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Customer Ratings & Reviews

Your price for this item is $699.99
The previous price was $899.99

Customer reviews

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars with 448 reviews

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Rating by feature

  • Value

    Rating 4.3 out of 5 stars

  • Quality

    Rating 4.6 out of 5 stars

  • Ease of Use

    Rating 4.4 out of 5 stars

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Cons mentioned filter

88%would recommend to a friend

Rating 4.3 out of 5 stars with 3 reviews

Customers are saying

Customers are delighted by the incredible sound quality, easy setup, and sleek design of the Smart Ultra Soundbar. They appreciate the immersive Dolby Atmos experience and the helpful voice assistant. However, some users have experienced connectivity issues, and a few find the price to be on the higher side.

This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 3 Showing 41-60 of 448 reviews
  • Pros mentioned:
    Design, Easy setup
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Bose new compact Atmos Soundbar

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The Bose ultra Smart soundbar is the new king of the hill compact soundbar from Bose. This soundbar replaces the Smart 900 soundbar as their top 5:1 Atmos soundbar. The soundbar is piano gloss black with a forward facing metal grill that hides the front firing speakers and metal grills that cover the two up firing atmos speakers. The bar includes Dolby Atmos decoding for sources recorded with Dolby Atmos, faithfully reproducing the spatial sound. For non Atmos content Bose Truespace technology is used to upscale and create spatial separation to make your listening pleasure that much greater. The sound produced by the sound bar while watching movies and listening to music is fantastic. Bose has really nailed the Truespace tuning. If I found great separation in viewing my movies encoded with Dolby Atmos as well as non atmos titles. The AI dialogue mode intelligently boosts speech during noisy segments, making it easier to hear what the actors are saying. The sound bar was easy to set up. You first have to download the smartphone app from either the Apple app store or Google Play store. Bose provides a QR code that you can scan that will bring you to the proper page. After I figured out I had to put the sound bar in pairing mode which consisted of pressing the mute and the music buttons on the remote until the light on the soundbar glows amber began t indicating it was in setup mode. I chose the Smart 600 soundbar from the list as the Ultra is not listed yet (Bose presumably will add it at release time) It detected the new sound bar properly, listing it as the Bose Ultra Smart soundbar. You can then set up the WiFi. The Soundbar will download any updates at this time. Like its predecessor the Bose 900 soundbar. The ultra sound bar includes a Bose ADAPTiQ device to optimize your listening environment. You plug the device into a proprietary port in the soundbar and move around either holding the device or optimally wearing it on your head during the setup. The sound bar emits different frequency sounds and pulses and optimizes the sound environment for your particular room. It asks you to choose five unique positions in the room. I have to say after tuning the sound seems much more expanded. The sound bar has two separate areas for connectivity. First includes HDMI( ARC) input, optical input, and ethernet and a USB C service port. The second area includes the power port, output for a separate bass speaker , the ADAPTiQ input, data and IR. The soundbar supports Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, Apple AirPlay2, Chromecast built-in , works with Google Home with Assistant capabilities and Amazon Alexa built-in for voice control It is also Roku ready and supports Spotify as well. If you want to achieve great sound with a painless setup This sound bar is a great choice. Bose has taken all that is good in the Smart 900 series and improved it!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Design, Sound quality
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Great sound quality but low end lacking w/o a sub

