Bose Good Soundbar: Two minute overview
The Bose Good Soundbar is an effective way to raise your TV expertise within the bed room or different small room. It’s less than the duty of a house theater setup, particularly and not using a subwoofer, however that’s not its function. when you’re trying to convey Dolby Atmos sound to a smaller setup, it’s one of many best soundbars you should buy.
The Bose Good Soundbar’s lack of low-end will frustrate motion and superhero film followers and its slim soundstage retains it from actually elevating the audio expertise, particularly when listening to music. Nonetheless, it nonetheless is without doubt one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, with two upward-firing audio system that present a way of house and immersion that considerably offsets that slim soundstage. In a smaller setup, it virtually utterly masks it.
Simply as vital, this soundbar is stacked with options. There’s an A.I. dialogue mode, Alexa and Chromecast assist, plus a complete lot extra. My favourite function helps you to use particular Bose earbuds because the rear audio system in a encompass sound setup for a novel expertise. Sadly, these are offered individually. And, in fact, the Good Soundbar has the standard Bose markup, so this isn’t essentially an amazing deal, although I wouldn’t name it overpriced both.
Should you’re trying to improve your TV expertise in a smaller house like a bed room or small condominium, the Bose Good Soundbar is a perfect choice, particularly with all of the options readily available. Simply be keen to shell out some further money and pay attention to its shortcomings.
Bose Good Soundbar overview: Value & launch date
- Value: $499.00 / £499.95 / AU$799.95
- First obtainable: September 2024
- Out there within the US, UK, and Australia
Having been launched in September of 2024, the Bose Good Soundbar is the most recent addition to the corporate’s soundbar lineup. And at $499.00 / £499.95 / AU$799.95, its price ticket is about what one would count on from Bose because you’re paying somewhat bit for the identify. You may get extra by way of options or perhaps a subwoofer and encompass audio system for that worth when you go along with fashions from different firms, however you may be buying and selling off some high quality for these extras.
We reported across the time of launch that the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds can work as rear speakers for this soundbar. And whereas that’s certifiably a really appreciated function, you received’t get a pair without spending a dime when buying the soundbar however should pay an additional $299 / £299 / AU$449.95 for the earbuds.
The Bose Good Soundbar and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds can be found within the US, UK, and Australia.
Bose Good Soundbar overview: Specs
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Dimensions (W x H x D) |
27.34 x 2.21 x 4.01 inches (694 x 56 x 102mm) |
|
Speaker channels |
3.0.2 (performs again at 5.1.4) |
|
Ports: |
HDMI, Optical, Bluetooth, USB, sub out, IR |
|
Dolby Atmos/DTS:X |
Sure |
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Sub included |
No |
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Rear audio system included |
No |
|
Options |
Airplay 2, Spotify Join, Chromecast built-in, A.I. Dialog Mode, Private Encompass Sound by way of Bose Extremely Open Earbuds, Bose TrueSpace, app assist |
Bose Good Soundbar overview: Options
- Private Encompass Sound (requires non-compulsory Bose earbuds)
- App is simple to navigate and use
- Wi-Fi and Voice assistant assist
My favourite function of the feature-filled Bose Good Soundbar is Private Encompass Sound, which makes use of Bose’s Extremely Open Earbuds as rear audio system so you will get an precise encompass sound expertise with no need to make use of rear audio system. Plus, you may alter how delicate or robust the impact is within the app in addition to increase completely different settings like heart channel stage for these with points listening to dialogue. This function requires you to buy Bose Extremely Open Earbuds, nevertheless, and so they’re not precisely low cost.
I significantly appreciated this function for gaming. I used Private Encompass Sound whereas taking part in Star Wars: Jedi Survivor and located it created a reasonably built-in soundscape for the primary character to run round in – half the time I couldn’t inform if what I used to be listening to was coming from the soundbar or the earbuds.
In a means, Private Encompass Sound is even higher than a standard encompass sound system because you don’t must be locked into a selected seat to listen to all of the audio parts within the soundtrack on the correct distance. Alternatively, this function solely works for anybody carrying the earbuds – not precisely nice for group viewing.
The app, which is simple to navigate and use, has loads of different options on faucet. After all, there are some fundamental EQ settings. Whereas there’s no parametric EQ, you may alter the treble, bass, heart channel, and peak impact, aka spatial audio. You possibly can even toggle on a Wall EQ setting to regulate for when the soundbar is put in towards a wall.
Talking of spatial audio, this soundbar does assist Dolby Atmos, and bodily reproduces it by way of these upward-firing audio system. Some soundbars assist Dolby Atmos however don’t have any upward-firing audio system, as an alternative utilizing digital trickery to provide a way of spaciousness. The distinction is noticeable.
