I have been a loyal Bose user ever since I purchased my first iDock way back when to place my iPod on top of to listen to in a 2002 SUV that I drove for 14 years(!!!). I’ve tried have had many premium brand stereo systems mostly in cars have purchased a couple of other Bluetooth speakers that were much cheaper as they had good reviews along with recommendations indeed they were good but not Bose good. Other brands included BO, Harman Kardan, Beats, premium SONY systems others - most at about the same price range. #1 thing that sets this brand apart for me is the clarity- it’s unbelievable…I’m someone who loves my music loud with bass treble maxed who loves hip hop rap music along with classic rock RB. When you’re maxing out the volume level especially when you’re ... MoreI have been a loyal Bose user ever since I purchased my first iDock way back when to place my iPod on top of to listen to in a 2002 SUV that I drove for 14 years(!!!). I’ve tried have had many premium brand stereo systems mostly in cars have purchased a couple of other Bluetooth speakers that were much cheaper as they had good reviews along with recommendations indeed they were good but not Bose good. Other brands included BO, Harman Kardan, Beats, premium SONY systems others - most at about the same price range. #1 thing that sets this brand apart for me is the clarity- it’s unbelievable…I’m someone who loves my music loud with bass treble maxed who loves hip hop rap music along with classic rock RB. When you’re maxing out the volume level especially when you’re playing music that often causes the actual speakers (or rear view mirror -lol) to vibrate it’s most often the case, as it was with the brands listed above that the music loses a bit of it’s potency as it becomes less clear sharp- no Bose I’ve ever had including my Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones II Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 before that has ever been anything but clear clean sounding just as intended to be. This product in particular is so conveniently sized easy to travel with- the sound output is incredible for the size - it can get as loud as I’ll ever need it to works wonderful when paired with my MacBook Air while watching Netflix or any of the other streaming platforms on it. The Bluetooth connects seamlessly quickly to it as well as to my phone (also Apple) - I seldom have to move it to another room as you can set the volume high enough to hear it from rooms away. Although more expensive, it’s competitively priced with peer products often less. My only wish is that it was wireless like many of the newer models (this one is about 2 years old), however I’m it sure if the wireless have as much power. However, there’s just one cord that fits nicely underneath the base and it can’t be seen if you run it straight out from the back the unit is very sleek nice looking. Very solid, I don’t worry about the cord ever getting comprised expect to be using this for as long as Bluetooth is still the “thing”- my iDock unfortunately is just about obsolete now only being able to use it with my still working well iPod but that’s it just a matter of time before my iPod goes…. If you’re in the market for something like this, make sure to consider it. Bose also sells refurbished ones on their website at great deals - often like $100 off if you’re lucky enough to find one open-boxed at Best Buy then that’s a score too. The brand is always coming out with new improved products so it’s not too difficult to find a sale on their site if you check regularly. It also has phone Alexa features button I do not use Alexa so cannot speak to that. There’s also a screen on the front side that tells you which Bluetooth it is hooked to what you’re listening to which is very nice. Love this speaker- the sound in all aspects - clarity, dimension (sounds like surround sound), power volume capability doesn’t look possible given the size but it’s the real deal!

Absolutely brilliant speaker. But...

This speaker is amazing, the sound is better than any other smart speaker I have heard, including the market leader. I have tested it on everything from Queen to Wagner and it all sounds great. For such a small speaker it's output is incredible - I haven't felt the need to crank the volume up to anywhere near its full range. I have given it four stars rather than the five you would expect for such a quality product, because it has one drawback. For a smart speaker, it just isn't that smart. It was easy enough to set up and it picked up my existing Alexa skills, operating smart home devices straight away. It picked up Spotify as a default streaming service and played my own music collection via Airplay no problem. It just about spat out Apple Music, it didn't want ... MoreThis speaker is amazing, the sound is better than any other smart speaker I have heard, including the market leader. I have tested it on everything from Queen to Wagner and it all sounds great. For such a small speaker it's output is incredible - I haven't felt the need to crank the volume up to anywhere near its full range. I have given it four stars rather than the five you would expect for such a quality product, because it has one drawback. For a smart speaker, it just isn't that smart. It was easy enough to set up and it picked up my existing Alexa skills, operating smart home devices straight away. It picked up Spotify as a default streaming service and played my own music collection via Airplay no problem. It just about spat out Apple Music, it didn't want anything to do with it for reasons best known to itself and it really doesn't like switching between platforms. Every time I listen to iPlayer it's visual display stops working when I return to something else - it's irritating but not earth shattering - at the premium price you would expect more?

Amazing sound from such a small system!

