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matracy68's Reviews
The SoundTouch® 300 soundbar looks slim. But the sound? Anything but. That’s because every cubic inch of it is packed with technologies that make everything you listen to or watch sound clear and spacious. It starts inside with custom-shaped speakers that keep the profile low and pump out big sound. QuietPort™ technology virtually eliminates distortion so you hear surprisingly deep bass. And Bose® PhaseGuide® technology makes you believe you’re hearing sounds where there are no speakers. On the outside, the glass top and perforated wrap-around metal grille make the soundbar look as good in your room as it sounds. And with both Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® technology built in, you can wirelessly stream music any way you prefer. ADAPTiQ® audio room calibration from Bose ensures the soundbar sounds the best it can in the space you put it. HDMI™ connectivity with 4K pass-through keeps your system compatible with the most current technology. NFC provides quick and easy pairing. The SoundTouch® app gives you simple control over your favorite music. Works together with other SoundTouch® speakers so as you go from room to room, your music goes along with you. Includes a universal remote so you can control your other devices, too. Available in Black
Posted by: matracy68
I just purchased the Bose SoundTouch 300 and Acoustimass 300 this weekend to upgrade my home theater system. Up front, I will tell you that I am very happy with the sound quality of both items when they are paired. I am a Bose fan and have been for years owning numerous Bose products. Set up was fairly straightforward. I have an older Samsung LED TV and was upgrading from one of those all in one Samsung home theater units with a built-in Blu-Ray player. I don’t use DVD anymore. I have Apple TV for my movies and streaming from my Apple products as needed. My original concern was the lack of inputs on the back of the sound bar itself. Basically, you have one HDMI connection and one optical digital connection and that is it. I ran my Direct TV connection to the back of my TV with HDMI and the same for the Apple TV and then used the optical digital connection output from the TV to the sound bar. My older (six-year-old) TV acts like a switch for the audio with me plugging in up to four devices via HDMI. I could probably plug older things like RCA jacks too if I wanted. My TV has the optical digital output which goes into the SoundTouch. One cable provides sound for all of my devices so I do not see the lack of inputs on the back of the sound bar as an issue like others have complained about.
Calibrating the system was pretty simple. You plug in the headphone looking thing (ADAPTiQ headset) and follow the commands once you press the right buttons on the included universal remote. Speaking of the remote, it is said to be universal but I could not get my TV to work or my Direct TV box to work so I went back to my trusty Logitech Harmony One which works like a champ. Zero issues there.
Pairing the Acoustimass 300 was pretty easy, again, you do what the simple instructions tell you to do and that is it. What the instructions do not tell you is how to turn up the volume on the subwoofer. I had to call Bose to get that information.
My current set-up is the sound bar and subwoofer and to me, it sounds amazing. I did increase the subwoofer volume two settings just because I wanted to see what it would do and I am impressed. We watched the TV show The Voice last night and the musical performances sounded great to me. Especially with that thumping base.
Bose has an application for the iPhone and Android devices but (to me) is not that great. First of all, the sound bar has the ability to play music (once set up) straight from the application using services like Spotify. Pretty cool if you use them but I have playlists on my iPhone that I would prefer to play. You can do this but you have to go through the app on your phone to do this. That isn’t a big deal but what is a big deal when I want to go back and watch TV, I have to get the SoundTouch remote and physically press the TV button to change the output on the sound bar. That is a bit of a pain to do. My solution for that is to just use my Apple TV since that is using the TV output anyway. One less reason to use the remote. If Bose would include the ability to change the output or do the output automatically, that would be a huge gain for people like myself that are not using the remote. It seems like an extra step anyway. The sound bar has NFC in it but I didn’t see any instructions on how to make this work so I will have to take Bose’s word that it works.
One more mention about the application is that if you have the Virtually Invisible 300 rear speakers, a new update to the sound bar and application allow you to change the volume of these rear speakers. That is pretty cool since the initial reports I have read said that the volume was low on these units. Since this upgrade has come out, I am now planning to add these rear channel speakers to my system. What the application will not allow you to do is change the volume/output of the subwoofer which is odd to me. The only way to change the output of the subwoofer is using the universal remote which again, I am not using. In a perfect world, the iPhone app would take care of everything for me where I could control output of the sound bar and adjust the subwoofer.
