9.8.2016

My family and I were excited to find a used Bose Solo 5 for a good price. Immediately upon receipt I called Bose to verify the serial number and authenticity of the product. Everything checked out and my family and I set out to compare the sturdy little soundbar to our existing 2.1 soundbar system from another brand and the various other Bose products throughout our home. What was our impression? Great overall, but in the end we are passing for one specific reason I will get to shortly. First, some general impressions....THE SOUND IS RICH - The Bose Solo 5 does have a quality rich sound. Indeed certainly a night and day difference from the tv speakers AND much richer than the Vizio 2.1.AT LOUDER VOLUMES THE BASS IS GREAT - We were all surprised to find that's Base on this little 2-driver soundbar was deep and powerful at higher volumes. We tested it on Peter Jackson's Hobbit movie where the dragon Smaug was taunting Bilbo. You can feel the bass in your chest! The 5.1 Dolby was properly decided by the soundbar and all the details of every tone (highs, lows and miss) were crystal clear. This may seem unbelievable but at higher volumes, the bass was actually better and more impactful than our non-Bose 2.1 system which has a dedicated subwoofer!VOLUME WAS SUFFICIENT - Many reviews that I have read on the Solo 5 complain about top volume not being loud enough. I found it to not be a problem. Keep in mind that the volt output of the source and max capability of the cable impact the top volume. The top volume from broadcast tv was lower than that coming from an optical table hooked up to an Apple TV. Another note is that the sound did not degrade on higher volumes like many of my other Bose products. With other products such as my Bose Companion 20 computer speakers and Bose sound link Color Bluetooth speaker, the bass seems lessened at higher volumes and the details get more muddied. The Solo 5 did not demonstrate that weakness. REMOTE CONTROL WAS SOLID - The remote was solid and easily programmed to work with our Sony televisions.TRUESPACE DIGITAL PROCESSING MADE A DIFFERENCE - Bose plays tricks with the sound so it feels like sound is coming from somewhere else other than the soundbar at times. I am not sure exactly how they do this but my guess is that they know the time difference it takes a sound from one side of the bar to get to your right ear verses your left ear. My guess is that they change the timing of the sound from the left side and the right side of the soundbar to make your brain think the sound is coming from elsewhere. The effect is not as pronounced as both sets of My bose computer speakers where the two speakers can be separated from each other more, but it is still audibly evident and exciting on the sound bar. BLUETOOTH SOUND QUALITY WAS GREAT - We were surprised that the quality of music via Bluetooth was comparable to music directly wired to the sound bar. Now for the FLAW, we could not get passed.....THE HIGHS WERE WAY TOO HARSH - This is the fault that ultimately makes the soundbar a no go for us. That is, the highs like cymbals are very harsh and stringent. The ukulele strum on the Disney song Lava, for example, hurts our ears when it doesn't on any of our other Bose products including QC 15 and 20 headphones. When the soundbar was hooked up to the kids Nintendo Wii U, the highs were very harsh when Mario would get coins. It sounded so tinny and high-pitched and nearly unbearable. We hooked the soundbar up to a variety of sources using all three input methods (optical, coaxial and 3.5 mm auxiliary) and the defect was there on all of them. So, in the end even though most of the sound was better than our Other soundbar, the one flaw made the Bose Solo fatiguing to listen to. That is, you had to almost strain your ears and enjoyed muting the soundbar for a listening break during commercials. Is the soundbar better than the typical tv speakers? Yes, by far. Are we going to resell the Bose and keep saving for a better Bose home theatre system rather than their least expensive entry-level Bose Solo 5? Yes, the harsh highs leave us no choice. Others though, especially those new to Bose - will find the rich sound very inviting. Also, I have come to trust Bose and imagine that the emphasis on treble is a purposeful trade-off in order to enhance the voices which is the emphasis of this particular product. Yet, in the end now having put the Solo through its paces, I understand way the soundbar has received such mixed reviews.

