Customers commend the Smart Ultra Soundbar for its exceptional sound quality, easy setup, and immersive Dolby Atmos experience. They appreciate the clear voice assistant, powerful bass, and sleek design. However, some users have encountered connectivity issues, with the soundbar occasionally losing connection or failing to turn on automatically. Additionally, the soundbar's price point is considered high compared to competitors, and the Bose app has received criticism for being glitchy and confusing.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
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Cons mentioned:
Connectivity
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
Premium plastic heafty price tag!!
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Picked up my Bose ultra sound bar- like new- open box. Worst pickup experience ever. Just handed over the sound bar right to hand with no packaging or anything to carry home. Took home connected to power and played music just to see Connectivity issues. Loss of bits. And the aacent grill popping out. Not bose standards. I own lot if bose products and i love them. But not this item.
I am sorry to hear that you are not happy with your new Smart Ultra Soundbar due to hardware and connectivity issue. If the connection is still intermittent at time, I would suggest resetting the soundbar following these steps: https://bose.life/4eiNvcY
Regarding the hardware issue, you can always contact our team to get further assistance: https://bose.life/3rykPZR
Best regards, Lau - Bose Customer Support
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Bose
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I am very happy, it is very good and pretty, it is very powerful and has a very good sound and a good price
Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Ordered an open box item that was categorized as ‘Exellent’. To my surprise, item was shipped by bestbuy with no box but just wrapped in plain plastic cover.When I tried to open, i got my fingers hurt because of broken glasstop. The top was shattered completely. I had to return it back. So pathetic , will never order an openbox item.
I'm sorry to hear your Smart Ultra Soundbar was not shipped as expected, and was broken to the point of causing injury when you opened it. The best thing to do here would be to work with BestBuy's support team, so that a satisfactory resolution can be provided to you. If we at Bose can provide any technical assistance with your soundbar, let us know as well. Warm regards, Fiona M. - Bose Customer Support
Pros mentioned:
Bass, Setup, Sound quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Immersive with clear dialog
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Pros
Neutral sound profile
Dialog easier to hear in movies
Good amount of bass for the size
Placement of objects with Atmos more distinct
Doesn’t require a lot of setup
Can be expanded to surrounds and subwoofer
Cons
Limited equalizer adjustment
Requires manual tuning
No instructions on pairing soundbar to app at time of writing
Wall mount brackets not included
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar could easily be mistaken for the previous Soundbar 900. Externally the appearance is identical with a metal speaker grate and glass top. While not a new design it keeps things simple making it easier to blend into your décor. Bose is known for making products that are simple and easy to use. The Smart Ultra Soundbar is no different. In the box you will find the soundbar, remote, power cord, AdaptiQ tuning headset, HDMI cable, and subwoofer cable. The subwoofer cable is only compatible with specific Bose subwoofers which they call bass modules. If you wish it can connect to the bass module wirelessly. Input connections are limited to a single HMDI Arc input and an optical digital input. This soundbar keeps its role to strictly that of a soundbar and does not serve as an HDMI switch.
Setup and Performance
The basic setup is straightforward. You simply plug included HDMI cable into the port on the soundbar and matching HDMI port on your TV. If you want to take advantage of music streaming and the sound tuning, you are doing to need to connect the soundbar to the Bose Music app. This is where things got a little bit confusing. At the time of writing this review there were no instructions in the box or in the app on how to connect the soundbar to the app or WiFi. The instruction manual makes it seem like you just press connect in the app and it finds the soundbar and connects. Hopefully this will be added but you need to use the remote to activate pairing mode on the soundbar. Through trial and error, it was discovered the procedure is the same as the 300 series soundbar. After getting connected setup was much easier and the firmware could be updated. The AdaptiQ tuning process is different than other sound equipment. While some using a small microphone you place in listening locations others have a continuous tuning process with microphones in the speakers. Bose chose to use the manual process, but the process uses a headband that you wear and sit where the 5 main locations someone would be sitting when using the soundbar. At first it seems odd, but it makes sense. Instead of trying to hold the microphone where you would sit, you just wear the microphone and sit in your normal place. There is no need to guess on placement. Of course, since this is a manual process, you are going to have to keep track of the headband and run calibration again if anything changes.
This might seem a bit old fashioned to the new style dynamic tuning, but it seems to work quite well. Since it knows exactly where your head is normally it can tune it to suite you. While it is uncertain how well it works for guest of different heights it works quite well for the family. Positional audio seemed more distinct than usual. For example, in Aquaman there is a fight scene with the queen is fighting. While the weapon sounds were too fast to get exact direction. The height of the blasts was not very distinct. Placement of voices was very distinct and would come where you would expect. When the camera panned left to follow the action, you could hear speaking to your back right. When the camera panned back to the right the person that was heard was exactly where they were expected. In the movie Blade Runner 2049 where he is flying to the orphanage and gets fired at you can hear the bullets pass from left to right and front to back. Also, as the canopy rattles you can hear metal rattling above you to the front left and right. Finally, when the harpoon hits his flying car can hear the specific place it hits. The latest iteration of Dune is where Atmos is the most noticeable. In the scene where Paul encounters his first sand worm you can hear the sand grains floating around the room but also voices. There are points where you can hear things all around, including above and specifically to the right side.
