Bose TV Speaker Review

Mini soundbar with room-filling sound?

The compact Bose TV speaker comes in a simple design: the top of the rectangular box has a matte black, all around it has a grille cover, also black. Some of the components are made of plastic, but the small soundbar has a high-quality impression overall. With its compact dimensions, however, it almost reminds us a bit of the Bluetooth speakers from Bose: It only measures just under 60 centimeters in width, and the height is less than six centimeters. This makes it ideal for smaller rooms with little space and also fit in front of small TV models from 32 inches or between the feet of a 55 inch TV. At under two kilograms, the box also weighs very little.

The 2.0-channel setup comes without external subwoofer and also does not have an integrated woofer. Instead, a bass reflex tube was installed, whose opening is found on the back of the soundbar. Inside are also two angled full range drivers and a center tweeter. This allows the speaker to play content in Dolby Digital format.

The scope of delivery of the TV speaker is quite manageable: Besides the soundbar itself, it only contains its power cord, a manual, an optical cable and a remote control with battery. You might wonder why no HDMI cable was included – after all, the speaker also has a HDMI ARCAudio Return Chanel: With the HDMI ARC connection, the higher bandwidth allows data to be both sent and received over one HDMI cable, saving additional cables in many setups. output. When connected via this, the Bose TV speaker can then also be controlled via TV remote thanks to HDMI CECConsumer Electronics Control: HDMI CEC makes it possible to control various consumer electronics devices with just one remote control.. A wall mount is also not included and must be purchased separately if desired.

If you connect the soundbar with the optical cable, you will inevitably have to use the included remote control, since there are no buttons on the casing and no corresponding app. Matching the TV speaker itself, the remote control is also very small and simple. It has a rubber surface and is otherwise made of plastic, which makes it extremely lightweight. The keys have also been spared, which makes for simple, intuitive operation.

In contrast, the status display of the Bose TV speaker is less intuitive: There are two small LEDs on the edge of the front, which flash differently depending on the setting. Unfortunately, the lights are so small that they are not very visible from a certain distance. The fact that a larger, clearer display was not chosen here is probably due to the lack of space in the small soundbar.

Due to the low volume, the connections on the back of the Bose TV Speaker are also limited to the essentials. In addition to the already mentioned HDMI ARCAudio Return Chanel: With the HDMI ARC connection, the higher bandwidth allows data to be both sent and received over one HDMI cable, saving additional cables in many setups. output, you will also find an optical port and an AUX input. A USB interface is also available, but it cannot be used to play content, only for service purposes. In addition, the stereo system can still be expanded with a external subwoofer from Bose. A corresponding connector can be found on its back for this purpose.

At first glance – or rather the first listen – the Mini Soundbar from Bose makes a solid impression. The angled speakers inside certainly provide a wide soundstage and especially the maximum volume can impress us considering the small dimensions. However, it should be noted that the sound quality decreases with increasing volume, as distortions become audible. The fact that the sound of the speaker is balanced overall is also shown by the result of our frequency response measurement of the Bose TV Speaker: Especially the mids are extremely balanced, which ensures excellent speech reproduction and a round overall sound.

Unfortunately, it looks a bit worse in the area of bass and treble: As with many soundbars of this size, the Bose TV speaker also lacks low bass. In the end, to create a real boom, it would simply need more volume or an additional subwoofer. Thus, it does not bring cinema feeling into the living room at home. The soundbar also weakens in the trebles and the graph shows some fluctuations here. This could be an indication for a dull, undynamic sound, but we could not confirm this in our listening test.

To customize the sound, the Bose TV Speaker unfortunately comes with only a few features. Thus, neither a room correction nor an equalizer can be found here. The bass alone can be regulated to five levels. With a higher bass level, the soundbar definitely has more pressure, but the low tones still are not really noticeable. Accordingly, we could not enjoy EDM music via the mini soundbar in our test. Besides the bass setting button, you can also find a button for the dialog mode on the soundbar’s remote control, which analyzes the played content and amplifies voices. In our test, this worked very well and words became more understandable.

Due to the low price, this soundbar unfortunately has to make sacrifices in terms of smart features. Thus, it does not have a Wi-Fi connection and no streaming options like Chromecast or Airplay. If you want to transfer content wirelessly from a smartphone or laptop, you can only use the integrated Bluetooth interface. At least it was set up quickly in our test and provided a stable connection.