Bose Soundbar 500 Review — Powerful Bass and Subwoofer in 2023

The Soundbar 500 is one of Bose’s carefully crafted soundbars, but it comes with a high price tag. Some people may be tentative about taking the plunge in fear that the sound bar isn’t worth their money. 

To ensure this doesn’t happen, our experts have conducted a thorough Bose Soundbar 500 review. Read on to find out if the soundbar can indeed elevate your listening experience.

What We Like

What We Don't Like

Bose Soundbar 500 Design

The Bose Soundbar 500 features the standard sleek and slender Bose soundbar profile. It’s wider than other soundbars but created thinner to slide easily under your TVs without obstructing the remote sensor.

The slim soundbar is only around 7 pounds, which makes it light and easy to wall mount to keep out of your way. It has an incognito design save for the LED light bar on the surface that displays your settings.

What’s great about the little LED lights is they show up in different colors depending on the audio settings. The Bose 500 looks like the Bose Soundbar 700 but without the tempered glass top.

The sleek soundbar has rubber feet to keep it from slipping if placed on a flat surface. All the connection ports can be found in the back of the soundbar including Bose’s ADAPTIQ headset connection.

The wraparound aluminum grille encases 3 forward-firing center speakers and dual side-firing speakers.

Bose Soundbar 500 Features

Performance

The Bose Soundbar 500 has both ADAPTIQ mode and standard mode. For the best audio, our expert team suggests going with the former. ADAPTIQ is a room calibration Bose technology that optimizes the content according to the acoustics of your living room layout. 

Our experts have found during our Bose Soundbar 500 review that the sound quality in both these modes is quite similar. With the ADAPTIQ mode, the bass sounds much more natural and blends in well with the other layers of sound. 

Unfortunately, the soundbar 500 doesn’t come with advanced audio technologies such as Dolby Digital or Atmos. Dolby Digital and Atmos are two technologies in the industry that can deliver realistic sound. However, this Bose smart soundbar can still produce a better balanced sound with the ADAPTIQ feature.

Even without the Bose Bass Module 500, the soundbar 500 can still deliver record highs, lows and mids that mix well together to create the ultimate 3D sound stage. You will also notice little to no distortion at any volume — just crystal clear sound. 

Voice Assistants: Alexa & Google

This soundbar from Bose has both Amazon Alexa voice assistant and Google Assistant built in. These virtual assistants offer voice control, which can be done completely hands-free. The noise-rejecting microphone array embedded in the soundbar will pick up your voice commands easily and the voice assistant will perform accordingly.

You must choose one or the other as both Alexa and Google Assistant cannot function at the same time, but the switch can be done easily through the Bose Music App.

Surround Sound Experience

To deliver true surrounding sound, a soundbar would require surround speakers, a dedicated center channel and wireless subwoofer. The industry standard to produce true surrounding sound requires 5.1 channels at the very least. 

While having true surround is a luxury, it is preferred for the enjoyment of most streaming services and music services. Without the 5.1 channels, the Soundbar 500 can still create virtual surround sound while watching your favorite movies or TV shows. It is done with the help of the connections, Bose’s ADAPTIQ, and SimpleSync.

Luckily, the Soundbar 500 is a buildable system that can create a multi-room home theater sound system with Wi Fi Bluetooth. Simply connect the sounding bar to your home WiFi network and add on the smart speakers and bass module to complete the setup.

Bass

Even as a soundbar that doesn’t come with a wireless subwoofer, the Soundbar 500 can create impressive deep-toned sound. The low frequency extension of the audio bar is what gives it the ability to relay the deep rumbling bass found in other soundbars like the Sonos Beam and TCL Alto 7

The want for bass is easily corrected if you consider adding the Bass Module to your setup.

Room-Correction Toolkit

The room-correction refers to the ADAPTIQ Technology. You will need to calibrate the audio of the bar on your own, and Bose gives you the necessary tools to do so. 

You get the ADAPTIQ headphones in your purchase that is used to tune your Soundbar 500. All the necessary controls can be done using the included remote control.

Bose Music App

The Bose Music App serves as the nerve center for all your control needs. You can use the Bose App to play music and control your favorite tunes from one or all your Bose devices. You can link all the devices of your multiroom system together through the app. 

Together with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Apple Airplay 2, you will be free to enjoy all your favorite audio content from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other services.

The app is also very handy to have in case you misplace the remote. The Soundbar 500 gives you many layers of command through multiple methods.

Bose 500 Interface and Setup

Once you have the Bose Music App downloaded, the setup is easy. The app walks you through the process step by step starting from connecting to your home network to integrating other services.

If you choose to implement the ADAPTIQ technology, you will need to use the headset, but that process is also a guided one that can be done in a matter of minutes.

The Bose interface is very easy to use, and similar to the Sonos Beam, it features LED indicator lights to show you exactly what your settings are. Everything can be well-controlled by the app and the included universal remote, so there won’t be a need for your TV remote.

Connectivity

Our experts have determined that the form of connection used will heavily influence the features of your sounding bar. HDMI is the recommended method of connection as it supports the highest quality content and minimal distortion. It’s a one-cable setup with all the necessary connections including the HDMI cable in your purchase.

The Soundbar 500 also has HDMI CEC, which allows up to 15 devices to be controlled by each other from one remote. If you see a soundbar with an audio return channel or HDMI ARC, it will be able to process signals to and from the sounding bar to the TV. HDMI ARC can relay both audio and video signals.

A digital optical audio cable is the next best form of connection right below the HDMI ARC option. While both the digital and HDMI ARC options can process digital content, the HDMI can go up to 8K.

FAQ

Is Bose Soundbar 500 good?

Yes, the Bose Soundbar 500 is good. You will get the absolute best sound your room can handle at any volume with the ADAPTIQ technology and the convenience virtual assistants can bring with the complex microphone array.

How many channels is the Bose 500?

The Bose 500 is a 3.0 channel audio bar. You get a dedicated center channel that will help enhance speech, left and right channels, and no subwoofer. Even with just 3 channels, the Soundbar 500 can produce incredibly detailed audio that sounds good for its size.

Does Bose Soundbar 500 have Alexa?

Yes, the Bose Soundbar 500 has Alexa. Not only does it have Alexa, the audio bar also features Google Virtual Assistant [1] for voice commands that allows you to get work done completely hands-free.

How long does it take to update a Bose Soundbar 500?

The update for the Bose Soundbar 500 can take anywhere from 1 to 2 full days. It does take quite a while but understand that Bose is trying to supply you with the best effects and abilities your bar has to offer.

How do I use my Bose Soundbar 500?

You can use your Bose Soundbar 500 by connecting it to your TV and controlling all the settings from the corresponding app. You will get minimal to no distortion at any volume with the elevated sound you like with the 500 Bose Soundbar.

Conclusion

After extensive testing done for the, our experts were very impressed with the results. While the soundbar doesn’t come with a subwoofer for enhanced bass, you can deliver room-filling rumbling notes that can be felt at any volume. 

For those who like a simple setup, the 500 is a simple plug-and-play design that affords users with an easy interface and the convenience of invisible assistants that can handle menial tasks with just the command of your voice. If you like enhanced sound for a reasonable price tag, the Soundbar 500 is for you.

Writer

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.