The TrueSpace processing confused the processing of trying out the Smart Ultra Soundbar at first. The TrueSpace processing takes non Atmos sources and attempts to replicate a more immersive experience. While it isn’t as specific to locations like a movie created using Atmos where sounds are placed deliberately, TrueSpace did give a sense of depth to movies. In movies that didn’t have Atmos or it wasn’t turned on it was adjusting the sounds to spread them out more. Essentially, if a movie did not have Atmos it would make it sound like sounds were coming from something much larger than just a soundbar. Dialog was less concentrated and sounded larger and more natural. Sound effects sounded like they were coming in front of you when needed without sounding like they came from only directly in front. While still not as immersive as true Atmos content it still noticeably improved the experience without seeming overdone.
Probably the only effect that could be considered overdone is the Ai Dialog mode. This is the first time our family has been able to understand dialog in some of our favorite movies. The effect isn’t just boosting the treble. It is hard to describe but whatever Bose did with the effect it did make even the hardest dialog intelligible. Going back to the overdone aspect, that is more of a necessary side effect. Because it is adjusting voices slightly you might notice that some actor sound different but in a way you can’t quite place. Their voices can sound just slightly different but not in a strange way. While you might initially notice it, it doesn’t take long to forget about and enjoy understanding what they are saying. If for any reason it just doesn’t suite your taste it can be disabled.
Where the Smart Ultra Soundbar might fall a bit short is the same area of any subwoofer and that is impactful bass. While the soundbar can produce a surprising amount of bass, it won’t hit hard such as during an explosion. For those who don’t care to have tons of bass and are planning to use this in a small to medium sized room, the Smart Ultra Soundbar might be enough all on its own. If you like to have a wider frequency range, like more modern music with more dynamic bass, or want to use the soundbar in a larger room then one of the two bass modules can help fill the space better. When you add the bass module to the mix the soundbar offloads some of the frequencies to the bass module allowing the soundbar to focus more on the frequencies it handles best. It doesn’t just add bass, it makes the sound richer.
While adding the bass module makes movies even more immersive, the unexpected benefit is how it improves acoustical music and some vocals. The addition of the bass module makes the sound of a bass guitar richer or even some singers. A surprise was listening to Hello by Adele. While the soundbar did a respectable job reproducing the song with an overall neutral tone, the addition of the bass module brought more richness to her voice. Trying it out on The Gambler by Kenny Rogers it made the crackling of his voice richer. Even listening to Metallica S&M it sounded reasonable full without the bass module, but adding to the mix gave the orchestra more depth. If music as Daft Punk, DeadMau5, or Marshmallow are more your speed then the bass module becomes more of a necessity. Regardless of if you decide to add the bass module one thing the Smart Ultra Soundbar does a nice job of is expanding the soundstage. Like movies, when playing music, it sounds like the music is coming from a much larger arear than just the small soundbar. It gives more a sense of size.
Final Thoughts
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is a well rounded soundbar that does a good job of keeping things simple while trying to address common complaints of soundbars over the years. If you are looking for a compact soundbar and prefer a more neutral sound or want better positional audio in movies, then then this soundbar could be a good fit for you. Just keep in mind if you have a larger room or overall like more dynamic and impactful bass you are going to want to add one of their bass modules as well to complete the package.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I've never owned any Bose products to date. This is my first. I know the name (who doesn't) and I know there are a lot of Bose fans out there. I'm happy with this soundbar to an extent but I do feel it could sound better. I wish I had the subwoofer to pair with it because I think it would make a big difference in my opinion of how this sound bar sounds. I know I wouldn't go any smaller than the 900 for sure.
I know this isn't really a big deal but I thought the packaging for the soundbar was subpar compared to some of the other high end soundbars I've purchased. It just didn't have the same WOW factor. Trust me this is small, just something I thought I would take note of.
Setup and connectivity was very easy and simple. The app walks you through and has you up and running in no time at all. Following the setup process, I calibrated via the AdaptIQ which involved wearing a headphone like device and moving to 5 different places in your area. My master bedroom is kind of small so I found it difficult to find 5 different areas to move to but the process is very straightforward and the sound quality difference is quite noticeable. I went to link the premium music service I use, Apple Music, and was sad to see this was not an option. ALL of my music is on Apple Music and its definitely a negative not to have this as an option.
The voice assistant works pretty well. I use Alexa so that is a plus. I find the AI dialogue mode which basically assists with hearing voices works quite well. I always have this enabled and appreciate the feature. Dolby Atmos content sounds really good although I wish I had the subwoofer to accompany the soundbar. I did a side by side comparison with my Sonos Arc and because of some of the issues I have with my Arc, I would have to choose the Bose even though from a sound quality perspective, the Arc wins, but not by much.
The soundbar appears to be very well made and aesthetically is very appealing and looks good in almost any space you put it in. I like the fact that I can link accessory speakers to this as well. I feel like those accompanied with a subwoofer would make this soundbar an excellent total package. I would recommend this soundbar though you may want to go with a different music service if Apple Music is your go to.
