Bose - Smart Soundbar 900

Bose 900 with 700 Sub

Haven’t tried that but Bose 900 has got an excellent soundstage and Atmos compared to A7000. As per Rtings Bose 900 is still better than Ultra.

Put the extra money and get the Bose 900. Excellent sound stage and atmos experience!

Not on your list. Bose 900 with Sub 700. Best soundstage and a great Dolby Atmos experience!

I have Bose 900+ sub 700 and surrounds. I like it better than my beam + sub gen3 + era100s.  The Bose surrounds are super compact and fit my setup nicely mounted in the wall. Not to mention the Bose sub is much better than the Sonos sub.

I have the 900 with the bass 700, if I did it again I would do an actual 5.1. Hard to mimic the separation.

I’m happy with my Bose 900 soundbar + wireless sub in my living room. If I had a dedicated room for a home theater sure I’d get a 5.1 system with speaker wire running around the room perimeter.

Agreed, did exactly that with a bose refurb! and can save a bit of $by running a Klipsch subwoofer. Works flawlessly via the sub port with a stereo Y cable. I used the wireless one from costco which goes on sale for $200. Sounds awesome and works with all the sub controls and tuning within the bose app.

Cool, love my 900 for all the reasons you listed and didnt know about the trade up program. Thanks for sharing that!

Wow, thanks for the additional info. I bought the 900 refurb from them direct and VERY pleased. Great to know it has good value down the road when I’m ready to upgrade. Now if they would only drop the price on the surround speakers. Just cant justify the price on those..sound is really good as it is!

To start with, you have speakers there that are replacements for other speakers. Firstly the Solo series (and the TV speaker series) are not considered soundbars. THey won't give you movie quality or surround sound. They are really just there to improve on your TV sound (particularly vocals) without blowing the budget. They lack many functions like adding surround sound, and generally have no app or wifi connectivity. I beleive the 15 replaced the 10, and the 5 replaced the 15. The "Bose TV speaker", replaced the Solo naming conventions and is the current on. The current Soundbars are the 600 (entry level, but just announced the replacement "Bose Smart Soundbar") and the 900 (top of the line) are the current ones. So if you are after movies and good quality sound, you really have a choice between the two (better or best). Bose tends to sell through old stock fairly well, so if you are seeing those others, it's likely they are second hand or refurbished.

Bose 900 is great. I chose that after looking lot of reviews of Sonos Arc - almost 2 years back. If you are looking at 600 get 900. Refurbished is good as well.

I have Bose 900 with rears connected to A90J and PS5. Phenomenal sound. I haven’t researched Sony soundbars but Bose sounds great even with Dolby digital 2.0. I didn’t get sub woofers as I am in apartment right now and don’t want blast neighbors with bass.

Bose 900 or Bose Smart Ultra will give you the best dialogues

I still think the Bose soundbar 900 is one of the best out there, pair it with the 700 sub and rear speakers it’s a powerhouse.

I have the Bose sound bar 900 along with the 700 rear speakers and the 700 sub. Overall I can't complain about the sound. Would like the rear speakers to get an Atmos upgrade soon. The app sucks though!

I have the 900 and my friend has the Ultra. The AI dialogue does seem to help w dialogue clarity, but it’s a subtle difference between the two bars. The 900 has a dialogue mode as well, but dialogue clarity is so good that I rarely use it. Overall, the 900 and Ultra are so close that I couldn’t tell one from the other in a blind test. Both sound great.

Did you run adaptiq on the Bose? I have the 900 and it’s not even on the same planet as TV speakers in terms of sound. I had a few minutes to listen to my neighbors new Sonos Arc Ultra and it sounds fuller, more spacious and more detailed than the Bose 900 or Ultra. It’s a great sounding bar.

I’m not sure if a Bose soundbar will regulate the volume change between shows/movies and commercials, but their soundbars have exceptional dialogue and have a dialoge enhancement mode if you need to make it clearer without turning the volume up too high. It’s $399, but I’d recommend the smart soundbar. It sounds great and dialogue is very clear.