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This attractively styled Bose Ultra Smart sound bar blends easily into just about any decor. It has a sleek and aesthetically pleasing design. The all black unit is crowned with a stylish high gloss glass top with upward firing speakers on each side and cleverly integrated touch controls. Lighting is thankfully kept to a minimum which contributes to the premium, polished appearance. The 41-inch width and sub 2-inch height is perfectly sized for my particular viewing environment. I placed this bar in front of a 65” television that only has a 2.5 inches of clearance between the bottom edge of the set and the furniture beneath it. The previous sound bar was nearly an inch taller than the Bose and slightly blocked the bottom edge of the TV at lower viewing angles. This Bose bar does not obstruct any areas of the screen, even from viewing angles slightly lower than the television. An easily accessible wide cavity on the rear of the bar houses the input, output, and power connections. The bar ships with HDMI and optical cables, power cord, and a headset for calibrating sound. The included guide only shows how to connect the power cable and doesn’t show nor mention the other included cables or accessories. The easiest way to set up the bar with clear, comprehensive step-by-step instructions, is to download the Bose Music companion app. It can be downloaded by scanning the QR code in the instruction guide. After downloading the app, it guided me through the remaining setup. I connected the included HDMI to the eARC input on my television and finished setup within the app. Setup concluded by applying a firmware update which took approximately 15 minutes to complete. The final step was calibrating the sound bar to the room using the included Adaptiq calibration headset. Operation is easy and straightforward. The Bose Ultra can be used as a traditional sound bar and can also be used for streaming music and other audio content. I prefer traditional use as a dedicated television sound bar. No remote is included with the Bose, but CEC compatibility allows me to power the sound bar on/off and control volume through my television remote. The Bose Music app can also be used to select input sources, adjust volume, apply firmware updates, perform basic sound tweaks, and stream music or audio from the smart device. The app has additional sound settings but they are fairly basic. I mostly like the overall sound quality, but I’m torn on how much. Volume gets sufficiently loud, and the bar has excellent clarity during spoken dialogue. I frequently listen to low volumes to avoid disturbing others, and this bar allows me to do so comfortably. I can hear every word of dialogue without using captions or frequently rewinding to replay something that I couldn’t understand. The high and mid frequencies are clear and well balanced. Sound projects quite effectively throughout the entire room and the Dolby atmos enhancement creates a cinematic style surround sound type environment despite lacking additional separate speakers. There is no debate that the bar sounds good, but the lower end is where I’m torn on overall sound quality. Despite the great sounding higher end, this lacks the hard hitting impact that I prefer on the low end. The bass and lower frequencies are noticeable, but only enough to make its presence known rather than making my viewing sound and feel more immersive. I don’t want to merely see and hear things like explosions and thunder in a film; I want to feel them. I prefer the warmer, fuller sound that a good subwoofer provides, even at lower volumes. Deep voices actually sound deep. Helicopters sound and feel like they’re overhead rather than miles away. Music sounds more rich and vibrant. The right amount of deep booming bass truly makes a home sound system stand out. Neutral sounding bars with sharp clear highs but light bass seem too similar to the television speakers despite the vastly improved sound quality in other areas. This bar has excellent sound otherwise, but I can’t fully enjoy it without adding a subwoofer.

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from Bose Support
      Posted .

      Hi,

      I'm happy to see that you enjoy the sleek unobtrusive design of the Soundbar, and the minimal lighting. The setup process as you've found is guided through the app, this is to ensure that you can get the full features available to the Soundbar right after setup.

      You can find setup instructions on our website support pages here https://bose.life/3ETlZm9, and should you need a user guide for the Soundbar though. We do have one available here https://bose.life/3RBw4M1 as well.

      It's great to see that you've been enjoying the sound quality provided by the Soundbar, and I can understand you would like more bass. You can adjust the bass levels through the Bose Music app, and we have a guide here https://bose.life/3PUtks6 on how you can adjust the sound to get more bass.

      We can of course help you with any questions you have, or if you need help then please contact us https://bose.life/contact for support.

