The Bose TV Speaker is a compact 2.0 setup. Although it's quite small, it's designed to be used with a TV thanks to its Optical and HDMI ARC ports. Even though it's lacking low bass, its sound profile is more geared towards TV content as it delivers smooth and balanced mids, which results in fairly clear and present vocals. It has a bit of a bright sound that some users may prefer, especially for listening to jazz. However, it's pretty slim on features. There's a dialogue enhancement feature to further improve vocal clarity as well as bass adjustment, but that's about it. You can also upgrade the setup down the line with a Bose Bass Module 500 or 700. That being said, it's well-equipped for playing your favorite TV shows and you can even stream audiobooks or music from your phone to it using Bluetooth.
The Bose TV Speaker is alright for mixed-use. It doesn't support Atmos so it isn't ideal if you watch a lot of movies. It also lacks low-bass, so it struggles to produce a thumpy sound that could help immerse you in explosion-packed action films or beat-heavy EDM music. However, it shines when it comes to dialogue-centric content as it can reproduce clear and accurate vocals. Even though it has only a few sound enhancement features, it comes with a dialogue enhancement feature to further improve vocal clarity. You can also stream music or audiobooks to the bar using Bluetooth.
The Bose TV Speaker is very good for dialogue and TV shows. Even though it has a phantom center channel, it has a decently balanced sound profile, which can produce fairly clear and accurate vocals. If you need further vocal clarity, there's also a dialogue enhancement feature available. On the downside, the bar doesn't get that loud and there are compression artifacts and thumping at max volume. There's also no night or auto-volume mode. On the upside, if you want to listen to podcasts, you can stream them directly to the bar via Bluetooth.
The Bose TV Speaker is fair for music. While it lacks low-bass, it has a warm sound profile with balanced mids and a slightly bright treble range. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with an EQ but there's a bass adjustment feature that can help you find a slightly different sound if you prefer. The bar doesn't get that loud, and there's thumping and compression artifacts at max volume, which isn't great if you want to use it in a large or crowded room. On the upside, you can stream your favorite tunes to it using Bluetooth.
The Bose TV Speaker is disappointing for movies. Its sound profile lacks low bass, so you may find the explosions in your favorite action films to be less immersive, and there's no way to EQ it. It doesn't get very loud either, and there's thumping and compression artifacts at max volume. It also doesn't support Atmos and it has a poor surround performance.
The Bose TV Speaker is a 2.0 soundbar from Bose's 2020 lineup. This manufacturer specializes in soundbars that are simple to set up and can be expanded down the line. However, this uniquely small bar is designed specifically to work with a TV as its main sound enhancement feature is dialogue enhancement. The Bose TV Speaker competes with the Bose Solo 5, the Sony HT-S100F, and the Sony HT-S200F.
There are no subwoofers in this setup. However, you can purchase the Bose Bass Module 500 or Bose Module 700 to add a subwoofer to the mix. Note that these speakers can't be used wirelessly with this bar. You need to purchase a connection cable, which is sold separately.
There are no satellites in this setup.
The Bose TV Speaker has a great build quality. Even though it's partially made of plastic, it feels sturdy and solid. Its metal grille is sleek and gives it a more premium look and feel than the fabric wrap used by the Yamaha YAS-109. The universal mounting holes are even covered with removable rubber screws, which is a nice touch.
The Bose TV Speaker has a decent stereo frequency response. Although it's almost completely lacking low-bass, it's still able to produce a decent amount of bass. The mid-range is also well-balanced while the treble range is a bit bright. While it doesn't have an EQ, you can adjust its bass if you prefer a slightly different sound.
Update 09/21/2020: We've discovered a value input bug that would cause the Dynamics box results to be slightly off. All soundbars reviewed since January 30th, 2020 have been updated.
The Bose TV Speaker has alright stereo dynamics. It doesn't get very loud and at max volume, there are a lot of thumping and compression artifacts present, especially in the bass range.
The Bose TV Speaker is a 2.0 setup and it doesn't have a dedicated center speaker. Instead, it uses its left and right speakers to create a sound in the center, which sounds more diffused and less clear than a discrete center channel. That said, its center performance is quite decent, resulting in clear and accurate voices. Some may find that it doesn't get too loud, though.
The Bose TV Speaker has a poor surround performance. As it's a 2.0 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 less-than-immersive bass-heavy sound. The bar also struggles to get loud, which is a little disappointing.
This soundbar doesn't support Atmos.
The Bose TV Speaker has poor sound enhancement features. It lacks an EQ but at least there's a bass adjustment feature if you like a slightly more or less warm sound. There's also a dialogue enhancement feature available when using its remote. However, that's about it. For a 2.0 setup with some EQ presets, check out the TCL Alto 3.