I'm happy to see that you enjoyed the ease and simplicity of the setup for the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. I understand that you are wanting to use Apple Music through the Soundbar, and this is entirely possible via Apple Airplay.
Using Apple devices, you can connect to the Soundbar through wifi over to enjoy Apple Music via Apple Airplay. Our online support page here https://bose.life/464vTgx has a guide on how to do this with both newer and older versions of iOS.
Of course we'd be happy to help you with using Apple Airplay, and you can contact us https://bose.life/contact if needed, as we'd love to help.
Nic - Bose Customer Support
Pros mentioned:
Bass, Setup, Sound quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal Soundbar
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Bose Smart Ultra soundbar packs quite a punch. It has phenomenal sound in a package of this size. It's very low profile so it should fit under most TV's. The initial setup is very easy to do through the Bose app. You can also enable Alexa and Chromacast to control the soundbar and your TV. The soundbar sounds amazing right out of the box, but once you run the calibration setup, it takes this soundbar to the next level. After I ran the calibration, I started watching some movies. The first one I watched was Elvis, and I kept looking over my shoulder because it literally sounded like there were noises and people talking next to and behind me. I've had other dolby atmos soundbars, but this is the first one that me looking around and thinking how in the heck is that coming from that direction. The supporting Bose app is easy to use and navigate. What I really like about the app is it gives you the ability to customize/EQ the sound. So many other manufacturers don't give you an option to tailor the sound, so I really appreciate that Bose allows this. If you're looking for an all in one solution and don't have room for a powered subwoofer, this is an excellent option. It has plenty of bass, but I will say that the only thing that could make this soundbar better is a powered sub in my opinion.
Likes:
1.) Incredible sound
2.) Excellent supporting app
3.) Alexa and Chromecast support
Dislikes:
N/A
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is a beautifully designed, simple and elegant. The front is the black perforated metal grill, covered on top with a glass (or Plexiglas) cover, it measures about 41” wide. It looks very similar to the Bose Soundbar 900.
Unboxing and setup:
The speaker is fairly heavy, one of the first things I noticed is how solid it felt. Setup was simple, I went with the HDMI ARC. The other option is optical – toslink cable. There is also a wired Ethernet port available. Using the app, I setup mine using WiFi. There is 1 HDMI out port on the Bose, no inputs. I’ve used other sound bar that has HDMI inputs as well, this one does not. This soundbar is not meant to be mounted on the wall, it’s meant to be placed on top of a shelf or entertainment unit. Once the soundbar was plugged in to power and the TV, I was able to use the Bose app to setup the WiFi and add it to my Bose devices. In addition, I enabled Alexa.
The next step was to plug in the headphone like device and have the soundbar calibrate it to my room. This process was very simple, using the app, all I had to do was move to several seating locations, the soundbar would play some sounds to assist with calibrating.
Sound quality:
With setup complete, the first movie I played is the Matrix, specifically the lobby scene! I really enjoyed the sound coming from this soundbar, the sound quality is very crisp and clear. As the empty shell casings were ejected from the guns, you hear the high pitch sound of the empty casing hitting the floor clearly. As I was watching this scene, I heard water seemingly come from the right of where I was sitting. It happened a few times, I thought I had a leak in my house, only to realize it was from the soundbar! It’s amazing that the soundbar is in front of me, but it’s able to project the sound to other areas of the room. Playing the car scene in 6 Underground, the sound quality is excellent, the immersive experience is tough to beat. From the tires squealing to the gun shots fired from all sides, it sounded fantastic!
Next up, I watched my son play Call of Duty for an hour, he liked this soundbar better than the one I had, lets call this soundbar J. The Bose sound is noticeably cleaner, less muddied then soundbar J, which I recently added. The only area soundbar J beats the Bose is the base, and that’s because it has a subwoofer. Add a subwoofer to this Bose soundbar and it’ll be perfect! The Bose is pretty good out of the box w/o a sub, but I would def add a sub to give it those heart pounding lows it truly deserves.
Playing music and music videos on the soundbar, as predicted was also excellent. Having good sound quality makes listening to music so much more enjoyable. I used AirPlay to send audio to the soundbar, it worked flawlessly.
Alexa:
I was able to have Alexa in the soundbar turn off the TV and back on, increase and lower volume, I believe I can change channels also, but I don’t have cable service. There are 2 other Alexa’s nearby from where I’m seated, but I believe the microphone is more sensitive on the soundbar, it picked up while the other 2 did not.
Conclusion:
I am very impressed with this soundbar, the rich, clear audio transforms my basement living room into a mini theater! Bose just raised the bar on subwoofers!
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I have used numerous soundbars over the years from virtually every major manufacturer, and this is my second Bose soundbar. The first one that I used years ago was, at the time, the best Soundbar I had experienced. So I was looking forward to seeing what one of their newest models could do.
Pros:
- A quick start guide was provided, but the Bose Music app does all the work for you. The app will detect your new device via bluetooth and then connect to your home’s Wi-Fi. Within minutes it was installing a firmware update for me. The download and install of the update took about 15 minutes. You will need to create a Bose account if you don’t already have one, or use your Apple ID or Facebook to log in.