      Nic - Bose Customer Support bose

  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Next generation Dolby Atmos soundbar from Bose!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is the next generation of the Soundbar 900 from Bose. From a physical standpoint, it looks identical to the previous Bose Smart Soundbar 900 which isn’t a bad thing since I feel the physical looks and dimensions of this soundbar are close to physical perfection. It’s not too tall so it will be less likely to block the bottom of your TV and it’s rather compact compared to other large soundbars from other manufacturers. Being more compact makes it easier to find a place for it in your home theater setup. But the sound it produces sounds like it is coming from a much larger soundbar. The inputs seems identical to the Soundbar 900 and includes one HDMI (eARC), one digital optical, an Ethernet port, a service port (looks like a micro USB port), a power cord receptacle, a data port, an IR port, a bass port and a port for the ADAPTiQ headset. The new remote is smaller and comes with less buttons compared to the remote that came with the Soundbar 900. In addition to the remote, the package includes an ADAPTiQ calibration headset, an optical cable, an HDMI cable, and a power cord. Setup was very easy and exactly the same as with my previous Bose soundbars. All you do is connect the soundbar to your TV and power it up and the Bose Music app was able to easily discover and set up the new soundbar. You should definitely use the ADAPTiQ headset to calibrate the soundbar to your room. I used the soundbar for a couple of days without calibrating and I thought the sound was a little flat. Calibrating the soundbar was very easy as all you do is sit around the room at 5 different places wearing the headset while the soundbar plays back a bunch of sounds. After calibrating, the sound produced became very immersive with a wide and enveloping soundstage. You feel like you are surrounded by sound. I tried some Dolby Atmos demos and was very impressed. Demos that feature rain falling produced the most impressive effect for me as it sometimes felt like the rain was falling around me. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar also has a feature called TrueSpace processing which can take non-Dolby Atmos material (such as stereo and 5.1) and process them to utilize the new height channels. I didn’t see any option to enable/disable TrueSpace processing so I think it’s always on by default so I couldn’t do an A/B comparison on how effective it is. All I can say is that all material that I have tried (movies, TV, and music) were very immersive and produced a wide soundstage. Dialog clarity is one of the most important features that I want in any soundbar and I have always felt that Bose performs magic in this area. I have always been super impressed with the extreme clarity of dialog offered by Bose and the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar continues this tradition. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar now offers something called AI Dialog mode which uses AI to improve dialog clarity. I found the results impressive but I couldn’t really say if it is better than the Dialog mode offered by previous Bose soundbars. I thought the previous Bose soundbars already had perfect dialog clarity and it’s hard to improve on perfection. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar can also function as an Alexa smart speaker, Chromecast device as well as a Bluetooth speaker. The Bose Music App allows you to individually adjust the level for the center and height channels along with treble and bass so you have some options to fine tune the sound to your liking. And you can expand your system with additional surround speakers and a subwoofer to achieve even better surround effects and movie theater like atmosphere. This is pretty much the perfect soundbar for me. The only thing I would possibly have liked to see are additional HDMI ports and perhaps make the glass top a little less reflective. Overall I think this is one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars in the market and I can easily recommend it to anyone looking for a Dolby Atmos soundbar. It makes everything sound better and produces a wide immersive soundstage However, I consider it to be a minor upgrade to the previous Soundbar 900 as the only difference I can see is the new AI Dialog mode. If you already own the Soundbar 900, I would feel no need to upgrade to this newer model.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    App
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Take the time to set it up and get AMAZING SOUND