I mentioned above that I called Bose for information on the Acoustimass 300. I had read on another site that the pair light on the far right of the lights was supposed to be lit when the unit was paired. Bose informed me that these lights would turn on when the unit was turned on to pair the units and then go away. It would be nice if there was documentation on what the lights mean because they turn different colors, flash, and stay on depending on what you are doing. When the pair light goes off, the Acoustimass 300 is paired if the light on the bottom of the subwoofer is white and not flashing. Who knew?
The bottom line here is this. Would I recommend this sound bar? Absolutely. I love everything about it. My system sounds great and looks great too. I plan to add the rear channel speakers soon since I can adjust the volume for these units now using the iPhone app. I wish the iPhone application would allow me to change the output of the sound or the unit would automatically change depending on what it was receiving. I also wish that I could change the volume of the subwoofer through the application like you can the rear channel speakers. These are minor things and I have work arounds for them both.
I hope that this review helps you with your decision to either purchase or not purchase the Bose SoundTouch 300 and its components.
My Best Buy number: 2129834184
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+106points
123of 140voted this as helpful.
matracy68's Review Comments
The SoundTouch® 300 soundbar looks slim. But the sound? Anything but. That’s because every cubic inch of it is packed with technologies that make everything you listen to or watch sound clear and spacious. It starts inside with custom-shaped speakers that keep the profile low and pump out big sound. QuietPort™ technology virtually eliminates distortion so you hear surprisingly deep bass. And Bose® PhaseGuide® technology makes you believe you’re hearing sounds where there are no speakers. On the outside, the glass top and perforated wrap-around metal grille make the soundbar look as good in your room as it sounds. And with both Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® technology built in, you can wirelessly stream music any way you prefer. ADAPTiQ® audio room calibration from Bose ensures the soundbar sounds the best it can in the space you put it. HDMI™ connectivity with 4K pass-through keeps your system compatible with the most current technology. NFC provides quick and easy pairing. The SoundTouch® app gives you simple control over your favorite music. Works together with other SoundTouch® speakers so as you go from room to room, your music goes along with you. Includes a universal remote so you can control your other devices, too. Available in Black
Overall
5 out of 5
5 out of 5Love it!
By matracy68
I just purchased the Bose SoundTouch 300 and Acoustimass 300 this weekend to upgrade my home theater system. Up front, I will tell you that I am very happy with the sound quality of both items when they are paired. I am a Bose fan and have been for years owning numerous Bose products. Set up was fairly straightforward. I have an older Samsung LED TV and was upgrading from one of those all in one Samsung home theater units with a built-in Blu-Ray player. I don’t use DVD anymore. I have Apple TV for my movies and streaming from my Apple products as needed. My original concern was the lack of inputs on the back of the sound bar itself. Basically, you have one HDMI connection and one optical digital connection and that is it. I ran my Direct TV connection to the back of my TV with HDMI and the same for the Apple TV and then used the optical digital connection output from the TV to the sound bar. My older (six-year-old) TV acts like a switch for the audio with me plugging in up to four devices via HDMI. I could probably plug older things like RCA jacks too if I wanted. My TV has the optical digital output which goes into the SoundTouch. One cable provides sound for all of my devices so I do not see the lack of inputs on the back of the sound bar as an issue like others have complained about.
Calibrating the system was pretty simple. You plug in the headphone looking thing (ADAPTiQ headset) and follow the commands once you press the right buttons on the included universal remote. Speaking of the remote, it is said to be universal but I could not get my TV to work or my Direct TV box to work so I went back to my trusty Logitech Harmony One which works like a champ. Zero issues there.
Pairing the Acoustimass 300 was pretty easy, again, you do what the simple instructions tell you to do and that is it. What the instructions do not tell you is how to turn up the volume on the subwoofer. I had to call Bose to get that information.
My current set-up is the sound bar and subwoofer and to me, it sounds amazing. I did increase the subwoofer volume two settings just because I wanted to see what it would do and I am impressed. We watched the TV show The Voice last night and the musical performances sounded great to me. Especially with that thumping base.