- At the end of the set-up process on the app you will be asked to enable AI Dialogue mode. You will want to choose to do so, as this feature helps with garbled conversations that are difficult to make out coming from other speakers.
- This soundbar has built-in chromecast so if you are using it without a smart TV or without a streaming box of some kind, no problem! Alexa is also built-in if you want to use it as a smart speaker.
- Audio quality was fantastic whether I was watching movies, concerts, or streaming my favorite music playlists over Bluetooth. Dolby Atmos truly makes a difference when you are watching blockbuster movies, allowing you to feel more immersed. And if what you are watching is not Dolby Atmos-ready, Bose TrueSpace tech “upmixes” the audio track to make it more immersive than it would have been otherwise. This reminded me of how other tech upscales non-HD video content. Older movies I tested out sounded much better than how I remembered them.
- There are numerous ways to connect to your TV, smart phone, or other device: HDMI with arc, an optical port, Bluetooth, and also an aux jack.
Cons:
- Right after fine-tuning the audio settings with the included ADAPTIQ headset, I got a message in the app saying “something went wrong” when trying to move on to the next step of the set-up process . I had to close out of the app and restart it. Luckily, it picked up where I was at and was good to go after that.
This soundbar is certainly on the high end of audio options that are out there. But if it is in your price range, you will not be disappointed with its performance.
It's great that you have enjoyed the experience you've had from the Soundbar, and loved the quality of the sound from the Dolby Atmos and Bose Truespace technology. I am also happy that you had a great experience with the ease of setup, and the app picking back up from where the setup left off. The "something went wrong" message you received can occur if there is a minor connection drop, closing and reopening the app is a great way to quickly reconnect and start from where you left off.
Of course if you ever want help for the Soundbar, then please reach out https://bose.life/contact as we'd love to help.
Nic - Bose Customer Support
Pros mentioned:
Setup, Sound quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Bose new compact Atmos Soundbar
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Bose ultra Smart soundbar is the new king of the hill compact soundbar from Bose. This soundbar replaces the Smart 900 soundbar as their top 5:1 Atmos soundbar. The soundbar is piano gloss black with a forward facing metal grill that hides the front firing speakers and metal grills that cover the two up firing atmos speakers. The bar includes Dolby Atmos decoding for sources recorded with Dolby Atmos, faithfully reproducing the spatial sound. For non Atmos content Bose Truespace technology is used to upscale and create spatial separation to make your listening pleasure that much greater. The sound produced by the sound bar while watching movies and listening to music is fantastic. Bose has really nailed the Truespace tuning. If I found great separation in viewing my movies encoded with Dolby Atmos as well as non atmos titles. The AI dialogue mode intelligently boosts speech during noisy segments, making it easier to hear what the actors are saying.
The sound bar was easy to set up. You first have to download the smartphone app from either the Apple app store or Google Play store. Bose provides a QR code that you can scan that will bring you to the proper page. After I figured out I had to put the sound bar in pairing mode which consisted of pressing the mute and the music buttons on the remote until the light on the soundbar glows amber began t
indicating it was in setup mode. I chose the Smart 600 soundbar from the list as the Ultra is not listed yet (Bose presumably will add it at release time) It detected the new sound bar properly, listing it as the Bose Ultra Smart soundbar. You can then set up the WiFi. The Soundbar will download any updates at this time. Like its predecessor the Bose 900 soundbar. The ultra sound bar includes a Bose ADAPTiQ device to optimize your listening environment. You plug the device into a proprietary port in the soundbar and move around either holding the device or optimally wearing it on your head during the setup. The sound bar emits different frequency sounds and pulses and optimizes the sound environment for your particular room. It asks you to choose five unique positions in the room. I have to say after tuning the sound seems much more expanded.
The sound bar has two separate areas for connectivity. First includes HDMI( ARC) input, optical input, and ethernet and a USB C service port. The second area includes the power port, output for a separate bass speaker , the ADAPTiQ input, data and IR. The soundbar supports Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, Apple AirPlay2, Chromecast built-in , works with Google Home with Assistant capabilities and Amazon Alexa built-in for voice control It is also Roku ready and supports Spotify as well.
If you want to achieve great sound with a painless setup This sound bar is a great choice. Bose has taken all that is good in the Smart 900 series and improved it!
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This attractively styled Bose Ultra Smart sound bar blends easily into just about any decor. It has a sleek and aesthetically pleasing design. The all black unit is crowned with a stylish high gloss glass top with upward firing speakers on each side and cleverly integrated touch controls. Lighting is thankfully kept to a minimum which contributes to the premium, polished appearance. The 41-inch width and sub 2-inch height is perfectly sized for my particular viewing environment. I placed this bar in front of a 65” television that only has a 2.5 inches of clearance between the bottom edge of the set and the furniture beneath it. The previous sound bar was nearly an inch taller than the Bose and slightly blocked the bottom edge of the TV at lower viewing angles. This Bose bar does not obstruct any areas of the screen, even from viewing angles slightly lower than the television. An easily accessible wide cavity on the rear of the bar houses the input, output, and power connections.