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The Bose Smart Soundbar has an amazing sound and really sounds like you have a surround sound system with multiple speakers, The product right out of the box has a very nice weight to it and a solid construction feel to it as do all BOSE products. The glossy reflective finish on the top of the soundbar looks very sleek and modern but it is a fingerprint and smudge magnet plus dust shows up very easily on it ruining the sleek glossy finish. The physical setup was an issue for me, I was unable to connect the soundbar via the HDMI ARC- my video device does not have an HDMI output. I was able to use the optical output adn was able to get great sound. The setup using the BOSE APP did leave something to be desired, i got various errors when adding the speaker and it would freeze up. I was finally able to add the speaker using the app and activate some of the new features such as the enhanced audio for dialogue/spoken words. I was able to effortlessly use the included mic and use the adaptiq feature and move the mic to my 5 favorite places to sit near the speaker and the mic and app were able to optimize the sound for each location thereby giving me the best sound in each spot. I was able to listen to the same amazing sound from various spots and distance from the soundbar. The included remote was helpful and nothing is quite as quick and convenient as using a remote to raise the volume and switch modes. The APP does allow for other features when the WIFI is connected but i really didn't use the other audio features-most were music streaming services. OVERALL it is a high end device that takes a little setting up but once you are zeroed in and adjsuted your settings the sound is AMAZING! makes gaming and movies sound like you are at the theater.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    The benchmark for soundbars, just buy it!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is a beautifully designed, simple and elegant. The front is the black perforated metal grill, covered on top with a glass (or Plexiglas) cover, it measures about 41” wide. It looks very similar to the Bose Soundbar 900. Unboxing and setup: The speaker is fairly heavy, one of the first things I noticed is how solid it felt. Setup was simple, I went with the HDMI ARC. The other option is optical – toslink cable. There is also a wired Ethernet port available. Using the app, I setup mine using WiFi. There is 1 HDMI out port on the Bose, no inputs. I’ve used other sound bar that has HDMI inputs as well, this one does not. This soundbar is not meant to be mounted on the wall, it’s meant to be placed on top of a shelf or entertainment unit. Once the soundbar was plugged in to power and the TV, I was able to use the Bose app to setup the WiFi and add it to my Bose devices. In addition, I enabled Alexa. The next step was to plug in the headphone like device and have the soundbar calibrate it to my room. This process was very simple, using the app, all I had to do was move to several seating locations, the soundbar would play some sounds to assist with calibrating. Sound quality: With setup complete, the first movie I played is the Matrix, specifically the lobby scene! I really enjoyed the sound coming from this soundbar, the sound quality is very crisp and clear. As the empty shell casings were ejected from the guns, you hear the high pitch sound of the empty casing hitting the floor clearly. As I was watching this scene, I heard water seemingly come from the right of where I was sitting. It happened a few times, I thought I had a leak in my house, only to realize it was from the soundbar! It’s amazing that the soundbar is in front of me, but it’s able to project the sound to other areas of the room. Playing the car scene in 6 Underground, the sound quality is excellent, the immersive experience is tough to beat. From the tires squealing to the gun shots fired from all sides, it sounded fantastic! Next up, I watched my son play Call of Duty for an hour, he liked this soundbar better than the one I had, lets call this soundbar J. The Bose sound is noticeably cleaner, less muddied then soundbar J, which I recently added. The only area soundbar J beats the Bose is the base, and that’s because it has a subwoofer. Add a subwoofer to this Bose soundbar and it’ll be perfect! The Bose is pretty good out of the box w/o a sub, but I would def add a sub to give it those heart pounding lows it truly deserves. Playing music and music videos on the soundbar, as predicted was also excellent. Having good sound quality makes listening to music so much more enjoyable. I used AirPlay to send audio to the soundbar, it worked flawlessly. Alexa: I was able to have Alexa in the soundbar turn off the TV and back on, increase and lower volume, I believe I can change channels also, but I don’t have cable service. There are 2 other Alexa’s nearby from where I’m seated, but I believe the microphone is more sensitive on the soundbar, it picked up while the other 2 did not. Conclusion: I am very impressed with this soundbar, the rich, clear audio transforms my basement living room into a mini theater! Bose just raised the bar on subwoofers!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Dolby atmos
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Impressive High End Soundbar

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I have used numerous soundbars over the years from virtually every major manufacturer, and this is my second Bose soundbar. The first one that I used years ago was, at the time, the best Soundbar I had experienced. So I was looking forward to seeing what one of their newest models could do. Pros: - A quick start guide was provided, but the Bose Music app does all the work for you. The app will detect your new device via bluetooth and then connect to your home’s Wi-Fi. Within minutes it was installing a firmware update for me. The download and install of the update took about 15 minutes. You will need to create a Bose account if you don’t already have one, or use your Apple ID or Facebook to log in. - At the end of the set-up process on the app you will be asked to enable AI Dialogue mode. You will want to choose to do so, as this feature helps with garbled conversations that are difficult to make out coming from other speakers. - This soundbar has built-in chromecast so if you are using it without a smart TV or without a streaming box of some kind, no problem! Alexa is also built-in if you want to use it as a smart speaker. - Audio quality was fantastic whether I was watching movies, concerts, or streaming my favorite music playlists over Bluetooth. Dolby Atmos truly makes a difference when you are watching blockbuster movies, allowing you to feel more immersed. And if what you are watching is not Dolby Atmos-ready, Bose TrueSpace tech “upmixes” the audio track to make it more immersive than it would have been otherwise. This reminded me of how other tech upscales non-HD video content. Older movies I tested out sounded much better than how I remembered them. - There are numerous ways to connect to your TV, smart phone, or other device: HDMI with arc, an optical port, Bluetooth, and also an aux jack. Cons: - Right after fine-tuning the audio settings with the included ADAPTIQ headset, I got a message in the app saying “something went wrong” when trying to move on to the next step of the set-up process . I had to close out of the app and restart it. Luckily, it picked up where I was at and was good to go after that. This soundbar is certainly on the high end of audio options that are out there. But if it is in your price range, you will not be disappointed with its performance.

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from Bose Support
      Posted .

