respond to your current TV remote for volume changes.
*Must be connected with an HDMI cable.
Compare Bose Soundbars
 Bose TV Speaker |  Bose Soundbar 700 |  Bose Soundbar 500 |
|---|---|---|
PerformanceClear, improved TV sound | PerformanceLoud, low, more spacious | PerformanceClassic Bose sound |
Size59,4 cm x 5,6 cm x 10,2 cm | Size97,8 cm x 5,7 cm x 10,8 cm | Size80 cm x 4,5 cm x 10,2 cm |
BluetoothYes | BluetoothYes | BluetoothYes |
Built-in AlexaN/A | Built-in AlexaYes | Built-in AlexaYes |
App controlN/A | App controlBose Music app | App controlBose Music app |
| Weight: | 1.95 kg |
| Dimensions: | 10.21 x 59.37 x 5.61 cm; 1.95 Kilograms |
| Model: | 838309-4100 |
| Colour: | Bose Black |
| Colour: | Bose Black |
Bought to replace old 5.1 system in smaller room. Pleasantly surprised as to how effective the small soundbar fills a room with relatively rich sound. Easy to setup and seamless sync with TV through HDMI-ARC. Additional bass feature works well. Definite update from lousy TV speakers. Would recommend!
This is an excellent TV speaker, particularly good for a smaller room. It is well packaged and it is very easy to set up. The remote control is compact and efficient, with an important bass control button. When you have it to the level you want, it makes such a difference to the audio on any TV and can be loud if you need it to be. Very impressed with the unit, but then again it’s BOSE – I shouldn’t have expected anything else.
Bought this as a present for someone who was a little cynical about soundbars.
This one changed his mind.
Easy to set-up and get working.
Hi purchased this after my sky soundbox became temperamental. For me it fits my needs as i didn’t want excessive house rattling base. Dialogue is clear and crisp , action scenes and music are comparable to what I had previously. Connected in a matter of seconds. Paired easily to sky remote.
was easy to set up and provides much clearer sound then my TV
Arrived as promised, easy to set up using HDMI Arc to Samsung tv. Only criticism operating instructions poor,
you need to go onto BOSE website to explore available functions.
Easy to install, makes watching TV so much more enjoyable. Also listening to radio from Alexa.
bought this for my bedroom Great little sound bar clear room filling sound.
Truly a magic Box of sound, the improvement to my Samsung flat screen Tv. The sound separation is exalt and pushes the sound around the room very well, with a great base.
Effective small soundbar – perfect for my TV. Good sound quality from a relatively small device.
From set up to sound quality, all brilliant. Wish I had bought this a long time ago, makes so much difference to what I hear when watching my favourite programs.
Really Good sounds Brilliant we only have a small living room and its grea
I used to own a Bose solo 5 it sounded good but the lack of volume control and large remote were a bit of a let down so I upgraded to this, the sound is a lot better, the remote control does everything you need it to and Arc hdmi connection means you hardly need it anyway! Very pleased!
It’s even better than I expected, I’m not very clever with setting electrical equipment up,but this was specifically easy
This is the entry level sound bar from Bose. For me it replaced a cheap LG one that I bought in Tesco’s. the difference is chalk and cheese , the sound is clearer and more base. My wife has some hearing problems and can struggle to hear the tv. With this sound bar she hears perfectly. Well worth the money.
The best – excellent quality sound. You won’t get better for the money.
An excellent addition to the viewing experience, the enhanced speech option is a great assistance to the more hard of hearing
As usual with Bose – you don’t know where this nice rich bass is coming from. It is just a clever little speaker.
Good sound amplifier as well. No more problems with low volume YouTube clips. Just press plus on the remote.
A really good sound bar to replace the tv speaker.
Upgraded from a Sony HT-SF150 and although this not that expensive compared to that, it sounds 10x better! Dialogues are way crisper (dialogue mode makes it EVEN better) and music sounds amazing too. Plenty of bass out of the box, don’t think I’d need more. But if you do, you can always get a Bose bass module and plug into this soundbar.
Great product the sound and quality are brilliant easy to set up would recommend this item
It’s a huge improvement on TV dialogue and music on the echo dot
However it’s for small living spaces only as it does not go very loud. Eg the volume suitable to watch TV from 6ft to 8ft is set at 35% to 40%. It is well made and easy to setup. My wife and I are very happy with it and for small living spaces I would recommend i
I bought this as an upgrade to an older Bose 2.1 system. This is a great step up in quality, although not as much bass due to not having a separate dedicated bass speaker. Much clearer spoken audio for tv programmes which is all I needed.
Easy to install, no bells and whistles and the sound is grea
This unit like all Bose gear is just brilliant. Very easy to set up via optical Cable .
The sound is very adjustable to suit all ears .
I particularly like the clarity settings when watching movies .
Blue tooth works very well and connects quickly and works seamlessly.
I would highly recommend this unit .
It is excellent, and proof that you get what you pay for. I wanted a unit that would enhance and improve the speech from my Samsung TV. It certainly does that, and in the normal music mode it is also excellent.
I was informed by some customers that I would be unable to control the volume with my Sky+ remote. That is incorrect. Connect via a HDMI cable to the HDMI ARC on the tv and it all works perfectly.
So my advice when receiving feedback on the questions and answers section, take it with a pinch of salt. At least 3 respondents stated that it was not possible to use the Sky+ remote control to adjust the sound.
My advice to anyone considering purchasing this unit is to buy it!!
Quality of sound, as ever, up to Bose’s usual standard.
very good overall sound – but add the extra base speaker for cinema effec
Installation was a breeze – I just plugged the optic cable into my PC and it worked straight away.
The remote is nice, but I probably won’t use it too much. All it’s really needed for is to set the bass level. Volume can be controlled from Windows (in my case).
Brilliant sound and bass. Plugged into TV using HDMI cable (not included) and switches on and off when TV is. Definitely worth paying the extra for Bose.
Wouldn’t expect anything less from Bose. I have this plugged into my 27 inch tv in my kitchen/dinning room and it’s a perfect clear sound for this size room.
GREAT SOUND QUALITY FOR A SMALL BOX EASY TO SETUP RECOMMEND THIS TO EVERYONE.