I purchased a Sonos Move at the same time and had it set up a few days before my Bose 500 was delivered. I had already convinced myself that I’d just return the Bose 500 when it arrived because I was quite satisfied with the Sonos Move. The charging dock and the ability to move it from room to room were icing on the cake to what I already had decided was a fine sound profile. It sounded sufficiently loud and had a deep bass that was great after a couple adjustments were made.Well, the Bose 500 arrived and I unpacked it just to try it out before mailing it back. It had been on the market for longer and didn’t seem like it was going to be able to keep up. It was smaller and the design language seemed more “classic” than the Sonos Move. I plugged it in and let it ... MoreI purchased a Sonos Move at the same time and had it set up a few days before my Bose 500 was delivered. I had already convinced myself that I’d just return the Bose 500 when it arrived because I was quite satisfied with the Sonos Move. The charging dock and the ability to move it from room to room were icing on the cake to what I already had decided was a fine sound profile. It sounded sufficiently loud and had a deep bass that was great after a couple adjustments were made.Well, the Bose 500 arrived and I unpacked it just to try it out before mailing it back. It had been on the market for longer and didn’t seem like it was going to be able to keep up. It was smaller and the design language seemed more “classic” than the Sonos Move. I plugged it in and let it perform a quick software update. (The Sonos Move did the same thing out for f the box.) I queued up the same streaming service and song on each device and started the song on the Sonos Move first. It sounded great. I was used to the sound profile and thought it wouldn’t even be a contest based on the difference in size alone.I was … wrong. The moment the Bose 500 started to play the same song, I thought something was wrong with my ears. It felt like my ears had been plugged and someone pulled out the earplugs when the Bose 500 started playing. The sound profile was clear and punchy. At the same percentage volume, it was louder by a little and yet clearer - if that makes sense. I played through another song and that made the once acceptable sound profile from the Sonos Move sound muddy in the middle by comparison. The bass seemed lower and fuller from the Sonos Move, but it seems to be at the expense of the overall sound. I started packing up the Sonos Move immediately and I returned the Sonos Move that same night. I’ve been happy ever since.By the way, the one feature the Bose 500 has over the Sonos Move that I didn’t appreciate in this day of cordless connectivity is an AUX port. The screen is nice, but it’s not a feature I need with a decent app. The Bose 500 and Sonos Move have fine apps, but it’s nice to know I have an AUX port for when the device becomes “obsolete.” It will happen for both at some point, but having a “dumb” feature on a “smart” speaker is a nice touch. The Bose 500 is also $50 less than the Sonos Move, but that’s negligible at this price point.Overall, I’m happy with the Bose 500 and have zero regrets.

Consistently Frustrating

The sound is great .. when it works. Setting it up was quick and easy, that lasted about two days and then it would not stay connected to the voice assistant without going through the reset. Then it wouldn’t work without doing a full factory reset. Okay, so it is a little glitchy. Still wouldn’t work consistently after a factory reset so Bose sent a replacement unit. Second unit is also glitchy, just had to do another reset for the third time after the first week of use. Different set of error messages this time, but same lack of consistency in usability. It shouldn’t need to go through a reboot and/or reset every two to three days to work properly.*Does not stay connected to a voice assistant*Does not keep preset stations, they disappear and then when trying to ... MoreThe sound is great .. when it works. Setting it up was quick and easy, that lasted about two days and then it would not stay connected to the voice assistant without going through the reset. Then it wouldn’t work without doing a full factory reset. Okay, so it is a little glitchy. Still wouldn’t work consistently after a factory reset so Bose sent a replacement unit. Second unit is also glitchy, just had to do another reset for the third time after the first week of use. Different set of error messages this time, but same lack of consistency in usability. It shouldn’t need to go through a reboot and/or reset every two to three days to work properly.*Does not stay connected to a voice assistant*Does not keep preset stations, they disappear and then when trying to set the preset again a message “cannot be preset” appears even though it was a preset station before*Bypassing the voice assistant to control through the app has also been inconsistent, attaching photos of the two most recent error messages when trying to control through the app.Completely frustrating product that is not worth the hassle.

