Bose Soundbar 300 Review: SoundTouch 300 Premium Compact Soundbar with Dolby Audio

Bose Soundbar 300: Bose is taking its SoundTouch series to a new level: With their new soundbar, which can be supplemented by a subwoofer, the Americans want to further reduce the distance to Sonos. Because a home cinema solution was still missing in the SoundTouch program. This gap is now filled by the Bose SoundTouch 300, whose connectivity surpasses the possibilities of the Sonos system.

The new sound bar can be networked via WLAN or LAN and also offers Bluetooth streaming. We remember: Sonos felt compelled to sell what was perhaps its biggest deficit in advertising as a plus – true to the motto: Bluetooth doesn’t work.

Most users probably see it differently because Bluetooth is simply unbeatable when it comes to quickly streaming something from a smartphone to a speaker on the go.

With Bose, the wireless signal received from the nearest SoundTouch device is even distributed throughout the house over wa ider Wi-Fi if there are other SoundTouch components there.

Unfortunately, Bose has adopted a bad habit from the trendsetter: nothing works without registration, at least not with the SoundTouch app (for iOS and Android). At least you can listen to music via Bluetooth or the 3.5 mm analog mini jack on the back without having to type long and hard on the smartphone’s mini screen keyboard and the associated disclosure of your data via the Bose system.

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Even TV sound does not require an app. However, the app is essential for full functionality. Then the SoundTouch 300 can stream music from the computer (after downloading the appropriate Mac or Windows app) or from a DLNA-compatible NAS. The Bose bar also grants access to online music offerings from Deezer, Sirius XM, Spotify and Spotify Connect.

However, the software caused us frustration because resetting the password for my Bose account (forgotten after the last test a year ago) simply didn’t work and led to an error message in the middle.

On the other hand, the hardware is really Bose-like: In other words, it is very well thought-out and can be mastered in no time by anyone without instructions. Anyone who has ever used a Bluetooth speaker can start listening to music right away.

Simply press the Bluetooth button on the clearly laid out universal remote control for a little longer and then select the Bose SoundTouch 300 on your cell phone and acknowledge the connection. For androids there is even NFC (Near Field Communication) for easy connection. Here we go.

Or you can simply connect the TV to the soundbar via HDMI with 4K passthrough or S/PDIF with Toslink. With the first method, an HDMI cable is sufficient because the Bose supports ARC, the audio return channel. If the television is equipped with it, which is a matter of course for all newer flat screens, the HDMI input is available for a Blu-ray player.

Unfortunately, the Bose SoundTouch 300 doesn’t output menus over HDMI, and it doesn’t have a display either. A few LEDs on the left front side have to serve as indicators – perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the new Bose. However, the operation is so simple that it is not a major obstacle. After unpacking, the desired success quickly sets in.

ADAPTIQ gets everything out of the Bose SoundTouch 300

But it’s worth taking a look at the easy-to-understand instructions and finding the functions hidden behind “spike monkey grips”. This includes, above all, the calibration via the supplied head microphone.

When the process called ADAPTIQ came onto the market what felt like an eternity ago, the Americans, who were well-versed in marketing, demonstrated its effectiveness with mini boxes (“sound cubes”) that they hid in drainpipes. But even under everyday conditions, the process brings a lot.

Guided by a voice announcement, the user should go to five different listening positions and wait for a measurement to be carried out, which is measured by the microphone attachment on his head.

While this isn’t nearly as cool as the Sonos method using the iPhone’s microphone, it doesn’t lock out Android device users like Sonos’ TruePlay does. Because there are too many to include all microphone characteristics in the measurement – which is essential for an accurate measurement.

There is nothing wrong with the effect of ADAPTQ. If the SoundTouch soundbar already sounds great out of the box, after the short calibration procedure, it puts it up a notch, especially in terms of bass.

Bass boost with the Bose Acoustimass 300 Wireless bass module

If this increase is not enough for you, you can switch on the bass boost. And if you have an even greater appetite for deep tones, you can combine the Bose SoundTouch 300 with the Acoustimass 300 wireless bass module.

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It costs 800 euros, works wirelessly and can be done with a simple grip with the help of the operating instructions one-two-three.

Then the Bose set of sonority can replace a real surround system. If you don’t want to make any compromises in terms of space, you can even add two compact wireless speakers Virtually Invisible 300 for the surround channels.

Finally, the listening test soon showed that the virtual tricks of the Bose SoundTouch 300 – using the PhaseGuide Array, the soundbar, which is almost one meter wide, uses reflections from the side walls – broaden the sound reproduction considerably and also bring it further towards the listening position.

But if you want to experience perfect rear positioning, such as in the drive-bys of the racing driver epic “Days of Thunder” with Tom Cruise, you need the two Virtually Invisible 300 Wireless Surround Speakers available for 350 euros.

And if you want to hear and feel what a V8 stock car sounds like, you definitely need the subwoofer. The soundbar, which is equipped with a whole battery of broadband speakers, does a good job as a comparatively inexpensive way of making the very compressed, artificial TV sound sound natural and more pleasant, especially in the crucial vocal range.

For series like Tatort, even the bass is sufficient – as long as Til Schweiger doesn’t mimic the commissioner and then direct it. If that’s the case, then it’s missing some of the depth that our man in Hollywood almost obsessively brings into play.

Boost for the silent minute

While the Acoustimass 300 can’t affect the psychological depth of the plot, it gets the gist of what’s important in Nick Tschiller’s thrillers. “Great!!!!!!” the director would certainly say if you told him that the whole set probably costs less than a single stunt and is also compatible with cultural programs such as “Title, Theses Temperaments”.

Speaking of culture: Music can be played back properly with the Bose SoundTouch 300, but it only really grooves with the Acoustimass 300.

Although the SoundTouch is not a high-frequency miracle, when it comes to coherence and voice reproduction, Bose is a bank with its full-range speakers, which do without the usual crossovers between mids and highs.

They also form a point sound source – the eternal ideal of time-coherent music reproduction. As with the Bose SoundTouch 10 , what has also proven itself in practice is the interaction of app and remote control.

If you stream Bluetooth from your cell phone, you can change the volume with the remote control faster than with the iPhone, which first has to be unlocked.

The volume on the cell phone is synchronized with the setting on the Bose SoundTouch 300. Only a small display is missing on the device, so that you can read the set volume and when you look at the selected source, you are informed even from afar.

Conclusion Bose SoundTouch 300 / Acoustimass 300

Bose has improved significantly in style and material quality compared to previous home theater systems. The new Acoustimass module in particular, with its glass top and rounded housing edges, looks light years more elegant than the old “shoe boxes made of thin, angular pressboard. In terms of operation, Bose remained true to itself, and that’s a good thing.

This is where the Americans set standards, apart from the app. It’s annoying with registration, and after a thorough revision,n it hasn’t necessarily gained in functionality, which is also suggested by numerous negative user comments in the app stores.

Although Sonos requires a registration before listening can be enjoyed, the overall maturity of their app is noticeable. The Bose SoundTouch 300 comes with a standard system remote control and Bluetooth connectivity.

And the market leader cannot offer HDMI either. On the other hand, the Sonos PlayBar sounds richer even without a subwoofer than the SoundTouch 300, which you should combine with the wireless Acoustimass 300 bass module for full sound.