So the Bose TV Speaker is one of the most popular selling sound bars out there. Its very simple to use and it gets the job done. However, if you’re thing about getting a soundbar theres a lot of options to choose from, but today we’re going to see how the Bose TV Speaker stacks up to larger and equally as popular options, the Bose Smart Soundbar, the 2025 version and the Sonos Beam Gen 2.
Now first off, all of these systems are self contained systems, as in they dont need an external subwoofer cause they all produce their own bass. Now obviously, having an external subwoofer is always better cause this way you’re going to get a more movie theater like experience cause you’re going to have more bass, but everyone might not have the room for an external subwoofer or maybe they dont want to disturb their neighbors if they live in an apartment.
But with all of these soundbars you can use them with an external subwoofer if you want. However with both the Sonos Beam 2 and Bose Smart Soundbar your subwoofers are going to be wireless where as with the Bose TV speaker you have to use wired connection. But more importantly, you can only use rear satellite speakers with either the Sonos Beam 2 or Bose Smart Speaker, not with the Bose TV speaker. But in general, if you are planning on building out your soundbar, I recommend that you at least go with the Sonos Beam 2 to Bose Smart Soundbar.
But in this video we’re going to be testing these soundbars by themselves and we’re going to be comparing them to the build in speakers found on the Sony Bravia 3 TV which I feel is a solid entry level tv to consider. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these products up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button, and if you want to further support the channel then you can pick up some merch.
Now when it comes to the size of these soundbars, they’re actually all pretty compact and they’re super easy to place in your home theater set up. However the Bose TV Speaker is a little smaller. The Bose TV Speaker has a length of 23 and a half inches, a hight of 2 and a quarter inches and a depth of 4 inches. Where as the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a little bigger coming at a length of 26 inches a height of 2 and 3 quarter inches and a width of 4 inches. And then theres the Bose Smart Soundbar which has a length of 27 and a half inches, but its more low profile with a hight of 2 and a quarter inches and a width of 4 inches.
Overall, all of these soundbars are compact and they’re easy to place and they are all good options for wall mounting cause they are all light weight and they all plug in via a double barrel AC port so theres no external power brick that you have to worry about. The main problem is, none of these soundbars come included with a wall mounting kit cause they are all sold serpeatly. Which I feel is redicouls on both Sonos’s and Bose’s part cause most other companies include the wall mounting kit in the box.
Now when it comes to connectivity, all of these soundbars have an HDMI port, which is great. However the Beam 2 and Bose Smart Soundbar come included with an HDMI Cable in the box, as they should. Where as with the Bose TV Speaker, this soundbar comes with an optical cable in the box. Now an optical connection is going to work well and its going to get the job done, but in general you always want to connect your soundbar to your tv with an HDMI cable for the best experience. You’re going to be able to take advantage of higher quality audio formats and you’re going to be able to more easily adjust your volume of your soundbar with your tv’s remote.
But another major thing to keep in mind about the Bose TV Speaker is that it doesn’t have app support like either the Bose Smart Soudbar or the Sonos Beam Gen 2. Now you can still play around with the sound of this soundbar if you use the included remote, you can either increase the bass or increase the treble… but you’re not going to have as much customization options when it comes to adjusting your sound which I feel is very important cause everything just has different mixing these days.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set ups, all of these soundbars are very different. The Bose TV speaker has the most basic set up here. It has a single frontward firing tweeter and dual frontward firing speakers which are angled out a little bit and it has a single bass chamber with an exhaust port that shoots out the back. Where as the Sonos Beam gen 2 has a single frontward firing tweeter and a total of 4 speakers. 2 that shoot out the front and 2 that shoot out the sides. And it also has a total of 3 passive radiators. 2 that shoot out the front and one that shoots out the back. And then theres the Bose Smart Soundbar which has a single frontward firing tweeter and a total of 4 speakers. Two that shoot out the sides and two that shoot upwards and it has dual beam chambers with exhaust ports that shoot out the back.
And the fact that the Bose smart soundbar has upwards firing speakers is a big deal cause this is the only soundbar here that has true dolby Atmos support. And what dolby atmos is, its an audio format that allows your sound to have height, instead of everything just being on a single plane. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. All of these soundbars are playing at 70% volume with my preferred EQ settings and we’re going to be comparing them to the built in speakers found on the Sony Bravia 3, but those are going to be playing at max volume.
Sound test
So like you may have just heard, the Sony Bravia 3 actually performs pretty well. It has dual downward firing X balanced speakers which get decently loud, and thanks to the additional surface area, they produce a decent amount of bass. But with other entry level TV’s this built in speakers might not get as loud or their bass can become a rattling mess, but regardless, you’re almost always going to be much better off upgrading to a soundbar.
Now in this sound test, the Bravia 3 did a very good job of getting loud, distortion was not a problem and dialog was very present. But obviously, all of these soundbars managed to get significantly louder. Now when it comes to max volume performance the Bose Smart Soundbar is the loudest speaker here and it should have no problem filling a bedroom or a medium sized living room. And I also feel that this is the case for the Sonos Beam Gen 2. Where as with the Bose TV Speaker, this soundbar also manages to get very loud. But I feel that this soundbar is going to be better suited for a bedroom or small living room cause even though this sound bar gets loud… it doesn’t have all that much bass. So if you try to use this soundbar in a medium sized living room… yeah you’re going to be able to hear the dialog… but its going to sound empty or you’re going to feel like something is missing cause you’re not going to feel the physicality in the bass like you would with these larger soundbars.
And in general, the Bose TV speaker is a soundbar that going to be best for lisnting to dialog with. But more importantly, the Bose Smart Sound bar sounds a lot more open than the Bose TV Speaker thanks to the upwards firing speakers found on this speaker and the Bose Smart Soundbar is going to give you a fuller lisnteing experience cause you’re going to be able to much better feel the bass with this soundbar. Now the Sonos Beam Gen 2 also sounds very balanced and it also has a lot of bass… but I still prefer the Bose Smart Soundbar over the Sonos Beam Gen 2 cause it gets louder and it sound more open.
So with all of that being said, the Bose TV Speaker is a small and very simple to use soundbar that is great for listening to dialog with. This soundbar comes included with an optical cable, but you can always use your own HDMI cable. Now even though this soundbar get the job done, I do feel that its going to be better suited for your bedroom or small living room and you’re going to be better off watching talk shows with this soundbar, cause if you want to watch an action film, the bass is going to be lacking.
However, if you’re thinking about upgrading, I do think the Bose Smart Soundbar is a much better pick up cause its going to get louder, its going to have more bass and its going to sound more open and immersive thanks to the upwards firing speakers. And thanks to Bose’s app you can much more easily adjust the sound of this soundbar for whatever you’re watching.