The bar ships with HDMI and optical cables, power cord, and a headset for calibrating sound. The included guide only shows how to connect the power cable and doesn’t show nor mention the other included cables or accessories. The easiest way to set up the bar with clear, comprehensive step-by-step instructions, is to download the Bose Music companion app. It can be downloaded by scanning the QR code in the instruction guide. After downloading the app, it guided me through the remaining setup. I connected the included HDMI to the eARC input on my television and finished setup within the app. Setup concluded by applying a firmware update which took approximately 15 minutes to complete. The final step was calibrating the sound bar to the room using the included Adaptiq calibration headset.
Operation is easy and straightforward. The Bose Ultra can be used as a traditional sound bar and can also be used for streaming music and other audio content. I prefer traditional use as a dedicated television sound bar. No remote is included with the Bose, but CEC compatibility allows me to power the sound bar on/off and control volume through my television remote. The Bose Music app can also be used to select input sources, adjust volume, apply firmware updates, perform basic sound tweaks, and stream music or audio from the smart device. The app has additional sound settings but they are fairly basic.
I mostly like the overall sound quality, but I’m torn on how much. Volume gets sufficiently loud, and the bar has excellent clarity during spoken dialogue. I frequently listen to low volumes to avoid disturbing others, and this bar allows me to do so comfortably. I can hear every word of dialogue without using captions or frequently rewinding to replay something that I couldn’t understand. The high and mid frequencies are clear and well balanced. Sound projects quite effectively throughout the entire room and the Dolby atmos enhancement creates a cinematic style surround sound type environment despite lacking additional separate speakers.
There is no debate that the bar sounds good, but the lower end is where I’m torn on overall sound quality. Despite the great sounding higher end, this lacks the hard hitting impact that I prefer on the low end. The bass and lower frequencies are noticeable, but only enough to make its presence known rather than making my viewing sound and feel more immersive. I don’t want to merely see and hear things like explosions and thunder in a film; I want to feel them. I prefer the warmer, fuller sound that a good subwoofer provides, even at lower volumes. Deep voices actually sound deep. Helicopters sound and feel like they’re overhead rather than miles away. Music sounds more rich and vibrant. The right amount of deep booming bass truly makes a home sound system stand out. Neutral sounding bars with sharp clear highs but light bass seem too similar to the television speakers despite the vastly improved sound quality in other areas. This bar has excellent sound otherwise, but I can’t fully enjoy it without adding a subwoofer.
I'm happy to see that you enjoy the sleek unobtrusive design of the Soundbar, and the minimal lighting. The setup process as you've found is guided through the app, this is to ensure that you can get the full features available to the Soundbar right after setup.
You can find setup instructions on our website support pages here https://bose.life/3ETlZm9, and should you need a user guide for the Soundbar though. We do have one available here https://bose.life/3RBw4M1 as well.
It's great to see that you've been enjoying the sound quality provided by the Soundbar, and I can understand you would like more bass. You can adjust the bass levels through the Bose Music app, and we have a guide here https://bose.life/3PUtks6 on how you can adjust the sound to get more bass.
We can of course help you with any questions you have, or if you need help then please contact us https://bose.life/contact for support.
Nic - Bose Customer Support
Pros mentioned:
Bass, Sound quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
All purpose rock star
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Who doesn't love Bose? They're one of the most highly regarded audio companies in the world that produces some of the best home audio speakers on the market. I've had Bose products for years and have always noted their quality, technology and most important, the sound. I've yet to use a Bose speaker that disappointed me and that streak continues with this new Ultra Soundbar.
I decided to put this unit in my bedroom to use with my tv, for music playback and for Alexa. I was able to replace 3 different speakers with this one awesome soundbar. Since it's going in my bedroom, I'm not concerned with having satellite speakers or a subwoofer (thought this could change in the future). The setup was simple, power and HDMI to the TV. There are other audio out options but HDMI is the best for watching TV. This is a premium speaker, it feels solid and has some weight to it. Setup on the Bose app was simple, as was setting up the Adaptiq sound.
Everything I watch on TV sounds great; from news, Mets games to movies, the voice clarity is perfect as is the bass, center channel, etc. Music really sounds fantastic, but I have no idea if music is playing in Dolby Atmos, I'm not sure what is supported as of yet. In Apple Music, it shows as "Lossless" and when I use Amazon Music in the Bose app I see no sound quality status. I would love to see this in the future.
If you are going to place this in your living room, then I think the rear speakers sub will be necessary to experience true surround sound, but this speaker does a decent job of replicating it.
I know that this speaker will last me for years, looking forward to some updates on the Dolby Atmos compatibility as well as having Apple Music support in the app.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is the next generation of the Soundbar 900 from Bose. From a physical standpoint, it looks identical to the previous Bose Smart Soundbar 900 which isn’t a bad thing since I feel the physical looks and dimensions of this soundbar are close to physical perfection.
It’s not too tall so it will be less likely to block the bottom of your TV and it’s rather compact compared to other large soundbars from other manufacturers. Being more compact makes it easier to find a place for it in your home theater setup. But the sound it produces sounds like it is coming from a much larger soundbar.
