The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is a beautifully designed package that offers some decent sound and has Atmos support.
The Smart Soundbar 900 is full of intelligent technology. It boasts the best sound performance possible, even in rooms with different acoustic properties. The best of Bose’s app-enabled features remain useful in this device, which is easy to set up.
The sound performance is impressive, especially when watching Dolby Atmos content or using the dedicated centre speaker. There’s plenty of width and height to the soundstage, and there’s enough power in all the speakers to deliver balanced and precise audio.
Pros
- +Slim and sleek design
- +Automatic room correction
- +Alexa and Google Assistant built in
- +Dolby Atmos support
- +Good overall levels of sound for movies
Cons
- –Price
- –Bass output is so-so
- –Not so great for music listening
Key Specification
- Width corresponds to screen size: 43″
- HDMI: 1 (eARC)
- Digital in: Optical
- Network: Wi-Fi (2.4 + 5 GHz), Ethernet
- Wireless: Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, Bose Music, Chromecast
- Voice control: Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa
- Analogue in: –
- Subwoofer: Wireless (optional)
- Other: ADAPTiQ room correction, subwoofer out
- Dimensions: 104.5 x 5.81 x 10.7 cm
- Color: Black, white
Design and Built
The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is an elegant looking soundbar. It’s 41.14 x 4.21 x 2.29 inches, which makes it smaller than the Sonos Arc and has a slim profile so it will work well in your living room if you have a low clearance space available.
The Bose sound bar is available in black or white. It has a glass top and metal grill that wraps around the front and sides. There’s very little adornment on the unit. Besides the Bose logo on front, it has two touch-sensitive buttons, one to activate the voice assistant and the other to mute the mic.
There are subtle buttons on the top left that you have to look hard for. On the top left is also an LED indicator to show you what functions the buttons control, and it changes depending on what function is being used.
Despite its size, this soundbar has a higher-than-average amount of input options. It supports up to four HDMI inputs and two optical digital audio inputs for connecting your device, as well as Bluetooth and AirPlay 2 for wireless sources. The soundbar also comes with Wi-Fi for a wireless sound connection to your network or you can use the Ethernet port for a wired connection.
The Adaptiq microphone has a built-in connection to enable automatic room correction. It also sports three inputs, one for an IR blaster and two for 3.5mm connections.
The Smart Soundbar 900 has settings that the Arc doesn’t. It can control the input, adjust volume, and access presets from your mobile device. For HDMI ARC functionality, you’ll need to use your TV remote. If you’re using a different audio source, you’ll need to launch the Bose Music app for all other settings.
Performance
The Bose soundbar sounds great and has tons of cool features, but it doesn’t sound as good as you might expect given the price. Dialogue is easy to understand and it does a good job with virtual surround sound and Atmos height effects, just not as well as the Sonos Arc. And the bass isn’t too strong while watching movies or TV — something I never thought I’d say about Bose speakers.
The Smart Soundbar 900 had great Atmos performance, but not quite as impressive as the Arc. The effect of rain in an Atmos demo video was more easily noticeable on the Arc than on the Smart Soundbar 900. When watching movies, we found that the soundbar did not have enough bass. But when listening to music, the bar was too muddy and lacked definition.
The Smart Soundbar 900 has great sound all the way up to 95 decibels. It is a little too sharp when it’s at maximum volume, but it’s still loud enough to fill a large room.
Features
With the app, you can choose Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant as your voice assistant. The soundbar also works with other smart devices so you can play music from services like Spotify and control your other devices with the app.
The Smart Soundbar 900 was responsive to my requests for how it can be used. The soundbar could play content, control smart plugs and other functions.
Setup
To set up the Smart Soundbar 900, connect it to your TV using an HDMI cord or optical digital cable. Launch the Bose Music app and follow the prompts. Don’t have a Bose Music account? Sign in with your email address and start listening now.
The soundbar has a built-in headset which automatically optimizes the speaker levels for the room. You don’t have to worry about how silly you feel wearing it — it’s worth the effort.
Like most other voice recognition software, the app has automatic “room correction.” Which allows your voice to sound like it is coming from a specific place, even when it is not. There are many manual adjustments including levels of speech and the center speaker volume with which you can increase or decrease the sound as needed.
“Foundation” sounded clear and resonant despite the limited bass the unit put out. Explosions lacked a tactile feel, because they were only in short bursts of sound.
The Smart Soundbar 900 is not an overpriced, unrealistic sound bar with lots of features. It has just three adjustable levels; bass and treble.
The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 pairs wirelessly with wireless surround and a wireless subwoofer. The Bose Music app lets you add Bluetooth speakers for multiroom audio without buying Bose products, letting you enjoy the same high-quality sound in every room and even through walls.
Price and Availibility
A Bose Smart Soundbar 900 was released on September 2021 and you can buy it from the manufacturer, Amazon, B&H and other retailers for a total of $1,298.00.
Final Thoughts
The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 has a beautiful design, it sounds great, and it offers a wide range of entertainment options. It is also Bluetooth capable for wireless headphones.
If you’re looking for a soundbar that sounds great and offers wireless devices, the Arc is the better choice. If you’ve got other Bose speakers, it would make sense to stick with a soundbar from the company you already love.