      Hi there,

      It's great that you have enjoyed the experience you've had from the Soundbar, and loved the quality of the sound from the Dolby Atmos and Bose Truespace technology. I am also happy that you had a great experience with the ease of setup, and the app picking back up from where the setup left off. The "something went wrong" message you received can occur if there is a minor connection drop, closing and reopening the app is a great way to quickly reconnect and start from where you left off.

      Of course if you ever want help for the Soundbar, then please reach out https://bose.life/contact as we'd love to help.

      Nic - Bose Customer Support bose

  • Pros mentioned:
    Easy setup, Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Love this soundbar

    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I am replacing a top of the line Samsung soundbar that was expensive and is huge and glitchy. It constantly lost connection. So I replaced it with the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar and immediately was impressed with the MUCH better sound quality and the ease of setup and use. The sound is excellent of course but its also more intelligent in that it enhances the words and manages the backgrounds against them. Im really please and highly recommend this next generation soundbar.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    All purpose rock star

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Who doesn't love Bose? They're one of the most highly regarded audio companies in the world that produces some of the best home audio speakers on the market. I've had Bose products for years and have always noted their quality, technology and most important, the sound. I've yet to use a Bose speaker that disappointed me and that streak continues with this new Ultra Soundbar. I decided to put this unit in my bedroom to use with my tv, for music playback and for Alexa. I was able to replace 3 different speakers with this one awesome soundbar. Since it's going in my bedroom, I'm not concerned with having satellite speakers or a subwoofer (thought this could change in the future). The setup was simple, power and HDMI to the TV. There are other audio out options but HDMI is the best for watching TV. This is a premium speaker, it feels solid and has some weight to it. Setup on the Bose app was simple, as was setting up the Adaptiq sound. Everything I watch on TV sounds great; from news, Mets games to movies, the voice clarity is perfect as is the bass, center channel, etc. Music really sounds fantastic, but I have no idea if music is playing in Dolby Atmos, I'm not sure what is supported as of yet. In Apple Music, it shows as "Lossless" and when I use Amazon Music in the Bose app I see no sound quality status. I would love to see this in the future. If you are going to place this in your living room, then I think the rear speakers sub will be necessary to experience true surround sound, but this speaker does a decent job of replicating it. I know that this speaker will last me for years, looking forward to some updates on the Dolby Atmos compatibility as well as having Apple Music support in the app.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Dolby atmos, Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great Soundbar

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This is my third Bose Soundbar. I have the Sound touch 300 and the Bose 700. I recently purchased a new TV and I thought I'd be able to get by using the TV's built-in speakers. Sadly, (yeah right) that wasn't the case. Since my new TV is Dolby Atmos capable and the 300/700 were not, I ended up purchasing the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. Hookup was simple; one HDMI cable and a power cord. Alexa works great with one complaint. Alexa's volume doesn't mirror other sound levels from the soundbar like TV and music volumes. I stream a lot of music through the soundbar usually at a low to moderate level, however, if I ask Alexa a question the response is considerably louder than the volume level before the question. This can be startling at times. It comes with a remote, nothing as elaborate as the one that came with the 300/700. Actually, I very seldom have a need to use the remote. It is very small, and I can easily see it getting lost. The Bose App is ok, it gets the job done. The sound is great you will not be disappointed,

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Design, Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    The Bose Bundle that doesn't stop giving

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    So I started looking for a surround sound system just about a year ago. I had ordered 3 different systems over a few months from Amazon. I tried a decent Vizio set up, Samsung, and Nakamichi. Each of them had some hiccup in the sound quality or connectivity between devices so I returned them and then forgot about doing surround sound over the year with travel plans and summer etc. Came into a bonus of cash from work back in November 2023 and decided to try again with the surround sound system. I ordered a Sony surround sound system based off a recommendation from a Best Buy employee, and while it was much better than the 3 others I tried through Amazon, it disconnected audio while watching Disney+ and it made a huge surge in noise one evening without any of us doing anything on the soundbar or apps connected, so I decided to return it. I was scoping out this Bose System package prior to returning the Sony system, and I got a chance to listen to the Bose soundbar at Best Buy in SLC and it sounded amazing, so I decided to pay the higher price tag for it. I got the Bose - Smart Ultra Soundbar with Dolby Atmos and Voice Assistant - Black and Bose - Surround Speakers 700 120-Watt Wireless Satellite Bookshelf Speakers (Pair) - Black and the Bose - Bass Module 700 Wireless Subwoofer - Black. I'm going to leave this review on all 3 items because they pair so well together. The soundbar is so crisp, the app is amazing for adjustments, and the subwoofer really hits all levels of bass as you go down and packs a punch for how small it is. Fits super nicely between my two couches at home. I read reviews saying to muffle the surround sound speakers so I did that when doing the adaptIQ part of the process and the complaints of the other reviewers saying the two small boxes were too quiet have been proved wrong in my opinion, because baby, these things sound amazing! Best purchase decision of my life, it is audio bliss. I did have to watch a couple of YouTube videos to figure out how to connect the surround sound speakers, but other than than that, this is by far the best I've found in my exploration of surround sound systems! Thanks Bose and Best Buy!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Easy setup, Sound quality

