What is the Best Bose Soundbar?

Bose specializes in sound technology and their soundbars are no exception, but how do you identify the best ones? Our experts have tested some of the best Bose soundbars so you can prevent an exasperating return process if a pick proves to be subpar.

Best Overall
Bose Soundtouch 300
Best Premium
Bose Soundbar 700
Best Budget
Bose Solo 5
Bose Soundtouch 300
Bose Soundbar 700
Bose Solo 5
With HDMI, Alexa for voice control, DTS, and Dolby Digital decoding, the Soundtouch 300 is among Bose’s superior soundbar with optimized sound.
The Bose 700 soundbar combines a sleek exterior with exceptional quality and added features such as Wi-Fi and SimpleSync for added convenience.
This soundbar is the best option for those on a budget and are short on space. It’s a compact and affordable design that still delivers outstanding sound quality.
Best Overall
Bose Soundtouch 300
Bose Soundtouch 300
With HDMI, Alexa for voice control, DTS, and Dolby Digital decoding, the Soundtouch 300 is among Bose’s superior soundbar with optimized sound.
Best Premium
Bose Soundbar 700
Bose Soundbar 700
The Bose 700 soundbar combines a sleek exterior with exceptional quality and added features such as Wi-Fi and SimpleSync for added convenience.
Best Budget
Bose Solo 5
Bose Solo 5
This soundbar is the best option for those on a budget and are short on space. It’s a compact and affordable design that still delivers outstanding sound quality.

Reviews of the Best Bose Soundbars

1. Bose SoundTouch 300

The Soundtouch 300 isn’t just a soundbar, but it’s a whole home theater system on its own with DTS format decoding. The soundbar also supports 4K passthrough through HDMI connection for all the higher quality content on your flat screen TV.

The blend of a glass top and metal on the Soundtouch 300 creates a luxurious soundbar that can stream either music or movies wirelessly with Bluetooth.

What We Like

What We Don't Like

2. Bose Soundbar 700

The 700 soundbar is an extremely well-performing soundbar from the brand. However, this HDMI ARC-compatible home theater system does come with a higher price tag. You may  pick of either white or black to blend into any interior design.

Aside from exceptional sound from 4 powerful drivers, Airplay 2 and Google Assistant are built-in to help you control the audio. Your invisible assistant makes it possible to perform other subtle voice commands such as reporting on the weather and increasing or decreasing the volume.

What We Like

What We Don't Like

3. Bose Solo 5

This Bose soundbar is one of the most popular choices. Not only is it a very affordable product, but it takes up minimal space with its small profile as well.

Advanced technologies such as dialogue mode bring out previously inaudible speech and enhance whispers. Conversations in movies will pop more with this one.

The Bluetooth wireless streaming let you connect to external devices so you can enjoy elevated sound on the Bose Solo 5.

What We Like

What We Don't Like

4. Bose Soundbar 500

The Bose Soundbar 500 is a slim soundbar expertly engineered for a more powerful sound. You can easily pair this Bose soundbar with your headphones of the same brand with Simple Sync and enjoy your favorite tunes with the 500 soundbar as your TV speakers.

If you want added bass for either movies or music, feel free to add more speakers or budget subwoofer to make the sound much better. With this Bose soundbar, you can still add one sub or two rears as well.

Built-in Amazon Alexa can pick up your voice commands with eight noise rejecting microphone arrays for precise identification. Overall, the Soundbar 500 is one of the best Bose soundbars on our list.

What We Like

What We Don't Like

5. Bose Bass Module 700

The Bass Module 700 is a subwoofer device optimized to pair with the Soundbar 700 for a much more dramatic bass. You can enjoy tunes from the Bose Music app with higher definition audio as well.

This one gives you access to a dynamic audio range with minimal harmonic distortion each time. You can pump up the bass without compromising the quality at any volume level.

What We Like

What We Don't Like

Bose Soundbars Buyer’s Guide

Size

The bar’s size correlates directly with your TV and the space you have. As a general rule of thumb, you should use a soundbar a few inches shy of your flat screen’s length.

