Customer Ratings & Reviews

Sounds good for a standalone soundbar you need a Bass Module 700 but not necessary.

This soundbar is amazing the sound is clear for movies o music the dialogue is fantastic I’m using it with the subwoofer 500 no problem what so ever

Bose is NOT Apple. Bose products are NOT simple and intuitive. I make this comparison because Bose is attempting to pretend that their products ARE simple. For instance, there are only two buttons on the Smart Ultra Soundbar, which are pretty much useless. Instead, you are supposed to use an obnoxious little app that has zillions of 'advanced' features hidden away. Out of the box, as soon as I had everything hooked up, the first problem I discovered was a communication problem between my cable box and the Soundbar. All of the audio was out of sync, looked like I was watching old kung fu movie where the actors lips never matched the dialogue! Eventually I fixed that (mostly) by applying a sync delay that i found hidden in the app. But the NUMBER ONE most obnoxious problem is that the HDMI eARC almost never works without 10 to 15 minutes of screwing around. To get around that, I generally leave the tv set to use its own speakers. But anytime I want to watch a movie with good sound, I have to jump through major hoops to get the Bose to do what I paid for it to do!!! Super frustrating! Unfortunately I kept hoping I'd find a way to straighten things out so I am well beyond the return policy now. Currently, the Bose Smart Ultra has a 4.6 rating. This is EXTREMELY fishy to me. I've been a long time fan, but Bose systems are no longer worth the premium. Do yourself a favor and find another system!

I am very happy, it is very good and pretty, it is very powerful and has a very good sound and a good price

Sounds good for a standalone soundbar you need a subwoofer but not necessary

Picked up my Bose ultra sound bar- like new- open box. Worst pickup experience ever. Just handed over the sound bar right to hand with no packaging or anything to carry home. Took home connected to power and played music just to see Connectivity issues. Loss of bits. And the aacent grill popping out. Not bose standards. I own lot if bose products and i love them. But not this item.

Best sound bar in the word This is second sounds bar I was bought

Excellent soundbar, it gives me a theatre feeling, very stylish, the glass top cover takes the design to the next level.

This is a huge improvement over the lackluster tv speakers. I switched from a full definitve audio setup, and this sound bar does a decent job trying to keep up with floor standing speakers.. I'd recommend this for a soundbar if your looking

The Bose speaker is absolutely wonderful it’s sounds as if a helicopter is flying straight the window behind your couch in the living room. Only on half volume it shakes the house and we love it. Perfect example of an at home cinema.

Purchase the sound bar problems sending me up at first like that with those technical support. We got it all together works waiting. No more speakers to go with the product. Thanks, Best Buy.

To me this sound bar is the most spectacular sound bar that I have ever heard in my life I loved it it is so precise and on tune

This is the comeback. Of Bose. This is a good c experience went you watch a move.

Excellent!! I love it! I’ve been using BOSE since my high school days, 80’s… ❤️❤️❤️

