I do not think I have seen a triple threat like this since The Rock vs The Undertaker vs Kurt Angle back in 2002. If you get that reference, I give you a virtual high five and we can be friends. In all seriousness, today we are looking at the three flagship soundbars that Bose offers the Bose Soundbar 300, the Bose Soundbar 500, and the Bose Soundbar 700. These are some of the pricier soundbars on the market. If you are looking for something that is a bit more “affordable” take a look at our 6 Best Soundbars Without Subwoofer Under $200, 5 Best Soundbars With Subwoofer Below $200, and our articles.
We have actually matched these up against each other in pairs, but we thought having one last Battle Royale where all three go head-to-head was the best way to see once and for all what is currently the best Bose soundbar.
The Price
There is actually a pretty big difference between the price of all of these soundbars. We have looked at soundbars at all ends of the price charts here on the site. However, even the “cheapest” of these three is still pretty expensive. The question you have to ask is should you just buy the cheaper one, or save a bit longer and get the more expensive one?
Bose Soundbar 300: The most “affordable” of all three of these is the Bose Soundbar 300 which you can usually find for around the 400 bucks mark brand new on places like Amazon. However, if you search around on eBay, you can sometimes find a brand new one for like 300 to 350 bucks. Also, if you are willing to take the risk, I have seen used ones go for under 200 bucks.
Bose Soundbar 500: In my experience, it is harder to find a Bose Soundbar 500 than the other two on this list. Brand-new, you are looking at around $499.99 when this is available, but I have not seen one of these new on Amazon in a while. Even on eBay, there are not a lot of new ones, but there are plenty of used and refurbished ones where the price seems to be anywhere between 200 and 400 bucks.
Bose Soundbar 700: The price jump from the other soundbars to the Bose Soundbar 700 is pretty huge. It is worth noting that this is the most expensive and high-end soundbar Bose offer, but with that comes a $799.99 price tag! If you look around on eBay, I personally have seen this as low as 600 bucks brand new and even less if you are willing to get a used one.
The Verdict: Look, if you check out our Best Soundbars Under $600 you will notice that I and the site in general love more expensive and fancier soundbars. So, with that in mind, you will probably not be surprised to hear that I actually feel the Bose Soundbar 700 offers fantastic value for money even though it is very expensive.
The Design
While the sound is the main thing you will be interested in (and probably the price too) I also think a soundbar needs to look good too. The majority of people out there will have their soundbars under their TV. So, as it is going to be on display you want to make sure that it looks nice.
Bose Soundbar 300: The Bose Soundbar 300 is the smallest of the soundbars that we are looking at today. Its dimensions are, 2.21″ H x 26.58″ W x 4.02” so it is ideal if you are short on space. It looks very cool and has that signature Bose look which all three of these have actually. The body is made from sleek black plastic and the grille wraps around the front which gives it some real style that I love.
The back of the soundbar has all of your hookups such as your optical and HDMI Arc connections in addition to your power. There is also a handy, micro-USB port which is there in case you need to update your Bose Soundbar 300.
It looks cool and I think if you have a smaller TV, let’s say like this SAMSUNG 32Q50 TV, then this soundbar will fit in very nicely underneath it.
Bose Soundbar 500: At first glance, you may think that the Bose Soundbar 500 is the exact same as the soundbar we just talked about! Bose has kept their soundbar range all in a very similar style and that is something I really do like about them. This is considerably bigger than the 300 as it is 31.5” x 1.75” x 4”. The design of the soundbar is the same as that 300. It is made with the same kind of plastic and once again that grille sleekly wraps right around the front of the device.
Much like the front (apart from the length) of this soundbar looks very similar to its little brother the same can be said about the rear. We have those same HDMI Arc and optical ports along with the nifty micro-USB that is there for updates. They have also included an ethernet port on the back of here though so that is pretty cool. I feel that TVs in the 42 inch and above size are what this is designed to be under.
Bose Soundbar 700: The Bose Soundbar 700 is the flagship soundbar that Bose currently offers and this thing is the sexiest and coolest looking soundbar that they have. The “stats” in terms of its dimensions are, 38.5” x 2.25” x 4.25” so it is the largest of all the soundbars we are looking at today. It is 38 inches long so it can really stand out, which is not a bad thing as this thing so cool. It has the same black plastic body, but this has a glass top that looks unbelievably cool. Sure, it attracts fingerprints like Magneto attracts metal, but there is no denying this is awesome.
