Bose - Soundbar 500 Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant - Black

When my old HDTV suddenly died, it also killed every device that was connected to its HDMI ports -- including my Sony STR-DH590 receiver. So, when I replaced my HDTV with a new TCL 49 inch 4K UHD TV, I thought about reducing my home theater clutter by replacing my 5.1 surround receiver setup with a new soundbar. This review is based on the Bose 500 Soundbar paired with the optional wireless Bose Bass Module 500 Subwoofer. This is my first soundbar and I was a little skeptical about it being able to match the sound produced by a true 5.1 system. For me, the 3 most important things for a home theater sound system are: 1. Vocal Clarity 2. The low rumble and thumping bass associated with Movie Theater like ambiance 3. Surround Sound effects that envelop you The soundbar has a low profile (only 1.75 inches tall) and was compact (31.5 inches wide) so it easily fit underneath my TV’s built-in stand. It did slightly obstruct the IR sensor on my TV so I now have to point at it at a higher angle for the TV to respond to my remote. I noticed that the soundbar has an IR connector in the back but I don’t know what it’s used for. I was hoping that it is some sort of IR repeater so it can pass along IR signals to any components that are blocked behind the soundbar but the IR cable (from some other equipment that I had) that I tried did not seem to work for this purpose. Maybe it needs a different type of IR cable for this to work. Setup was very easy. I connected the soundbar to my TV’s HDMI ARC port and plugged in the power adapter. I then installed the Bose Music app on my tablet and followed the instructions to setup and calibrate the soundbar using the included ADAPTiQ headphone. I first tested the soundbar without the bass module. The first thing I noticed was the extreme clarity of vocals. I can easily hear and understand the dialog from TV shows and movies. So, the soundbar by itself satisfies my first requirement for a home theater sound system. By itself, I thought the soundbar had decent bass but it didn’t give off that “movie theater” experience that I like. I then proceeded to set up the subwoofer. To do this, I plugged the subwoofer to an AC outlet and used the Bose Music App to add it to the soundbar. It detected the Bass Module 500 Subwoofer and I was able to easily paired it with the soundbar. I like that it is wireless so we can place the subwoofer at any convenient place. After pairing, the app reported that I had a Bass Module 700 instead of the Bass Module 500. That’s weird. I tried to redo everything by removing all accessory speakers and attempted to add the Bass Module 500 again but the same thing happened. The app keeps reporting that I have a Bass Module 700 after pairing. It probably doesn’t make much difference but I was worried that it might not calibrate the system correctly if it thought I had the more powerful 700 instead of the 500 paired to the soundbar. Anyway, after adding the subwoofer, I recalibrated the system again and now I hear movie theater-like bass being pumped out! It feels like I’m watching movies in a movie theater. The subwoofer made a huge difference for me. At loud settings it has enough oomph to annoy neighbors but at normal settings it offers deep and smooth bass that is not overpowering. The combination provides crystal clear sound with exceptional vocal clarity and the low rumble and thumping bass of watching movies in a theater but I did not get a good surround sound effect. With my prior discrete 5.1 system, I would hear sound coming from all around me but I did not experience this with the soundbar. As a smart assistant, the Bose Soundbar 500 gets my highest rating. It’s voice recognition and detection is fantastic as I would expect from a company with years of experience in sound research. From my limited experience, it has the best voice recognition of all the smart speakers (both Alexa and Google Home Assistant) that I own. It’s so sensitive that it usually responds to my commands even when I am physically closer and speaking to another smart speaker in an adjacent room. I did notice a quirk where the volume level which Alexa responds with can fluctuate a bit where it sometimes responds at a higher volume than it did earlier. Using Alexa to listen to my music and podcasts is really satisfying on the Bose Soundbar 500. Music generally sounds great although I think the bass produced is better suited for movies than some genres of music. It has a kind of boomy quality instead of being tight. The bass also seems more noticeable when playing music compared to watching movies. Overall the Bose Soundbar 500 and Bose Bass Module 500 is a great home theater sound system for those who do not have the space for a true 5.1 surround sound setup. It is able to produce crystal clear audio with exceptional voice clarity along with the muscle to produce room thumping bass and the low rumble ambiance of a movie theater. The only weakness is that I did not experience good surround sound effects with this setup. The ability to produce good surround sound effects from a Bose soundbar might depend on the room layout because Bose speakers use sound reflection off walls to enhance the experience. I think with a smaller living room or different layout there might be a more noticeable surround effect. I like the sound quality, simplicity, compactness, and convenience of the Bose Soundbar 500 so much that I will probably go out and add their Surround Speakers to try and rectify the lack of surround sound effects.