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Bose - Smart Ultra Soundbar

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    Posted . Owned for 2 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I’ve had this soundbar for 2 months now and love it!! Had the 600 soundbar before this one, thats in the bedroom now. And as good as the 600 is I’m really liking the Smart Ultra. To me it just picks up lil sounds more that I didnt notice on the 600 and the dialogue and music is more crisp imo. I have this paired with a 500 bass module and surround sound speakers to pull it all together for me. Setting up and pairing everything is a breeze in the app. Although it could stand fine on its own, if you have a chance to pick up a bass module or surround sound to add. Go for it!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    App, Connectivity

    Rated 1 out of 5 stars

    Serious connectivity problems, terrible BOSE App

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Purchased this Smart Ultra soundbar to replace my BOSE Soundbar 900 because it doesn’t support Atmos. The problems: 1. Would NOT connect to my BOSE Surround 700 speakers. After several factory resets and having to manually update the firmware via USB port and another laptop PC, it finally recognized my Surround 700 speakers. The “wireless” update process never worked, left it to run for 2 hours and it never finished. 2. My BOSE Ultra Headphones will not stay connected, they will connect for about 30-60 seconds and seem to be working fine, then suddenly just disconnect? These same headphones worked fine on my BOSE soundbar 900 but not with the BOSE Smart Ultra?? 3. The BOSE APP for my iPhone is horrible, instructions are usually wrong or outdated. Even when I disable background updates, every time I turn on the soundbar the app immediate goes into “Installing updates” even though I had manually updated the unit via USB?? 4. Bluetooth blue light will stay lite regardless of what I do, only a factory reset would clear it. 5. After 7 hours of messing with updates and the BOSE app, I finally got everything working correctly, head phones, surround speakers, multi-channel for headphone so I can have two different volumes for a group. BUT, and this is a big BUT, the next time I turned on the TV (HDMI/Arc) the Soundbar immediately went into “Installing updates” mode and nothing worked. I contacted BOSE online chat support. Told them my problem and the support rep said it was behind his/her technical expertise and passed me over to another support tech. So the new support tech told me to go thru the same diagnositics I’d already done and to manually install the firmware update and linked me to a website to download it … which I had already done, they were just repeating documentation already available on the BOSE support website. When it worked correctly it did sound good, but since it was short lived and the BOSE app and wireless and bluetooth connectivity is so bad, I’m returning the unit and going with another brand that is NOT BOSE. It’s 2024, connectivity to devices should be simple and straight forward. Infinite “Installing updates…” is not acceptable, this tells the user nothing productive … at the very least it should provide a percent status number and/or “timeout” if it’s been more than a few minutes doing nothing. For a Soundbar that costs $800, I expected MUCH MUCH more polish in connectivity.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from Bose Support
      Posted .

      Hello Rob, thank you for reviewing your Smart Ultra Soundbar! I'm very sorry to hear of your poor experience, and that you've chosen to return the soundbar.

      The Smart Ultra Soundbar is certainly compatible with the Surround Speakers 700. In cases of connection issues, updating the soundbar's firmware is something to try, and this process should work wirelessly. If it doesn't, our support team will guide you through further steps to complete the update.

      As for your QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, these headphones are also compatible with the soundbar via SimpleSync. However, if they won't stay connected, try clearing the headphones' Bluetooth pairing list and then establishing a new connection, as this can often resolve it.