Put it under a 65″ tv. Using in conjunction with the tv speakers it adds a very rounded base sound which is really good. Very happy with the purchase. Finds my mobile for music very quickly. Adding extra base and voice clarity are very good features. Well done Bose.
Fantastic speaker don’t waste you money buying any other make. We can hear all the dialogue now, music is fantastic too
The sound is just fantastic and you can really hear the change. All around easy to use and install, highly recommend this Bose speaker!
I only have this a short time but really impressed with the sound. I thought my Sony TV had decent enough sound but this blows it out of the water. Size wise its just right for my set up. Its also just right for the room I’m using it in. I use it in my snug which is a smallish room opening out to kitchen. I use it through HDMI which means I can use my Sky remote along with it. Opitical might be a bit better but I dont want the hassle of using different remotes. I cant really see any downsides with this speaker if you are looking for a reasonably priced alternative to tinny TV sound. Of course the sound my not be pure enough for the audio enthusiasists but for most people it will do a great job
I have several Bose products…Quality through and through…Purchased to work with our new smart tv….Fantastic sound particularly watching films and sports programmes
First class product from Bose excellent sound couldn’t ask for more. Would definitely recommend.
Easy to install and trouble free, this is a great little sound bar. Simple design, but high-end TV sound. Via Bluetooth, digital music can be played too. Great stuff!
Quality products but set up could be made more easily advised
Superb better than expected used arc connection. So works with TV remote. The sound is crystal clear a bonus as I wear hearing aids . I would highly recommend this soundbar.
After months of having to put sub titles up on my tv I can at last hear, thankyou.
Ease to setup very loud sound very clear good buy.
We have a new Sony Bravia TV and the sound is poor. This soundbar has made a massive difference. We connected it with an HDMI cable and it really is plug and play. Some sound bars are really big but this fits perfectly.
Excellent sound quality and clarity from a sound bar that is discrete in size. It is the attention to detail that makes this product outstanding.
Fantastic TV Soundbar. Out of the box I connected the HDMI, not supplied, and it worked; with the TV speaker turned off.
Anyway putting that aside, I used the optical cable to connect her up, and whacked the volume up… wow, great little unit, fits under the TV, so no additional wires showing for my missus to moan at me for. Movies sound great through it. It has good bass, which you can crank up to a certain extent, and it has a feature to make speech clearer for movies.
I’ve finally managed to configure my telly (major achievement for me) so that the volume buttons on the remote automatically control the sound bar, which means I don’t need the Bose remote out all the time.
I’ve connected my phone via Bluetooth and played some tunes through it from Spotify and it’s been immense. I’ve been recommending it to all my mates that just want bang for buck, small unit, good returns, no cables everywhere, and good quality. They’ve been impressed when they’ve been round and heard it.
Some people take it really far on surround sound and fair play to them. Dolby Atmos and all that. However, if you want something which gives you good sound quality, without costing you a 2nd mortgage, and something your Wife wont moan about… this is what you’re looking for.
Before we moved house, my last setup with a Yamaha jobby with a seperate sort of wired bass unit thing. This soundbar beats it absolutely hands down.
The only issue I have is that with this thing and the new 4K TV, is as soon as I switch it on and crack a beer I can be lost to the World for hours.
I tried the Samsung HWn400 which seemed to be one of the only ‘branded’ ones the right size and although it looked great, it wasn’t a MAJOR improvement on what the TV was outputting already.
I looked at the Sonos soundbars and they were slightly too large to fit where I wanted it to, so frustratingly that was a no from me.
In comes this BOSE TV Speaker – and a TV Speaker it is to some extent. It’s got a brilliantly velvet quality to the sound, but as it’s small and as it’s the cheapest in the range from Bose it does need some extra help in the way of Subwoofer / Bass Module to round it off.
My current set up is the Bose TV Speaker and the Bose Bass 500 module. Together they really do provide beautifully balanced, rounded sound that hits cleanly in all the right spaces.
Really happy but wish I could have got all the tricks in one product without having to hook up a music system in my living room just to hear the telly!
Anyway, currently playing Spotify through it as it’s Bluetooth enabled and it’s been brill all day long. Hope the neighbours agree!
Simple to use without any bells and whistles and good sound quality.
Brilliant sound nothing fancy just sounds good and very easy setup
I’ve had 3 sound bars over the last 6 months and had problems with them so returned to amazon
This Bose just works flawlessly
The speaker is ok, connects easily via cable or bluetooth. My only issue is that it doesn’t have a volume level indicator but apart from that it’s ok. Would like to get a subwoofer for extra base if anyone can recommend?
I’m no audio expert or have anything to do with that expertise but I find this a great little soundbar/ tv speaker. Only bought to put in the bedroom as tv will be inside a built in wardrobe. Serves the purpose fine.
Amazing quality but does need the addition of a Bass Module for full satisfaction.
If only you could buy a TV that sounded this good without needing a separate expensive box sitting beneath it, even the high-end TV’s seem to sound pretty awful these days. This Bose TV Speaker arrives very nicely boxed and inside is a very simple and moderately-sized unit that feels very solidly made. It’s obviously been designed to sit modestly below your TV and not attract visual attention, and the attractive minimal design is mirrored in the simple remote control too. You can connect it to your TV using either the optical port (cable supplied) or using an HDMI cable but not both at the same time and if you want to connect additional devices then you’ll have to use Bluetooth. Using HDMI means you can have this speaker switch on/off with the TV and alter the volume using your TV remote. That’s assuming your TV is compatible with HDMI-CEC which is the system that relays remote control commands between HDMI devices and most recent TV’s will be – although they all call it something different. It’s very simple to connect and setup and if you use HDMI you can put the Bose remote control to one side because the speaker quickly integrates with your TV and just works.
In use the sound is really excellent and you’re immediately aware that someone has fine-tuned this unit and it isn’t just a handful of speakers thrown into a box. The sound is very nicely balanced and has obviously been optimised to enhance voices and make dialogue clear but it manages to do that without stripping away the sounds around it. With most speakers you can make voices clearer by simply boosting the mid frequencies, but this speaker doesn’t obviously do that and the other sounds, both treble and bass, are still present too. I think maybe Bose have toned-down the upper-bass response which means it avoids sounding boomy when you crank up the volume. However, the deeper bass is still there, although it’s subtle, and when music plays you suddenly get a surprisingly deep and rich bass tone from such a small speaker.