The first thing that catches your eye on the Bose soundbar 500, is the low profile and how sleek it is. It has a very classy look to it that screams, high quality. The construction of the unit is also very good, it’s constructed of premium material and the design is flawless. A nice thing about this sound bar, is the low profile. It’s not as bulky and wide, like a lot of sound bars on the market. This is especially useful if you’re limited with space. Then there’s the wireless subwoofer, this is a remarkable product on it’s own. Together, they both look really amazing. The main sound bar unit comes packed with an HDMI cord, remote control, sound calibrator headset and power cord. The set up is very simple, it guides you through with very thorough directions. All you need is a smart phone with either Google play store, or the Apple app store - to download the app. Through this app, you will be able to adjust the settings of the sound bar, as well as select your music. My only disappointment with this, is the streaming serves that are offered in the Bose Music app. While Airplay 2 is scheduled to come out sometime in 2019, that still leaves other services out, like Google music and Tidal. You can still connect through bluetooth, to play those, you just won’t be able to select music through the Bose app. The Soundbar 500 comes equipped with Amazon’s Alexa built in. The voice control works great, and I had no problem getting her to understanding me. With the built-in wireless internet, you can ask Alexa for simple things, like weather, sports updates etc… The sounder actually has 3 ways to connect to your devices; HDMI, optical, or bluetooth. Now for the main part, the sound and performance. The first thing I tested out, was music streaming. I tried both streaming from the Bose app with Amazon music, as well as bluetooth connection with iTunes. The sound quality is amazing, to say the least. The vocals come through crystal clear, and with the added wireless subwoofer, the bass is smooth and deep. The next source I tried, was watching a movie and TV. Again, the sound is incredible! Very clear, no distortion and very loud. Bose really seemed to master the way the acoustics are angled. The way the sound bounces off the wall and beam forms behind you, really gives you a sense of true surround sound. Overall, this soundbar is fantastic, with both build quality and sound. While the Bose music app lacks a few features, you can still use them through bluetooth. So, this does not hinder the overall performance of the soundbar. With the added feature of Alexa, this soundbar is a home run, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

I think I have too many Sound Bars. Good problem to have. I have one connected to every TV and used the Bose to replace a 4 year Polk Sound Bar. The difference is night and day. I paired this with the coordinating bass module and will review that separately. I will break this review down to 4 categories; setup, Alexa, TV sound and music. First, the setup was easy. The included paper instructions are pretty useless, just download the Bose app and set it up through that, very easy. I used the included HDMI cable to connect to the ARC input on my Hisense TV and plugged it in and then set the TV to the new speaker...done. The whole setup took under 10 minutes. Next I started using the Alexa functions. The mic's on this speaker are fantastic. They pick up my voice very well while playing music or the TV. There is also no annoying sound effect every time I say "Alexa" (looking at you Sonos). Like all non Amazon Alexa devices, you cannot change the wake word. This would be a game changer for me. I have way too many Alexa and changing the wake words would be very helpful. I can however, tell my Sonos one to turn on my Bose or adjust the volume so it works perfectly. For now I have disabled the mic on the Bose and use other devices to control it via Alexa. The other reason for this is that I have found that the Bose volume moves around on it's own. I can set the volume to one but then if i start watching TV then fall asleep, the alarm will wake up the neighborhood in the morning. I also love that because this connects via the ARC connection on my TV, I can tell Alexa to turn on Bose and it will turn on the tv as well. Fantastic. Sound for watching TV is fantastic. It is easy to make sound adjustments on the Bose app to get it right where you want it. It fills the room with clear sound at all volumes. For such a slim speaker, I was really impressed by the sound, but I guess I should expect that from a Bose product. Sound for music is great as well. My old sound bar sounded terrible when playing music on it, not the case with the Bose. The Airplay 2 update that is coming in 2019 will be a great addition as well. Since you cannot do multiroom audio with Alexa devices of different brands, Airplay fixes that issue. My only gripe is a small one. I wanted to mount the speaker but it does not have built in mounting holes nor an included bracket. I had to spend $40 on the Bose bracket which is about $20 more than it should be. No biggie, it's mounted now and I love it!

