Small soundbar, large Atmos sound

Whether or not you are an audiophile or you do not know your aux out of your Atmos, the possibilities are you’ve got heard of Bose. The American tech large is likely one of the greatest audio corporations on the planet, and is a model that individuals instinctively belief to ship good merchandise with first rate sound high quality. The excellent news? Typically talking, that is not far incorrect.

The agency’s newest soundbar, the Bose Smart Soundbar 600 hopes so as to add to that. It sits round center of the corporate’s soundbar providing and serves up big selection of connectivity choices – to not point out guarantees Dolby Atmos spatial audio from a single speaker, with no subwoofer add-on. Costing $499 / £400, that takes it head-to-head with the wonderful Sonos Beam Gen 2. However can it ship as promised, and the way does it stack up in opposition to its formidable competiton? This is my full assessment.

Design

• Dimensions: 56 x 694 x 104mm
• Weight: 3.1kg
• Wall mount obtainable individually

In case you’re available in the market for a visually discreet however fashionable soundbar, then you’ll be able to take into account the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 the final word box-ticker. Boasting a glossy and understated design, there is no doubt it’s going to complement nearly any TV it is plonked beneath, be it a humongous OLED or a smaller TV for a kitchen or bed room.

Anticipate strong plastic for the principle physique and a perforated steel grille wrapped across the entrance and sides – plus one other grilled part alongside the highest for the Atmos-focused drivers. It is understated nevertheless it works – it seems the half and feels strong with out shouting too loudly about it.

The perfect half, nonetheless, is the Sensible Soundbar 600’s compact measurement. By way of dimensions, it measures simply 56 x 694 x 104mm, and weighs in at 3.1kg, which makes it simply wall-mountable. Though – in true Bose type – the non-obligatory bracket comes at a further price. Grr.

Nonetheless, it makes it a very easy soundbar to accommodate irrespective of your house cinema setup, notably for these in smaller rooms who haven’t got the area to make method for a separate subwoofer too.

Options

• Dolby Atmos assist
• 1 x HDMI eARC, 1 x optical
• Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Join, Bluetooth 4.2

Whereas the principle promoting level of the Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 is that it is a compact and versatile all-in-one soundbar, there are different issues to shout about right here too.

In fact, the biggie is that it affords assist for Dolby Atmos soundtracks, however in a really completely different approach to Sonos’ Beam Gen 2.

That is as a result of, of the 5 drivers that yow will discover right here behind this grille, two full-range drivers fireplace upwards to bodily improve the sense of top by projecting sound upwards – one thing Sonos’ soundbar does nearly. There is a single driver dealing with the centre channel in the midst of the bar, whereas a racetrack driver at both finish of the soundbar give some added width, in addition to top.

These bodily drivers are supported by Bose’s proprietary TrueSpace processing. This claims to upconvert stereo and 5.1 channel sources into an Atmos-like soundtracks, with the identical sense of added top as you’d anticipate from a local soundtrack – however extra on that shortly.

Connectivity-wise, the Sensible Soundbar 600 contains an HDMI eARC port for lossless Atmos playback, plus an optical digital audio enter for connecting an older TV that does not assist HDMI ARC/eARC. You’ll lose all native Atmos performance over Atmos although, and revert fully to Boses’s TrueSpace processing, so do query your choice to spend the additional on an Atmos soundbar when you’re not utilizing HDMI.

A second HDMI enter to offer a passthrough can be a pleasant addition, although that is one thing that is not all the time discovered on finances soundbars – the Sonos Beam would not embrace one, for instance.

Wi-fi streaming choices are aplenty, too, with assist for Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Join, and Bluetooth. The Bose Music app integrates quite a few companies for streaming over Wi-Fi, together with Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, and Sirius XM.

From right here, you too can management the soundbar’s features, together with choosing your supply and adjusting the amount – there’s even an EQ for tweaking sound, in addition to the choice for including different appropriate Bose merchandise, like a sub or wi-fi rear surrounds, for a bigger system (although that might, partially, take away from the 600’s compact attraction).