On the negative side the speaker has a very limited sense of stereo width and doesn’t produce a very expansive or cinematic sound. It’s certainly loud enough to fill a room but it’s quite definitely focused on overall clarity rather than trying to impress with aural tricks and faux-surround effects. My only complaint would be that I’m more aware of the precise position of this speaker than I would normally be with a TV soundbar – meaning you hear very clearly that the sound is coming from a box below the screen rather than from the general direction of the TV. Keeping the speaker as close to the screen as you can would minimise this effect and admittedly you do get used to it after a time. On the plus side I’ve had no issues with lip-sync at all and if anything it’s even better than the TV’s inbuilt speakers.
In the past I’ve been a bit dismissive of Bose because their items are so overpriced (in my view) but with this TV Speaker they’ve hit the mark, it’s pricey but it does what it promises and really improves the sound of your TV without obvious gimmicks. It’s very focused on that task though and although having Bluetooth connectivity is useful (I linked my Amazon Echo Dot to let Alexa play music on it) it’s not that special as a music-playing speaker. As a TV speaker it excels though and if only all TV’s sounded this good.
I have used small bose sound bars for my tv’s before, this is the best and smallest one I’ve used. Sound is perfect for me linked with my firestick plays music well with my echo speaker also.
I was totally blown away by the sound that this sound bar produces, incredible top end clarity and the base is surreal, trust me, you will not be disappointed
Unfortunately my soundbar has a dent in the front of the speakers which is really annoying as there is no damage to the box or packaging — it must have been damaged at production or during initial packing. The sound has not been affected and from a few feet away the dent is barely visible.
This soundbar is smaller than many others and fits well underneath smaller and medium sized televisions. It comes with a mains cable, an optical cable (HDMI optional extra) and remote control. It’s easy to set up and worked straight away without any problems at all. The sound is so much better than the TV’s own speakers and the room seems to come alive with depth of sound. I have a Sony soundbar which has the enormous ‘boom box’ to give depth and bass to sound so I wasn’t expecting this Bose one to perform well without a box. It actually performs very well and for a casual telly watcher who just wants better sound than the TV’s speakers, this is an excellent choice for performance and price. It does give clearer sound for speech but I think a lot of the problem is drama’s playing background music while dialogue is going on.
Soundbars give much more depth and richness to sound and feel more ‘surround’ than a TV’s own speakers. Bose is a well known name of quality for sound and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this smaller 60cm length soundbar, especially if you have neighbours where the additional boom-box would be an annoyance.
Exactly what I wanted. Enhances everything, no fuss full sound feeling. Quality goes without saying I expect, amazing.
Wow. We had a soundbar before this that I thought was decent enough but this Bose speaker blows it out of the water. The sound is on a completely other level and you really cannot compare it to what we had before and certainly not to our tv’s (Phillips) inbuilt speakers. We’ve always had a problem with BBC1 being a lot quieter than other channels but this seems to have reduced that as an issue which is an added bonus. Watching movies are far more enjoyable with such good sound, especially action films. This was easy to install and it looks nice and smart. This is definitely a case of you get what you pay for and while this speaker isn’t cheap it is well worth spending more to get a better quality speaker.
I was amused that this is described as a small soundbar as it is actually almost the same width as my TV. I can only assume a normal soundbar would be the width of my living room! Thankfully it is quite plain and minimalist in appearance do it didn’t look too silly by my petite TV. The soundbar is very easy to set up and I had no issues with connectivity. It is easy to operate using the enclosed remote control. I was really impressed with the difference in sound quality. The sound on my TV is slightly tinny which means I have never wanted to watch concerts/musicals on it and it even means that it is sometimes hard to hear dialogue. The soundbar actually gave it premium-quality sound which is amazing as the TV is otherwise great and I did not want to replace it yet. The sound is very true to life, dialogue is now clear and music is neither too tinny nor too bassy. The soundbar starts up when I put the TV on and the sound quality can be altered quite easily. I would recommend experimenting with this as it took me a while to get the perfect sound for the sorts of programmes I tend to watch.
What I like:
* universal connectivity via optical cable, HDMI (with some caveats — see below), AUX or Bluetooth,
* decent sound,
* volume control with a TV remote (with some caveats — see below), or with a remote for a TV-connected device,
* relatively small size,
* minimalistic design.
What I dislike:
* The main LED (which is always on when the speaker is on) is a bit obtrusive to my taste, so I had to half-cover it with a piece of black insulation tape to make the light still visible but only just. Not a big deal and the speaker look remains perfect with this small hack, but the LEDs are most useful when you change settings, then you can forget about them. So it would be nice to have a feature of switching them off entirely — at least that main one.
* I can increase or decrease bass, also reset it to default, but I cannot see the current bass setting. It would be nice to have the bass level indicator on the TV screen, similarly to the volume level visual control that pops up when I am changing volume.
My TV does not happen to have an HDMI ARK port, so I could not get sound out of the speaker when connected it via HDMI – but only via an optical cable (that was included in the package). I felt this was unfortunate as one cannot control the speaker volume with a TV remote when use the optical connection — this feature only works via HDMI. Then what I did I connected the speaker via an optical cable and left an HDMI cable connected, too. This worked, as my TV, despite not supporting ARK via HDMI, still supports HDMI-CEC. So the sound now comes via an optical cable, and the volume control works through the HDMI. In fact, I can control the speaker volume using its own remote, a TV remote, or a connected box remote (Apple TV in my case) — any of these works.
The sound quality is pretty good and makes a difference even in unexpected cases: I enjoyed the snooker championship more than ever, as the sense of presence just got deeper. For the music, I tried YouTube via Bluetooth, Amazon Music on the HDMI-attached Apple TV box, and an old Sony CD Walkman via AUX. All sounds good, yet my first impression was that the sound quality was equally good via Bluetooth or optical cable + HDMI, but somehow less rich via AUX connection. I cannot prove this, as for sure I listened to a different piece of music in each case — this has been just my first, subjective and not-so-well-verified impression.