This Bose 500 Soundbar is really awesome. I’ve had some other non-Bose soundbars that have been pretty good, but this one takes it up a notch. I watched several different types of shows/movies/sports that had commentary, music, cartoons, etc. Comparing it to my existing soundbar system, this one is more crisp, full and overall more realistic sounding. It sounds really good without the subwoofer, but if you want the true full movie experience, you must buy the Subwoofer. The best part was when I was watching a Transformers movie battle scene with vehicles flying across the screen, rockets blowing up, and my floor and walls rockin’. I honestly thought it was like a movie theater, and I could actually feel every moment in the movie. I had a smaller sub with my existing system, but even when it was turned way up, it was never even close to this Bose subwoofer. Right out of the box, the packaging is well labeled (sort of like a mini puzzle), and it would be hard to be damaged when mailed. That is always my fear, when I have something mailed to me, versus picking it up in the store. No need to worry, Bose is well aware of it, and the packaging is perfect. You will need to download the Bose Music app to connect the subwoofer to the soundbar. I didn’t see that in the instruction guide, which surprised me. It connected the soundbar easily, and then had to do the same process when adding a subwoofer. To pair the subwoofer, click on the circle icon of the 500 soundbar in the bottom right corner of the dashboard. Click the “Settings” icon, then click the “Accessory Speakers.” Lastly, click the “+ Add Bose Accessory Speaker” and it will begin searching. With the 500 subwoofer, it requires that you push the circle button on the side near the bottom, next to the power cord (note: on the 700 Subwoofer, there is no pairing button on the unit, it will automatically show up if it is plugged in). I have a 700 and a 500 soundbar/subwoofer, but it will not allow you to connect a 700 sub and 500 sub together with the same soundbar. Trust me, I tried to add 2 different subs to the same soundbar, and really rock the house. But, unfortunately, it will only pair with the same version soundbar, so you can connect (2) 700 subs together with the 700 soundbar, but not a 700 and 500 sub to the 700 soundbar. However, you can connect (1) 500 subwoofer to the 700 soundbar, or (1) 700 subwoofer to the 500 soundbar. The 700 is a better subwoofer (larger too) at the higher volume, where you can really feel the thumping bass, but the 500 is no slouch either. Something that I have not heard of before, is the “Dialog Mode” option that adjusts the soundbar to have a better sound for programs that are dialog, such as Football games, or tv shows. It is different with movies, but I found that it increases the volume for the range where human voices fall into. For the subwoofer, I have my setting at +80 Bass, +30 treble, +0 Center Channel, and it sounds great overall. On the action-packed theater-style movies, I HIGHLY recommend turning the bass up to 100, and you will feel the floors rumble, no joke. I do really like the Equalizer-like adjustability for the sub and soundbar (-100 to +100 for bass/treble/Center Channel volume). Most others don’t have that capability. You can toggle the subwoofer on/off too, so if you are watching it late at night, while the baby is sleeping, you can simply toggle it off in the Accessories Settings, and it will turn off. Phaseguide technology gives the illusion of the sound coming from all the different directions. It comes with a headset unit for the AdaptIQ calibration, that you program the soundbar what it sounds like in your “favorite spots.” Basically it has you set about 4 or 5 spots in the room where you would be sitting to hear the sound. It has instructions on the screen, so you need to hook up the HDMI cord to the TV, to make it work. Since the soundbar uses Alexa, you can say things like, “Alexa, turn the volume up” or, I can say, “Alexa, turn the volume to level 30,” and it will adjust it. It can connect to Bluetooth devices, radio stations, TVs, you name it. When it comes to what you want to hear, you have so many options. Play your favorite music services over a home Wi-Fi network, like