Bose Smart Soundbar 600 Review: Sound Made Simple

Worth When Reviewed

$499

Finest Costs Immediately: Bose Sensible Soundbar 600

$449.00

$449.99

Bose has a knack for pushing the audio envelope with innovation and delivering high quality with out breaking the financial institution. And that’s been a great a part of the model’s success over time.

The audio big’s newest dwelling theatre launch, the Sensible Soundbar 600, isn’t any exception. Promising to ship high-end sound together with Dolby Atmos spatial audio packed right into a compact but elegant design and at a extra wallet-friendly worth, there’s a lot to be enthusiastic about right here. The query is, does it hit the mark? And the way does it arise towards fierce contenders just like the Sonos Beam Gen 2? 

Design & Construct

• Solely obtainable in black
• Minimal and premium design 
• Compact 

If you happen to’re in search of a soundbar that’s minimal but fashionable, the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 ought to positively be in your radar. It boasts a glossy design that may complement any TV. The construct high quality is top-notch, too, due to some sturdy plastics and chic perforated metals that give it a premium feel and appear all through. 

Sadly, this soundbar is simply obtainable in a single colourway: matt black, so for those who had been hoping to match it up with any present silver or white Bose good audio system in your house, then neglect it.

Lee Bell / Foundry

On the plus facet, the Sensible Soundbar 600 is a superb dimension. Measuring simply 5.6 x 69.4 x 10.4cm and weighing simply 3.1kg, it’s fairly compact, particularly when in comparison with the model’s bulkier and pricier brother, the Sensible Soundbar 900. Its comparatively gentle weight and compact dimension means it may be simply held on a wall for those who don’t have a TV stand for it to sit down on. However bear in mind that this may require an extra wall bracket that Bose flogs for an additional $39/£34.95/€39. for those who go down the official route anyway (you could find less expensive options on Amazon FYI).

By way of controls, the Sensible Soundbar 600 sports activities a few haptic buttons on high of the system itself within the type of a mute and voice-control motion button. It additionally ships with a small distant with a barely prolonged however nonetheless very primary set of capabilities together with quantity management, enter mode, pause and play. Nonetheless, for those who take into account lifting a distant an excessive amount of effort, you do have the choice to boss the soundbar round through voice due to its baked-in Alexa and Google Assistant assist. However extra on that later…

Lee Bell / Foundry

Connectivity

• 1 x HDMI eARC, 1 x optical port
• Bluetooth 4.2
• Help for Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Spotify Join

On the connectivity entrance, the Sensible Soundbar 600 is supplied with a HDMI eARC port and an optical digital audio enter for these older televisions missing HDMI assist. 

Whereas the addition of a second HDMI enter for passthrough would have been a welcome function, it’s value noting that this isn’t one thing you’ll discover in all soundbars nowadays, particularly extra budget-friendly choices. The equally priced Sonos Beam Gen 2, for instance, additionally lacks this functionality.

However, wi-fi streaming selections are aplenty within the Sensible Soundbar 600, with assist for Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Join, and Bluetooth protocols.

Lee Bell / Foundry

Sensible Options

• Built-in voice management from Alexa and Google Assistant
• Dolby Atmos assist
• Nice companion app providing simple setup
• Multiroom function is hit or miss

Whereas the principle promoting level of the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 is that it’s a compact and versatile all-in-one soundbar, there are different nice options to shout about. The primary one is that it affords assist for Dolby Atmos soundtracks however in a really totally different approach to its chief rival, the Sonos’ Beam Gen 2.

That’s as a result of, of the 5 drivers that it has behind this grille, two full-range drivers fireplace upwards to bodily improve the sense of peak of the sound – one thing Sonos’ soundbar does nearly. In the meantime, there’s a single driver dealing with the centre channel in the course of the bar, whereas a racetrack driver at both finish of the soundbar affords a wider feeling of sound.

Lee Bell / Foundry

Different options that assist put the “good” within the Sensible Soundbar 600 embrace its deal with hands-free motion, and – as you’d count on from a contemporary soundbar – it helps both Alexa or Google Assistant for all of your hands-free wants. This implies you may bark orders at it, like telling it to crank up the amount or skip tracks, all with the facility of voice. It really works properly more often than not, however – as with every Alexa-enabled system – it’s removed from good and might typically miss instructions, particularly for those who’ve bought the amount on excessive.

You’ll additionally discover a host of Wi-Fi streaming companies are readily accessible. This consists of outstanding platforms corresponding to Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, and Sirius XM.

Seamlessly integrating with the Bose Music app, the Sensible Soundbar 600 might be simply put in, tweaked and adjusted as required, with choices to rename it, tinker with its equalizer settings or create “teams” with different smart-enabled Bose audio system, in case you have them.