The Bose TV Speaker has a couple of physical inputs. It has an HDMI ARC so you can hook it up to your TV, as well as an AUX input so that you can connect it to older devices that may not have other connectivity options. There's a USB port, but you can only use it to service the bar with updates. On the downside, you won't be able to use it as a hub between your TV and other devices like a Blu-ray player.
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 TV Speaker supports Dolby Digital content via its ARC port. However, it doesn't support eARC or Dolby Atmos, which can be disappointing for movie fans.
The Bose TV Speaker soundbar doesn't have a Full HDMI In port.
This soundbar only supports Dolby Digital via Optical, which is commonly found on Blu-ray discs as well as streaming platforms.
The Bose TV speaker has passable wireless playback options. It only supports Bluetooth, but at least you can play your favorite music from your smartphone wirelessly. If you're looking for a Bose soundbar that supports Apple AirPlay 2, check out the Bose Smart Soundbar 300.
This bar doesn't support HDMI so it won't be able to do video passthrough.
The Bose TV speaker doesn't come with a subwoofer.
The Bose TV Speaker's interface is extremely simple. There's a light that turns on when you're connected to your TV via HDMI ARC or Optical as well as a light to show when you're connected via Bluetooth. The light blinks when you adjust the volume or when you're on mute. The light also turns green when you have the dialogue enhancement feature on.
The Bose TV Speaker doesn't have a companion app.
This soundbar shuts off after about twenty minutes of inactivity when connected via Bluetooth. However, if you have it hooked up to your TV, the bar shuts down after 2.5 hours of inactivity. You can also use your TV remote to control aspects of the bar such as volume and power it on/off.
The Bose TV Speaker is a very compact 2.0 soundbar designed for TVs and TV-centric content. While it's pretty bare-bones in features, it delivers decent bass with smooth and neutral mids right out-of-the-box, which is better suited for dialogue-centric content. It's also fairly easy to set up since it only has a couple of inputs, so you can get right into watching your favorite game shows or soap operas without too much delay. You can even expand this setup down the line with one of Bose's Bass Modules, which is nice. However, this soundbar doesn't get very loud, so it may not be ideal for large or crowded rooms. If you're looking for more soundbars, check out our recommendations for the best small soundbars, the best soundbars for dialogue, and the best soundbars under $300.
The Bose TV Speaker and the Sonos Beam are two differently performing soundbars. The Sonos is a 3.0 setup with a better surround performance. It comes with more sound enhancement features, it can also get loud enough for a large room, and you can stream music wirelessly to it using Wi-Fi or Apple AirPlay. It also has a companion app that can control all the bar's features. However, the Bose is a 2.0 setup that lets you use Bluetooth to play audio from your phone. The Bose also has an auto-off power-saving feature.
The Bose TV Speaker is a better 2.0 setup for dialogue and TV shows than the Bose Solo 5. The TV Speaker feels better built, and its sound profile is more neutral The TV Speaker also has an HDMI ARC port. However, while the Solo 5 doesn't get as loud as the TV Speaker, it can reach max volume with less thumping and compression artifacts.
The Bose TV Speaker and the Bose Soundbar 500 are two well-built soundbars with different setups. The Bose TV Speaker is a 2.0 setup that's smaller and more compact, which some users may prefer. It has a better-balanced sound profile with a decent amount of bass. The 500, on the other hand, is a 3.0 setup with a better performing discrete center channel. It also has a better surround performance, EQ presets, and an ethernet port if you want to listen to audio from a flash drive. It even supports eARC, although it reencodes these formats into Dolby Digital, it has a companion app, and you can stream audio to it via Wi-Fi and Apple AirPlay in addition to Bluetooth.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 is better for mixed use than the Bose TV Speaker. The 300 has a better center and surround performance. It also offers treble adjustment, as well as more wireless playback options like Apple AirPlay 2. It also connects to the Bose Music app that gives you a bit more functionality.
The Yahama YAS-109 is a slightly better soundbar for mixed use than the Bose TV Speaker. The Yahama has fewer compression artifacts at max volume, comes with EQ presets, and has a better surround performance. It also has a Full HDMI In port and supports Wi-Fi. However, the Bose is better-built and sounds more neutral out-of-the-box.
The Sony HT-X8500 is a 2.1 setup that's better for movies than the 2.0 setup Bose TV Speaker. Even though it doesn't get much louder than the Bose, the Sony has significantly better stereo dynamics. Its surround performance is better and it supports Atmos, which is great if you watch a lot of movies. The Sony also has EQ presets, its HDMI ARC and HDMI IN ports support all common audio formats, and it supports DTS via Optical. It even supports eARC. However, the Bose feels better built, its sound profile is better balanced and neutral, and it's more compact in size overall, which some users may prefer.
The Bose TV Speaker is a better soundbar than the TCL Alto 3. The Bose is better-built, and its sound profile is more neutral and balanced, making it suitable for a wider range of audio content. However, the TCL comes with a few EQ presets, which the Bose lacks.
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