I think it's a great price. As far as the 900 and Ultra comparisons...I have a 900 and my neighbor has an Ultra. We're both hard pressed to hear a difference between the two. We haven't played them side by side, but if he told me he had a 900, I'd believe him and if I told him I had an Ultra, he'd believe me. I bought and Arc/sub combo and 900/bass module 700 combo at the same time to try both. Both were great, but my family liked the Bose sound profile and look better, so we stuck with the Bose.

My neighbor and I both have Bose soundbar/bass module setups and he invited me over to check out the Arc Ultra he received this morning. He currently has a Bose Ultra soundbar with bass module 700, but was really interested in all the Arc Ultra buzz, so he bought and asked me if I wanted to hear it against the Bose. Yes....yes, I do! So I went over to his place for a listen. The Arc Ultra (standalone bar) sounds more immersive, fuller, more detailed and more accurate than both my Bose 900 and his Bose Ultra. When I was shopping for a soundbar setup, I picked up an Arc and Sub gen3 and Bose soundbar 900 w bass module at the same time to decide which one I liked better. We kept the Bose because it sounded more spacious, the dialogue was clearer and the fam wanted bluetooth capability. That being said, I preferred the Arc's definition and more powerful sound over the Bose. I thought if Sonos could get the Arc to sound more spacious with improved dialogue clarity while maintaining the definition, I'd be tempted to make the change. I think it delivers on the things I wanted from the first gen Arc. I'm not going to switch out my Bose setup for the Arc Ultra anytime soon because we really enjoy our current setup , but it's nice to know it's an option. My neighbor is sold on it, but I think it comes down to wife acceptance factor as to whether or not he keeps it.

My first decent setup was a 5.1 channel, Polk Audio speakers and sub with a Denon receiver, then later a Marantz receiver. That was years ago, so I don't remember models or the specs. Over the years, I've had other stuff from Cambridge audio, Yamaha, Denon and other brands. The most recent AVR setup I had was a 7.1 system with Aperion Audio speakers, sub and a Marantz SR5015 receiver. I have friends with home theater/audio setups that range from a few grand to low six figures in one case. The sound on those range from really good to incredible (for the higher end setups) The tipping point for me was us buying a fixxer upper of a house. At first I planned on a better AVR setup for our TV room, but then I noticed my fam and I had the best time sitting in our ratty living room doing movie night on a low budget, temporary TV that was way too small for the room. No external speakers, surround sound...etc. Then I realized I had a great time because I wasn't fussing with audio stuff whenever we watched a movie. I was taking the fun out of my own experience and the experience of the family. When we gutted and remodeled the room, I decided I wasn't going to go the AVR route. I decided I was done with all the wiring, connections and tweaking. My wife wanted to keep the room classy and minimalist, so we ended up trying some soundbars and opted to go with a Bose 900 and bass module 700. Clean looking install, sounds pretty good and it's pretty much plug in, calibrate and play. To be clear, the Aperion Audio setup I had completely obliterated my current setup, but it should given the cost, size build quality...etc. Recently, my neighbor/buddy picked up the Arc Ultra, Sub4 and Era 300s and invited me over to check it out. It seriously beats a lot of the mid level AVR setups I've heard and owned. It has definition, detail, clarity, good height channel effects and plenty of power.

I have a 600 in our bedroom and 900 in our tv room. Flat, 8ft ceilings and we don’t get specific height effects either. Just a greater sense of height to the overall presentation. We have bass modules for both bars as well and they definitely up the immersion factor. Not just by adding bass…the whole setup sounds bigger. I think the sound processing might adjust when the bass modules are added which allows the bars to focus more on mid range stuff. There’s an added weight to the midrange…it’s not in your face, but noticeable.

Why not just move the 500 to the room with the Ultra and try it? I have a soundbar 900 with bass module 700 in my TV room and a 600 with bass module 500 in my bedroom. I've tried the 500 with the 900 and it sounds really good. But, the 500 lacks the definition. lower frequencies and attack of the 700...even at lower volumes its noticeable. it doesn't need to be overpowering...you can just dial back the power output in the Bose app to tone it down while still keeping the definition and lower frequencies. If you don't want to break the bank I think the 500 will give you 75% of the performance of the 700 for a lot less $$.

That sucks that it doesn’t work well w the Hisense. I have a 900 and 600, both connected to Sony TVs and they’ve been pretty much plug and play since day one.