      While we do release firmware updates periodically, you should not be receiving prompts for updates every time you turn the soundbar on or open the Bose app. Also, to the best of my knowledge, the Bose app does not contain instructions or options that are incorrect or outdated, although our support team will be happy to discuss and assist with any difficulties you may be having in using the app.

      Lastly, the Bluetooth LED on the soundbar will pulse blue to indicate that the soundbar is ready to connect to your Bluetooth device. This pulsing blue LED should extinguish once you connect a device or change audio source. If this isn't happening - and in case of any further issues or concerns with your product - the best thing to do is to contact our support team for assistance, so that all relevant troubleshooting and, if needed, servicing of your soundbar can be performed: https://support.bose.com/s/get-help-landing-page?language=en_US.

      Warm regards
      Fiona M. - Bose Customer Support bose

  • Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Home Theater Capable

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Might have finally found my forever soundbar. While my main entertainment system is run from a full home theater setup with amp and lots of speakers, I love immersive surround sound. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar might be enough all on its own to be the one sound bar to keep mounted on my second TV setup. Audio is extremely crisp and clear and the Atmos height speakers are very alive and present. This soundbar actually sounds like it is creating fantom speaker sound field that many others claim, but rarely deliver. Plus once you use the ADAPTiQ headband microphone to setup your room. You can still tweak the audio levels with the Bose app in case the AI did not quite meet your sweet spot or you want a little more butter on your toast. I am very picky with my audio. While an audiophile might have a perfect ear and paycheck to say they know what is good and bad. We all have different ears and like different stuff from our audio. I have spent plenty of money for soundbars that were not as good as the reviews said, to my ears. While I thought my last setup was good. The Bose Smart Ultra is the real deal. Once you do the ADAPTiQ setup by sitting in different spots around the room. The audio that is created does really sound like you have speakers in various parts of the room. And this is working with TV, movies, and very near perfect in PS5 games. Granted I would love to add the Bose wireless subwoofer and surrounds soon to see if they recreate a dedicated home theater. But for now, and for those who want the smallest footprint. This soundbar all by itself is great. And YES, dialog is clean and easy to hear. While I did try the AI Dialog Mode. I did not hear it improve anything. So, either I got it dialed in with the ADAPTiQ, or my ears can't hear or did not need that feature yet. Maybe Dialog Mode helps specific content that needs a boost and I have not encountered it yet. For reference, I'm 50 and believe my hearing to be very good. And yes, do think some recent content is hard to hear voices. Overall the soundbar is fantastic. The bass is not bad at all, and one of the subwoofers from Bose would be nice. It might not be needed for most. The speaker is just very dialed in from the factory. Can't say it enough. The soundfield created is very impressive to me. Try it out at Best Buy if possible. The audio is everywhere in the room with music and movies. And not in a way that watching people speak on the tv is out of place or feels disconnected or out of sync. Put Top Gun (original or Maverick) on, turn it up, and if you don't believe you are in the bar scene, on the beach or had a jet just fly past you. Then clearly your soundbar is not the same magical one I got. The only let down I could find is that the app hiccups every once in awhile and there is no constant indication that the soundbar is on or more importantly off. It has a little light when volume increases or decreases. Other than that, on or off, its a black bar. A glow light when its on would be nice.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Apple Fans Rejoice! Airplay 2 FTW!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Unboxing the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, I was shocked at how similar it looked to the Soundbar 900. The weight was impressive and the glasslike finish adds an elegant touch, though now I need to figure out how to fill the space in my cubby! Initial setup of the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar was relatively straightforward. I encountered a minor setback when attempting to use the app on my iPhone running iOS 17, as it persistently crashed. Even with a few resets and updates the app still crashes upon startup to this day. This led me to use an iOS 16-equipped iPhone, which fortunately established a successful connection. Once connected the rest of the set-up process was easy to follow the on-screen instructions. The best feature of the Smart Ultra Soundbar is its seamless compatibility with AirPlay 2, which means I can use in conjunction with all my Apple devices and speakers. The best part was the soundbar's natural assimilation into my existing HomeKit framework, bypassing the need for additional setup – it simply materialized my home's audio list. I literally have no wires running to the soundbar aside from the power cable and it works flawlessly with my AppleTV setup. When evaluating sound quality, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar consistently excels, particularly in the domain of dialogue articulation. Dialogue is crisp and decipherable, which is key in a room with lofted ceilings Furthermore, the sound stage made me feel like there was a wall of sound with multiple speakers. While not exactly the same as a dedicated surround sound system, it was quite impressive for a single unit. As a beta tester of iOS 17 I won't deduct a star for compatibility issues. The iOS 16 device as a workaround, while functional, does underscore the need for swift resolution by Bose. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, coupled with its noteworthy audio prowess, is definitely and attractive option in the soundbar arena. For those seeking an elegant soundbar that seamlessly integrates with their Apple-oriented ecosystem while delivering high-quality audio, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar warrants serious consideration.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Easy setup, Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Best soundbar ive owned

