Bose Soundbar 700 Review

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The new Soundbar 700 from Bose? Wowza.

 

Of the many wireless multi-room audio challengers now fighting for market share, one in particular is looking to run the table: the sound-obsessed, audio-retentive folks at Bose, thanks to a brand new, very impressive, wireless product line. Bose’s newest addition, the Soundbar 700 (now shipping, by the way) is already making headlines, and deserves a closer look.

Reason to love it #1: With Alexa built-in, it’s smarter than most.

Bose Sound Bar 700 Controls

Just tell the Soundbar 700 (aka SB700) what to do, and Alexa will get it done. Bose not only made room for Amazon Alexa inside the new Soundbar 700, they also gave her a nice upgrade: eight custom microphones in array with echo cancellation and near field detection, so they are designed to hear you, always – even when you’re playing Stevie Ray Vaughan on 10. Add to that, Bose added a cool little light bar that lets you know when Alexa is listening, or pondering her answer, or speaking – so now her pregnant pauses make sense. Bottom line, if you can talk, you can already operate the Soundbar 700.

Reason to love it #2: Get full wireless control with the Bose Music app.

If you’d rather not talk to Alexa, you can still control the Soundbar 700 with an app as smart and as intuitive as any on the market. The new cloud-based Bose Music app gives you full control over all your music sources, whether Spotify, Amazon Music, Internet radio stations, podcasts, whatever. (Apple AirPlay and Google Assistant are coming early 2019.)

And though it won't work with products in the Bose SoundTouch series, the app does give you full control over all of Bose’s new wireless smart speakers, including the newest Bose Surround Wireless Speakers and the new Bose Home Speaker 500. Set personalized presets, add users, and control any new smart Bose speaker from a single location.

Bose makes music sourcing and multi-room listening a breeze. All new Bose smart speakers and sound bars work together seamlessly, with just a tap or voice command… whether you’re rocking the whole house or playing different song favorites in multiple rooms.

 

But wait, there’s more: control option #3. Go old-school, and manage literally everything with the touch of a button on the Bose Soundbar Universal Remote, which comes included (not available with the smaller Soundbar 500).

Reasons to love it #3 - #7: so many possibilities.

 

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth provide easy connectivity from all of your devices. With Wi-Fi, given it’s more robust, you can stream your high resolution music files. And Bluetooth is the industry standard for pairing to wireless headphones, a wireless subwoofer, or any and all wireless speakers you add to your system.

Bose Sound Bar 700 in White under a TV

Ready for the big time, anytime. Adding the wireless Bose Bass Module 500 or 700 is easy, and gives you true 3.1 theater sound. From there, add a couple of wireless Bose Surround Speakers – and now you’re talking true 5.1 home theater sound. (Home theater rule #1: More speakers in more places = a bigger, better surround sound experience.) With this new line, Bose makes it easy to mix-and-match components based on your preferences and needs.

Ports aplenty. The Soundbar 700 includes HDMI out for ARC connections, Toslink optical, and a micro USB slot.

Supports Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound formats. The result? Incredible clarity and realism from your favorite movies.

Custom wall bracket. Put the Soundbar 700 wherever you want it - place it in front of your TV on a console, or mount it to the wall with the sold separately wall bracket kit. (See our “Sound Bar Buying Guide” for tips on soundbar placement.)

Tempered glass top. All in all: smart-looking, inconspicuous, and comes in black or white.

Biggest reason to love it: It can bring the house down.

 

The whole reason for getting a soundbar is about making your TV sound awesome, from way-easier-to-understand on-screen dialogue (you can finally turn off those subtitles) to thunderous explosions and cinematic, kick-ass sound effects. The Soundbar 700 gets it done by way of Bose’s own “PhaseGuide Technology” which, combined with Bose's QuietPort design, transforms the listening experience in a way that reduces distortion and widens the sound field. The end result: sounds are heard in places where there are no speakers. The net effect: you and your audience are surrounded in serious, big, cinematic sound.

Hold on. There is one “but.”

 

Many soundbar companies throw in a separate wireless subwoofer, and you'll notice one does not come included with the SB700. The bass performance is already really good — but if you want a seriously deep cinematic effect, add the Bose Bass Module 500 or Bose Bass Module 700 to your setup. Both are ready to connect to the soundbar right out of the box, wirelessly. At $799, the Soundbar 700 is on the higher side, so adding a separate woofer will bump things up a bit. But considering you're getting bigger, deeper sound from a superior duo, it's worth it.

Easily upgrade to a surreal surround experience.

If big cinematic sound is what you're aiming for, go a step further and build a 5.1 surround sound home theater setup. Here's what our experts recommend:

Filling a smaller room with sound?

Consider the Soundbar 700's smaller brother, the Soundbar 500. While the SB700 packs some serious muscle and boom for those who want that authentic Star Wars / Marvel cinematic experience at home, the 500 is a more compact version and still has Alexa built-in. It’s not as intense as its bigger brother, but it costs less, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The bottom line.

 

Bose, in their own words, “set out to design the world’s best soundbar,” and the Soundbar 700 may just be exactly that – especially when you add a Bose wireless subwoofer. But you don’t have to take our word for it – if you live near one of our showrooms, please stop in anytime for a private test drive, and see how the Soundbar 700 stacks up against others. And then after, if you agree with our glowing review, keep one thing in mind: adding a soundbar to your TV watching… whether movies, shows, sports, adds SO much. If you’re still listening to the tinny little speakers inside your TV — we need to talk. Getting a good soundbar is a decision you’ll never, ever regret.

Something to note: This new family of Bose wireless products are not multi-room compatible with Bose SoundTouch products. Bose SoundTouch products will continue to use the Bose SoundTouch app, while this new series will use the new Bose Music app — an important distinction to make if you're already a SoundTouch series owner.

One more thing...

Added together, World Wide Stereo’s price match guarantee + free shipping to anywhere + 60-day return policy + award-winning support = a lot of pluses, and makes World Wide Stereo the single best place to order the Soundbar 700 – or anything audio/video. (Check out our Happiness Guarantee here for proof.)

Thanks for hanging in, and don’t be a stranger!

Also check out our best soundbars of 2021 award list.

Bose Soundbar 700

Bose Soundbar 700

 

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Turn off both AI Dialogue mode and ADAPTiQ and decrease the soundbar settings. Increase rear speaker and bass settings and then you’ll hear the rear speakers and bass. Sounds pretty awesome that way. Enjoy.

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