Fine Sound - Wonky App - Caveat Emptor

ose is the master of psychoacoustics, and has been for many decades. I purchased the 500 to operate connected to two three Home Speaker 300s, two of them brand new and one rebuilt by Bose. The Smart Speaker 500 produces fine detail and clean sound with crisp, tight bass. It never gets to an ear-splitting level, and the bass output will not rumble the walls and floors, but is plenty loud enough for entertaining. It is high quality sound that is a pleasure to listen to, especially with good recordings. The pleasure ends there, however. Any consumer product should be easy to use and reliable, without exceptional troubleshooting efforts. It appears as though the Bose music app is an underdeveloped, unstable disaster. I got the feeling that I was beta-testing the app for ... Moreose is the master of psychoacoustics, and has been for many decades. I purchased the 500 to operate connected to two three Home Speaker 300s, two of them brand new and one rebuilt by Bose. The Smart Speaker 500 produces fine detail and clean sound with crisp, tight bass. It never gets to an ear-splitting level, and the bass output will not rumble the walls and floors, but is plenty loud enough for entertaining. It is high quality sound that is a pleasure to listen to, especially with good recordings. The pleasure ends there, however. Any consumer product should be easy to use and reliable, without exceptional troubleshooting efforts. It appears as though the Bose music app is an underdeveloped, unstable disaster. I got the feeling that I was beta-testing the app for Bose at the cost of the speakers that I purchased. Bose should be paying me for my field testing efforts! I placed the 500 and 300s around the house to provide room-to-room sound. It was great while it lasted, that is when they occasionally worked as a group. Most of the time they would not connect, and when all of them did, the connection would not last. Once underway with a four speaker group, the app displayed the error message “connection to the product has been lost”, usually within 30 minutes or so. I could not disconnect any of the paired speakers at that point, and there was no control of the master volume or that of the individual speakers. Bluetooth is apparently used to communicate with and control the primary connection speaker in a group, so I placed my iPhone as the control source within 10 to 15 feet of it at all times, to ensure that it was not out of range. Some speakers could become "Not Available" at any time. At start up, this meant that I was simply not going to be able to use them. This was the case for the two new 300s every time I attempted to boot them up for use. During group play the “Not Available” message meant that all speakers were out of control. I “could not adjust the volume or remove them from the group. “Something went wrong. C3" was also a frequent one-size-fits-all error message that would pop up at any time. After 4 or 5 days of 3 to 4 hours each day trying to debug these problems through product restarts, firmware updates, reloading the app numerous times on my iPhone, etc. I am throwing in the towel and returning them. I have a long time career as an engineer and still found all of this frustrating and disappointing. I can only imagine the infuriation of a consumer without technical know-how trying to make these things work as advertised. I get the impression that Bose is desperately trying to play catch up with its competitors, one of whom has been in the wifi speaker business for 20 or more years, and they rushed the Smart and Home speakers to market without completing app software development to get a foot in the door. I haven’t experienced software this wonky since the days before the advent of the Microsoft Windows 7 OS. Once I regain my confidence, and some of my funds for toy expenditures, I may try other manufacturers' products as an alternative. That is, if this experience didn’t drive me back to a hard-wired two channel audiophile stereo system. From the days of the 901 and the Wave Radio to this. Hey Bose, what happened?

Good sound

As an old ex-sound engineer, I had an inclination towards Bose, even though I do use competitors products at home.I was torn between this and another well known brand and had to bring my decision to quality vs price point.This is clearly a winner in quality and price. Most speakers in this bracket don't have the clarity, depth and spacial awareness Bose brings to the party.This speaker works well in average size living areas bouncing off walls and providing g a real dimension to sound.It's competitor does a bigger 5 way speaker but the price is off putting for what you get.With this, you get a great sound and some nice depth without over compensating bass.My negative point would be that I'd like a bit more headroom on volume. Just a bit more to make it a ... MoreAs an old ex-sound engineer, I had an inclination towards Bose, even though I do use competitors products at home.I was torn between this and another well known brand and had to bring my decision to quality vs price point.This is clearly a winner in quality and price. Most speakers in this bracket don't have the clarity, depth and spacial awareness Bose brings to the party.This speaker works well in average size living areas bouncing off walls and providing g a real dimension to sound.It's competitor does a bigger 5 way speaker but the price is off putting for what you get.With this, you get a great sound and some nice depth without over compensating bass.My negative point would be that I'd like a bit more headroom on volume. Just a bit more to make it a party rather than a loud room speaker.I'd also like a bit more intuitive instruction to functionality, but I could also be showing my age here.Overall, I like it and fits well for my use. Can't quibble on price and have no regrets unlike some other sound purchases I have made recently.

