Bose Soundbar 500, TV Speakers with Alexa Voice Control Built-in, Black

I actually bought the bog brother to these, the 700s, but returned them and bought the 500s, but then returned these as soon as I got them. Don't ask! 5-stars because the 700s sounded great, so figure that these would as well.

I needed a compact soundbar with minimal height to fit in about 2.5" of vertical space. The television is mounted on a brick wall over a mantelpiece, and I did not want to mount it any higher on the wall. We have a few Sonos products, but none of their soundbars would fit. The Bose 500 is only about 1.7" high and fit perfectly. It is unobtrusive and practically disappears. The sound is much better than that from the Sony TV speaker. I had difficulty with dialogue, in particular, and found that the Bose makes a big difference in the clarity of the spoken (or whispered) word. We did not get the subwoofer but would consider adding it. The Bose remote works fine but I don't use it much; easier to use the remote from our cable/internet provider. The Alexa app also works adequately but is quirky; you can't say "Alexa, turn down the volume," but instead must say "Alexa, turn down the Bose soundbar volume." There may be bigger soundbars that produce a more encompassing sound, but if you need a compact soundbar that is still sonically excellent and will fit in a small space, the Bose may be just the thing.

(Putting a one star unless there is a solution to my problem) I bought this on Thanksgiving and it was my biggest purchase of the year, its my first ever Bose speaker. Install was easy, i know quite a few people mentioned its difficult to install, but I have to say unless you are from stone age (which means you are not efficient with your smart phone) the installation process is just as simple as setting up some random online account. In terms of the sound quality, I have to say I was hoping for more. I hoped the sound was more surrounded giving that its Bose. I can feel the sound comes from a single source in front of you, and its a just a clearer, louder version of the TV sound. It doesn't make you feel like you are immersed into whats playing in your TV. I think its still very very far away from the experience of a good set of 5.1 sound system or in a cinema. But its probably one of the best TV soundbar out there. Now, as for the 1 star. I had it for 1.5 days, a total use time of less than 5 hours, before it decided to go into perpetual updating mode. There is nothing I could do, it doesn't respond to any command it just got stuck at something while updating the software, not even responding to the factor reset command via the remote control. And there is no button on the soundbar. Very disappointing.... my first Bose speaker and it just died. Caused me more trouble than enjoyment so far. Update 1: Contacted Bose and they agreed to do an exchange. Since I had a trip in two weeks they said they would send out a new one to me and once I got it just send the faulty one back, because otherwise the exchange process would usually take three to four weeks before I can get a new one. I waited for almost two weeks and no new sound bar came. I called Bose and they said nothing was indeed sent to me!!! They said I will have to send the faulty one back before they could do anything. What!? I asked at least 3 times to confirmed a new one was being sent to me in the first call. The sloppiness is laughable. I know you don't know what the other service support person said, but thats very irresponsible for a company selling luxury electronics. No record, just making things up. I gave up on them and I left for the trip. I came back on 12/30 and decided to send Amazon a message to see what they could do. Within 5 mins, they said they would send one out. I got it the very next day!!! On New Years Eve!!! Thats amazing! I would have given Amazon 5 stars if there is a choice. Update 2: This new sound bar hasn't gone into perpetual updating mode yet, thank god! But two cons I noticed using it: 1) It doesn't really hear you say "Alexa" when its playing music. I had to shout really loud even the other Alexa in the other room responded. I was just about 6 foot away from it, although the sound may have been blocked by the TV. But in general, we have to raise our voice to talk to Alexa when the sound bar is playing music even we are standing next to it. And I have a feeling this Alexa doesn't understand as well as the other Alexa thats on an Echo. 2) This sound bar Alexa doesn't have all the functions as the normal Echo Alexa. Things like "remind me in 15 mins" or "set a timer" the Bose sound bar Alexa said she couldn't do it. Shame because I use it very often.

You can attach a cord connected to a head-set device to set up the sound profile of your room, but it never seems to last. I always get an echo in dialog or music that does fade in time. The remote works for volume and you can program into it your favorite internet radio stations (TuneIn, IHeartsRadio) into a single button. I also like that when the remote and bar is not used for several hours it automatically goes into "mute" (which you need to turn off when you turn it back on): you're ears are not blasted by a loud advertisement or TV show or movie you were previously playing. One star removed for the sound quality echo issue, but maybe over time I can figure it out. I do not use Alexa.

Wouldn't power on right out of the box. Screwed around with this for 2 hours and then another hour on hold with Bose and 30 minutes to get through troubleshooting that = malfunctioning unit. Amazon sending replacement out right away, but obviously this model is junk. Update: The replacement arrived and although this one powered up (and, yes, it takes a solid 10 seconds for this thing to boot up every time before it's usable), it sounds like crap. Seriously... the sound is flat and there is no bass (yes, the bass module is sold separately for another $400, but should it be??). TV dialogue is an improvement over the TV speakers, but movie sound effects and music sounds awful. My Bose Soundlink Revolve ($200) sounds better and has richer bass than this soundbar!! Also the app and interface is a little clunky. This soundbar would be good for a TV in the bedroom where you don't ever want it loud and don't want bass but need to hear TV dialogue and will never play music through it. Returned this and went with the Sony X9000F 2.1ch Sound bar that came with a wireless subwoofer, a ton of features, Dolby Atmos surround sound, sounds 1000 better out of the box for movies and music, and cost $50 less (or $450 less if you were thinking about buying the add-on subwoofer for the Bose). Final answer: THE BOSE 500 SOUNDBAR IS JUNK!!!

Hooked up my Bose 500 soundbar yesterday & I love it. I was a lil hesitant after reading some reviews & w/it being so pricey. The sound is GREAT, it was easy to hook up & connect, Alexa works flawlessly, Bluetooth is a great addition & it looks nice & sleek. You must have an HDMI Arc port on your TV or an optical port. Luckily my streaming box has an optical. If not you'll have to buy a converter box.

Ótimo produto, excelente qualidade de som.

Beautiful subtle great quality sound definition And build materials/ construction Easy to set up Sound quality can vary depending on location and obstructions. Doesn’t require but recommend fine tuning to personalize eq to get the most out of it It is a luxury item and pricy but if you don’t have a fine ear it might be more then one can recognize especially for it’s price but you won’t hear me complain

Excelente producto, fácil de instalar. Sonido muy potente, lo puse en mi sala y quedo perfecto!!! La aplicación de Alexa es un plus genial, apago, prendo la Tv con solo Voz También se sincroniza spotify y Amazon Music y puedo oír música sin prender la Tv Adicional se conecta vía Bluetooth con cualquier dispositivo. La verdad estoy muy contento

La barra Bose 500 es muy estética, e incluso diría minimalista, la conexión muy simple una vez que bajas la app de Internet, si tienes cuenta de amazon o incluso una Echo o Alexa su enlace es simple, Excelente sonido ¡¡¡¡ El empaque de primera y su entrega fue muy rápida. Gracias

I added the soundbar to our family room Sony 4K TV. The sound quality is much better than the TV speakers. The soundbar was straightforward to set up. I didn't add rear speakers or a sub as the sound is fine for most uses that don't need full theatre sound. I have other BOSE speakers in the house but hey use a different app and so aren't integrated.