Pros Neutral sound profile Dialog easier to hear in movies Good amount of bass for the size Placement of objects with Atmos more distinct Doesn’t require a lot of setup Can be expanded to surrounds and subwoofer Cons Limited equalizer adjustment Requires manual tuning No instructions on pairing soundbar to app at time of writing Wall mount brackets not included The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar could easily be mistaken for the previous Soundbar 900. Externally the appearance is identical with a metal speaker grate and glass top. While not a new design it keeps things simple making it easier to blend into your décor. Bose is known for making products that are simple and easy to use. The Smart Ultra Soundbar is no different. In the box you will find the soundbar, remote, power cord, AdaptiQ tuning headset, HDMI cable, and subwoofer cable. The subwoofer cable is only compatible with specific Bose subwoofers which they call bass modules. If you wish it can connect to the bass module wirelessly. Input connections are limited to a single HMDI Arc input and an optical digital input. This soundbar keeps its role to strictly that of a soundbar and does not serve as an HDMI switch. Setup and Performance The basic setup is straightforward. You simply plug included HDMI cable into the port on the soundbar and matching HDMI port on your TV. If you want to take advantage of music streaming and the sound tuning, you are doing to need to connect the soundbar to the Bose Music app. This is where things got a little bit confusing. At the time of writing this review there were no instructions in the box or in the app on how to connect the soundbar to the app or WiFi. The instruction manual makes it seem like you just press connect in the app and it finds the soundbar and connects. Hopefully this will be added but you need to use the remote to activate pairing mode on the soundbar. Through trial and error, it was discovered the procedure is the same as the 300 series soundbar. After getting connected setup was much easier and the firmware could be updated. The AdaptiQ tuning process is different than other sound equipment. While some using a small microphone you place in listening locations others have a continuous tuning process with microphones in the speakers. Bose chose to use the manual process, but the process uses a headband that you wear and sit where the 5 main locations someone would be sitting when using the soundbar. At first it seems odd, but it makes sense. Instead of trying to hold the microphone where you would sit, you just wear the microphone and sit in your normal place. There is no need to guess on placement. Of course, since this is a manual process, you are going to have to keep track of the headband and run calibration again if anything changes. This might seem a bit old fashioned to the new style dynamic tuning, but it seems to work quite well. Since it knows exactly where your head is normally it can tune it to suite you. While it is uncertain how well it works for guest of different heights it works quite well for the family. Positional audio seemed more distinct than usual. For example, in Aquaman there is a fight scene with the queen is fighting. While the weapon sounds were too fast to get exact direction. The height of the blasts was not very distinct. Placement of voices was very distinct and would come where you would expect. When the camera panned left to follow the action, you could hear speaking to your back right. When the camera panned back to the right the person that was heard was exactly where they were expected. In the movie Blade Runner 2049 where he is flying to the orphanage and gets fired at you can hear the bullets pass from left to right and front to back. Also, as the canopy rattles you can hear metal rattling above you to the front left and right. Finally, when the harpoon hits his flying car can hear the specific place it hits. The latest iteration of Dune is where Atmos is the most noticeable. In the scene where Paul encounters his first sand worm you can hear the sand grains floating around the room but also voices. There are points where you can hear things all around, including above and specifically to the right side. The TrueSpace processing confused the processing of trying out the Smart Ultra Soundbar at first. The TrueSpace processing takes non Atmos sources and attempts to replicate a more immersive experience. While it isn’t as specific to locations like a movie created using Atmos where sounds are placed deliberately, TrueSpace did give a sense of depth to movies. In movies that didn’t have Atmos or it wasn’t turned on it was adjusting the sounds to spread them out more. Essentially, if a movie did not have Atmos it would make it sound like sounds were coming from something much larger than just a soundbar. Dialog was less concentrated and sounded larger and more natural. Sound effects sounded like they were coming in front of you when needed without sounding like they came from only directly in front. While still not as immersive as true Atmos content it still noticeably improved the experience without seeming overdone. Probably the only effect that could be considered overdone is the Ai Dialog mode. This is the first time our family has been able to understand dialog in some of our favorite movies. The effect isn’t just boosting the treble. It is hard to describe but whatever Bose did with the effect it did make even the hardest dialog intelligible. Going back to the overdone aspect, that is more of a necessary side effect. Because it is adjusting voices slightly you might notice that some actor sound different but in a way you can’t quite place. Their voices can sound just slightly different but not in a strange way. While you might initially notice it, it doesn’t take long to forget about and enjoy understanding what they are saying. If for any reason it just doesn’t suite your taste it can be disabled. Where the Smart Ultra Soundbar might fall a bit short is the same area of any subwoofer and that is impactful bass. While the soundbar can produce a surprising amount of bass, it won’t hit hard such as during an explosion. For those who don’t care to have tons of bass and are planning to use this in a small to medium sized room, the Smart Ultra Soundbar might be enough all on its own. If you like to have a wider frequency range, like more modern music with more dynamic bass, or want to use the soundbar in a larger room then one of the two bass modules can help fill the space better. When you add the bass module to the mix the soundbar offloads some of the frequencies to the bass module allowing the soundbar to focus more on the frequencies it handles best. It doesn’t just add bass, it makes the sound richer. While adding the bass module makes movies even more immersive, the unexpected benefit is how it improves acoustical music and some vocals. The addition of the bass module makes the sound of a bass guitar richer or even some singers. A surprise was listening to Hello by Adele. While the soundbar did a respectable job reproducing the song with an overall neutral tone, the addition of the bass module brought more richness to her voice. Trying it out on The Gambler by Kenny Rogers it made the crackling of his voice richer. Even listening to Metallica S&M it sounded reasonable full without the bass module, but adding to the mix gave the orchestra more depth. If music as Daft Punk, DeadMau5, or Marshmallow are more your speed then the bass module becomes more of a necessity. Regardless of if you decide to add the bass module one thing the Smart Ultra Soundbar does a nice job of is expanding the soundstage. Like movies, when playing music, it sounds like the music is coming from a much larger arear than just the small soundbar. It gives more a sense of size. Final Thoughts The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is a well rounded soundbar that does a good job of keeping things simple while trying to address common complaints of soundbars over the years. If you are looking for a compact soundbar and prefer a more neutral sound or want better positional audio in movies, then then this soundbar could be a good fit for you. Just keep in mind if you have a larger room or overall like more dynamic and impactful bass you are going to want to add one of their bass modules as well to complete the package.

