If you’re looking for a headset or speaker, you’ve definitely heard of Bose before. Bose is one of the most popular speakers on the market today. There’s Bose in home speaker, Bose for home theater, and of course Bose wireless headphones. Their Bose Home Speaker 500 is one of the most powerful speakers and popular as well. 

Just because Bose is a well-known brand and a popular choice, doesn’t mean that it’s all it’s hyped up to be. That’s exactly what we’re going to find out today in this complete, comprehensive Bose Home Speaker 500 review.

Pros and Cons 

When it comes to doing a complete Bose Home Speaker 500 review, we think it’s important to start off with the pros and cons before jumping right into the review.

Pros	Cons
Powerful Microphones	Short Power Cable
Elegant Design	Can’t Switch Between Different Tracks
Very Simple Setup
Responsive Controls
Nice Sound Performance

Review in More Detail

We tried out and did a complete Bose Home Speaker 500 review in different settings and situations to truly test out if it holds up to the headphone test. Here are our findings below…

Tech Specs 

The Bose in home speakers is a little bit larger than other Bluetooth speakers on the market today, but not too large that it’s obstructive. It’s not a waterproof device and is intended to stay inside. There’s a touch screen on the front that will display certain information and images and the Bose Home Speaker 500 is compatible with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth along with connecting a device via the mini-jack input as well. 

Design 

Bose in home speakers has seriously nailed it in the department of design. They create Bose for home theater, headphones, and Bose in home speakers with a simple, yet elegant design. They’re stylish enough to grab your attention, but not obtrusive and can easily blend into your existing decor. 

We really appreciate the finish and the products that were used to design the speakers. The small LCD screen that’s used to display the song playing and other information is a great touch and definitely elevates the speaker and the overall design. The screen is also a control center where you can do things like communicating with Amazon’s Alexa. 

With the nice finishes used, we’re not surprised that this speaker isn’t waterproof, but it certainly looks fantastic. 

Features and Controls 

When it comes to finding the perfect speaker for you, the features and controls are definitely an important part of the search. The speaker has a sensitive touch panel that includes practically all your controls such as your microphones, volume control, and of course, triggering Amazon Alexa. There are also some controls that allow you to play music back or change the source of the audio as well. 

We appreciate the fact that the touch controls are very responsive. That being said, one of the major flaws is the fact that you cannot switch between different tracks. We’re unsure why Bose in-home speaker didn’t include this feature as that’s something a lot of people would like to do. However, most people either set a playlist or control things through their phone so it’s not surprising that they didn’t think it was completely necessary. 

The Bose in home speakers has an insane amount of microphones, 8 to be exact. This makes Alexa or Google Voice Assistant hear you from practically anywhere in your home. Of course, with any Bluetooth speaker with microphones, they can always hear you best close by with not a lot of background noise surrounding them. If you don’t want the voice control you can simply turn off the microphone button and it will no longer be activated. Want it back on? Press the same button and the microphone is activated once again. 

Sound Quality 

In terms of sound quality and Bose Home Speaker 500, the sound is pretty top-notch and you should expect a pretty beautiful sound experience. Bose has years of experience designing Bose for home theater where you know you want the sound to be nice and crisp and sharp, and they’ve transferred that technology to their Bose in home speakers. 

Depending on the location of the Bose Home Speaker, the sound may sound a little different. We recommend it facing out and not necessarily towards furniture or the wall. 

Once you get the position down, you’ll notice that the speaker has a low bass border around meringue and overall a pretty punchy bass. The treble fills some gaps that are lacking from other sounds and we also noticed that there is a slight distortion level too at certain volumes. That being said, at 50% volume, you probably won’t hear any distortion levels at all, which is perfect for hosting a dinner party in the other room or listening to your favorite tunes around the house. When you hit 70%, that’s when you may hear some distortion. 

Even with the sound levels being not absolutely perfect, we actually don’t mind it. It fills the room quite nicely and with the presence of the two custom speakers of both sides of the Bose in-home speaker, it makes the sound reflect off the walls and create almost like a cocoon of sound around you. 

Speaker Comparison 

Bose Home Speaker 500 vs. Sonos One 

Many people are debating between the Sonos One vs Bose Home Speaker 500 when it comes to in-home speakers. We think that it’s best to compare the speaker to another compatible speaker and from a different brand in this Bose Home Speaker 500 review to give you a better idea of how this Bose in-home speaker compares to other in-home speakers on the market today.  

When comparing the Sonos One to the Bose Home Speaker 500, we found the two to be comparable and something a lot of people seem to debate. Therefore we thought comparing the two in our Bose Home Speaker 500 review post would make sense. 

The shape of the two speakers is practically identical with both having a rounded style shape. The Sonos is popular in the clean, white color but is also available in black as well which looks incredibly similar to the Bose speaker. The Sonos lacks the LCD screen which displays a lot of useful information while you’re listening, but also elevates the listening experience as well. 

The Bose speaker also stands out in terms of sound when it comes to the microphones. So voice assistant and voice commands are a lot easier to navigate with the Bose speaker, even in the noisiest rooms. 

In terms of connections, the Bose Home Speaker 500 definitely has the advantage over the Sonos speaker. The Bose speaker is able to be connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, while the Sonos is only able to be connected via Wi-Fi. This allows you to be able to connect a variety of other devices to the Bose Home Speaker versus the Sonos 1 speaker. 

Overall Thoughts

When it comes to the Bose Home Speaker 500, we’re pretty thrilled with the device. We’re not surprised with Bose leading the market in terms of Bose for home theater speakers and headphones and the quality and design of those. 

When enjoying music in your home, the Bose in-home speaker is a great addition. It features a nice, slick design that is on-trend and will fit into just about any decor style. We love the addition of the LCD screen which allows you to see what song is playing and other important information. There are some areas that the speaker is lacking like being able to navigate the songs directly on the speaker, but most people use their phones to control their device from other areas of the home anyway so it’s not a huge deal. 

Overall, we hope that this review of the Bose Home Speaker gave you better insight if this Bose in-home speaker is the right one for you. 

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