In case your telephone is not handy, the Sensible Soundbar 600 comes with a distant within the field, which feels substantial sufficient for a product of this high quality – a far cry from these low cost clicky membrane gadgets that by no means actually work all that effectively. There’s additionally the choice to manage it through Alexa, or Google Assistant when you want, for the reason that presence of bodily buttons on the soundbar itself may be very restricted – it solely contains a mute and voice-control motion button on the highest.

Alexa can supply fundamental controls like quantity and monitor skipping, in addition to entry to music apps supported by the world-famous voice assistant. This works effectively – more often than not. In case you’re extra of a Google Assistant particular person, Bose’s soundbar additionally performs properly along with your voice assistant of alternative, supplying you with comparable performance when a Google speaker is linked to the community.

Alexa has the sting over the 2 for being in-built, that means it may well additionally use Bose’s Voice4Video function to manage features of a linked Sensible TV – every part from turning it on and off, to taking part in and pausing video playback and altering channels.

Efficiency

Get the soundbar arrange – which is so simple as plugging it in and connecting it to your TV – and serve it the easiest of its capabilities, like an Atmos soundtrack from Netflix or 4K Blu-ray, and the Sensible Soundbar 600 shines. Watch large blockbusters like action-packed Marvel movies, for example, and the Bose handles them with authority and confidence, producing a large, open sound that locations results convincingly.

In fact there are limitations to its capabilities, nevertheless it does sound larger than its bodily dimensions, and people top channels do a good job of including some elevation to the weather of a soundtrack that require it.

The midrange is strong and filled with loads of element, and dialogue is delivered with focus and readability. Bass is on the nice and cozy aspect, however managed, including presence to the soundtracks of thriller or high-octane flicks. It is a dynamic sound too, the soundbar having the ability to categorical any shift in quantity with out second thought.

There may be, nonetheless, an absence of decrease bass right here. In a comparatively massive room, for instance, the deeper rumble you may anticipate from a T-Rex operating amok round Jurassic Park falls slightly quick – one thing you may get extra from with a separate sub.

Some can also discover the insistance of Bose to have the listener embrace spatial audio at each flip slightly annoying. While you aren’t listening to Atmos soundtracks, Bose’s TrueSpace processing, which makes an attempt to imitiate an Atmos expertise from a non-Atmos soundtrack, is switched on by default – and cannot be turned off.

Whereas it may be convincing with some content material, and add an additional degree of immersion, it is not reliably so, and having some management of the playback on this sense can be appreciated.

Verdict

The Bose Sensible Soundbar 600 delivers large on Dolby Atmos sound for its value bracket, with an efficient efficiency that offers the sense of top in Atmos soundtracks you’d hope for.

Dialogue readability is commendable, and midrange element is nice, however whereas the bass obtainable is heat and strong, the decrease bass vary is underwhelming in comparison with these soundbar techniques that include devoted subwoofers. Anybody on the lookout for a deeper, richer rumble will need to take into account that.

Some individuals can even discover the soundbar’s insistance on spatial audio, even to the detriment of efficiency in some circumstances, irritating. It is a disgrace this cannot be turned off by the person, slightly than being on by default – and this loses Bose some edge.

On a extra constructive be aware, the Sensible Soundbar 600 boasts a compelling function set that many different soundbars fall in need of, and the app-based setup is sweet and easy too – guaranteeing even technophobes will discover it straightforward getting this factor up and operating out of the field.

In the end the soundbar’s compact design and all-in-one type issue means there’s a stability to contemplate – whereas aesthetically pleasing, there’s a restrict to its acoustic capabilities. In case you want one thing on the smaller aspect, that is most likely one thing you can also make peace with, however its large competitors, the Sonos Beam Gen 2, arguably comes with fewer sonic quirks.