The soundbar has replaced the traditional sound setup people usually have at home. Remember those multi-speaker setups that need to go around the entire room just to simulate surround sound? Soundbars these days try to replicate the same sound in a way smaller form factor. Some do with a lot of success, while some come up short in many ways. Today we are testing one of the best soundbars you can get in the market, the Bose Smart Soundbar 900.
Table of Contents
Design
The Bose Smart Soundbar is hands down a very beautiful looking device. It won’t stick out like a sore thumb in any room, it has this very classy, elegant, and sleek look to it that definitely matches its premium price tag.
The glass top of the sound bar is sleek and doesn’t pick up a lot of fingerprints. The front of the speaker is made of metal that goes all around the device. This is in comparison with fabric that is found in most of the soundbars that you find in the market. Personally, I think it looks good, and the best part about it is that it is very easy to clean!
The whole design is very minimalist, you won’t find any physical buttons on the device save for a button for muting and unmuting the device. For connectivity, the device doesn’t have a lot of connections, only the ones you really need. HDMI out which is e-ARC capable, and an optical out to connect to your devices.
It comes with a small remote which you can use to control most of the functions of the soundbar. The basics such as volume, fast forward, play, etc. This is where you will find the bluetooth sync button as well.
Sound Quality
Long story short, the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 sounds great and will be the staple of your home theater system for years to come. The highlight of the soundbar when you first listen to it is that vocals really sound clear and crisp. We tried different genres of music, from musicals (Encanto) to rock music and vocal clarity was really a highlight of this device.
At the first audition, I personally didn’t like the sound signature that I was hearing from the device. It sounded a bit off, lacked bass, and instruments were drowned out by the vocals. But maybe it was just me adjusting to how it sounds, the more I listened to the soundbar, I realized that I’m stepping into a higher tier of sound quality.
Listening to We Don’t Talk About Bruno from Encanto, the multiple layers of this song were really highlighted by the Bose Smart Soundbar 900. Each singer from the song sounded crisp and clear, while the instruments had very good separation.
I fired up Eric Johnson’s Cliffs of Dover, a song that really emphasizes instruments, especially a guitar. I was really blown away by how tight and punchy the sound is. Every instrument was well represented in this song and it was such an immersive experience.
The only con I can give the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is that it lacks bass. If you’re a basshead and you expect a certain amount of low register from your music then the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 might come up short from your expectations. It’s there, don’t get me wrong, but it will never blow you away. This can be an issue with certain tracks and movies wherein a strong bass register would add to the experience. Bose sells a separate wireless subwoofer to make up for this and to complete your music setup.
On the cinema side, watching Avengers: Endgame, specifically the final battle sequence, each sound effect really popped out of the screen. From the clanking of Thor’s hammer against Cap’s Shield, to the grand score of the entire sequence, made you feel like you are inside a movie theater. Of course, the premium price tag comes with premium features like Dolby Atmos. Any content that is Dolby Atmos capable really adds to the experience of feeling like you’re at a studio or the cinema.
Dolby Atmos bounces the sound around your room to simulate surround sound. While it doesn’t go all the way to your back, depending on your room of course, it really makes you feel like the sound is coming from every angle. To make the most out of this though, you need to use the calibration system that Bose includes with the Bose Smart Soundbar 900. It tailor fits the sound signature and especially the spatial surround sound to the room you are in. This elevates the sound and really creates better sound quality for the end user.
Features
The Bose Soundbar 900 comes with the basic features you would find in any soundbar as well as others for added convenience. The basic inputs are there such as HDMI, and optical out. Bluetooth is available as well for easy streaming.
If you really want to complete the experience, users can also add more speakers such as the Bose Surround Speakers 700 to complete a surround sound setup and the Bose Bass Module 700 subwoofer.
Users can also use the Bose app to control various functions of the soundbar as well as controlling different streaming services such as Spotify, Deezer, Tune-In and Amazon Music. It’s also capable of connecting through Apple Music via Airplay 2 or Spotify Connect.
Just a quick note by the way, the only way to get Dolby Atmos to work is through the HDMI eARC cable, so that’s very important.
Verdict
The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is most likely the prettiest and most stylish soundbar you can find on the market. It doesn’t take up a lot of space and provides a very modern and minimalistic look anywhere you place it. It offers most of the convenience features that one looks for in a soundbar, or any device today. It’s very easy to just turn it on and connect to it and start enjoying listening to music. But if you give it time and give it the right source of music, the soundbar just really pops.
And if you really want to go all out and have your own cinema at home, I suggest grabbing the Bose Surround Speakers 700 as well as the Bose Bass Module 700 subwoofer to complete the setup. You’ll never want to get out of your couch again.
Anybody who gets the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 will not be disappointed, it ticks all the right boxes when it comes to sound, albeit a bit lacking in bass. It has a sound that will definitely fill a room up and it’s an experience you probably cannot go back from. Other soundbars will end up just sounding second fiddle next to the Bose Smart Soundbar 900. Yes, that’s probably an obvious thing to say given that the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 isn’t the cheapest soundbar in the market, but relative to its competition, it doesn’t have a lot of compromises and gives most people the best sound experience they’ve ever had.