I have Bose 900 Soundbar Bose 700 Subwoofer and Bose rear Speakers... More than Happy. Bose do have a later Model after 900.

I have both the 900 and the ultra. Both are excellent soundbars. Joust going by soundbar with out sub and rears: I feel the 900 has an edge with bass while the ultra really brings out dialogue when the AI is turned on. As far as atmos and true space, both are great at tricking the ear to hear sounds placed around the room. Conclusion: one sound bar over the other is not really enough of a difference to pick one over the other. Add in the sub 700 and rear 700 speakers and I feel the ultra has a bit of an edge in creating a balanced sound envelope around the listener. Of course this is my opinion and base on my living room, set up and settings.

I cannot speak for other sound bars but I have the Bose 900 and Bose Ultra both in my home. I did demo the Sonos. If you have the funds these are good sound bars. I preferred them over the Samsung which I only heard in store. To start, there is not really much difference between the Bose sound bars. The Ultra does better job enhancing dialogue sometimes a bit too much. While I feel the 900 does better with base. As usual add a sub and rears and you are really getting a good sound. At volumes that will make you happy with out disturbing those around you. As for Sonos I felt it had a good balance for sound and edged the soundbar 900 out but could use a bit more in the dialogue enhancement. As for atmos Bose does a really great job with my vaulted ceiling. My soundbar 900 is used with a projector in the basement for movies and gaming on a 120 in screen. It handles sound great and base is really good but I may add a sub later for extra oomph. End of the day all 3 are good options. Since sound is subjective, if you have the option and can demo a sound bar you like in home I recommend demoing them. It may sound good in store and you may not like the sound at home once dialed in for your room. Bose, Sonos, Samsung, JBL or any soundbar that sounds good to you is a win.

Having heard them all, and owing a Q990D I'd strongly say the ARC. Then Bose then Samsung/Sennheiser. Only Samsung/Sennheiser is for music I think they sounded good enough but for the other 30% I think the 990D is better. I had a demo of the Q990D and the full Sonos set up, for music jesus the Sonos was amazing (even with no rears) but as soon as a movie comes in the Q990D slaps the Sonos for room filling sounds really full audio. The Bose was very nice but for me by the time you add the Sub in your paying Q990D money. And for that 1% movies I'd take the Samsung.

That is a bit expensive and “top of the line.” This is an alternative. https://www.rcwilley.com/Electronics/Audio/Soundbars/BOSE-SOUNDBAR-900-BLACK/112504744/Bose-Smart-Soundbar-900—Black-View

I have both Sonos and Bose . I have Bose 900 Bose 500 and Sonos arc and playbar. Both have their pros and cons but based on Sonos edging out Bose on sound quality and the app I used to recommend them more based on software alone. I was close to upgrading my whole home to Sonos until the app update that caused all the headaches. To this day the app is terrible and the soundbars have so many issues connecting that I don’t even want to use it anymore . Say what you want about Bose but the app is basic and it just works.

Go and buy bose 900 with a subwoofer or Sonos with a subwoofer. You can add surround speakers later if you need it.

Definitely the Bose. Better quality sounding bar & much better subwoofer (the BM700 is possibly the best/most powerful soundbar subwoofer on the market). I just tried the Polk Magnifi Max AX SR myself & I'm not going to lie I expected MUCH more than it provided. It just felt like a really out of date system (which it is, but still underwhelmed me). I definitely expected much more from the subwoofer too but it really under delivered badly! The bar itself actually sounds decent tho. If Polk releases new soundbars anytime soon, I definitely think they'll be substantially higher quality than the Magnifi Max AX, but I wouldn't recommend Polk at the moment.