The back of this apart from being longer is exactly the same as what the 500 is offering, right down to that Ethernet port. I am not going to be too harsh on them for this though as what more could they have realistically added. Oh, there is a subwoofer port, (which is also on the others now that I think about it) which is handy as Bose has their Bose Base Module 700 which is designed with going with the Bose Soundbar 700 in mind.
The Verdict: Come one! You know what one has this category won. Without a doubt it is the Bose Soundbar 700 which is not just the best looking out of the three we are looking at today, I would argue it is one of the best-looking soundbars in general on the market right now.
The Sound:
It does not matter if you are playing Spider-Man: Miles Morales, watching Spider-Man: Far From Home, or listening to the soundtrack from Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse you want the best sound possible. Well, the sound quality of each of these is what we are looking at here!
![John Wick: Chapters 1-3 [Blu-ray + DVD + Digital]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71xN2e9Ho6L._SX342_.jpg)
Bose Soundbar 300: This 3.1 soundbar is pretty damn awesome. I know it is not exactly “cheap” but in terms of the sound quality, this is offering excellent value for money. It really does smack you in the face with its sound. Loud action movies like John Wick sound great with guns blazing and cars driving fast. But even movies and TV shows that are more about dialogue are great as the vocal clarity with this soundbar is great.
I feel that the kind of sound the Bose Soundbar 300 is offering you is certainly a big step up from your standard stereo sound you are getting from your TV speakers. I liked how the bass, even without an included subwoofer managed to have a fair bit of kick and power to it. It manages to hit all the right notes and in a smaller room, it is certainly going to fill it with sound.
Like the other two, this does also allow you to connect something like your phone to it so you can stream music and I was very impressed here too. Even at louder volumes, this manages to more than hold its own when it comes to music.
Bose Soundbar 500: Right off the bat I do feel that the Bose Soundbar 500 offers a bit better sound than the 300. I really noticed the raw power this offered when I was playing Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order on the PS4. It is still a 3.1 soundbar, but it just felt like the sound offered a bit more punch to it and no matter if it was movies, TV shows, or video games, I was very impressed with the sound quality. Even when people are talking quietly, it is very easy to pick up what is being said with this.
I think that those who love to watch movies and want to try and get the cinema experience at home will be happy with this. The improvement over your TV speakers is so vast that I do not see how you can go back to using the TV speakers once you have had a taste of this. While it is clearly not surround sound, I do feel that Bose come as close as they can at this price point to truly filling your room with sound.
The Bluetooth connectivity that this (and its brothers also have) ensures that you can blast music through this via your phone. This is something my wife in particular had a lot of fun with as she listens to music through Spotify all the time and she was very happy with how her “amazing” music sounded coming through this.
Bose Soundbar 700: I know that this is very expensive, but I have to say that I feel the Bose Soundbar 700 is worth every penny that Bose are asking for it. If you look around the site at an article like Our 7 Best Soundbars Between $300 and $500 article, you will see that I have reviewed tons of soundbars over the years. Right now off the top of my head, I am having a hard time thinking of a soundbar that can match what the Bose Soundbar 700 has to offer when it comes to the sound. It is one of the best soundbars on the market right now and it is the kind of thing that is so good that you have to hear it to truly appreciate how great it is.
A “gimmick” of soundbars these days is that they can give your surround sound. Well, this is still a 3.1 system like its smaller brothers, but that larger size does give this a real edge in terms of power. It fills the room and it is arguably the closes you can get to surround sound without having rear speakers. Now clearly the sound is not going to come from behind you, but it still gives you that epic cinema style of sound. Actually, just last night we had a movie night and watched Bumblebee and I was more into the sound than I was the actual movie!
Look, on its own this is amazing and I know that I have already talked about the Bose Bass Module 700 up above, but I have to say this along with the actual soundbar will truly rock the room! I also want to add that for music, this thing is great, if you love to listen to your music loud, you will love how crystal clear this is. As a lover of live music, I was really impressed with how this brought some of my favorite shows to life.
The Verdict: Let me start by taking the coward’s way out and say that all three of these sound great. These will not just offer a “small” improvement over your TV speakers, but a massive one. However, as I have to pick one, it has to be the Bose Soundbar 700 as the sound is just phenomenal.
