Bose Smart Soundbar 300 Soundbar Review

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 is a 3.0 setup from Bose's 2020 lineup. It's a small model that can be expanded down the line. Unlike the Bose TV Speaker, which is also from the same 2020 lineup, you can connect to the bar using Apple AirPlay 2 and use the Bose Music companion app with it. It also has a Wall EQ setting that's advertised to improve the bar's sound when wall-mounted. Its main competitors are the Bose Soundbar 500, the Bose Soundbar 700, and the Sonos Beam.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 is a small model with a black plastic top. It has a metal grille that covers its front and sides to help protect its speakers.

This soundbar doesn't have a subwoofer in this setup. However, you can purchase the Bose Bass Module 500 separately, which is a small subwoofer that connects wirelessly to the bar.

This setup doesn't have any satellites. However, you can purchase Bose Surround Speakers separately, which wirelessly connect to the bar.

While it's not as small as the Bose TV Speaker, this bar can easily fit between the legs of a 55" TV. It's not very tall either, so it shouldn't obscure your TV unless the screen sits flush to the table.

There's no subwoofer in this setup.

There are no satellites in this setup.

The back of this soundbar has one opening for the power cable and inputs. There are also holes so that you can mount it to your wall. However, you need to purchase a Bose Soundbar Wall Bracket to wall-mount it.

There's no subwoofer in the Bose Smart Soundbar 300's base setup.

There are no satellites in this setup.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has a great build quality. It's partially made of plastic, which feels sturdy and durable. There's also a metal grille covering its front and sides to protect its speakers.

• Manual
• Optical cable
• Remote with battery
• Power cable

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has a decent stereo frequency response. While it really lacks a thumpy low-bass, it's still able to produce punch and boom. Since it has a v-shaped sound profile overall, its mid-range is well-balanced while its treble range is bright, making it especially well-suited for rock and pop music. It's still balanced enough for most audio content though. It doesn't have any EQ presets; however, it does have bass and treble adjustments.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300's stereo soundstage is good. The soundstage is wider than the bar itself, which is impressive for its small size. However, it doesn't have the best focus, so objects sound like they're coming from diffused or more general areas rather than accurate, pinpoint locations.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300's stereo dynamics are good. The bar can get loud, making it suitable for a large or crowded room. However, there's a little bit of thumping and compression artifacts, particularly in the bass range. It shouldn't be too noticeable to most users, though.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has a great THD performance. At a normal listening volume, the THD falls within good limits. If you push this bar to its max volume, there's a small jump in THD, particularly in the high-mids, but it can be hard to hear with real-life content.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has an excellent center channel performance. Since it has a dedicated center channel, it reproduces clearer and more accurate dialogue. It should also be loud enough for most uses.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has a poor surrounds performance. Since it's a 3.0 setup, it has to downmix surround content into stereo to play it, which doesn't result in the most accurate or clear representation of objects in the surround image. The result is a bass-heavy sound that isn't very immersive as objects are perceived as coming from in front of you rather than from beside or around you.

This soundbar doesn't support Atmos.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has poor sound enhancement features. It doesn't have an EQ or room correction features. On the upside, you can tweak its bass, treble, and center channel levels. There's also a dialogue mode that's available via its app as well as a 'Wall EQ' which is advertised to help improve the bar's sound when wall-mounted. However, we don't currently test this feature.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has a couple of physical inputs. There's an HDMI ARC port so that you can connect it to your TV. While there's a micro-USB port, it's only for servicing the bar. This bar also has an IR port so that you can connect an IR emitter as well as a BASS port so that you can add-on a Bose Bass module.

Update 01/13/2021: We re-evaluated our methodology for ARC support and concluded that DTS and Dolby Digital+ support should be reported the same over an ARC connection as over an HDMI IN and Optical connection, so we updated our results from "Yes" to "No". Some TVs, like the one we initially used for testing, may convert this content, but other TV brands may not. Ultimately, your experience may vary depending on your TV.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has mediocre audio format support via its HDMI ARC port. It supports some very common formats such as Dolby Digital, but it has to downmix this content into stereo to play it. It doesn't support eARC or Dolby Atmos.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 doesn't have a Full HDMI In port.

This soundbar only supports Dolby Digital via its Optical In port. This format is commonly found on Blu-ray discs as well as streaming platforms.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has outstanding wireless playback support. You can stream your favorite podcasts from your smartphone via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Apple AirPlay 2.

This bar doesn't have an HDMI In port, so it won't be able to do video passthrough.

This soundbar doesn't come with a subwoofer.

There are no satellites in this setup.

The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 has a simple interface. There's a small light under the microphone icon to let you know whether the microphone and voice assistant is enabled or disabled. There's another light underneath the 'Active' button. This light changes colors depending on the bar's functions, including whether you're in setup mode, recovery mode, or if there's no internet connection available.

This bar has two touch-sensitive buttons located on the top left of the bar. There's a button to turn the microphone on/off, and an 'Action' button that activates voice assistant, as well as stops alarms or timers.

This soundbar has a straightforward remote. You can control most of the bar's features but if you want to use the dialogue enhancement feature, Wall EQ, or bass adjustment, you need to use its companion app.

This soundbar is compatible with the Bose Music app. It offers a bit more functionality than the remote as you can access a few features that aren't found on the remote. You can set up voice assistant, adjust bass, switch sources, and even access a dialogue mode.

This soundbar goes into standby mode after 20 minutes of inactivity. You can turn this feature off by using the app or wake up the bar by sending a sound signal via its Optical In port. You can also use your TV remote to control the basic functions of the bar.