Bose has an application for the iPhone and Android devices but (to me) is not that great. First of all, the sound bar has the ability to play music (once set up) straight from the application using services like Spotify. Pretty cool if you use them but I have playlists on my iPhone that I would prefer to play. You can do this but you have to go through the app on your phone to do this. That isn’t a big deal but what is a big deal when I want to go back and watch TV, I have to get the SoundTouch remote and physically press the TV button to change the output on the sound bar. That is a bit of a pain to do. My solution for that is to just use my Apple TV since that is using the TV output anyway. One less reason to use the remote. If Bose would include the ability to change the output or do the output automatically, that would be a huge gain for people like myself that are not using the remote. It seems like an extra step anyway. The sound bar has NFC in it but I didn’t see any instructions on how to make this work so I will have to take Bose’s word that it works.
One more mention about the application is that if you have the Virtually Invisible 300 rear speakers, a new update to the sound bar and application allow you to change the volume of these rear speakers. That is pretty cool since the initial reports I have read said that the volume was low on these units. Since this upgrade has come out, I am now planning to add these rear channel speakers to my system. What the application will not allow you to do is change the volume/output of the subwoofer which is odd to me. The only way to change the output of the subwoofer is using the universal remote which again, I am not using. In a perfect world, the iPhone app would take care of everything for me where I could control output of the sound bar and adjust the subwoofer.
I mentioned above that I called Bose for information on the Acoustimass 300. I had read on another site that the pair light on the far right of the lights was supposed to be lit when the unit was paired. Bose informed me that these lights would turn on when the unit was turned on to pair the units and then go away. It would be nice if there was documentation on what the lights mean because they turn different colors, flash, and stay on depending on what you are doing. When the pair light goes off, the Acoustimass 300 is paired if the light on the bottom of the subwoofer is white and not flashing. Who knew?
The bottom line here is this. Would I recommend this sound bar? Absolutely. I love everything about it. My system sounds great and looks great too. I plan to add the rear channel speakers soon since I can adjust the volume for these units now using the iPhone app. I wish the iPhone application would allow me to change the output of the sound or the unit would automatically change depending on what it was receiving. I also wish that I could change the volume of the subwoofer through the application like you can the rear channel speakers. These are minor things and I have work arounds for them both.
I hope that this review helps you with your decision to either purchase or not purchase the Bose SoundTouch 300 and its components.
matracy68
Rear channel speakers-Bose Virtually Invisible 300
April 3, 2017
So I pulled the trigger on the rear channel speakers. Set-up was pretty straight forward just like the sound bar itself and the subwoofer. I had no issues. They look pretty cool sitting in the back of the room. They do have a rather large power adapter which is OK since I have mine tucked under some furniture. The new app and firmware upgrade allows the users to increase the volume of the rear channel which is what I did. Music streaming through my Apple TV sounds great with the rear channel speakers. TV shows sound great too. Are these necessary? Perhaps if you want the full experience. Especially now that they have upgraded the firmware and iPhone app to allow you to increase the volume. I am very happy and love my surround sound Bose set-up.
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6of 6voted this comment as helpful.
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matracy68's Answers
The SoundTouch® 300 soundbar looks slim. But the sound? Anything but. That’s because every cubic inch of it is packed with technologies that make everything you listen to or watch sound clear and spacious. It starts inside with custom-shaped speakers that keep the profile low and pump out big sound. QuietPort™ technology virtually eliminates distortion so you hear surprisingly deep bass. And Bose® PhaseGuide® technology makes you believe you’re hearing sounds where there are no speakers. On the outside, the glass top and perforated wrap-around metal grille make the soundbar look as good in your room as it sounds. And with both Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® technology built in, you can wirelessly stream music any way you prefer. ADAPTiQ® audio room calibration from Bose ensures the soundbar sounds the best it can in the space you put it. HDMI™ connectivity with 4K pass-through keeps your system compatible with the most current technology. NFC provides quick and easy pairing. The SoundTouch® app gives you simple control over your favorite music. Works together with other SoundTouch® speakers so as you go from room to room, your music goes along with you. Includes a universal remote so you can control your other devices, too. Available in Black
I'm getting ready to buy this system soundbar,speakers subwoofer. I see where you run the HDMI cable into the TV.......I have U-Verse and was wondering if you can run it though the cable box or do you still go from the TV ?
I ran my Direct TV box and Apple TV box HDMI cables into my TV which acted like a hub and then ran a digital audio out cable to the sound bar and have had zero issues with the sound. I have the sound bar, sub woofer, and rear channel speakers for my set-up. My TV is an older Samsung and did not have the HDMI audio out option. I hope that this helps.
7 years ago
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matracy68