Customer Ratings & Reviews

I've been wanting an Alexa capable device for some time now in a speaker. I have quite a library on Amazon Music so, other than my laptop/cell, I don't really have a way to play it. This speaker is the best of both worlds for me and sound quality is great. This is Bose and I'm always impressed with their products and this is no different. Size-wise, this is just taller than your average book and a tad on the heavy side. No issue with size really however, the sound that comes out of it, is superb. The touch controls on top of the speaker make for quick access. There are 6 preset buttons which you can program to play a specific playlist, track or radio station which is nice. Appearance wise, it looks pretty tame however I like the sleek, all black look. The sound is typical Bose quality. I used this speaker in my bedroom and the sound is quick rich. I previously used a Bose color Soundlink in my bedroom however it's getting replaced by this speaker. The Soundlink is no slouch when it comes to sound quality in a small package however this speaker makes the Soundlink almost cheap by comparison. Really rich sound with just the right amount of punchy bass. Great speaker and made even better with the Alexa built in.

I know Bose creates great products but I didn’t expect this speaker to sound as good as it does. It has a very rich deep sound. It must be loaded with speakers because it’s a pretty heavy speaker for the size. It was a snap to set up with the Bose app and it connects super fast to my phone. No waiting or searching for the connection. It’s connected in a second! It’s perfect for any room in the house and moving it from one location to another is easy and really sounds amazing. I didn’t expect that it would sound so good. I kind of thought it was a, “Hey! Apple just put out a home speaker and we need to grab our share of the matket!” Product decision. But overall I like it so far. It has presets for all your favorite pandora or Spotify stations and Alexa makes it easy to get the weather or to find a new artist or song. She picks up quite fast compared to some other “assistants” I’ve used in the past. My only issue with it is the cost. I would expect something like this speaker to cost in the 299 range instead of the 400 dollar range but other than that it’s hard to beat.

Bose has done it again. A great sounding Alexa compatible speaker. A relatively small footprint, easy to use with killer sound that has become expected form Bose. Unboxed the speaker and can say it was pretty hefty for a small speaker, which I guess was a precursor to the sound. After trying to set it up with the Bose Connect app already on my phone, realized that I needed to download the Bose Music app which was simple to download and the app walks you through the setup easily. After set up, the Bose 500 will download the latest software so you need a few minutes to be able to hear it. Be patient. And then you turn it on. Pick one of the music services you subscribe to and select it on the Bose 500 and hear that great sound, even when turned up loud, no distortions. Personally I use Pandora and it worked great. Having some issues with Radio.com but will work with Bose to fix that. Not sure if the issue is Bose or my own user error. And it works great with Alexa. All the Smart Speaker functions including the information included in Alexa and connection to smart home devices work wonderfully. One function though that does not seem to work is calling friends with other Alexa devices. Perhaps this is fixed with future software updates, but in the meantime, don't use this speaker in an area where that feature is important. The speaker has a screen which shows what is playing or the time of day if nothing is playing and that feature is activated. Touch controls on the top are intuitive and work well. Would be nice if lighted, just don't use in a dark room or use voice controls instead. Back to the sound, it is fantastic. And if not perfect, through the app you can control treble and bass. I haven't taken this outside yet due to the time of the season, but based on how loud it is inside, I figure I can cover the entire back yard. Positives: great sound, easy set up (once you download the Bose Music app), ease of use and Alexa compatibility. Negatives: cannot call friends and issues I have with some of the music services that are supposed to work on this. Overall, Bose has hit another one out of the park.

I have smaller Bose speakers to use with my tablet or cell phone. I LOVE LOVE this speaker. The sound quality will blow you away considering the size. It also has Alexa so at any time you call to her and she will answer:)! I tested this speaker by going outside I could still hear it. The sound is like theatre quality. I would definitely recommend!

Let me start by saying I was given the awesome opportunity to test out this product from Review Club and Bose, but all opinions are honest and are my own. That said, I was blown away by this product. Now, I have Bose computer speakers, but they are mid-grade and weak in comparison to this bad boy. The lack of what I THOUGHT was base is astounding. I also have Alexa Shows and Alexa dots, and this thing knocks the sound quality out of the park. This little guy can literally knock things off of shelves and walls, and it's smaller than my purse. It packs quite the punch, all things considered. Deep, crisp sound. I also love that it shows the album cover, the band name, the album name AND number the song name. My only complaint is the volume buttons are a but hard to find, even though they glow, Because they are even with the surface and are touchscreen. Otherwise, I feel it's worth every penny.

We bought this as an open box item. Someone had returned it and we cannot figure out why. It was in perfect condition and it is the absolute best speaker purchase we have ever made. We’ve had it almost a year and the sound is unmatched. We are slowly collecting Bose speakers for a whole house system and this is the perfect addition. It is amazing. Who knew that kind of sound could come out of something that small?

