Review of the Bose TV Speaker: When Your TV Needs “Cinematic Sound”

Most people who purchase a modern television experience a “wow effect” from the picture, but their feelings about the sound are neutral – “it exists and that’s it.” The question arises: is it possible to improve the sound in a television and bring it a little closer to a “cinematic” experience while staying within a budget of 250$? Now Bose has given an affirmative answer to this question. Of course, they are not the first to provide adequate sound within such a budget. For example, you can choose soundbars from Yamaha, such as the YAS-207 or YAS-209. But they come with a subwoofer that also needs to be accommodated in your home, which can sometimes be quite a challenging task. What if you want an “all-in-one” option – minimalism, so to speak? In this case, there is no better option than the Bose TV Speaker. Not only does it sound impressive even without a “sub,” (although there is an option to add a subwoofer), but the soundbar itself is quite compact (length – 60 cm).

What’s in the box?

In the branded packaging, in addition to the acoustics itself, the owner will find a quick start guide, as well as a remote control, power cable, and optical cable. Unfortunately, there is no HDMI cable included. It is through this cable that the sound will be of the highest quality, and you will be able to control the sound of the soundbar using your regular TV remote. If neither HDMI nor optical is available, there is an AUX input on the casing.

Control with the remote

1) The “Power” button – besides its logical functions, can also link and unlink the soundbar from the TV remote by pressing it for a few seconds until the signal. 2) The “screen” and “Bluetooth” buttons – select the audio source between wired connection and Bluetooth. By holding “Bluetooth”, the soundbar will enter pairing mode. 3) The “+”, “-“, and “mute” buttons – volume adjustment and sound muting. 4) The “Bass” button helps adjust the amount of low frequencies. You need to press it, and then adjust using the “+” and “-” buttons. 5) The “dialogue mode” button changes the sound in such a way that you can hear any human speech better, whether it’s a movie or news. This is especially relevant in the presence of background noise or with hearing problems.

Connection

To connect the speakers, simply plug them into a 220V outlet using the power cable that goes into the POWER socket, and then you have four options for delivering sound to the soundbar. The first and most effective option is the HDMI(ARC) socket. This will transmit the highest quality sound, and it will also allow you to use the original remote control from the television. The second method is the optical output (OPTICAL IN). This cable is included in the package, just connect the TV Speaker to the television through the corresponding input. The simplest wired option, including in terms of sound quality, is AUX IN. Just connect the two devices with a 3.5mm jack cable on both ends. Just make sure not to confuse it with the BASS output. It also accepts a 3.5mm jack, but is used for connecting the subwoofer. The last method is wireless. Connect the Bose TV Speaker to any device that has Bluetooth. This is a very convenient way to listen to audio recordings from your phone, tablet, or laptop.

More bass

If you still find that the low frequencies in the soundbar are insufficient, although in my opinion they are quite adequate, you can add them directly through the remote control by pressing BASS and increasing it by 2 notches with the ” +” button. This is the maximum that the TV Speaker can deliver, but it can be improved here as well. There are officially compatible subwoofers: Bose Bass Module 500 (compact version) and Bose Bass Module 700 (for powerful punchy bass). The connection is made through the BASS port on the speaker using the Bose Bass Module Connection Cable, which is an AUX cable.

Dialogue Mode

You can also switch the TV Speaker to dialogue mode to further enhance the clarity of speech, conversations, and news programs. In dialogue mode, the Bose TV Speaker analyzes what you are watching to lift the vocals even more so that you can hear and understand each word more clearly. Just press the “Dialogue Mode” button on the remote control to turn it on. It will be saved for each audio source, even when switching between wired and wireless connections or turning off the soundbar.

Acoustic performance

Two wideband speakers are positioned at an angle to provide a wide spatial sound, while the central tweeter delivers clear speech in dialogues. When switching to dialogue mode, the frequencies that reproduce the human voice are concentrated in the tweeter. You can also see a curved pipe extending to the back of the enclosure in the picture. This is a proprietary pipe invented by Bose. Being doctors and professors, Bose certainly knew that if a small speaker is placed inside a pipe, this pipe could become a waveguide, successfully converting small air vibrations at the input into sufficiently large ones at the output. At the same time, the pipe and the speaker with its mechanical properties must optimally match each other so that the entire musical range sounds natural and vibrant. As a reward, the researchers would have the opportunity to create a speaker with a tiny driver that, however, sounds full-bodied, rich, clear, loud, and conveys bass with confidence and precision. After conducting numerous experiments, analyses, and measurements, they determined that while the pipe must be long enough, it can be folded several times—and still achieve the desired effect. This became the essence of the invention.

HDMI ARC and CEC

The abbreviation ARC stands for Audio Return Channel, and it denotes the capability to transmit audio signals in both directions, providing the user with additional flexibility and eliminating the need for any S/PDIF audio connection with the audio/video receiver. In this device, the HDMI ARC technology is used to support CEC. Consumer Electronics Control is a built-in feature of the HDMI interface and is designed so that the user can control all devices in their home audio-video system with just one remote control. It is with this connection that the soundbar will respond to your television remote.

Sound

Despite the compactness of this device, it truly has the capability to deliver a cinematic sound. The width of the soundstage extends beyond the width of the soundbar, reflecting off your interior. The depth of the sound picture impresses with its detail and consists of several layers. You can hear rustling beneath the television screen, followed by a powerful rumble of thunder somewhere far behind the screen. It was a bit unexpected to hear something like this from a Bose soundbar. Perhaps it was because other versions of soundbars from this company seemed overly “soft” to me. But this “little one” surprised me in a grown-up way. Music on it sounds different. At times, the scale of classical music is striking, but in jazz, not all instruments are heard adequately. However, in movies, it’s hard to tear yourself away from such a “tasty” sound accompaniment. If we consider the scenario of “friends coming over” and use the device as a wireless speaker – it works just fine. For a home party, the bass will be sufficient (and if not, the remote can boost it).

In conclusion

This is an excellent option for acoustics if you need to stay within 10 thousand and have no place to put a subwoofer. In such a compact format and at such a price, this is the most immersive sound I have ever heard. Bose has once again proven that surround sound can be compact and not bulky. I definitely recommend this acoustics based on the factors of price, functionality, appearance, and, of course, sound quality.