Sound System

Is it just the Bose soundbar itself, or does it come with a subwoofer, satellite speakers, and more? For smaller rooms, the soundbars from the manufacturer alone will be able to permeate the room with impressive audio quality. 

But if you need a full-range home theater or a multi-room speaker system, it’s best to add more speakers to Bose soundbars for better sound.

If you are looking for a device for your PCs, you can check our top-performing PC soundbars here

ADAPTIQ Technology

Adaptiq technology in a Bose soundbar can customize your new system and calibrate the audio to work best with the room’s acoustics, creating a 3D surround sound.

Controls

Bose Soundbars will come with their own remote control and can be set up with your existing universal remote. If you want to use just one remote to make things simple, an easy way to do that is to connect your universal remote to the bar.

Mount

Bose soundbars like the Bose TV Speaker are slim products that offer flexible placement. An excellent location to set up your device would be on the wall, and most of Bose bars come with a wall mount.

Still, you may want to make things simple by placing the product on the TV rack. Feel free to do that as well if you need better access.

Interested in bookshelf speakers that performs just as well as large speakers? See our review of Bose 161 here. 

Bose Soundbar 500

Price

Consider the price of your next product as well. All highly-reviewed Bose soundbars like the Bose Soundbar 700 are high-performing audio products that can create life-like acoustics each time. With a higher price tag, you may get both WiFi and voice control aside from exceptional sound.

Bass

The best soundbars boast a lot of bass, and some can allow simple adjustments depending on the content, whether it’s movies or music. Some soundbars that will enable users to control the level of bass using the remote or app to customize the device to their liking.

Connectivity

Audio bars can feature both wired and wireless connections. Our experts suggest HDMI ARC wired connection since it has the best load handling capabilities. On Bose soundbars, you often see Bluetooth and WiFi for wireless sound streaming and setup. Access to smart home functions can add convenience and ease of use as well.

For other options, you can setup and connect your devices using an HDMI CEC cable here. 

Subwoofer

While not many Bose soundbars come with a subwoofer, you have the choice of adding bass to enhance the low tones in your setup. Still, it’s possible to get great bass sound from models like the Bose TV Speaker without the additional module.

Audio Modes

Clear voice found in Bose soundbars help optimize onscreen speech. Other useful audio modes that will boost your content include movie, news, and gaming.

Bose Soundtouch 300 in front of a TV

Channels

How many channels do your soundbars have? Five channels are the industry standard for enveloping and life-like vocals and effects [1]. Still, to get the full experience, an additional subwoofer and rear satellite speakers would be best for a multi-room system.

Easy Setup

The setup of your Bose soundbar should be easy as well. When you buy Bose soundbars, everything you need will be in the box, including necessary cables, one instruction manual, and a remote control.

FAQ

1. Are Bose soundbars any good?

Yes, Bose soundbars are good. They are expertly tuned and calibrated soundbars that offer life-like sound.

2. Is Bose worth the money?

Yes, Bose is worth the money. Their devices are equipped with all the latest audio technology and capabilities such as Dolby Atmos and DTS for a full cinematic experience.

3. Is Bose overrated?

No, Bose isn’t overrated. It’s a brand that has consistently produced reliable products that can elevate your viewing experience.

Our Top Pick for the Best Bose Soundbar: Soundtouch 300

Our experts choose the Bose Soundtouch 300 as the best Bose soundbar on our list. It earns the top spot with its DTS decoding capabilities paired with a smooth and luxurious glass surface design. The Soundtouch 300 is calibrated to deliver an excellent listening experience each time.

The Soundtouch 300 also has access to Amazon Alexa, letting you use your speakers for simple commands. You can easily adjust the volume level or check the weather with Voice Assistants like Google.

See how the Soundtouch 300 compares against the Sonos Playbar here.

Bose does not have the monopoly on good soundbars. Take Samsung, for instance, and its HW-J250 that comes with a good price.

Writer

Picture of Willie Greer
Willie Greer
Willie Greer is the founder of The Product Analyst. A cinephile, he has made it a personal quest to achieve the awesomest home theater possible. He now shares what he has learned through the years on the site, and has enlisted the help of tech-savvy colleagues in providing more insight about today’s most sought-after gadgets.