12.8.2019

Bought yesterday to get decent sound from TV because it sounded like people were talking through tincans, I didn’t want the bar,separate sub woofer and blah blah, now I’m not a techi person by any means I’m just average customer who needs the product to do what it says on the lid and the Bose Solo 5 does just that.I only discovered this product existed by typing into search engine mini soundbar because it’s what I wanted, I didn’t even know if such a thing existed because as I said I’m not techi, so read various reviews from umpteen different stockists, compared it with other bars, sometimes it came out favourably sometimes not, so I’ll be honest I was wary but size wise etc was exactly what I needed,

18.9.2018

I bought my Bose Solo 5 a couple of moths ago and paired it with my TV and set top box and have been pleased, but not overawed by the performance. However, I was unable recently to get my android phone to allow me to play through the speakers. I went to the Bose Solo 5 website online and read through the reviews and thought (from the general consensus) that I had bought a pup.The "most helpful" critic, although attempting to air his technical knowledge was unable to hook it up to his TV & satellite system and eventually gave up. So much for technical competence; I am 72 and at the wrong end of the technical spectrum but found hooking up to be a walk in the park.Lots of review commentators are derisive about the sound (mostly lack of volume)

11.7.2017

I bought my first Bose surround system almost 25 years ago and was hooked ever since. It’s true sound can’t be beat! I purchased a Bose Lifestyle 600 home entertainment system for the family room 7 years ago. It’s the definition of home theatre surround sound- truly the gold standard! I also have the Bose wave radio with built in CD, the Bose soundlink (which we use everywhere- home, work, pool, patio, lawn, on vacation, you name it), a 10 speaker Bose in our SUV, and just last week I purchased the Bose Solo 5 TV sound system.This is the only review I have ever written but felt compelled to so I could address negative reviews about this sound bar not being loud enough or not having much bass.

2.7.2018

I bought the Bose Solo 5 Sound bar from the Bose shop in London Westfield yesterday and I absolutely love it. It's the first Bose product I ever bought and of course I knew they were making awesome products. I came across this sound bar online after doing a lot of researches and I really wanted a sound bar that could increase dialogues as the sound on our new Toshiba TV was bad and even with previous TVs I was struggling to understand the dialogues sometimes especially with movies where the sound effects would often cover up the dialogues. This sound bar has got a feature on the remote which increases the dialogues volume so fills the job perfectly.

28.10.2015

The Bose Solo 5 sound system looks great and sits nicely under the tv. The sound is clear and sharp, details within high quality films and music is brought out very well. The solo 5 is a great piece of kit - but those looking for a surround sound system may need to look the other way, as this sound system produces great sound but I feel it didn't 'fill the room' as we thought it may have. It is only a sound bar so the sound produced did greatly impress us and would definately be recommended to replace the audio produced from TV speakers.Now I felt the remote was a bit unnecessary, with it's large size and massive amount of functions that don't entirely relate just to the soundbar itself,

19.4.2020

The sound quality is really excellent. I have a wood stove heater in my room with my 60 inch Vizion. In the winter I need extra sound and clear sound to overcome the fan on the heater. Without the Bose system the TV was up so loud that you could hear it outside. The Bose directs the sound straight out from the front where you want it, and it is very clear and full. The one thing that I do not care for is the giant universal remote control. I could not get it to function with my TV, so that remote is still required. My vizio does not have a channel changer built in so I have separate digital tuner to bring in the 20+ channels available over the air. That unit is not (apparently)

15.11.2015

The Bose Solo 5 is the first sound bar I've owned and I'm not sure what I was expecting but 'whoah'. I didn't think that my TV was capable of making this sound.From taking is out of the box and being able to plug it straight in, to the remote control commands being intuitive, the set up is incredibly simple. The sound is clear, crisp, distant and near. It's awesome for gaming, watching epic movies and kids TV. It has enhanced my whole family's viewing experience. We are so impressed.The Bose Solo 5 has improved my TV's sound quality 100% and I'm so very pleased with it. My only slight complaint is that the remote control seems unnecassarily large.The Bluetooth feature is very handy too for playing music.