The inputs seems identical to the Soundbar 900 and includes one HDMI (eARC), one digital optical, an Ethernet port, a service port (looks like a micro USB port), a power cord receptacle, a data port, an IR port, a bass port and a port for the ADAPTiQ headset.
The new remote is smaller and comes with less buttons compared to the remote that came with the Soundbar 900. In addition to the remote, the package includes an ADAPTiQ calibration headset, an optical cable, an HDMI cable, and a power cord.
Setup was very easy and exactly the same as with my previous Bose soundbars. All you do is connect the soundbar to your TV and power it up and the Bose Music app was able to easily discover and set up the new soundbar.
You should definitely use the ADAPTiQ headset to calibrate the soundbar to your room. I used the soundbar for a couple of days without calibrating and I thought the sound was a little flat. Calibrating the soundbar was very easy as all you do is sit around the room at 5 different places wearing the headset while the soundbar plays back a bunch of sounds.
After calibrating, the sound produced became very immersive with a wide and enveloping soundstage. You feel like you are surrounded by sound. I tried some Dolby Atmos demos and was very impressed. Demos that feature rain falling produced the most impressive effect for me as it sometimes felt like the rain was falling around me.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar also has a feature called TrueSpace processing which can take non-Dolby Atmos material (such as stereo and 5.1) and process them to utilize the new height channels. I didn’t see any option to enable/disable TrueSpace processing so I think it’s always on by default so I couldn’t do an A/B comparison on how effective it is. All I can say is that all material that I have tried (movies, TV, and music) were very immersive and produced a wide soundstage.
Dialog clarity is one of the most important features that I want in any soundbar and I have always felt that Bose performs magic in this area. I have always been super impressed with the extreme clarity of dialog offered by Bose and the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar continues this tradition. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar now offers something called AI Dialog mode which uses AI to improve dialog clarity. I found the results impressive but I couldn’t really say if it is better than the Dialog mode offered by previous Bose soundbars. I thought the previous Bose soundbars already had perfect dialog clarity and it’s hard to improve on perfection.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar can also function as an Alexa smart speaker, Chromecast device as well as a Bluetooth speaker.
The Bose Music App allows you to individually adjust the level for the center and height channels along with treble and bass so you have some options to fine tune the sound to your liking.
And you can expand your system with additional surround speakers and a subwoofer to achieve even better surround effects and movie theater like atmosphere.
This is pretty much the perfect soundbar for me. The only thing I would possibly have liked to see are additional HDMI ports and perhaps make the glass top a little less reflective.
Overall I think this is one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars in the market and I can easily recommend it to anyone looking for a Dolby Atmos soundbar. It makes everything sound better and produces a wide immersive soundstage
However, I consider it to be a minor upgrade to the previous Soundbar 900 as the only difference I can see is the new AI Dialog mode. If you already own the Soundbar 900, I would feel no need to upgrade to this newer model.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Bose Smart Ultra Dolby Atmos Soundbar is an impressive piece of audio equipment. Its sleek, minimalist design blends well with any decor, and it feels sturdy and well-made.
The sound quality is outstanding. Dolby Atmos creates a truly immersive experience, with clear dialogue and powerful bass. It’s perfect for movies, music, and gaming, making you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action.
Setting it up is straightforward, and it integrates smoothly with smart home systems, allowing easy control via voice commands or an app. While it’s on the pricier side, the audio performance and smart features make it a worthwhile investment for any home theater enthusiast.
This sound about right - Bose Smart Soundbar ultra
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This sounds about right - Bose Smart Soundbar ultra.
The box reads “this sounds about right” and the soundbar truly lives to that punchline.
The Bose Smart Soundbar ultra comes in a nicely packed box, and upon opening and unpacking you will notice a premium quality glass top soundbar is inside. In terms of the size and connection interface it appears same as the Bose Smart Soundbar 900. Has one HDMI eARC port, and a bunch of data/service ports. A dedicated bass module port, optical port. Package comes with bose TV remote, adaptiq headset, a minimalistic manual that instruct how to setup using bose music app, a cable (power, optical, and one HDMI). No physical button on the soundbar, but has two touch sensitive button – one for microphone and other for power. Set-up with bose music app is hassle free – took about 10 min to complete.
I had my previous bose soundbar (soundtouch 300) and, this sounds much better than that. The bass are deep to fill the room. DOLBY Atmos fill the room with kind of surround sound. Bose did a great job. TV dialogues are clear and feels directional. Streaming using Bluetooth and apple airplay also easy with no loss of sound quality. With the addition of bose music app you can bum up the bass and adjust the center and left/right channel that suits your mood. I increased the bass to 60% and I don’t need a bose bass module anymore.
The tiny bose TV remote looks cheap with this. I wish bose should have included a bose soundbar universal remote with this soundbar. I am going to buy one. Because otherwise you are limited to the bose music app on the phone. It is disappointing that bose is giving only one HDMI input port, at least one extra input port could have been there like the one was on my SoundTouch 300 and other soundbar from competitive brands. Because it limits you with the input.
Built in Alexa and Google assistant is the nice addition and works as expected. They are sensitive to catch up your voice even when music is playing. There is no compromise from bose on the sound quality and premium feel. So In conclusion This just sound about right!