This top of the line Bose soundbar not only sounds great but has so many ways to listen to music as well and it's so simple to use. My setup is a recent Sony TV (with eARC support) and an AppleTV 4K. Initial setup was straightforward: Connected the Soundbar to the HDMI output with eARC support, and power cable. The eARC connection allows sound from the TV to the Soundbar and it's the only option that supports Dolby Atmos. The Soundbar also has an optical connector which I did not use. It comes with the power, HDMI and optical cables. There is no sound from the soundbar yet. One needs to install the Bose music app on a mobile phone or tablet. I already have a Bose Smart Speaker and Bluetooth headphones so my account was already set up. The install process though the app was quick and simple, until the step where one has co wear a headband with a mic on, that is used just once to calibrate the soundbar to the room and where one would be sitting while watching TV. I wish this could've been done using the cell phone itself but the wired mic on a headband must be more accurate. This is done once so that's fine (It can be re-run from the app though). Bose calls this 'ADAPTiQ'. The size is right for a 55" or larger TV. Anything smaller and the soundbar will be wider than the TV. It has a nice finish with matte finish on the sides and a glass top. There are no buttons on the soundbar except for mic mute and voice assistant buttons that are touch-sensitive from the glass top. One of the distinguishing features is that it has actual height speakers (For Dolby Atmos) which are cut through the glass top and fire upwards. It also works as an Amazon Alexa assistant, and supports playing from the TV, Bluetooth, with an excellent device management from the app, Apple Airplay 2 with Apple Home support, DLNA, Chromecast (with direct play support from a server), Spotify Connect and from the Bose Music app, which itself supports some of the most common sources like Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Pandora, SiriusXM and Spotify. When playing through the Bose app, the phone doesn’t need to be near the soundbar once it starts playing, as it connects directly. It has a simple remote control with a few buttons but if used with a TV, volume can be controlled from either the TV remote or the AppleTV remote (Or other HDMI connected streamer), as well as from the Bose app on the phone. When watching TV, the app indicates what kind of audio it's receiving, like PCM or Dolby Atmos. So to the sound: As expected, sound is very crisp with good amount of bass. Bass, treble, center and height controls are on the app. To test stereo separation, streamed some tracks with good stereo separation and I'm impressed how it's obviously distinct between left and right. Sound is very detailed. Subtleties in audio tracks can be heard at lower volumes. It can (and should) be set to also enhance speech content, which I've also seen in other high end soundbars. An external wireless (power cord only) bass module and rear speaker are also available. This is Bose's best soundbar, and it's truly excellent for both TV and music and excellent connectivity options.