Great overall speaker for dedicated home use

I have been using this speaker for about six months now. Yes, it is pricey, but the audio is fantastic for a speaker this size and it is stereo. The highs and mids are very clear and nuanced, and the bass is surprisingly deep and punchy, again for a speaker its size. I personally love that artwork is displayed on the screen when using the Bose app to play music (for me this has been Amazon Music and SiriusXM through the Bose app - artwork doesn't really work when sending through Bluetooth). The Bluetooth connectivity is nice and the voice integration with Alexa is very convenient. The Bose control app works great and integrates almost perfectly with Amazon Music. The app controlling SiriusXM is a bit flawed as all of my saved favorite channels are not listed. Not ... MoreI have been using this speaker for about six months now. Yes, it is pricey, but the audio is fantastic for a speaker this size and it is stereo. The highs and mids are very clear and nuanced, and the bass is surprisingly deep and punchy, again for a speaker its size. I personally love that artwork is displayed on the screen when using the Bose app to play music (for me this has been Amazon Music and SiriusXM through the Bose app - artwork doesn't really work when sending through Bluetooth). The Bluetooth connectivity is nice and the voice integration with Alexa is very convenient. The Bose control app works great and integrates almost perfectly with Amazon Music. The app controlling SiriusXM is a bit flawed as all of my saved favorite channels are not listed. Not sure if this is on Bose's side or SiriusXM? Meaning, not sure if SiriusXM limits the Bose app to only displaying channels that are not specific to SiriusXM's own app. This can be worked around by connecting to the speaker by Bluetooth and just using the SiriusXM app. Also, the ability to save specific SiriusXM or Amazon Music channels or playlists to the six Favorite buttons on the speaker is extremely convenient. All in all I have been very happy with the investment in this speaker.

It's just ok but ?

I've two soundtouch 10s both paired both sound great when turned up. Always craved for the Soundtouch 30 awesome speaker but sadly a deleted item. So I got to know the 500 series, by playing with it store. So finally got one, as soon as I got home I hooked it up. It took me over 40 mins to finally set up the wifi ! But after that it all came together. Very disappointed that it won't pair with the Soundtouch 10s but paid big bucks so it should make up for better sound ? First I don't care about Alexa assist, I am a bit old school so the Tunein and Spotify apps are all I'm after. I do not like the settings control for the volume,when decreasing or increasing volume it either goes up or down in sections. It jumps from normal to loud very fast or visa Versa. My ... MoreI've two soundtouch 10s both paired both sound great when turned up. Always craved for the Soundtouch 30 awesome speaker but sadly a deleted item. So I got to know the 500 series, by playing with it store. So finally got one, as soon as I got home I hooked it up. It took me over 40 mins to finally set up the wifi ! But after that it all came together. Very disappointed that it won't pair with the Soundtouch 10s but paid big bucks so it should make up for better sound ? First I don't care about Alexa assist, I am a bit old school so the Tunein and Spotify apps are all I'm after. I do not like the settings control for the volume,when decreasing or increasing volume it either goes up or down in sections. It jumps from normal to loud very fast or visa Versa. My soundtouch when paired fills the room but this 500 I feel does not ! I also think the Soundtouch 10s sound much better for clarity and a smoother bass,the 500 bass sounds like it doesn't not work in rhythm with the flow of the output. It's just thumping away when it should be smoother. I have Bose headphones, 3 soundplates and the two Soundtouch 10s and I'm a bit disappointed with the 500 so far but I'll give another few months if not I will sell it and use that money to track down a Soundtouch 30

bose is obviously not a software company

The hardware sounds excellent when plugged in directly via a cable, but to use anything else, you need to use their Bose app. my iphone paired with the unit fine, the wifi connected successfully, the correct unit was found by the app and then I get a product activation failed. the Bose help docs say to reboot everything and try again. still a fail. I even spent the extra for the 500, thinking that the better unit would be supported better. I have a Bose speaker plugged into my computer and the sound was awesome, so they were my first choice for another speaker. I was wrong. after spending many hours on xmas day trying to get a gift I gave to actually work, I am convinced that software is now the new selling point for tech companies. Bose needs to join with some ... MoreThe hardware sounds excellent when plugged in directly via a cable, but to use anything else, you need to use their Bose app. my iphone paired with the unit fine, the wifi connected successfully, the correct unit was found by the app and then I get a product activation failed. the Bose help docs say to reboot everything and try again. still a fail. I even spent the extra for the 500, thinking that the better unit would be supported better. I have a Bose speaker plugged into my computer and the sound was awesome, so they were my first choice for another speaker. I was wrong. after spending many hours on xmas day trying to get a gift I gave to actually work, I am convinced that software is now the new selling point for tech companies. Bose needs to join with some other company who can make their hardware actually work. Until they fix their software, it's just a very expensive paperweight. fyi, I work in the tech industry, so its not like I've never been troubleshooting tech stuff. I wasn't trying to do the difficult stuff like alexa (that was already a known problem from other reviewers). I was just trying to set it up and connect to the Bose app and it couldn't even do that.