Given what you specified as your use cases scenario (want it for music too and live in condo), definitely Bose 900! All recommendations from others are great in their respect but few areas Bose pulls ahead. See below. Reasons: 1) Crystal clear dialogue due to dedicated tweeter. Bose specifically prioritizes dialogue intelligibility with punchy and full bodied sound overall. It means full experience at any volume and no more “what did he say?” moments during Saturday night action scenes. 2) Wide soundstage with great Atmos effect. Movies are amazing as expected but also music comes alive especially if you listen Atmos tracks from services like Apple Music. Bose has its own sound processing that makes even 2.0 source sound like Atmos source. 3) sleek design with significantly smaller footprint compared to competitors. 4) Rarely mentioned Bose trade-up program which allows you to get trade in value when you decide to upgrade to newer models. I had Bose 700 for 5 years before upgrading it to Bose Ultrasoundbar. Bose 700 was $750 at the time and got $300 trade in value towards the Ultrasoundbar purchase. 5) Software and feature support for many years. Something others can’t really promise or guarantee. You may see some TV connectivity concerns. I wouldn’t worry about it. It doesn’t always happen and if it does, all you need to do is choose Option 4 for HDMI Power and Audio settings and it will stop having issues. This isn’t Bose’s fault. It’s due to different TV manufacturers not always supporting top HDMI specifications as they are “optional”. Saves them money especially on the HDMI-CEC Front.

I am glad I was able to help and I agree with you completely. I know I can’t stand mediocre sound and vision at all. Bose is usually at the higher end of price scope but it truly deserves its price. Especially when you get a model older that significantly increases the value for the buck. I have tested few different brands and heard several other ones from friends and I haven’t heard any one of them provide Bose’s signature sound. Enjoy!

Glad to hear I was able to contribute to your knowledge on this. One small note is that Bose wants the old soundbar first before securing the quote and shipping out the new one. They do pay for shipping for both the old and new one but it’s ground shipping. So expect to be without a soundbar for a week or two. For me, It was a minor inconvenience for getting a full $300 trade in value for a product I paid $750 at the time and used for five years. You have the choice to ship your old one yourself out of pocket if you want to expedite the process but I do think being left without anything for a week or two builds up the anticipation. Edit: Also, if you plant to upgrade to a newly released model, you may need to wait for a month or two till you become eligible to trade up your old one. They do prioritize customers with direct purchases first so you may not get your hands on the newest and shiniest right away. None of this may bother you but I still wanted to mention it regardless.

In my bedroom, I have a Bose smart soundbar 900(it’s the big one, now called ultra) and a Bose bass module 500(the “smaller” one)… Bass wise, it absolutely blows my Samsung out of the water…and I could add a second 500 sub if needed… i paid $450 for the bar and $400 for the sub on eBay….it is bananas…I eventually added rears(they are tiny…size of a Rubix cube) and our bedroom sounds like an imax theatre…can’t imagine what it would sound like with another bass module… anyhow, once they announced the smart ultra, the 900 became a bargain…I know this Reddit sub is not super into the bose line but the 900/500 combo is bananas…plus they make it in white too…

I own the Bose soundbar 900, the 500 subwoofer, and rear speakers and I think it sounds amazing. Do with that information what you will. lol

Can only speak for myself but I own the Bose 900 soundbar, the 500 subwoofer, and 2 surrounds and I love it. It's a relatively small living room and the sound is really really full and rich.

Go with Bose 900

OP, the 990 was too big for our area (55in oled tv) so returned it and went with the Q800C, just soundboard and sub and I think it's a wonderful system. If you want just the bar and no subs, I would go with the Bose 900

I was very close to getting the 990D, but I eventually found an insane discount on an open box Bose 900 sound bar. I've been very happy with it, especially when I figured out how to add an aftermarket wired subwoofer instead of the overpriced Bose Bass Module.

I have the soundbar 900, surround 300s and bass module 700. It sounds great if you like the Bose bass heavy sound profile. I’ve heard the soundbar ultra has better AI dialogue features but even that sounded gimmicky to me when I checked it out. The Q990D may be the better move considering you get the rears and a sub for a much lower price than the complete Bose setup. If you want a true home cinema, then you definitely have to get an AVR and separate speakers. But if you want to stick with a soundbar then the Q990D is the most viable choice 99% of the time. Also the Bose soundbars don’t support DTS/DTS-HD (except the 700 which does lossy DTS core) so if you have blurays or use IMAX enhanced with a streaming service that audio will not work/ gets transcoded to lpcm. The Q990D has full codec support, here’s a link to a rtings [comparison](https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/tools/compare/samsung-hw-q990d-vs-bose-smart-soundbar-900-with-speakers-bass-module/49714/28849).

Have the 900 sound bar – didn’t buy the woofer until about a month later. Makes a huge difference.

