Bose TV Speaker Soundbar Review

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.

The Bose TV Speaker is a very small soundbar. It looks very sleek as it has a smooth plastic top while its front and sides have a metal grille with fine holes to protect its speakers.

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.

This soundbar doesn't have any satellites.

This soundbar is remarkably small. You shouldn't have any problems fitting it between the legs of a 55" TV. It's also not tall enough to 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 the soundbar has one opening for the power cable and the inputs. As there are also universal holes on its underside, you can easily wall-mount this soundbar.

There's no subwoofer in the Bose TV Speaker's setup.

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.

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

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.

The stereo soundstage of this soundbar is alright and it sounds wider than the bar itself. However, the soundstage doesn't sound that focused, which makes objects sound like they're coming from more general or diffused areas rather than accurate, pinpoint locations.

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's THD performance is good and it falls within reasonable levels at moderate volume. There's a slight jump when you crank this bar to its max volume, but it may not be too noticeable to all listeners.

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.

This bar doesn't have satellites.

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.

This bar doesn't have any physical controls.

The remote is very straightforward. As the bar itself doesn't have any controls and there's no companion app, you can control all of the bar's features from here. Note that the bass button can adjust the bass up or down two levels from its default setting.

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.