14.1.2017

Sound is absolutely insane. Connects via Bluetooth seamlessly to any device I've got within seconds, no playing about in settings to connect it. Only bug bear (might be the brand of TV) but the remote doesn't seem to work with regards to controlling the TV. Doesn't bother me that much though. Had to turn the bass down because it started to annoy the neighbours haha. No lag between picture and sound that other customers complain of but everyone is different. Using the optical audio cable provided and it works perfectly. Build quality is outstanding. Really solid feel, doesn't feel cheap or tacky, looks amazing in black too. Does have quite a bit of weight to it but it's understandable.

25.10.2015

First impressions.I received the Solo 5 just over a week ago.I had purchased Yamaha sound bar equipment previously and I was eager to see how the Bose would measure up.My first notion was of how small the box was on arrival. I unpacked the 5 and was struck by the quality feel of all the contents (unit, remote and all the required cables etc)Other sound bars have had lengthy and often frustrating set up procedures, the Bose 5 had one connection (blessing) and played "straight out of the box"I had concerns that the 5 would struggle against the much larger, heavier and considerably more expensive types experienced previously.I should not have been concerned!Just like other Bose items the 5 produced a sound far stronger,

20.11.2015

This sound bar is amazing, I live in a flat with a reasonable sized living room, but was worried about getting any sort of sound system or sound bar and it annoying my neighbors. The Bose Solo 5 is perfect, the sound quality is incredible and the bass is deep and clear when sat in the room. When you leave the room the sound is not booming through the walls so I’m confident the neighbors aren’t being disturbed.At first I thought there wasn’t much of a difference from my TV speaker, but when you mute the Solo 5 and switch back the sound difference is very very noticeable. The main reason for buying this sound bar was for use with video games, (mainly Fallout 4) its adds a depth to the sound that draws you in,

5.4.2016

I was initially looking at the Solo 15, but ended up going with the Solo 5 based on a few factors..1. Sound quality was comparable.2. Footprint was so much smaller3. Lower price point than the 15The smaller footprint allowed me to just make room for it in my suitcase and bring it back from overseas in the box. Another pleasant surprise was that Bose includes all types of power socket cables (British, American, Australian...4 types in all). So a big thank you to Bose for that.The sound is truly exceptional for such a small system, and has really elevated my experience watching movies on Netflix etc. I no longer have to keep the subtitles on, and sound effects both big and small come out elegantly and clearly,

21.9.2019

So about this product. I had done some searching about this soundbar and there are mixed reviews some good and some bad. Now bare in mind this will not turn your living room into a cinema if you want that then get something else. This soundbar to me is perfect, the sound is clear and loud with the right amount of bass. I have had the soundbar now coming on a week and I can not fault it. We watched a few movies with it and the sound is amazing just what we needed. I used to have a samsung bar with separate sub and I just wanted something that just sat nicely under the tv. Its east to set up and comes with a all in one remote which is easy to program.

2.2.2019

For starters, I installed the Solo 5 to give me a much better sound experience than the notoriously horrible systems found in a majority of new RV's. Installation was simple and straightforward. The sound bar wasn't too heavy to use on an articulating TV mount and sits flush with the bottom of the TV. I did not have to pull extra wiring, cut anything, or buy adapters, which was a major relief compared to installing a surround sound system.I've found that the Solo 5 is a great addition to my trailer. I can crank up the volume to drown out the roof A/C or furnace and don't experience distortion. It puts out enough sound that I can angle the TV towards the door and listen to tunes outside.

21.7.2017

I bought this about two weeks ago. It was difficult for me to understand voices using the tv speakers and the sound quality was not that good. I connected the optical cable directly into our Spectrum cable box. This gives me the option to use the tv speakers or the Bose Solo 5. The quality of the sound from the Solo 5 was great. Being able to switch between the tv and Solo 5 I was able to really tell the sound quality of the Solo 5. Then I pressed the dialogue mode button and I could understand what people are saying in the shows.To check the sound volume, I ran the volume up to a point it could be heard on the other end of the house (my wife asked me if I went deaf) and I still had more to go.

Bose Solo 5 TV Sound System - Reviews

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