Smart Soundbar 700

Overview

The Smart Soundbar 700 is a 2018 Bose soundbar, first sold as the Bose Soundbar 700. It is 978 mm wide, 57.2 mm high and 108 mm deep, and Bose lists a weight of 10.5 lb (about 4.8 kg). It comes in black or white, with a tempered glass top and a wraparound metal grille. It can stand in front of the TV or be wall-mounted with the Bose Soundbar Wall Bracket.

Bose describes custom low-profile transducers, PhaseGuide technology that directs beams of sound around the room, and QuietPort ports for the bass.

The TV connects over HDMI ARC or optical; both cables are in the box. The bar also has Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. It streams with Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify, and the Bose Music app (iOS and Android) also lists services such as Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, SiriusXM and Deezer.

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are built in, with an eight-microphone array and a light bar that shows when the assistant is listening. The top of the bar has an Action button and a Microphone off button. The included Bose Soundbar Universal Remote has programmable source buttons for the TV, a cable or satellite box, and other devices. The box also contains four AA batteries, a cleaning cloth, the ADAPTiQ headset, an HDMI cable, an optical cable, the power cord and the printed guides.

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 the HDMI cable; Bose lists HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) for the connection. The newer eARC carries higher-bitrate formats such as Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos; this bar does not support eARC.
• Audio formats: Dolby Digital and DTS. There is no Dolby Atmos.
• 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.
• Room correction (ADAPTiQ): a microphone on the included ADAPTiQ headset takes five measurements in the room, and the system adjusts its sound to the room's acoustics. Bose says to run it again after adding a bass module or surrounds, or moving the bar or furniture.
• 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.