The Remote Control
It is worth mentioning that there is an app for all of these soundbars and the app lets you do things that the remote will not. Still, I think that the remote control is a big part of the package here and that is why we are looking at the remotes that come with all three.
Bose Soundbar 300: The remote that comes with the 300 is very small. It is impossible if you ask me to look at this and not think of a remote for an Amazon Fire Stick. It is nice and comfortable and you can even use Alexa or Google Assistant with it too. The remote gets the most basic things done, but this soundbar has some pretty handy features such as dialogue enhancement as well as being able to play around with presets and settings and you cannot use these with the remote! You have to download the app to do so!
Bose Soundbar 500: I think that the remote which they give you with the Bose Soundbar 500 is great. It is certainly a step up from what you get with the Bose Soundbar 300 that is for sure. It lets you select from a bunch of different presets and for the average person, this is going to be more than enough. You can also use Alexa and Google Assistant with it if you like to boss your tech around which can be fun. Like the others, you can also download the app which gives you complete access to all of the soundbars features.
Bose Soundbar 700: Much like everything else on this list the Bose Soundbar 700 remote is an improvement over the other two. It is much larger (which I see as a plus) it has way more buttons so you do not have to have the app, although you can still use it. What really made me go nuts for this thing was the lights. There are different settings you can use and depending on what setting you have selected, certain lights on the remote will light up! The idea being that you know what buttons to press. This also has Google Assistant and Alexa functionality too.
The Verdict: I have to be honest and say that while I like the small form factor, the remote they give you with the Bose Soundbar 300 is very disappointing in terms of how much control it gives you over your soundbar. The other two are great, especially the 700 which is one of the best and most fun to use remotes around!
What Is In The Box?
Want to know exactly what you are getting for your hard-earned money? Well, keep on reading to see what Bose has thrown in the box for each of these soundbars! As is said in Forrest Gump,” life is like a box of chocolates you never know what your gonna get”. Well, the same can be said for a box with some kind of tech in it!
Bose Soundbar 300: In addition to your soundbar, remote, and power cable. Inside the box of the Bose Soundbar 300, you also get an optical cable. That is right, they do not give you an HDMI cable! At first, I thought the package I was sent was just missing it by mistake, but nope! Bose decided against throwing in an HDMI cable.
Bose Soundbar 500: I was surprised at just how much stuff was inside the box for the 500. The subwoofer, remote, and power cable are here as to be expected. You also get an optical cable and an HDMI cable. A satellite brick and the power cable for it is here and they also give you a Bose ADAPTiQ headset which is there to make calibrating your soundbar easier.
Bose Soundbar 700: As this is the most expensive soundbar we are looking at today, you may not be surprised to hear that this has the most inside the box. Of course, the soundbar, remote, and power cable are packaged nice and safely inside the box. There is both an HDMI cable and an optical cable and they also give you the same Bose ADAPTiQ headset which the 500 has. I never had a use for this so I sold mine on eBay and made a few bucks back. They also give you a little cleaning cloth to help keep that sexy glass top this soundbar has free from your kids’ fingerprints.
What Is The Best Soundbar?
I have to say that all three of these are great in their own way. Bose did a great job with the Bose Soundbar 300 (also check out the Bose soundbar 300 vs 700 review here), they really did. Then they improved on that with the larger, Bose Soundbar 500 (also check out the Bose soundbar 500 vs 700 review). Both of those are great soundbars and finding one new on a place like Amazon is tough as I am pretty sure they have been discontinued as of writing. However, plenty of stores have stock left, especially on eBay, so you might be able to find a great deal for either one of those on there in the 250 to 400 bucks price range if you shop around.
Now, with that being said I have to say that the Bose Soundbar 700 is one of the best (actually I would say it is the best) soundbars that I have ever had the pleasure to use. If you have read my past Bose Smart Soundbar 700 Review you know just how much I love this thing. As I am writing this, it is sitting under the TV in my living room blasting Laugh It Up Fuzzball: Family Guy Trilogy which I love as it is the retelling of the Star Wars saga, but in Family Guy style. The point I am trying to make is that I know this is very expensive. Hell, it can be twice as much as the 300 or 500! Yet, I do not think that is a bad price. I think this is actually excellent value for money and if you can swing that kind of cash, treat yourself and do it!