Spotify or Amazon Music, at the touch of a button. Or, use a Bluetooth connection to play anything from a phone or tablet. The app allows you to make several custom presets for songs/sounds/list, but since I don’t really have many subscriptions to Spotify or Amazon Music, It is not that big of a deal to me. I have several different Google smart home devices, so when I heard it was only Alexa, I was a little hesitant. However, because my TV is a smart TV, I can still cast things to the TV, and it will play on the bose soundbar. I connect the TV to WiFi, so essentially the Soundbar uses Google Assistant as well. The setup/cords I used was with the HDMI Arc connectivity, so the TV will turn the soundbar on and off. That way, if I cast something to the TV, using Google or Alexa, then it turns the soundbar on, and plays the movie/song that I want. The soundbar has a pretty good voice pick-up from across the room, so I don’t have to yell at it. If you want to mount it to the wall, it is going to use a specific wall mount (not included), that is basically small bracket shelves that the soundbar sets on top of. I have a fireplace mantle that it currently sits on, and it is about 48” tall. I have tried it in 2 different orientations (1 on the fireplace top, and 1 on the brackets), but after running the AdaptIQ configuration in both places, I cannot tell a difference. It apparently uses the sound to adjust how it sends the sound, and it can tell with echoes or something. In conclusion, this is the best sound system I have ever had, and I have had quite a few over the years, upgrading each time, different homes, different rooms and setups. I am a big Bose fan to begin with, purely based on the direct comparisons with other similar products, and it is extremely hard to beat the sound from a Bose speaker system. The Bose 700 is a step up with Bass pounding and the 700 remote is universal and programmable, whereas the 500 is a smaller remote control that is just another remote that gets stashed in the coffee table.

No complaints here I love this sound bar. It works for me. After getting use to it I made it work for me. I could feel the bass in my heart YES...

I got this Bose Soundbar 500 and the Bose Module 500 in the mail approximately 2 months ago and couldn't be more excited about it. My husband and I highly value great quality audio products, such as speakers, subwoofers, headphones and bluetooth earpieces. Sound quality is what matters the most for us when it comes to make a decision what brand to buy. We have owned many different brands of speakers and surround sound systems, from really inexpensive ones to some that cost 10K for a speaker system from Martin Logan. Most of the economic ones I ended up returning because we didn't like the sound quality. I have a good ear for music and most regular speakers just can't deliver the richness of a sound or note musical instruments produce. Although, we were very happy with our Martin Logan speakers but only till we had to move to another state. Extremely bulky, too many pieces and lots of wires. Some pieces also got damaged during the move and the whole process was very costly. Later we had to move again and decided that we don't want to keep moving or shipping it and sold it for a fraction of the price we paid. Then my husband said that it would have been so much better and easier if we had a single speaker with a subwoofer instead of the surround sound system we had and that someone recommended him to get Bose. We are big fans of Bose products. We have owned a bluetooth earpiece and over the ear headphones that are now about 8 years old and still functioning perfectly. We compared those Bose headphones to Beats headphones before purchasing and the sound quality just was so much better. Also the bluetooth earpiece was the only one where people on the other line of a phone call could hear you clearly in a noisy environment, such as a mall or a busy street. We were so excited about this new sound system when it came out and we are happy we got it. Everything was nice about it, even the packaging. When I got the boxes, my husband wasn't home and I just could not wait to open it and try the speaker and the subwoofer together. I'm not a techie person in