The manual supplied is not as detailed as the Bose web page for the speaker (as an example, the earlier mentioned setting-bass-to-default feature is documented only on the Web), so you may want to go to the Web to discover additional features.
Modern flatscreen TVs are excellent to look at but not always great to listen to. The super thin screens mean there is no room for decent speakers. You may think that the sound is decent but as soon as you plug in a soundbar you will never go back. The ‘Bose Small Soundbar’ has all the audio oomph of a bigger model, but in a smaller package. This is great if you have a smaller TV table as it takes up about half the room of larger models. It does come at a price though as you are paying for the smaller size and not an increase in audio.
This is not to say that the audio is worse. In fact, it is near identical to a bigger Sony soundbar I have. It has a good mix and meaty bass. You can change the balance depending on what you are doing. This is key for film watching as the dialogue can sometimes be too low. This soundbar solves that issue brilliantly as the mix is great for feature films.
The soundbar is simple plug in and play, HDMI to the TV and in most modern sets it works instantly. The Bluetooth is also very simple, I had it attached to my phone in seconds and was playing music. It is not the device itself that has an issue but the remote. It is small with horrible click buttons. Having had something similar in the past, these are prone to cracking and you end up having to dig your thumbnail in to change the settings. You would think with a soundbar that settings would not need altering but to someone like me it is regularly done to swap from music, to film, to gaming. Having such a dodgy remote feels incongruous to the quality of the soundbar itself.
Setting it up is really easy, you just plug the mains cable in and connect your preferred audio cable; either HDMI (not included) or optical. It also has Bluetooth which my Galaxy S20+ had no problems connecting to. You can set the soundbar to turn on automatically when it detects audio by holding the power button down on the remote until it beeps. The only audio settings you can change on the soundbar is the bass level and enable/disable the dialogue mode if your listening to the news or podcasts, etc.
The sound quality is excellent, its super clear and such a huge improvement over the TV sound quality, its got a lot of bass considering you can have an optional subwoofer and it goes loud enough to easily annoy your neighbours and let everyone know what you’re listening to. The dialogue mode really works well and definitely improves the vocals of whatever you’re listening to. My only slight issue is very much the same as my SoundTouch 10 whereby it sounds nowhere near as good at lower volume levels and comes alive the louder you go with it which is great if you can do that but you won’t be getting the best out of it unless you can turn the volume up.
The build quality of the soundbar is exactly what you expect from Bose; its heavy, well-made and looks very modern and stylish. It has two large rubber pads on each end of the soundbar and two smaller ones in the centre which is useful for us as the TV stand isn’t wide enough for it to fit perfectly on the shelf. The remote control is also great quality and feels nice to use, it works perfectly even from quite far away from the soundbar. I’m very happy with the quality and construction of this soundbar, even the cables are high quality.
Overall, I really like this soundbar and you can really tell the difference in quality from cheaper ones, it is so much nicer and has a much richer sound and clarity to it. I would have liked an app to be able to play Spotify like my SoundTouch 10, but I suppose Bose want you to purchase the more expensive model which does have this feature but you can still use Bluetooth and just use your phone so not a big deal. Apart from that I am very happy with it and its easily the best soundbar I’ve used so far. If you just want a simple, easy to use, great sounding soundbar then I highly recommend you check this one out. I am happy to recommend this item and its another great product from Bose!
If you are looking for a decent quality soundbar that is fairly compact and don’t want to “break the bank” , well, compared to some of Bose’s other models which go for around twice the cost and higher, then the ‘Bose TV Speaker’ is a certainly good choice.
Should you want it, there is an optional extra you can purchase called the ‘Bose Bass Module (500/700). This will enhance the overall audio quality further by adding extra dynamic range and bass, though it’s quite costly as the module alone costs around 400, which is more than the soundbar itself!
There are three ways of connecting your TV/devices to the soundbar:
1) OPTICAL: Simply connect the soundbar directly to your TV’s ‘Optical Out’ port (optical cable included).
2) HDMI: Modern TV’s should have an HDMI port that is marked ‘ARC’ (Audio Return Channel); just ensure you connect the speaker to the appropriate HDMI port (HDMI cable sold separately).
3) BLUETOOTH: Some TV’s can connect via Bluetooth, however I would recommend using one of the methods above for best results; leave the Bluetooth function for connecting to phones/tablets to enjoy music etc…
It comes with a remote control which allows you to switch between the audio outputs, adjust the volume, bass and of course toggle the dialogue mode to boost speech.
I have been using this soundbar for almost a month now and I’m very pleased with the audio quality. It can achieve a fairly loud volume without any noticeable distortion, it has a nice clean sound overall and can deliver some bass despite not owning/using the ‘Bass Module’.
This is a cleverly designed sound bar. Clever because the sound it produces considering it’s small form factor is way better than I could have hoped for. While it doesn’t match up sound-wise to our other ‘main’ one (paired with another TV in another room) which is twice the price of this and has a separate sub-woofer, it nevertheless holds its own nicely. When paired with an audio source (eg Spotify) it has a nicely balanced sound at low to mid volumes (with the bass noticeably falling away at higher/top volume, where it can sound a little harsh – but then I’m sure most people won’t have it at such volumes innnormal use). It paired with Bluetooth easily so the speaker can be used in a variety of settings too if you want.
It’s a nice looking thing (which we’ve come to expect from Bose) but what I particularly like about the speaker is the ease of set up and use (by far the easiness then I’ve come across for this type of thing). In fact I hardly needed to look at the accompanying instructions. The most straight forward way (I think) is to use the supplied optical cable, them just arrach the speaker it to the mains, and that’s pretty much it.. The remote is simple to use and uncluttered (and comes with batter fitted) and soon becomes intuitive with using the functions (e,g bass adjustment, volume level etc: and the controls feel distinct in operation). One of the selling points of this sound bar is the claim that it makes dialogue/speech on TV easier to hear. There’s a button on the remote that once pressed immediately boosts the treble (and decreas other frequencies that can muddy the spoken word) and really does make an immediate and noticeable difference (so much so that I will use this feature a lot: as I’m forever asking the missus, ‘Eh? What did he/she say’.
