In recent years, Bose, renowned for their incredible noise-cancelling headphones, have focused hugely on soundbars.
The Bose Solo 700 is a model released in 2018. It is a bigger option than the Soundbar 500 which was released at the same time, providing a bit more power and bass for your home audio.
So, how does the Bose Smart Soundbar 700 stack up against the opposition, and is it worth the price tag?
Sound Quality
Quality and clarity are rarely an issue with Bose speakers, and the Solo 700 lives up to expectation when dealing with everyday use such as vocals or listening to your favorite albums.
The only significant criticism of the soundbar is a lack of bass. If you combine this with your Blu-Ray player or streaming movies, you might find that it lacks the sort of cinematic punch a lot of people are looking for. However, there is a solution. The Bose Smart Soundbar 700 with Speakers + Bass Module is a little more expensive but adds a sub to the setup to deal with those cinema rumbles and heavier genres of music.
The speaker does not support Dolby Atmos. If you are looking for Atmos support then there are plenty of soundbars out there, but audio tech has come a long way since 2018…
However, if you want the widest-possible soundstage without Atmos support, the Solo 700 is a wonderful choice. It has two side-firing speakers that help to create a room-filling sound that is ideal for both music and film.
Tech Features
Despite the lack of Atmos support, the Solo 700 soundbar gives you plenty of modern features to link with the latest devices and enhance your home audio, whether you want to stream from a Blu-Ray player, a console, or your phone or tablet.
It has voice assistant support built-in, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and a universal remote.
The smart ADAPTiQ technology provides a room correction feature, and it adjusts to the acoustics of your room, calibrating the soundstage and frequency response to get the most out of the audio. If you’re the kind of person who wants to be able to make tweaks yourself, the Bose Music app allows you to set your own EQ profiles.
Is The Bose Solo 700 Worth The Price?
For a totally immersive audio experience, the Solo 700 falls short, and it doesn’t have Dolby support. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to stream lossless audio with an exceptional soundstage. The side-firing speakers set it apart from many of the soundbars that end up with underwhelming audio.
For those who use their soundbar for music (in stereo), this is a fantastic option, but to get the most out of it, we recommend combining the Solo 700 with the compatible subwoofer.
Combine a punchy bass with the wide soundstage and you will enjoy some of the fullest home audio possible with rich frequency response, without having to set up and calibrate lots of speakers. Without the sub, the audio can sometimes feel a little thin, and diffused due to the fact that the speakers spread the sound so much.
The Solo 700 has definitely been surpassed if your priority is immersive audio, but for a simple and elegant setup without the hassle of some surround sound systems, this is an excellent option.
Support IAA by purchasing the Bose Solo 700!