Pros:
Deep Bass
Built in Alexa and Google assistant
AI dialogue mode
HDMI eARC
Room Filling sound
Cons:
Only one HDMI input port
Only Basic remote is included in the package.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This review is for the brand new Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. I bought this soundbar for my bedroom as the factory speakers in my 55" Hisense tv did alright, but I was hoping to get a lot better sound from a soundbar. This is my first soundbar that I've ever owned, though I listened to 8-10 different soundbars to see what sounded best to my ears and within a certain budget. Ultimately, I settled on this brand new Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. IMHO, Bose does a terrific job with their audio products by getting great sound out of tiny speakers. Whether that speaker is a soundbar, headphones, portable speakers, or even a home theater set up.
Right from the start, I'll tell you that you won't get the same type of surround quality in a soundbar that you'll get from a dedicated 5.1.4 set up like I have in my home theater, or even a simple 5.1 setup that I have for regular tv watching. It's impossible to do that with just a single soundbar. But, with a very good soundbar like the Bose Smart Ultra, you'll get vastly improved sound quality, as well as more spacious sounds that what you'll get from just the speakers in your tv. For the audio, Bose uses their PhaseGuide technology that simulates surround effects by reflecting sound around your room. And the
ADAPTiQ audio calibration adjusts the sound based on your room's size and shape.
My tv is not in an ideal place in my bedroom, it's in a corner. So, the sound that comes from the sides get reflected off a wall six inches on the left side, and 27 inches bounces off a dresser to the right. The two speakers that face up are in somewhat the same predicament of just being in that corner. But, even with my in the corner placement, it's way better sound quality, as well as the spaciousness of the sound that what you'd get with just the tv speakers. FYI, you can also buy additional speakers for the rear as well as a separate subwoofer. Bose also usually has an "all in one" set up for the higher end speakers like the Smart Ultra Soundbar that include two rear surrounds as well as the subwoofer.
But for me, I just wanted the one speaker for my bed room that sounded very good and at least with some spaciousness and more bass that the tv speakers could ever do. And while my corner placement for the tv and soundbar isn't ideal, it still sound pretty goo. The reason for this is Bose uses a surround process that uses either your Android or iPhone with their app. The app is free to download, and pretty easy to use to set up as well as register your soundbar.Using the Bose app, and this thing that you put on your head that's kind of like headphones, but it has a microphone on top. You plug this into your soundbar, and then by following the prompts from the app, you'll go to different areas where people will sit when they watch tv. I believe that I measured in five different areas. Then the distances are calibrated in less than a minute, and the speaker will sound way better than when you first plugged it in, By the way, the cord that plug into the soundbar that you wear on your head measures 22' 3" so you should have plenty of length to reach your favorite seating positions.
You can control the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar setting such as treble, base, balance, volume and more using the app on your phone or the included remote control. The remote control is very small at just 4.25 inches tall x 1.5 inches wide x 1/3 thick. So, it might get misplaced very easily. And just in case you're wondering, no, the included Bose remote is not back lit.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar isn't a small soundbar either. It's 41 inches wide x 4.25 deep x 2 .25 high. It weighs roughly 12.5 pounds. It only comes with a one year warranty. For this price, I really think it should be two years just because of how much it costs. For reference of the size of this soundbar, in my pictures you can see part of my tv. It's a 55" Hisense.
OK, some of you reading this may want to mount this soundbar under your tv. Great, as that's what I wanted to do. But, you really don't want to mount the soundbar a few inches under your tv as that will interfere with the up firing speakers. You'll want your Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar at least a few inches in front of your tv. If you do want to wall mount your Bose soundbar, those are something extra you'll need to buy from Bose or your retailer. They are not include with the soundbar. They're not exactly cheap either. They're about $39.00. Underneath the soundbar, there are two rubber feet that will protect what ever your sitting the soundbar on. But, those rubber feet are held on by velcro, and that's where the screw holes are located if you want to wall mount your Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar.
I also love the Bose Ultra Smart Soundar for listening to music from SirusXM. This soundbar sounds way better than the blue tooth speaker I was using. I'm listening through Alexa app +that's built into the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. This speaker also works with Android, Apple Airplay, Spotify and Google Home. Dolby Atmos is built in. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar also works with Bluetooth and WiFi as well as an ethernet port.
Overall, this is a terrific sounding soundbar. Then why only four stars instead of five stars ? The price, plane and simple. Many people may not want to spend this kind of money for just a sound bar, or can't afford to spend this much. Believe me, I truly understand. For roughly the same amount of money, you could buy a lower end home theater receiver, or even a really good used one, 3 speakers for the fronts, and a smaller subwoofer to start with, a 3.1 set up. And possibly adding two rear surround speakers later on for a 5.1 set up. But, if you just want one speaker that sounds terrific and produces a very good sound stage for movies, tv or music, then look no further. I highly recommend the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar.
Pros :
Great sounding whether it's for movies, tv or music.
Various ways to cast audio to it.
Dolby Atmos built in for decoding this audio format on certain movies and tv shows.
The included 58" HDMI cable to hook up to your tv's
Very nice looking and it has some weight to it. Not some cheap plastic speaker.