In conclusion this is a great, easy to use speaker that maybe small and neat but also produces surprisingly good – and room filling – sound. Not a cheap speaker but typical .Bose build quality and finish – it’s still reasonable value for money. Recommended.
I haven’t had an opportunity to try out a soundbar previously as I couldn’t justify the price and the TV speakers were good enough for me for my casual movie watching at the end of the day.
Boy was I wrong, even though the TV speakers are good enough for watching YouTube, video clips, podcasts, they cannot measure up to the power and clarity of the soundbar. The difference is very stark in dynamic, bass-heavy scenes and by switching between TV speakers and this soundbar I can tell that the whole low midrange frequencies are completely missing in the TV speaker output.
Basically, you do not even realize that you are missing the “emotion” the director has intended for the movie watcher to experience which is often achieved by utilizing low to midrange frequency sounds.
From now on I will never rely on TV speakers to enjoy my movie watching because it just feels different and the movies feel more dramatic, and I feel like I am in a movie theatre.
The design of the soundbar is very minimalistic, unobtrusive and quite compact, I was able to fit the speaker in between the legs of the TV stand of my 50″ TV perfectly. I love their choice of interface, two simple LEDs can do the trick, it just takes a few moments to get used to them. When the left LED is on the soundbar receives the sound from the HDMI input and when the right LED is on from the Bluetooth device.
The soundbar is very solidly built from durable plastic and a metal mesh on the front yet is very light and easy to carry. The interface on the back is also very simple, power, HDMI, aux and optical in are all you need for the sound playback.
The best feature of this soundbar, in my opinion, is the connectivity, it is very easy to connect the soundbar to the smartphone, it is immediately discoverable and the phone automatically selects the soundbar as an output. The best part is if the soundbar was sleeping it will automatically turn on once he picks up the signal, the same applies to the TVs if you use ARC HDMI port (Audio Return Channel).
However, do note that the automatic signal reproduction to the soundbar depends on your TV model and sometimes as it happened to me, your TV might not choose the soundbar as an output automatically in which case the best course of action is to disconnect the TV from power to reset it.
The remote is very sleek and minimalistic as well, not a lot of buttons as it should be, in most cases you will not need the remote at all as the volume can be adjusted through the TV, the only option that is soundbar remote exclusive is the dialogue mode which makes the voices more profound and easier to understand if you are having difficulty understanding the dialogue if the background music is overpowering.
As for the sound, when compared to the TV speakers it has a wider range of frequencies, it covers the bass and midrange very well, with high being a bit weaker but still much better than the TV speakers. The TV speakers sound whiny and distorted towards higher frequencies compared to this soundbar.
The bass is not overpowering and can be adjusted through five levels of intensity. There is the possibility of adding a wired bass to this soundbar but it does end up raising the cost of the setup. The vocals are reproduced much more faithfully without sounding harsh, they may sound harsh in the dialogue mode only when they are amplified for more clarity.
Overall, I would gladly recommend this soundbar, it is compact, sounds excellent and it will improve your movie-watching experience without breaking the bank. It is pricey compared to other brands, however, given it is made by Bose, I would always invest in good quality equipment that has been tuned by professionals and was build to spec. This product was listed on a few websites as the best budget soundbar and I would agree.
There will be many reviews out there, especially on YouTube comparing it to all sorts and describing it as being weak in base. It’s not. For its size, it packs a decent punch and the sound difference is dramatically different and much richer than the “Harman Kardon tuned” speakers that accompany every tv these days. It will make a huge difference.
Comparing it to my home speaker and portable smart speaker, it’s somewhere in between- it lacks a little of the crispness and warmness of the home speaker but holds up well against both. Music is loud, clear, bassy without distortion, and movies and tv are voluminous with depth. Overall, if you have normal sized room in a normal sized house, you’ll be more than happy with this without compromising. If you’re looking for a very large room cinema set up, it might not meet your needs. There’s some feedback about a lack of display – there isn’t one but I use my ears to set the volume and base. Connection is easy and an optical cable comes with it. Can completely recommend. Don’t be swayed by “audiophiles” on YouTube. And if you don’t like it, you can always send it back.
Being a Bose product, you know the quality is going to be excellent before you even open the box but it is really important to consider what you are buying a sound bar for. In my instance I wanted something to help with the projection of speech and dialogue on our kitchen television as we will often be stood up cooking in the kitchen some distance from the TV and it can be hard to pick out dialogue et cetera from the standard TV speakers. I’ve tried it on some 4K movies and it does a reasonable job considering there is no subwoofer but it is not really designed for a cinema experience on its own you can buy an accompanying subwoofer if you wish. In terms of doing what I wanted to do it is very compact mounted on the wall under the television and it does a fantastic job are projecting the sound a lot further than the TV speakers could manage.
It is one nifty speaker — small enough to look almost insignificant under your tele, f course if your tele is large enough in comparison, but the bar is literally 60 cm, so looks sleek and almost sexy! Love it! Can be wall mounted, but I understand you need to buy separate brackets and since I did not consider this as an option, cannot comment on what they are like where to bet them from and how you use them.
Sound — I am the person who has to have the tele on at 90% of its sound capacity, as I just miss most of what is going on otherwise, and probably because I have eyesight problems, I am trying to compensate with a whole load of volume! This has resoled the issue! This is not a disco speaker, don’t make that mistake and do not expect the sound waves to go through your tummy, not at all! What you do get is loud, crystal clear , well balanced sound that you do not have to up to 100% to get the essence of a dialogue that is being whispered on the screen -it is so much better with the sound bar!
It is very easy to set up and connect to your television or other devices ( it is a speaker after all) and there is a way to either control it with its own remote, or connect it to your tele with ARC so you can operate the bar just as if it was part of your tele, with the original remote you use to switch the channels with!
All in all, I am confident that this speaker will serve me for years to come, I am absolutely thrilled to have it, as it truly changed the experience of watching television with a family for us, they no longer need earplugs LOL and I do not need to fill the room with the noise to make out what is going on! Highly recommended!