My Bose 900 soundbar and 700 woofer SHAKE my house. Would recommend!

I have a Bose 900 and 700 Sub with my G3. Rocks the house.

I do. Own one. Bas quality. And filed a case to warranty & support. Got the basic do this do that, etc, things that i did previously. When i told them those things failed, they said they will adress my case to factory, didn’t heard from them again. Yes, they sell, because they’re cheap. But they fail to deliver. Yes, they have premium products too, for a lot of cash. But for that money? I’d rather get sony bravia or lg - considering tv’s. As for soundbar i’m using bose 900. Could n’t be happier.

Honestly a Bose 900 or ultra would work well. I'm happy to recommend the a7000 as well. If you're coming from just tv speakers the a5000 is great too and you'll enjoy the clarity and cinematic sound. But if you have more experience with better sound systems it might feel a little weak and timid compared to a bar with a sub or more channels. Let alone a dedicated setup. And as much as I love a good subwoofer, if you have young kids then I can see you omitting it. Unless you're watching as a family then you're using it, if it's after their bedtime you're leaving that thing on night mode or maximum negative woofer. Though that's likely still a bit nicer than none altogether. The nice thing is you can always upgrade to a subwoofer with the Sony/Bose options. As long as they still produce the compatible sub though. I've also noticed after there's fairly limited options for audio adjustments with the new Bose bars. Maybe it's all done through their Bose music app. But I remember trying to help someone out and reading through the whole online user manual and more in depth options I was looking for were unavailable. Nice thing with the sony bars too, they'll work in tandem with the tv audio, which isn't fantastic, but does add to the mix. I do think the a7000 sounds $300 better than the a5000. It's not a world of difference, but more rich and lively sound with a more cinematic oomph.

Fairly comparable to the a5000 I think. Maybe a little better Atmos

I have a new A95L, haven’t set it up yet, but when I do I’ll be connecting my trusty Bose 300 soundtouch soundbar, which I’ve owned for the last 6 or 7 years. It has a great dialog mode, and gets used a lot when watching tv shows. Had it connected to my previous w805 and then A90J and its performed well. As it’s no longer sold, the updated version is the Bose Ultra or 900 soundbar.

TBH I don't like most budget soundbars in that price range. They are barely better than TV speakers and one day you'll want to upgrade them AGAIN at which point you're just out more money and created more e-waste. For an 85" TV I don't think these budget bars have the right punch to suit a TV of that size. I would recommend choosing from one of, in no particular order: * Sonos Arc (preferably plus Sub Mini) * Bose Soundbar 700/900/Ultra (okay standalone without subwoofer) * Samsung Q990D (you can find some online retailers that discount this deeply) Or if you really want to go on a budget, maybe the Q930 or the Bose 600. A good sound system is a long term purchase. Like I have a Sonos Playbar from 2013 and quite frankly even a brand new top-of-the-line system doesn't sound a ton better than that.

Love my bose setup. Been through a $4k 3.2 setup in the past and the clean and simplicity of a bose 700/900/ultra soundbar with sub is perfect.

Alright, I can’t remember how the S50A sounds (or even if I’ve listened to it haha), but I’ve listened to the Sonos Beam (gen 2) and Bose 600 very recently. Was really not impressed by them, but that might be my nitpicking too. With a gun to my head, I’d say the Bose 600 or 900 might sound a bit better without sub. The soundstage feels bigger than the Sonos due to the up-firing speakers. Just a note: while Dolby Atmos-compatible, the Sonos as a standalone is a 5.0 soundbar, it does not have speakers for the height channels.

Meanwhile using pass through from my Xbox Series X, with my Bose Smart Soundbar 👀. Glad I didn’t listen to you all, enjoy your lower bandwidth sound signal !

I'd pick the sonos. That being said you won't regret either one. Both sound great, but the bose surrounds are dated as fck if you ever intend to expand. Best thing bose has is that awesome sub which I think blows Sonos sub out of the water.

I have the Ultra and if the choice is between the two, get the ultra. There is a noticeable difference in the soundstage and the ultra also has room correction. The Smart is a good bar regardless if money is tight but the ultra is definitely better. If you’re looking at the Ultra price point maybe take a look at the Sonos Arc Ultra as well. I tried it but preferred the Bose.