The Bose speaker sound never fails to impress. This one speaker fills the entire downstairs and sounds great. I connect my phone and other devices via Bluetooth very easily. Alexa integration also works very well. At first, I thought the speaker was rechargeable like the other smaller Bose speaker I have, but, it is not. That being said, you can move it with the plug anywhere you want, and, I haven't moved it since I bought it, so, no big deal. Bose app gives you lots of control with the speaker as well. Very happy with this purchase.

I am a BOSE loyal customer for 30 years, I just switched from the SoundTouch system to the Smart Speakers, Soundbar 900 and Bose Bass 700. Wow, even with these old ears I love the improvement of the total sound immersion! We have speakers throughout the home and have many guests/parties. Love the continuity with Spotify and Pandora for a whole house experience! Superior quality and great style!! A friend was here who has Sonos and begrudgingly said BOSE sound is much better. Enough Said.

Great design and great sound. Screen could be better with a higher resolution but still not bad. Overall, I like this smart speaker and would recommend this to anyone looking for a small speaker to simply fill a room with music.

But dang it's worth it sometimes. When I was in the market for a new Bluetooth speaker, naturally I looked up Bluetooth speakers on the internet. I originally had a JBL Charge 4 but was looking for something a tad better. I had a 10 year old Bose Bluetooth speaker that out-performed this brand new JBL. So I sold the JBL and went to my local Best Buy to pick up the Bose Smart Speaker 500. When I got home, I had expected a fully wireless experience given that's usually what pops up when you search for Bluetooth speakers. I was very disappointed when I found out it had to be plugged in if you wanted to use it. I'm willing to admit that it's my fault I didn't research it more in depth. But that's not why I'm giving it 4 stars, I'll get to that in a bit. So I thought, "what the heck? I'll give it a shot anyways." So I plugged it up and gave it a whirl. Initially, I was very very disappointed. Maybe I was still disappointed from it not being wireless, but who knows? Setting it up, you need to have the Bose App, which for me wasn't a problem, as I already have their QC earbuds. It did take a good bit to actually get set up enough to play music, maybe about 10 minutes. After hooking it up to the internet, I pair my phone via Bluetooth and give it a go. The first thing I noticed was that the screen that displayed the album artwork (which is the whole reason I chose it over the 300) doesn't work for Bluetooth alone. I was very let down because I had just bought a relatively expensive speaker and it didn't do what I thought it would do. The next thing I noticed was that the trebles (what is usually associated with clarity of voices) were noticeably louder at the back of the speaker. This was almost a deal breaker for me because it made it sound like I was behind the singer rather than in front of them like I was backstage instead of in the audience. As much as I may wish for this to be, it's not something I want from a top-notch speaker. I convinced myself to still give the speaker a shot, after all I just paid almost $400 (after taxes of course) for it. I took it from my kitchen table into my bedroom, set it on a table, and fired it back up. I played the same song to really hear the difference and see if location could play a factor in sound; and it absolutely does. At first it wasn't significantly better but then I moved it further against the wall and the difference felt like night and day; that was the deciding factor in keeping it. I then messed with the speaker settings in the app and set the bass and treble a bit higher and *chef's kiss*. This speaker performs best against a wall and boy does it perform. Everything about this speaker has the Bose stamp of quality that sets them head and shoulders above everyone else. For not releasing actual specs about this speaker (hertz range for example), or any speaker of theirs for that matter, one can't help but to worry about sound quality. But c'mon, it's Bose we're talking about here. The sound is crisp and clear with thumping bass if you want it. What's that? You live in an apartment with paper thin walls and don't want the cops called on you for a noise complaint? You can go to the app and turn down the bass to fit your needs. It's honestly an amazing speaker IF it's in the right setting. However I've given this 4 stars for 4 reasons. The first is, there's no way for me to give it 4.5 stars but I can't give it a perfect score. The second is because it's best against a wall. I don't feel like I can move my speaker more than 1 foot, maybe 2 away from my wall before we go back to the backstage problem. Third, and this is rather minor, there's no feel marks for the buttons. What I mean by this is there's no indentations or little raised dots to indicate where each button is. In the dark, this can be very problematic as you will most likely hit the wrong button. Finally, I can't help but feel like I'm paying for a brand name. Don't get me wrong, I love Bose but how much better is this over a $60 home system? The answer is good enough for me to keep coming back and buying their products. Bose is built upon a fan base that doesn't just listen to music, but loves to enjoy it. They add that extra clarity or extra crispness that you've come to expect from them and this does not fail to deliver that level of quality.

Very clear, and extremely loud. Site perfectly in my office and gets lots of compliments on the sound quality and the sleek look.