This is really compact AND it doesn’t need a power brick.
The sound reproduction is astonishing for something so small.
I’ve used it so far to listen to Soundcloud on my iPhone (via bluetooth to the Bose Speaker).
Also in the box there is a digital optical cable. Next, I will connect it to my TiVo box and use it to watch television (its main purpose). I have a Sony LCD TV with weak sound.
The remote control is about the thickness of few credit cards. Its battery must already be loaded as it works straight away. It must be a coin battery.
This is a very solid and high quality product from Bose. I always been a big fun of this brand i have a Bose system in my car and the sound is amazing just like for this TV bar. It’s a great add-on for our tv, all the movies and youtube sounds a lot better trough this TV Sound bar, it makes every thing so clear. Obviously the sound quality from this soundbar does not compare to a surround sound system or even a larger soundbar. It can be connected with the tv wired and also it will pair Bluetooth concurrently with other media devices, and it will remember 8 devices at a time. After 4 week of use We are really pleased with the system and it’s sound. Would definitely recommend.
Just a few things to mention:
1. Small compact design, doesn’t take up a whole lot of space, sits perfectly under my tv
2. Bluetooth! Connects with my Apple TV without the need of a cable.
3. The sound is great, but the best feature is the voice enhancement. Now you can hear a conversation without having to do anything. The music and sound effects of a movie do not cover over voice dialog. No more turning the volume up when someone is speaking and having to turn it down because the sound effects are too loud.
4. Auto shut off. Walk away and it will turn itself off after a period of no activity.
Took me longer to get it out box than to set it up quick and easy it’s a Bose great sound
I’m sure there are loads of clever techy specifications and highly complex things about woofers and the like but my fellow reviewers have helpfully noted those, and to be honest I don’t understand a word of it. All I know is this looks sleek, neat, and it works like a charm with lovely depth and clarity. We connected ours using the optical output and cable provided, as our tv only has standard hdmi not the clever audio one.
Yes it is expensive, I think our old one was only about 70, but it really is good. Oh it doesn’t have a light display on the front so you’ve got no idea what volume it’s at – a bit annoying when your husband has Bluetoothed it to his phone previously to play Guns ‘n Roses and you don’t realise when you want to watch a bit of Downton Abbey, and get knocked out of your comfy chair with a wall of sound….. but hey, such is life. 4.5 stars from me, I rather meanly knocked off half a star for price and lack of pretty volume indicator lights.
Amazing sound quality! It would have been better if a HDMI cable was included in the package.
Really please with this and super impressed with the sound quality and improvement in our home-cinema experience! We got a reasonably cheap one (about 60% the cost of this but then with added money-off as part of adding it on to our fairly expensive TV order from a high-street name) a few years ago and have always been happy enough with it and didn’t really have anything to compare it to, but this is sooooo much better!
Suddenly it feels like we’ve been really stupidly listening to semi-muffled audio for the past few years. The clarity on this is so much better, the sound is fuller and with the bassy slightly muffled sound of our old one out of the way it’s breathed a new lease of life into our television. It does have reasonable bass though nothing outrageous which actually suits us much more and I’ve really enjoyed being able to turn up the TV much higher without compromising the sound.
On top of this it’s really nice looking – modern, sleek and discreet for what it puts out and literally anyone can have this up and running in minutes, so is a great option in my book. I’d want to be really certain before committing to a soundbar at this price and with this model from Bose I think you can be, so would definitely recommend.
We have a 38″ Sony TV, and although initially happy with the sound quality, I found adding this soundbar improved the sound quality such that I could hear dialogue more clearly, without going any louder!
So five stars for speech quality – for dialogue. It doesn’t go super deep into the bass, as is the smallest Bose soundbar, but is perfectly adequate. A secondary bass unit can be added.
An optical cable is included – as our TV had an optical output, it just required plugging in, turning the TV sound to zero, and turning up the soundbar volume on the neat little remote control.
The soundbar does its job in an unobtrusive way. Little white LEDs show you its receiving when you turn it on via the remote control, but those LEDs then switch off and do not distract. The unit is matt black and again, does not distract visually. Very nice, high quality sound and doesn’t get in the way. Ideal for improving the sound of a TV in a smallish room.
Having been using a much cheaper sound bar with my tv which came as part of an internet deal, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to test this Bose model. Pairing with bluetooth was instant and the sound is a million times better than my old one. It is actually quite a small bar and it comes with a remote. At times it sounded a bit too basey for my taste, but you just have to fiddle around till you get it how you want it. This would be great for those who struggle to hear certain levels of sounds on tv, such as my parents who are in their late 50’s and have noticed they are missing certain parts of conversations. I am not going to say that this sound bar is the very best you can get, because clearly there are more expensive ones out there. But at this price point, you are getting excellent build quality, great sound, as well as one of the best brands out there.
My old sound bar was chunky and took up a lot of room on my tv unit which was a little awkward.
This beautiful sleek black sound bar fits perfectly under my tv taking up little space and now looks more discreet and aesthetically pleasing.
This has got to be the easiest set up process ever, simply connect the audio cable to tv and soundbar plug in the power cable and off you go. The video on product page shows these steps if unsure.
At first my sound was a little distorted but I realised that both my tv and soundbar where producing sound. I simply turned my volume all the way down on the tv and I had great sound as a result.
What I love about this soundbar is that it is senses when the tv is on and automatically switches on which saves trying to power on several remotes to watch tv.
The sound quality was a step up from my last soundbar it has greater clarity in speech and the sound is so clear. There seems to be a better audio and the sound is clear no matter where you are watching the tv in the room, an almost surround sound effect.
I easily connected my phone by Bluetooth and again the sound was clear. This is a delightful soundbar but may seem a tad expensive for some but it is worth it.
Very well-made product.
Looks and feels a premium item.
Easy to install and use.
Designed to make speech clearer, it certainly does the job.
Having used a soundbar for a number of years, I now wouldn’t be without one, as you just can’t get the same quality of sound from modern TV speakers. The soundbar I presently use is manufactured by Sony and there is very little that I can fault with the quality of it. Accordingly, my starting impressions were that this Bose soundbar would have to be exceptional in order to better what I currently have. However, as I used and became more familiar with the soundbar, it became apparent that there are a number of areas where it is indeed better and one where it is not as good.
