Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review

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 part of the model’s success over time.

The audio large’s newest house theatre launch, the Sensible Soundbar 600, is not 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 rise up towards fierce contenders just like the Sonos Beam Gen 2? 

Design & Construct

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

In case you’re on the lookout for a soundbar that’s minimal but fashionable, the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 ought to undoubtedly be in your radar. It boasts a modern design that may complement any TV. The construct high quality is top-notch, too, because of some sturdy plastics and stylish perforated metals that give it a premium feel and appear all through. 

Sadly, this soundbar is barely obtainable in a single colourway: matt black, so when you have been hoping to match it up with any present silver or white Bose sensible audio system in your house, then overlook it.

On the plus aspect, the Sensible Soundbar 600 is a superb measurement. 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 mild weight and compact measurement means it may be simply held on a wall when you don’t have a TV stand for it to sit down on. However remember that this can require a further wall bracket that Bose flogs for an additional $39/£34.95/€39. when you go down the official route anyway (you could find less expensive options on Amazon FYI).

When it comes to 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 fundamental set of capabilities together with quantity management, enter mode, pause and play. Nevertheless, when you take into account lifting a distant an excessive amount of effort, you do have the choice to boss the soundbar round by way of voice because of its baked-in Alexa and Google Assistant help. However extra on that later…

Lee Bell / Foundry

Connectivity

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

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

Whereas the addition of a second HDMI enter for passthrough would have been a welcome function, it’s price 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.

Nonetheless, wi-fi streaming selections are aplenty within the Sensible Soundbar 600, with help 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 help
• 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 provides help for Dolby Atmos soundtracks however in a really completely 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 hearth upwards to bodily enhance the sense of top of the sound – one thing Sonos’ soundbar does nearly. In the meantime, there’s a single driver dealing with the centre channel in the midst of the bar, whereas a racetrack driver at both finish of the soundbar provides a wider feeling of sound.

Lee Bell / Foundry

Different options that assist put the “sensible” within the Sensible Soundbar 600 embody its give attention to 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 possibly can bark orders at it, like telling it to crank up the amount or skip tracks, all with the facility of voice. It really works nicely more often than not, however – as with every Alexa-enabled system – it’s removed from good and might typically miss instructions, particularly when you’ve acquired the amount on excessive.

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

Seamlessly integrating with the Bose Music app, the Sensible Soundbar 600 will 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, when you’ve got them.

Nevertheless, in my expertise, the multiroom or “grouping” function doesn’t all the time 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 a speaker group, which appears loopy to me. If you wish to expertise encompass sound whereas watching a film, as an illustration, you possibly can’t do it with a bunch of Bose sensible audio system. As an alternative, you’d should put money into the corporate’s Surround Speakers, which join on to the soundbar. This might show very irritating to these with present Bose-based house speaker methods who buy the Sensible Soundbar 600 for this very cause.

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 Portable Home Speaker – the group will disappear when you’ve disconnected from it and also you’ll should create it another time the subsequent time you need to hearken to music throughout a number of audio system/rooms. 

Sound High quality

• Huge sound from a small soundbar
• Handles advanced sound results nicely
• 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 because of 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 measurement and sub-£500 worth level.

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

Lee Bell / Foundry

Whereas its audio sport is on level for essentially the most half, it does wrestle slightly within the decrease bass vary so that you may 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 modern package deal, so one thing needed to give. However, the soundbar does work alongside Bose’s Bass modules when you’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, but it surely’s actually able to providing premium sound to those that don’t need to half with greater than £500 for a soundbar.

Value & Availability

At $499/£499.95/€549, the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 actually isn’t a funds speaker. It nonetheless prices virtually double the Sonos Ray, for instance, making it extra of a mid-to-high-range soundbar. It will possibly 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 directly from Bose within the US. If you wish to wall-mount it, the official Bose Wall Mount kit is an additional $39/£34.95/€39.

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

In case you’re in any respect acquainted with 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). For the reason that two are very related spec-wise (each supply Dolby Atmos, for instance), selecting one over the opposite will doubtless come right down to which ecosystem you’d favor to be part of sooner or later (when you broaden your private home speaker system throughout a number of rooms, as an illustration).

The Sensible Soundbar 600 can also be considerably cheaper than the subsequent Bose choice, the $899/£899.95/€949 Smart Soundbar 900, so provides a really related house theatre expertise to extra folks than earlier than.

Take a look at our chart of the most effective soundbars for extra options when you’re unsure if Bose is the speaker model for you.

Verdict

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

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

On the intense aspect, this soundbar brings a bunch of cool options that others miss, resembling AirPlay 2, Chromecast and help for Alexa and Google Assistant Plus. And at slightly below $500/£500, there’s quite a bit on supply right here – particularly for individuals who need a fantastic all-in-one package deal over mind-blowing sound depth. 

Specs

• Measurement: 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