general and I don't really know how to set up speakers. So, I took my time to read the instructions in the manual before doing anything and did as it said there. It's important to study the manual well before testing any electronics to avoid any unintentional damage, especially if that piece of electronic is expensive. The whole set up took me about half an hour without any rush. Anyone can do it, just read the instructions and follow the steps. I was very pleased with the design of the product: it's very elegant, sleek and blends in well in any environment. I was also pretty impressed how compact it was. The speaker is not very big itself: about 2 inches high and a little less than 32 inches long and weights 7 pounds. If we have to move again, we can easily fit it in a suitcase together with the subwoofer. Very convenient. When I finally tested the sound quality, it blew my mind! I connected it to my phone via bluetooth and put some songs to play that I found on YouTube. That was impressive. The speaker is in the living room and it's very spacious with high ceilings, open kitchen, a hall and still it sounds so powerful and as if there is a whole surround sound system. Probably because in this speaker sound comes out not only on the front but on the sides too. Very sophisticated design. The sound quality is impeccable and the bass is pretty powerful, especially together with the subwoofer. I don't even put all the volume up much because I live on the 3rd floor and don't want to get any complaints from the neighbors below. We mostly use this sound system for playing music during the day and for watching movies, series or shows at night on our projector. It' a lot better than a TV, more impressive. This is a smart speaker too, it can be voice-controlled with Alexa and it can also automatically customize the sound depending on the specifications of the room it's in. The future is here. I just need some time to catch up myself. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves good quality speakers. It can make a really nice gift for Christmas too. As for me, it's definitely a keeper. I left a review on Bose.com and now I'm planning to make a YouTube video about testing this product too.

I knew I was getting a Bose system but I did not realize how much booze has upgrading their system since I last used ones. This sound bar is only about an inch tall and maybe 3 feet long. This set up while at first was slightly difficult once I realized what was wrong it was a breeze. The trick to this specific type of system is that you need an HDMIARC poured in your television in order for it to work the way it supposed to. The first television and I attempted to use it with did not have that port I ended up having to use an optical cable, that is not provided I just happen to have one, but since you do not allow this sound like you access the Internet through an optical cable when you try to use the app to control the sound bar it does not work correctly. On the other hand, once I set it up in my room with a new TV with the rate HDM I port it was a whole new machine. Like I said I was initially frustrated with the set up but once I got the right port it was a matter of plugging in the power plugging the sound bar into the right HDMI port and then turning on the television my television and eyes there was an audio system attached and I did not have to use the remote control supplied by Bose. Although it does have useful features. One thing I didn’t do use as much as I would’ve liked to was the Alexa voice actived feature. Don’t get me wrong, I totally used it, and when I did, wow, even when playing music loudly Alexa still hears you, it was also able to automatically sync with smart devices in the house. I really like being able to adjust the Bass, Treble, Channel Centering and Volume all from the app. Another amazing feature is it’s AdaptiQ technology, which basically has you put on a pair of headphone type things with microphones in it, then the app asks you it sit in your 5 favorite places in the room. It calibrates to you exactly! The last neat feature I want to discuss it Dialogue Mode, in the app you have the choice to switch to Dialogue Moda when watching things that require voices to be clearer.