Nonetheless, in my expertise, the multiroom or “grouping” function doesn’t at all times work as seamlessly as anticipated. Typically, solely one of many audio system within the group will play the music, regardless of each being listed within the room you’ve created within the app. There’s additionally a delay if you wish to play the audio out of your TV by way of a speaker group, which appears loopy to me. If you wish to expertise encompass sound whereas watching a film, as an example, you may’t do it with a bunch of Bose good audio system. As a substitute, you’d need to put money into the corporate’s Encompass Audio system, which join on to the soundbar. This might show very irritating to these with present Bose-based dwelling speaker methods who buy the Sensible Soundbar 600 for this very purpose.

Lee Bell / Foundry

One other frustration right here is that, when you disconnect from a speaker group you’ve created on the app – for instance, the Bose soundbar and the corporate’s Moveable Dwelling Speaker – the group will disappear when you’ve disconnected from it and also you’ll need to create it another time the subsequent time you need to hearken to music throughout a number of audio system/rooms. 

Sound High quality

• Large sound from a small soundbar
• Handles advanced sound results properly
• Nicely-detailed mid-range
• Missing within the decrease bass vary

So, let’s dive into what makes the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 an actual ear-turner. For one, it’s geared as much as deal with Dolby Atmos soundtracks due to its secret sauce: proprietary TrueSpace processing. This tech takes common stereo and 5.1 channel stuff and turns it right into a full-blown immersive expertise – such as you’re proper within the coronary heart of the motion. This ensures massive Hollywood motion flicks pop like by no means earlier than. Even the advanced sound results are untangled effortlessly, which is fairly exceptional contemplating its compact dimension and sub-£500 worth level.

The midrange is strong and filled with loads of element, and dialogue is delivered with focus and readability. It carries a dynamic sound too, having the ability to categorical any shift in quantity effortlessly. 

Lee Bell / Foundry

Whereas its audio sport is on level for probably the most half, it does battle a little bit within the decrease bass vary so that you would possibly really feel like these deeper notes are lacking. And with no subwoofer included, that’s hardly shocking. Bose has crammed a tonne of audio tech into this glossy bundle, so one thing needed to give. However, the soundbar does work alongside Bose’s Bass modules for those who’re actually lacking these deeper notes and don’t thoughts forking out further for one (and after I say further, I imply they begin at £399.95, gulp).

All in all, the Sensible Soundbar 600’s audio high quality is well-rounded and spectacular. Positive, it’s not precisely audiophile-level, nevertheless it’s definitely able to providing premium sound to those that don’t need to half with greater than £500 for a soundbar.

Worth & Availability

At $499/£499.95/€549, the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 definitely isn’t a finances speaker. It nonetheless prices nearly double the Sonos Ray, for instance, making it extra of a mid-to-high-range soundbar. It may well most likely be higher in comparison with the $449/£449/€499 Sonos Beam Gen 2.

You may seize it from Bose itself, or from the likes of Amazon, AO, Currys or John Lewis within the UK, or Amazon US, Andorama, Dell, Lenovo and straight from Bose within the US. If you wish to wall-mount it, the official Bose Wall Mount package is an additional $39/£34.95/€39.

So how does the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 evaluate to rivals? 

If you happen to’re in any respect accustomed to the world of audio, it ought to go with out saying that Bose’s largest competitor is Sonos, a model that flogs a really equally specced and priced soundbar, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). Because the two are very comparable spec-wise (each supply Dolby Atmos, for instance), selecting one over the opposite will seemingly come all the way down to which ecosystem you’d choose to be part of sooner or later (for those who increase your property speaker system throughout a number of rooms, as an example).

The Sensible Soundbar 600 can be considerably cheaper than the subsequent Bose possibility, the $899/£899.95/€949 Sensible Soundbar 900, so affords a really comparable dwelling theatre expertise to extra individuals than earlier than.

Take a look at our chart of the perfect soundbars for extra options for those who’re undecided if Bose is the speaker model for you.

Verdict

In relation to Dolby Atmos sound, the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 is an enormous win. Dialogue readability is phenomenal and its TrueSpace processing tech means it might take common stereo and 5.1 channel stuff and switch it right into a full-blown immersive expertise. 

Nonetheless, its compact design does put a cap on its sound potential. A restricted bass vary means you received’t get that full-bodied thunderous bass you would possibly count on from high-end rivals that ship with subwoofers. Don’t get me fallacious, it’s nice for cranking up the leisure worth throughout film nights, however for those who’re an audiophile chasing that deep and super-immersive sound, you may be a tad disenchanted.

On the intense facet, this soundbar brings a bunch of cool options that others miss, corresponding to AirPlay 2, Chromecast and assist for Alexa and Google Assistant Plus. And at slightly below $500/£500, there’s lots on supply right here – particularly for individuals who need an awesome all-in-one bundle over mind-blowing sound depth. 

Specs

• Dimension: 56 x 694 x 104 mm
• Weight: 3.13kg
• Channels: 3.0.2
• 5x full-range transducers
• Enclosure: Bass reflex
• Audio I/O
• Optical digital
• HDMI ARC/eARC
• Subwoofer output (3.5mm)
• HDMI 2.0b
• Wi-fi audio connection
• Bluetooth 4.2
• Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz
• Apple AirPlay 2
• Chromecast built-in