From a design perspective, I think this is significantly better than my existing Sony soundbar, as apart from two little white lights, the entire sound bar is black and having a black TV cabinet, it blends into the background exceptionally well (my existing soundbar is white and doesn’t blend into the background at all). It is also shorter (about 60cm in length) and has a very simple and understated design. As such, the soundbar has a very classic design and I can’t think of a single scenario where it would look out of place.
With some technology products, they can be very difficult to set up but I’m happy to report that this is not the case with this soundbar. If you plug in the power cable and the auxiliary cable, you’re just about good to go. Whilst I shouldn’t have been surprised at how good the sound quality is (it is Bose after all), I have to admit that I was still slightly impressed given how small and compact the soundbar is. The bass level of the soundbar can easily be adjusted through the remote control although, I wasn’t able to detect that it made a significant difference – perhaps that’s down to the TV program that I was watching at that particular time. Enabling dialogue mode however does make a substantial difference, greatly increasing the clarity of speech, which can be very useful on certain occasions.
One of the features which I really like about this soundbar is its auto wake feature (in short, it turns the soundbar on when it detects that the TV is trying to play sound). This is a feature which my current soundbar doesn’t have and all too often I’ve turned on the TV, only to find the soundbar has gone into standby and I can’t find the remote to turn it back on again. The auto wake is therefore incredibly useful.
In addition to being able to play sound from a connected TV, the soundbar is equipped with Bluetooth, meaning that you can also play sound from other connected devices. As you’d probably expect, you can’t play sound over Bluetooth at the same time as sound is playing from the TV (not sure why you would want to) but it is very easy to switch between modes with the press of a button on the remote control.
We finally come to the aspect of the soundbar which I feel isn’t quite as good as my current Sony soundbar and that is the lack of a digital display. You might initially feel that this wouldn’t be a major problem (and maybe it isn’t) however, it means that you have no way of knowing how high the volume is set on the soundbar. As such, you run the risk of the soundbar turning on with deafening volume, particularly if the last watched programme was relatively quiet. A simple display, with a volume indicator would have solved this problem.
In summary, the soundbar is a very impressive piece of kit, with great design and sound quality. However, if it had incorporated a simple digital display for the volume control, I feel that it would have been worth of the full five stars.
The first thing I did was pair it to my phone as a Bluetooth speaker and have to say I was instantly impressed by the quality. I then connected it to the tv via HDMI ARC(hdmi cable not included) which was simple and now turns on automatically when switching on the TV and the volume can also be controlled by the TV remote.
The bass is controllable, maximum bass is probably a bit too much for my taste but it can be reduced using the supplied remote, it would be nice if there was some sort of indication on what level it was set to however.
Overall really happy with this purchase.
Update: The level of bass is indicated by two white LEDs on the front.
Although flat screen TVs have become incredibly slim, that seems to be at the expense of the sound quality and we were increasingly finding ourselves asking ‘what did they say’ before resorting to putting on the subtitles. It is pleasing to find our hearing is not at fault now that this Bose sound bar has been installed.
It arrives in a fairly compact product box, but it is nevertheless a relief to see the sound bar is suspended between two cardboard posts and is even more compact in reality than expected from the raw quoted dimensions. It feels as though, visually, it sinks into the background, which is what you want from these things. Sound quality though is really great. We haven’t needed the subtitles since this arrived as it has improved the quality of speech so that, other than the occasional actor mumbling, everything is so much clearer. Watching a concert is also a more immersive experience and, with curtains pulled and lights dimmed, you can easily forget your woes and just enjoy the programme.
Installation is straightforward with a slim instruction leaflet providing all you need to know (in several languages). An optical cable and remote control are included, but you can choose to use an HDMI lead instead (not included). I used the optical cable but may switch to an HDMI in the future.
This is a good soundbar that produces a much richer, deep and clearer sound (that bass really does work incredibly well) and a better quality experience when watching TV than we were able to achieve using our existing TV sound alone.
First impressions: the speaker has a very good weight to it around 3kg sitting nicely in front of my television and the quality is clear to see and feel straight away, the remote control is simple and clear not being overly cluttered with non functional buttons which is the case with some, I like how the cable sockets are situated into a recess in the back and laid out with a good space between them.
I already own a Bose SoundLink mini Bluetooth speaker II which I absolutely love with outstanding sound so I had high expectations for the quality of this and am pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed, after setting it up I first tried it on the main terrestrial television stations and found the enhanced dialogue feature of the speaker worked really well clarifying speech giving a good clear crisp vocal removing any muffled sound. I switched over to some gaming and this really showed the power and sound quality of the speaker, I was really impressed and engrossed in the game with the way it filled the room with the sound even more enhanced with the bass button.
I linked the speaker via Bluetooth to my phone to play some music, a very simple process of searching for it under the Bluetooth connection on the device and selecting, the sound again was superb and I was somewhat blown away by the power and quality produced, you can easily switch between the television connection and Bluetooth with the TV button on the remote control, with this speaker using multiple Bluetooth connections I was able to connect my tablet to the speaker as well making it easy to switch between the two connections.
Overall this really is a superb TV speaker, I love the quality and sound produced by Bose products with this more than impressing and blowing me away with the amazing sound it produces, I am not normally one to get overly enthusiastic about a product but this really delivers and I can’t fault it. I highly recommend following the link given in the manual to ensure you are getting the most out of the speaker with features and adjustments should you purchase it.
We are longterm users of Bose, have experience of their phones and speakers. From the very first product, we were sold on their functionality.
Experience:
My previous experience of an incident with a Bose product is a testament to their build quality. I dropped our Bose cordless phone into my running bath, it remained submerged for a while before i noticed it. It wasn’t waterproof, yet it functioned perfectly until we replaced it a few years later.