I purchased this speaker to add to my Bose Soundbar 500 and Bass Module 500 system which I purchased late last year. I was surprised how easy it was to connect and integrate with my other Bose Smart Home speakers using the Bose Music app. The sound quality is as expected from a Bose product as I have owned over the years Bose home audio products including the old school 901 and 501 series of speakers. It is amazing how well this little speaker reproduces music with clarity and plenty of bass. With the Bose app I am able to adjust the bass and treble of this wonderful speaker. And yes... you can crank it up with very little distortion. With it's voice assistant (Alexa), I am able to control this speaker and my Bose Soundbar 500. With a simple command I am able raise and lower the volume of my Home Speaker 500 and also my soundbar. Set alarms on either speaker, weather, etc. Connecting via Bluetooth and Apple Airplay was not a problem and played music from my computer and cell phone. Syncing music with the soundbar has been excellent after I upgrade from my old Linksys E4200 to the AC2200 wireless router. The E4200 was not designed for the bandwidth and speed needed in today's wireless home networks..

Bought for my wife and she loves it. We had a Sound Touch 20 in the kitchen previously hooked to an Amazon Echo Show ver. 2. Nice but some issues in implementation. Would lose connection with network and between the Echo and the Bose. This seemed to be an answer to that problem and it was. Works perfectly with Amazon Music, phone, AirPlay 2. We both think the sound is actually superior to the Sound Touch 20. Bass is much tighter and the volume is absolutely deafening when I am able to listen to it at those levels! My only gripe (and it did not cause me to lower the review rating a star) is that it is noot possible to change the wake word. In a discussion on a Bose forum it stated that not possible to do so on third party speakers. Had to rename a device of two in the general area. The pickup by the closest device only helps, but I really would like that ability. I have written Bose directly but think that is accurate. The option to change the wake word shows up for Amazon devices in the Alexa app but not for this device either in the Alexa App or the Bos Music app. But in no way a deal killer. Great product, especially at $299.00. Highly recommended.

Love this new speaker! It’s easy to use and set up. The sound quality is very good as well! Would highly recommend to any audiophile!

I purchased the Bose Home Speaker 500 a few weeks back and can't be happier. This replaced an older Bose speaker that was no longer supported and would not connect to my home WiFi network anymore. Given the reduced price, $100 off the original list price, it was worth the money. The sound quality is great and it fills the room very well (we have a great room format and the speaker is in the corner). It's connection to the WiFi is much more reliable than the previous speaker and I like the integration with SiriusXM. I don't use Alexa or other assistant features and this was easy to turn off (stopping Google snooping). I agree with other reviewers that the display window is rather useless, but I do like it's time display when it's not playing music. Set-up was very easy (once I figured out I can't give it the same name as another ApplePlay device) and I find the App okay but not great. I especially like the fact that I don't have to hook it up to my computer to get software updates. All in all I would highly recommend the speaker.

Great Bose bluetooth speaker. Sound quality is great an connectivity to bluetooth devices has been flawless. Great price markdown in store of over 50%...Great purchase and I actually purchased 2.

This speaker provides great sound for such a small package. But the Bose app is not up to par with the Sonos app. I compared this Bose speaker side by side with a Sonos One, in my own home with my music. While I generally prefer Bose sound over any other speakers I have listened to, I thought the Sonos sound was comparable, but not quite as smooth and full to my ear. If I was judging strictly on sound quality I would probably still go with the Bose speaker. But when you compare the function and features of the Sonos app compared to the Bose app for WiFi speakers, Sonos wins hands down. The Bose 500 display screen is a nice feature, but not enough to swing me to it over the Sonos One.

My first bose device and it won’t be my last. I’m beyond pleased with this. It’s sleek and stylish, takes up very little room and the sound is crystal clear. Even at the highest volume the sound is great. Setting up is easy if you have some tech knowledge and can follow directions. I look forward to walking in the door after work and telling Alexa what to play.

First off let me say the quality of the speaker both sonically and the build quality are what we all come to expect from bose. The body is aluminum and it looks awesome in the triple black. Being that i already have a lot of smart products in my home I would go with this speaker to further take control of my everyday appliances. Sometimes the function doesn’t always work the way it should and the display at the front is creative but looks dated compared to the screens were now use to. I gave 4 out of 5 stars because it sounds amazing you can even add treble or bass and make your own sound similar to jaybird but the price is very high and considering the screen is predated i gave it 4 stars. Overall solid pickup if it’s on sale or you have extra income at your disposal.

Bose knocked it out of the park with this smart speaker. I use it in the kitchen for music while cooking. It pairs with my Bose soundbar in the adjacent family room and the two rooms are filled with beautiful sound. Set-up took all of five minutes. I listen to mainly classical music which this speaker delivers with clarity and richness. I can't speak for how it would sound with country, RB, rock, etc. A pricey item for sure, but for me it brings additional color and warmth while in the kitchen.