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Ive owned samsung, jbl, sonos, ambeo, and lg. only one that stands out from all soundbars is the ambeo as its clarity and sound profile is unmatched but no surrounds. However, BOSE comes flying in right behind. The immersion you get from this bar is unreal. Im telling you, with the full system, it is an expereince. To be honest, i really feel it is the adaptiq calibration bose created. Ive never heard such precision and immersion from a soundbar system. Samsung does an excellent job as well, but something about the bose surround system makes you hear sounds floating all around you like youre inside of the movie. Setup was a breeze, and the app is great. Excellent soundbar choice if you are in the market / the full system is pricey but man is it worth it.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Bose rocks

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Love this thing. If you want the best of the best sound, for movies, music, gaming, and tv watching, there is no other soundbar for you! Add the Bose 700 base module and a set of Bose 700 surround speakers and you have the ultimate home theater/ ultimate home stereo for music. I cannot stress enough how amazing this system is. You are put in the middle of whatever is happening on your screen and the sound just envelopes you and comes at you from every direction possible. Bose has changed the way I enjoy home entertainment. This soundbar is the gateway to the best movie and music sound you can experience in your own home..The bass is perfectly powerful…..you will literally be blown away. And I haven’t ( and I’m not gonna) even got started on all the features, like built in Alexa, google chromecast, etc. I haven’t because the most important thing to me about a soundbar, is the sound. I challenge anyone to find a superior system. This thing THUMPS

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Easy setup, Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    review on upgrade

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    i upgraded my bose 300 tv speaker to this ultra series and it was a major improvement in sound and dynamics. great sound easy to install and just brings out the best in my tv watching. l

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Easy setup, Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    The best of the best

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    Posted . Owned for 3 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This soundbar is absolutely incredible. It somehow makes it sound like you have surround sound on some scenes. Setup and use is a breeze

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Dolby atmos, Voice assistant

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Can’t go wrong with Bose

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Our TV already has a nice speaker system, but with the Bose Soundbar it is even better. Clarity is supreme. Fantastic for movies!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Easy setup, Sound quality

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Bose Ultra Soundbar

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Great sound and relatively easy setup. Had a bit of an issue when setting up the WiFi as it would frequently disconnect. Apparently it has something to do with certain routers. Overall pretty great

    I would recommend this to a friend

What experts are saying

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Rating 4.3 out of 5 stars with 3 reviews

Using an algorithm based on product age, reviewers ratings history, popularity, product category expertise and other factors, this product gets an alaTest Expert Rating of 91/100 = Excellent quality.
  • TechRadarRating, 4 out of 5Simon Lucas on November 9, 2023

    Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar review: a more compact Sonos Arc alternativeThe Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar arrives as the most upmarket, most expensive member of the Bose family of soundbars – and it's been given the far-from-enviable task of taking the Sonos Arc down a peg or two as the most popular all-in-one big

    Full Review
  • PCMagRating, 4.5 out of 5Will Greenwald on December 4, 2023

    Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar ReviewThe Bose Smart Ultra is the company's top-of-the-line soundbar, which you might have already guessed given its $899 price. Though expensive, the 5.1.2-channel Smart Ultra is packed with features and able to put out detailed surround sound. In

    Full Review
  • rtings.comRaphael Boyer, Vanessa McCuaig, and John Peroramas on November 15, 2023

    Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar Soundbar ReviewThe Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is the next generation of the Bose Smart Soundbar 900. The main difference between these top-of-the-line models is AI Dialogue support, a feature designed to automatically adjust your content to improve vocal clarity

    Full Review