Smart Soundbar 300

Overview

The Smart Soundbar 300 is a compact 2020 smart soundbar from Bose. It is 695 mm wide, 56 mm high and 103 mm deep, and Bose lists a weight of 7 lb (about 3.2 kg). It comes in black, with a metal front grille, and can be wall-mounted with the Bose Soundbar Wall Bracket.

Bose lists four full-range drivers that direct sound to the left and right, plus a center tweeter for dialogue. Bose QuietPort technology is used for the bass.

The TV connects with a single cable: optical (included) or HDMI ARC (HDMI cable sold separately). The bar also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, and streams with Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect. It can be grouped with other Bose smart speakers, and Bose SimpleSync pairs it with select Bose headphones or Bluetooth speakers.

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are built in, with a noise-rejecting microphone system and a mic-off button. With Alexa, Bose Voice4Video can turn on the TV and a cable or satellite box and switch to a channel. The controls are on top of the soundbar and on the included remote, and the Bose Music app (iOS and Android) handles setup and control. The box contains the remote with its battery, the power cord, an optical cable and the quick start guide.

What the specs mean

• 3.0 speaker setup: three front channels, with no built-in subwoofer and no height channels.
• HDMI ARC, not eARC: the Audio Return Channel sends the TV's sound to the soundbar over an HDMI cable. The newer eARC carries higher-bitrate formats such as Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos; this bar does not support eARC.
• Audio formats: Dolby Digital is the only format listed; there is no Dolby Atmos support.
• No HDMI passthrough: the bar has no HDMI input. Sources such as a console or streaming box connect to the TV, and the TV sends their sound to the soundbar.
• No room correction: Bose does not list ADAPTiQ room calibration for this bar.
• Expandable: the Bass Module 500 or Bass Module 700 adds a wireless subwoofer, and the Surround Speakers or Surround Speakers 700 add wireless rear speakers.