This review is for the brand new Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. I bought this soundbar for my bedroom as the factory speakers in my 55" Hisense tv did alright, but I was hoping to get a lot better sound from a soundbar. This is my first soundbar that I've ever owned, though I listened to 8-10 different soundbars to see what sounded best to my ears and within a certain budget. Ultimately, I settled on this brand new Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. IMHO, Bose does a terrific job with their audio products by getting great sound out of tiny speakers. Whether that speaker is a soundbar, headphones, portable speakers, or even a home theater set up. Right from the start, I'll tell you that you won't get the same type of surround quality in a soundbar that you'll get from a dedicated 5.1.4 set up like I have in my home theater, or even a simple 5.1 setup that I have for regular tv watching. It's impossible to do that with just a single soundbar. But, with a very good soundbar like the Bose Smart Ultra, you'll get vastly improved sound quality, as well as more spacious sounds that what you'll get from just the speakers in your tv. For the audio, Bose uses their PhaseGuide technology that simulates surround effects by reflecting sound around your room. And the ADAPTiQ audio calibration adjusts the sound based on your room's size and shape. My tv is not in an ideal place in my bedroom, it's in a corner. So, the sound that comes from the sides get reflected off a wall six inches on the left side, and 27 inches bounces off a dresser to the right. The two speakers that face up are in somewhat the same predicament of just being in that corner. But, even with my in the corner placement, it's way better sound quality, as well as the spaciousness of the sound that what you'd get with just the tv speakers. FYI, you can also buy additional speakers for the rear as well as a separate subwoofer. Bose also usually has an "all in one" set up for the higher end speakers like the Smart Ultra Soundbar that include two rear surrounds as well as the subwoofer. But for me, I just wanted the one speaker for my bed room that sounded very good and at least with some spaciousness and more bass that the tv speakers could ever do. And while my corner placement for the tv and soundbar isn't ideal, it still sound pretty goo. The reason for this is Bose uses a surround process that uses either your Android or iPhone with their app. The app is free to download, and pretty easy to use to set up as well as register your soundbar.Using the Bose app, and this thing that you put on your head that's kind of like headphones, but it has a microphone on top. You plug this into your soundbar, and then by following the prompts from the app, you'll go to different areas where people will sit when they watch tv. I believe that I measured in five different areas. Then the distances are calibrated in less than a minute, and the speaker will sound way better than when you first plugged it in, By the way, the cord that plug into the soundbar that you wear on your head measures 22' 3" so you should have plenty of length to reach your favorite seating positions. You can control the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar setting such as treble, base, balance, volume and more using the app on your phone or the included remote control. The remote control is very small at just 4.25 inches tall x 1.5 inches wide x 1/3 thick. So, it might get misplaced very easily. And just in case you're wondering, no, the included Bose remote is not back lit. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar isn't a small soundbar either. It's 41 inches wide x 4.25 deep x 2 .25 high. It weighs roughly 12.5 pounds. It only comes with a one year warranty. For this price, I really think it should be two years just because of how much it costs. For reference of the size of this soundbar, in my pictures you can see part of my tv. It's a 55" Hisense. OK, some of you reading this may want to mount this soundbar under your tv. Great, as that's what I wanted to do. But, you really don't want to mount the soundbar a few inches under your tv as that will interfere with the up firing speakers. You'll want your Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar at least a few inches in front of your tv. If you do want to wall mount your Bose soundbar, those are something extra you'll need to buy from Bose or your retailer. They are not include with the soundbar. They're not exactly cheap either. They're about $39.00. Underneath the soundbar, there are two rubber feet that will protect what ever your sitting the soundbar on. But, those rubber feet are held on by velcro, and that's where the screw holes are located if you want to wall mount your Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. I also love the Bose Ultra Smart Soundar for listening to music from SirusXM. This soundbar sounds way better than the blue tooth speaker I was using. I'm listening through Alexa app +that's built into the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. This speaker also works with Android, Apple Airplay, Spotify and Google Home. Dolby Atmos is built in. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar also works with Bluetooth and WiFi as well as an ethernet port. Overall, this is a terrific sounding soundbar. Then why only four stars instead of five stars ? The price, plane and simple. Many people may not want to spend this kind of money for just a sound bar, or can't afford to spend this much. Believe me, I truly understand. For roughly the same amount of money, you could buy a lower end home theater receiver, or even a really good used one, 3 speakers for the fronts, and a smaller subwoofer to start with, a 3.1 set up. And possibly adding two rear surround speakers later on for a 5.1 set up. But, if you just want one speaker that sounds terrific and produces a very good sound stage for movies, tv or music, then look no further. I highly recommend the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. Pros : Great sounding whether it's for movies, tv or music. Various ways to cast audio to it. Dolby Atmos built in for decoding this audio format on certain movies and tv shows. The included 58" HDMI cable to hook up to your tv's Very nice looking and it has some weight to it. Not some cheap plastic speaker. Very long, 22' 3" cable for the calibration of the soundbar. Cons : Short power cable at only 58" long. IMHO, it should be 72" Just a a one year warranty. For this price, I really think it should be two years just because of how much it costs. The price.