Bose TrueSpace additionally takes benefit of these upward-firing audio system, upscaling sound so that you simply’re getting a spatial audio expertise even when the supply isn’t Dolby Atmos encoded. (It’s like listening to mono audio on a stereo set of audio system.) So far as I may hear, it’s the identical audio going upwards as out whereas Dolby Atmos audio has particular parts which can be designated peak results.
Should you’re laborious of listening to or simply discover the fashionable mixes of films to be laborious to grasp, the AI dialogue mode may be the function for you. It’s purported to mechanically alter dialogue for readability’s sake. When testing – I watched the start of The Darkish Knight for this function – I discovered that dialogue was clearer since there was a delicate increase to the midrange the place voices usually sit. It wasn’t obnoxious the best way some dialog boosting modes are, but it surely nonetheless boosted sounds that sit in the same frequency vary that weren’t voices. It’s not completely executed, however nonetheless is finished effectively.
Lastly, the Bose Good Soundbar has Alexa assist in addition to each Chromecast built-in and AirPlay. With Alexa, you may discuss to the soundbar the best way you’d an Amazon Echo, even asking what the climate is or setting a timer. I did discover that I needed to articulate the wake phrase somewhat extra for the soundbar to listen to me, however that’s not all that huge of a deal.
Throughout testing, I discovered the built-in Chromecast and AirPlay to work seamlessly, which is one thing I all the time fear about as prior to now I’ve had connectivity points with Wi-Fi streaming on some gadgets.
Bose Good Soundbar overview: Efficiency
- Gentle on bass
- Balanced mids and crisp highs
- Considerably slim soundstage
The Bose Good Soundbar sounds about nearly as good as a soundbar can. You must do not forget that a majority of these audio gadgets exist largely for comfort’s sake.
With that in thoughts, let’s talk about its audio limitations. First up is the bass. Whereas I may flip up the bass stage within the app, the low-range increase impacts the mid-range frequencies. Since there are just a few bass ports on the again and no precise subwoofer-specific drivers, to not point out that the drivers are essentially compact, the shortage of a powerful bass response is unsurprising.
There was no rumble readily available once I examined it with The Batman, The Darkish Knight, and Deadpool & Wolverine (400 Blows doesn’t lend itself to testing soundbars). At any time when there are huge fights in these varieties of films, there’s all the time a number of very punchy low-end info. However right here, all that info may be very muted if not gone. Not less than, there’s a subwoofer output to right that by including an exterior subwoofer, and Bose additionally provides wi-fi subs (and encompass audio system) that may be paired with the Good Soundbar.
The opposite components of the frequency vary fare higher. The mid-range just isn’t fairly wealthy and full, however it’s well-balanced. I usually didn’t want the A.I. dialogue mode, for example, because the dialogue was persistently intelligible. It additionally helped that I may increase the middle channel stage within the app to assist with that.
The high-end is sweet and crisp on the Good Soundbar. Whether or not it was the string association in film scores and even dialogue once I examined it, every little thing had a pleasant readability versus being overly pronounced and even painful to take heed to.
This soundbar’s soundstage is inherently restricted by its type issue. That mentioned, the sound did really feel prefer it has extra width than different equally sized soundbars I’ve examined and used. This was helped fairly a bit by the spatial audio capabilities, as every little thing sounded somewhat greater and wider, despite the fact that I didn’t hear as a lot left-to-right motion as I anticipated.
Bose Good Soundbar overview: Design
- Upward-firing audio system
- On-unit controls only for voice assistant
- No alphanumeric LED show
Bose just isn’t breaking the mould design-wise with the look or coloration of the Bose Good Soundbar. It is a lengthy rectangular, matte black soundbar with a grill that covers the entrance and wraps across the aspect to cowl the middle tweeter and the racetrack transducers on every finish. There’s a grill on the highest of the unit as effectively the place the 2 upward-firing transducers are.
Talking of all these audio system, regardless of it being technically a 3.0.2 system (the left, proper and heart audio system together with the 2 upward-firing ones), the audio decodes at 5.1.4. There are some ports on the again to assist with bass however there aren’t any drivers devoted to the low finish.
The on-unit controls are pretty restricted as simply two buttons are sitting on high of the left aspect for voice assistant assist. There’s a microphone button to show the interior mic on or off and an Alexa motion button to work together with Alexa in a number of alternative ways together with stopping the function.