Very long, 22' 3" cable for the calibration of the soundbar.
Cons :
Short power cable at only 58" long. IMHO, it should be 72"
Just a a one year warranty. For this price, I really think it should be two years just because of how much it costs.
The price.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Might have finally found my forever soundbar. While my main entertainment system is run from a full home theater setup with amp and lots of speakers, I love immersive surround sound. The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar might be enough all on its own to be the one sound bar to keep mounted on my second TV setup. Audio is extremely crisp and clear and the Atmos height speakers are very alive and present. This soundbar actually sounds like it is creating fantom speaker sound field that many others claim, but rarely deliver. Plus once you use the ADAPTiQ headband microphone to setup your room. You can still tweak the audio levels with the Bose app in case the AI did not quite meet your sweet spot or you want a little more butter on your toast.
I am very picky with my audio. While an audiophile might have a perfect ear and paycheck to say they know what is good and bad. We all have different ears and like different stuff from our audio. I have spent plenty of money for soundbars that were not as good as the reviews said, to my ears. While I thought my last setup was good. The Bose Smart Ultra is the real deal. Once you do the ADAPTiQ setup by sitting in different spots around the room. The audio that is created does really sound like you have speakers in various parts of the room. And this is working with TV, movies, and very near perfect in PS5 games. Granted I would love to add the Bose wireless subwoofer and surrounds soon to see if they recreate a dedicated home theater. But for now, and for those who want the smallest footprint. This soundbar all by itself is great. And YES, dialog is clean and easy to hear. While I did try the AI Dialog Mode. I did not hear it improve anything. So, either I got it dialed in with the ADAPTiQ, or my ears can't hear or did not need that feature yet. Maybe Dialog Mode helps specific content that needs a boost and I have not encountered it yet. For reference, I'm 50 and believe my hearing to be very good. And yes, do think some recent content is hard to hear voices.
Overall the soundbar is fantastic. The bass is not bad at all, and one of the subwoofers from Bose would be nice. It might not be needed for most. The speaker is just very dialed in from the factory. Can't say it enough. The soundfield created is very impressive to me. Try it out at Best Buy if possible. The audio is everywhere in the room with music and movies. And not in a way that watching people speak on the tv is out of place or feels disconnected or out of sync. Put Top Gun (original or Maverick) on, turn it up, and if you don't believe you are in the bar scene, on the beach or had a jet just fly past you. Then clearly your soundbar is not the same magical one I got. The only let down I could find is that the app hiccups every once in awhile and there is no constant indication that the soundbar is on or more importantly off. It has a little light when volume increases or decreases. Other than that, on or off, its a black bar. A glow light when its on would be nice.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Unboxing the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, I was shocked at how similar it looked to the Soundbar 900. The weight was impressive and the glasslike finish adds an elegant touch, though now I need to figure out how to fill the space in my cubby!
Initial setup of the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar was relatively straightforward. I encountered a minor setback when attempting to use the app on my iPhone running iOS 17, as it persistently crashed. Even with a few resets and updates the app still crashes upon startup to this day. This led me to use an iOS 16-equipped iPhone, which fortunately established a successful connection. Once connected the rest of the set-up process was easy to follow the on-screen instructions.
The best feature of the Smart Ultra Soundbar is its seamless compatibility with AirPlay 2, which means I can use in conjunction with all my Apple devices and speakers. The best part was the soundbar's natural assimilation into my existing HomeKit framework, bypassing the need for additional setup – it simply materialized my home's audio list. I literally have no wires running to the soundbar aside from the power cable and it works flawlessly with my AppleTV setup.
When evaluating sound quality, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar consistently excels, particularly in the domain of dialogue articulation. Dialogue is crisp and decipherable, which is key in a room with lofted ceilings Furthermore, the sound stage made me feel like there was a wall of sound with multiple speakers. While not exactly the same as a dedicated surround sound system, it was quite impressive for a single unit.
As a beta tester of iOS 17 I won't deduct a star for compatibility issues. The iOS 16 device as a workaround, while functional, does underscore the need for swift resolution by Bose.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, coupled with its noteworthy audio prowess, is definitely and attractive option in the soundbar arena. For those seeking an elegant soundbar that seamlessly integrates with their Apple-oriented ecosystem while delivering high-quality audio, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar warrants serious consideration.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is my third Bose Soundbar. I have the Sound touch 300 and the Bose 700. I recently purchased a new TV and I thought I'd be able to get by using the TV's built-in speakers. Sadly, (yeah right) that wasn't the case. Since my new TV is Dolby Atmos capable and the 300/700 were not, I ended up purchasing the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar. Hookup was simple; one HDMI cable and a power cord. Alexa works great with one complaint. Alexa's volume doesn't mirror other sound levels from the soundbar like TV and music volumes. I stream a lot of music through the soundbar usually at a low to moderate level, however, if I ask Alexa a question the response is considerably louder than the volume level before the question. This can be startling at times. It comes with a remote, nothing as elaborate as the one that came with the 300/700. Actually, I very seldom have a need to use the remote. It is very small, and I can easily see it getting lost. The Bose App is ok, it gets the job done. The sound is great you will not be disappointed,