Ordered an open box item that was categorized as ‘Exellent’. To my surprise, item was shipped by bestbuy with no box but just wrapped in plain plastic cover.When I tried to open, i got my fingers hurt because of broken glasstop. The top was shattered completely. I had to return it back. So pathetic , will never order an openbox item.

I've never owned any Bose products to date. This is my first. I know the name (who doesn't) and I know there are a lot of Bose fans out there. I'm happy with this soundbar to an extent but I do feel it could sound better. I wish I had the subwoofer to pair with it because I think it would make a big difference in my opinion of how this sound bar sounds. I know I wouldn't go any smaller than the 900 for sure. I know this isn't really a big deal but I thought the packaging for the soundbar was subpar compared to some of the other high end soundbars I've purchased. It just didn't have the same WOW factor. Trust me this is small, just something I thought I would take note of. Setup and connectivity was very easy and simple. The app walks you through and has you up and running in no time at all. Following the setup process, I calibrated via the AdaptIQ which involved wearing a headphone like device and moving to 5 different places in your area. My master bedroom is kind of small so I found it difficult to find 5 different areas to move to but the process is very straightforward and the sound quality difference is quite noticeable. I went to link the premium music service I use, Apple Music, and was sad to see this was not an option. ALL of my music is on Apple Music and its definitely a negative not to have this as an option. The voice assistant works pretty well. I use Alexa so that is a plus. I find the AI dialogue mode which basically assists with hearing voices works quite well. I always have this enabled and appreciate the feature. Dolby Atmos content sounds really good although I wish I had the subwoofer to accompany the soundbar. I did a side by side comparison with my Sonos Arc and because of some of the issues I have with my Arc, I would have to choose the Bose even though from a sound quality perspective, the Arc wins, but not by much. The soundbar appears to be very well made and aesthetically is very appealing and looks good in almost any space you put it in. I like the fact that I can link accessory speakers to this as well. I feel like those accompanied with a subwoofer would make this soundbar an excellent total package. I would recommend this soundbar though you may want to go with a different music service if Apple Music is your go to.

The Bose Smart Ultra soundbar packs quite a punch. It has phenomenal sound in a package of this size. It's very low profile so it should fit under most TV's. The initial setup is very easy to do through the Bose app. You can also enable Alexa and Chromacast to control the soundbar and your TV. The soundbar sounds amazing right out of the box, but once you run the calibration setup, it takes this soundbar to the next level. After I ran the calibration, I started watching some movies. The first one I watched was Elvis, and I kept looking over my shoulder because it literally sounded like there were noises and people talking next to and behind me. I've had other dolby atmos soundbars, but this is the first one that me looking around and thinking how in the heck is that coming from that direction. The supporting Bose app is easy to use and navigate. What I really like about the app is it gives you the ability to customize/EQ the sound. So many other manufacturers don't give you an option to tailor the sound, so I really appreciate that Bose allows this. If you're looking for an all in one solution and don't have room for a powered subwoofer, this is an excellent option. It has plenty of bass, but I will say that the only thing that could make this soundbar better is a powered sub in my opinion. Likes: 1.) Incredible sound 2.) Excellent supporting app 3.) Alexa and Chromecast support Dislikes: N/A