Many of the bodily controls can be found by way of the distant. You will have the same old ones like energy, mute, and quantity controls in addition to three supply buttons (TV, Bluetooth, App) and a play/pause button. Nothing too loopy. The distant itself is pretty small and light-weight, which is sweet, although its small dimension makes it the sort of distant that’s very straightforward to lose.
So far as ports go, it has the required optical and HDMI ports in addition to a subwoofer out, an IR port, and a USB
There’s no entrance panel alphanumeric LED show – one thing I all the time want I had when it’s lacking – simply an LED mild when the soundbar activates or is listening when listening to a voice assistant command. Whereas I did miss it, I didn’t miss all of it that a lot.
Bose Good Soundbar overview: Setup & usability
- HDMI eARC connection to TV
- Straightforward, app-based setup
- One-remote use with Roku TVs
Setup of the Bose Good Soundbar may be very easy, even when it takes just a bit longer from starting to finish. Should you simply wish to get to it and don’t care about all of the options, connecting the soundbar to both your TV’s optical or HDMI eARC port is many of the work. Put some AAA batteries into the distant (sadly not included) and also you’re good to go.
There are a number of extra steps if you wish to get the total expertise. After downloading the Bose app, you pair it to the soundbar (and the Extremely Open earbuds you probably have them) after which arrange Wi-Fi on the soundbar for AirPlay, Chromecast Constructed-in and Alexa.
The Bose Good Soundbar is made to pair seamlessly with Roku TVs. Fortunately, I’ve one so I used to be in a position to undergo the method – simply comply with the onscreen directions – which allowed me to make use of my TV distant for fundamental performance. On that be aware, as soon as Alexa was arrange, I used to be in a position to manipulate the soundbar simply by utilizing the wake phrase and talking to it.
- Setup & usability rating: 5 / 5
Bose Good Soundbar overview: Worth
- Options increase worth
- Can get extra superior techniques for similar worth
- Cheaper standalone soundbars obtainable
Should you’re options, the Bose Good Soundbar has loads going for it with the Private Encompass Sound function (which, once more, requires a separate buy), A.I. dialogue mode, and app assist.
For the same worth, nevertheless, you will get a 5.1-channel system just like the maxed-out model of the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus, which additionally provides you a subwoofer and rear audio system for true encompass sound. As good as Bose’s personalised encompass sound function is, just one particular person can use the earbuds at a time. Amazon’s system is missing options and doesn’t have voice assistant assist – not even Alexa. Its audio high quality just isn’t fairly as crisp, nor does it have the upward-firing audio system of the Bose soundbar. After all, when you’re on a funds, you may skip the subwoofer and rear audio system and simply get the standalone Amazon Soundbar Plus soundbar for $249.99 / £249.99 (about AU$400).
Another choice is to spend $349 / £299 (initially $499 / £449 / AU$695) to get the Sony HT-S2000, a 3.1-channel standalone soundbar that features digital spatial audio and good bass response. It prices rather less for one thing that will get you 80% of the best way there. However once more, you’re giving up loads because it doesn’t have voice assistant assist, the personalised encompass sound that’s distinctive to this Bose soundbar, or one of many many different options readily available.
Ought to I purchase the Bose Good Soundbar?
|
Part |
Notes |
Rating |
|
Options |
From the earbuds’ assisted encompass sound to the Alexa assist, this soundbar has about all of the options you may ask for |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Efficiency |
The bass is a bit on the weak aspect and the soundstage is missing, however the mids and highs are superb. Plus, it has actual spatial audio |
4 / 5 |
|
Design |
Restricted onboard controls and no LED show, however this soundbar does include bodily upward-firing audio system |
4 / 5 |
|
Setup & usability |
Organising the Bose Good Soundbar is about as easy as it may be |
5 / 5 |
|
Worth |
You will get extra in your cash if you need a subwoofer or encompass sound, however there are many options on faucet on this all-in-one bar |
4 / 5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Bose Good Soundbar: Additionally think about
How I examined the Bose Good Soundbar
- I used the Bose Good Soundbar for a few weeks
- Examined with TV, motion pictures, video games, and music
I used the Bose Good Soundbar often for a few weeks. I watched motion pictures, reveals, gamed and listened to music with it. I examined all the varied options, particularly the Private Encompass Sound function to see what it may do.
After having examined the Bose Good Soundbar, it nonetheless surprises me all that this soundbar has to supply. It’s that feature-packed. This is a perfect soundbar for somebody with a smaller, not-quite dwelling theater setup, however who nonetheless needs a premium expertise, and never simply due to the identify.
I’ve examined a number of tech gear through the years from laptops to keyboards and audio system, and so have been in a position to make use of my experience in direction of giving an sincere and honest opinion, to not point out a crucial eye, to any product I take a look at.