The Bose 500 is a nice smart speaker and I would definitely recommend if you plan on using as such the majority of the time. But if you are looking for something to be used mostly as a TV soundbar – I believe there may be better options out there, especially if wanting to upgrade the sound on an older TV with multiple inputs and no ARC. My review includes the optional 500 wireless subwoofer. In the 500 soundbar box; Soundbar and power cord (nice that the “block” is in the middle of the AC cord so doesn’t block any other outlets on my power strip or running thru a wall). Basic remote control and batteries HDMI cable ADAPTiQ headset to “tune” your sound field VERY basic “setup” manual In the optional 500 sub-woofer speaker box; Subwoofer and power cord (which has no “block” so easily plugs into AC outlet, nice if running thru a wall too). Very basic “setup” manual Pros; Nice flat black design and it feels “hefty” (7 lbs.) for its size. At 1 ¾ inches height it probably wont block your TV’s IR. Width of 31.5 inches and 4 inches deep means it should fit nicely in front of any TV too. After downloading the Bose Music app to my android smartphone, it was easy enough to setup. It steps you through wireless setup, music apps, amazon sign in, attaching/synching optional Bose speakers, naming device, etc. Also during setup you are asked you to create a Bose account – which registers your product- which I did. Later I received a welcome email from Bose with several links on how to learn and enjoy your speaker. I found it very telling that none of it mentioned using as a TV soundbar – all the info focused on using as a smart speaker and how to maximize music apps/options. But do yourself a favor and download the full manual if you really want to know what everything does/operates If your TV has ARC (Audio Return Channel) and HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) you are pretty much set to go. I am using this connected to a FireTV which has ARC and HDMI-CEC connectivity so turning on blu-ray disc player automatically turns on the soundbar and TV. This also allows any remote you may have setup for your TV to control the soundbar volume. However turning off the blu-ray player doesn’t turn off the TV or soundbar – which is standard but odd to me. Bluetooth is built in and easily synched Alexa is built into the soundbar – which is very nice - but make sure you have the soundbar “listening speaker” turned on if you plan on using it. It seems to default to off during setup but was easily turned on thru Bose Music App. Even with the volume up and a cold that made my voice sound like I had been smoking all night – Alexa recognized and understood me. Whether playing music or TV the units sound fills the room but, to me, lacks a little midrange causing it to a tad “tinny” sounding – and that is with the subwoofer optional speaker. There are basic bass, treble and center speaker adjustments within Bose Music app but I didn’t seem to hear much difference no matter how I had the settings. I did try using Alexa to try to tune the sound but was “told” it could not change EQ settings for this device. That would be a nice update to have in the future, I think! I did run the sound setup using the ADAPTiQ headset. You sit in 5 different seats/areas and it runs a series of sounds supposedly to setup for optimal sound. I really didn’t notice any discernable difference between before and after using it. I found it to be more gimmick than science. The sub-woofer is a pleasant enough shape with the same flat black finish as the soundbar. It’s also relatively small at 9.5 inches tall, 10 inches tall and wide and weighs about 11 lbs. It defiantly provides needed bass/oomph. Since its wireless you can pretty much place anywhere, you’d like within a reasonable distance. Now for the Cons – mostly related to TV soundbar usage You need a smartphone to setup the speaker to have access to your internet, amazon account, adding optional subwoofer and/or rear wireless speakers, speaker tone adjustments (limited as they are), etc. Most people probably have one but wanted to mention. I have looked everywhere and could not really find where the soundbar or subwoofer response specs or output are spelled out. It seems it does support Dolby Digital and DTS, but I could not find anywhere on the speaker that indicates which it is processing. No ATMOS. Bluetooth is input only so you cant use it as output if you want to listen silently thru headphones – as some soundbars allow you to do. There are no video inputs/outputs, only audio inputs. So the 1 HDMI connection is sound input only. If your TV doesn’t support ARC you wont be able to use this HDMI connection. This leaves the optical sound connection which, as long as your TV has optical output, you can use it to listen to anything else connected to your TV thru soundbar. Even if your TV doesn’t have optical output and doesn’t support ARC all is not lost. If any of your other components such as cable box or blu-ray player have optical out you could connect them to the soundbar – just not both at the same time. Not an optimal situation which could have been avoided if soundbar had HDMI input/output/passthru functionality. Remote is not illuminated and makes it hard to find or use in dark room. Its pretty basic as far as functions. You cant use it to change bass, treble, center speaker, etc. – must use app. You don’t get a lot of discernable info from the soundbar. Cant really tell if on, what it is processing, etc. Final Ramblings; Bose has stated they plan on making continual firmware updates, indicating they will be adding Google and Apple Airplay functionality in the future. Ambitious as I believe no one has been able to do this in one package – SONOS comes to mind. IF they can get that accomplished that would be a big plus…. I would also consider adding the optional rear wireless speakers to get 5.1 sound. Looking at website they run around $300.