Sound Output:
One word: Brilliant! I’ve included a short clip of the device with the greatest sporting moments and a piece of music with a good level of bass. It coped astonishingly well across the board for such a slender unit. Clear vocals, bassy low pitch and silky smooth complicated high notes such as when playing piano pieces such as Chopin – Winter Wind (Etude OP 25 No 11) and some Liszt. I wish i could add a second audio clip. But i can’t.
The piano pieces sounds crystal clear and immersive.
Needless to say our existing bluetooth speakers have now been relegated to the guest room!
Note that your listening experience of the clip will be limited to the quality of your audio output. But know that it doesn’t falter.
Bass level is impressive for such a compact and base-level device. If you really wanted, you could wire connect it to a Bose subwoofer Base Module for the extra bite. It’s perfectly adequate for our use. I sense the windows are already popping rythmitically to each bass-y beat.
What Do You Get? A Comparison:
It comes with an optical cable and a very easy to set up bluetooth connection. It also has HDMI input, but the cable for this is not provided.
Considering this is the entry level of the Bose soundbar family. The main difference of this compared to bigger siblings is that this one does not have Amazon Alexa built in and nor does it have access to the Bose Music App.
This is a sleek, stylish and streamline piece of kit, measuring 59cm in length,10cm width and 5.5cm height. It can sit underneath anything upwards of a 24″ screen. The smooth speaker face and the premium matt ‘Bose Black’ finish helps it blend into the background.
The remote is slim and petite. Its not wholly necessary as the device can be controlled from your TV remote, Macbook, iPad or smart device. The fact that it is included is a bonus.
And Finally:
Bose, has been our go-to brand that offer the perfect mix of style and substance. We haven’t had much need of customer support, but when we have, they go out of their way to assist you.
5 stars …and a handshake.
So, what do you get? In the box you’ll find a compact soundbar, instruction booklet, remote control, a power lead and an optical cable. The soundbar does not, however, come with a HDMI cable so you’ll need to supply your own if you plan to connect by that method. As an aside, I prefer to connect by HDMI cable where possible, but your TV will need an HDMI ARC port. Most TVs will have at least one, but do check.
Setting up the speaker is a doddle. Find a suitable location to place it close to your TV, choose to connect by optical or HDMI cable to your telly, and plug it in. You may need to go to the settings on your TV to chose the sound output. It will likely be defaulted to your TV speakers, so you’ll need to change it to the external speaker. And that’s it. From now on, when you turn the TV on the soundbar should also turn on at the same time. Your TV remote will control the volume of the speaker, and it should also turn off shortly after you turn the TV off.
Sound wise, it’s a huge step up in quality and depth from what you’ll get from your standard TV speakers. Very few TV’s have truly good sound without using an external speaker, so you’re almost certainly going to benefit. What you do need to understand though is that this speaker is right at the bottom end of Bose’s range, so you’re not getting all the Dolby Atmos or DTS bells and whistles of higher end products. There’s no Alexa or Google smart assistants built in here. What you do get is a much-improved experience than what your TV alone can offer. I had an LG soundbar for several years of similar price point and that didn’t sound anything like as good as the Bose.
I’ve compared the sound from the Bose against my Wharfedale dale DX-2 5.1 system I’ve got running through my Denon amp, with an additional pair of DX-2 satellites giving me a reasonable Atmos system without punching holes in my ceiling. As you’d expect, a soundbar can’t replicate that room-filling sound. Running the same film and also a Dolby test sound you notice the limitations. The surround sound isn’t immersive in that you can feel the sound being pushed past you to the corners of the room, rather than actually coming from the corner of the room. The Bose gives a very good account of itself though, wrapped up in a stylish and neat little package. It’s also strong on audio streamed by Bluetooth from my iPhone. Not quite as crisp or as powerful on the bass as my Sonos Ones perhaps, but still very good.
So, overall, I think this is a very good speaker for the price point. Other very good soundbars are available at around this price, notably the Sony HT-SD35 with additional wireless subwoofer which is highly rated, and the Polk S2 which also gets a lot of praise. You are therefore paying a little bit of a premium for a system carrying the Bose name, but you are also getting a very stylish and well-built bit of kit. To get much better you’re looking at over 100 more for the extremely good Sonos Beam with Alexa built in, or you need to double the investment to get a better Bose speaker (the 500, also with Alexa built in too). If I had the option, I’d give this 4.5 stars. It’s a very good soundbar, just lacking a few features found on its similarly priced rivals that prevent me giving it the full 5-star treatment.
Excellent product, brings volume up and out of tv and enables clarity of speech. Makes everything more watchable and enjoyable
sound quality really good easy set up great sound streaming music via bluetooth sound very crisp and clear highly recommend only 1 little qualm the length of the power cable but you can buy one cheap enough
Easy setup sounds great to
Bose other great quality product!
I have a owned Bose Solo 5 for a few years now and totally loved it. Great sound, great size and just great.
Well, finding out that this was coming out I decided purchase and am I glad I did.
The design:
A lot nicer, very slick and sexy..very much 2020. Oozes quality. Size is also relatively small at 60cm, fits nicely under under a 42 inch TV.
The sound:
OMG, love it. Crystal clear sound and vocals. For a smallish device it is very loud but still keeps the clarity of the sound. Don’t expect super room shaking bass as it is a sound bar. However a subwoofer can be purchased separately and will have room shaker effect if that’s what you are after. I am happy with the bass though so will not be. Personally I would say the sound is an improvement on the solo 5.
Connectivity..
Very simple and you have a few options, I have connected with ARC which allows the device to be turned on and off at the same time my tv is(single remote) Also I can use my tv remote to control volume. It also has other input and output connections. Oh yes and of course Bluetooth. Perfect for connecting your phone and works very well.
Remote:
Comes with a dinky little remote also very good quality! However I’m not likely to use it as my tv remote will do the job.
Overall:
Bose have always been a top end brand. Their prices might be a little higher than other brands however the quality is amazing, in this case you get what you pay for. The best thing about Bose is that their products also hold some value, if you went to sell later in life you would still get a relatively good amount of money back – unlike most other brands!
As an example if you look on the well know auction site you will find used Bose Solo 5 soundbars still selling for around 150. That is amazing considering they have been around almost 3 years and with a new price of 179 (currently)
I would highly recommend this product and would say its well worth the additional money.