Editor's note

• Original review date: November 2022
• Current entry-level Bose Dolby Atmos soundbar
• Launch price - $499 / £499 / AU$799
• Target price now - $399 / £399 / AU$799

Update February 2024. The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 remains the entry-level Dolby Atmos model in the company’s soundbar lineup, slotting in beneath the mid-range Smart Soundbar 700, which recently received an official price cut. The 600 has also been getting regular discounts, with the new price target sitting at $399 / £399, though its price remains the same as at launch in Australia. At its new discounted price, the Smart Soundbar 600 is an excellent value for a compact soundbar with upfiring speaker drivers that can deliver convincing Dolby Atmos height effects. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Bose Smart Soundbar 600: One-minute review

The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 ($499 / £499 / AU$799)  is the company’s new more compact and more affordable Dolby Atmos model, slotting in beneath the Smart Soundbar 900 ($899 / £1399 / AU$799). 

While it's priced around half as much as its larger sibling, the 600 offers up a mostly similar feature set, but from a more limited speaker array. A total of five drivers, including two up-firing ones, are used to deliver Dolby Atmos soundtracks, allowing the 600 to provide stiff competition to the best soundbars that use virtual Atmos processing in the same price range.

It may be small, and not that expensive, but the 600 sounds both bigger and better than one would expect. Overhead Atmos effects extend above the TV screen, and the audio presentation extends well out to the sides, in the way you expect from the best Dolby Atmos soundbars. Bass depth and power are not things you’d expect from a compact soundbar, meaning there’s not much of either, but the sound balance here is both natural and pleasing, while the imaging it manages with stereo music is surprisingly wide and precise.

As for features, the Soundbar 600 is fairly packed, with its Atmos support helped along by TrueSpace processing for music and regular stereo and 5.1 soundtracks. Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, and Bluetooth are all onboard for streaming, and there’s also built-in Alexa and Works with Google Assistant voice control support.

The Bose’s connection options go a bit further than some budget bars in providing both HDMI eARC and optical digital inputs. Everything can be controlled using the full-featured Bose Music app, and a basic hardware remote adds to the bar’s voice control capabilities.

Given the price, this is a solid, high-quality hunk of soundbar, with the sleek industrial design the company is known for. You have the option to extend it with a wireless subwoofer (or two) from Bose, along with wireless surround speakers, though at a fairly substantial cost.

Setup is easy and app-guided, and there are plenty of adjustments to tune the sound to your liking. Overall, this is a fine entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar option offering great value, and one you should be looking at if you want to add real Atmos sound to your TV without spending an arm and a leg.

Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review: Price & release date

• Released in October 2022
•  $499 / £499 / AU$799 

The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 was released in October 2022 and sells for $499 / £499 / AU$799. Sometimes, the latest Bose promo codes can bring prices down.

Pricing for the Soundbar 600 is slightly higher than for the Sonos Beam Gen 2, a model that Bose appears to be directly competing with. Similar to the Beam, the Soundbar 600 doesn’t come with a subwoofer for extended bass, but it does offer Wi-Fi for wireless streaming, as well as the ability to be paired with an optional wireless subwoofer and surround speakers.

Where the Bose beats the Sonos in terms of features is its inclusion of up-firing speakers for Dolby Atmos – the Bose, in contrast, uses virtual processing to simulate height effects in Atmos soundtracks.

Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review: features

•  Dolby Atmos with up-firing speakers 
•  HDMI eARC and optical digital connections 
•  Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Bluetooth wireless streaming 

The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is a compact, all-in-one soundbar that supports playback of Dolby Atmos soundtracks and uses proprietary TrueSpace processing for upconverting both stereo and regular 5.1 channel sources for Atmos presentation. DTS:X is not supported. A remote control is provided, and both setup and control can be carried out using the Bose Music app. The Soundbar 600 can also be expanded via the company’s optional wireless surround speakers and subwoofers (up to two).

A total of five transducers are used in the Soundbar 600: two side-mounted ones that combine with a center-mounted tweeter to deliver an expanded stereo image, and two top-mounted ones for Dolby Atmos overhead effects. Both driver size and amplifier power aren’t specified by Bose.

Connections on the Soundbar 600 include an HDMI eARC port plus an optical digital audio input for connecting an older TV that doesn’t support HDMI ARC/eARC. A second HDMI input to provide a passthrough would be a nice addition, though that’s something that isn’t always found on budget soundbars – the Sonos beam doesn't include one.

Wireless streaming options on the Bose include Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth. The Bose Music app also integrates a range of services including Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, and Sirius XM for streaming over Wi-Fi. 

Support for Alexa is onboard for hands-free operation over basic controls like volume and track skipping, as well as access to music apps supported by Alexa. The Soundbar 600 also works with Google Assistant, giving you similar functionality when a Google speaker is connected to the network. With the Soundbar 600 set up for Alexa support, you can also use its Voice4Video feature to control functions of a connected Smart TV – everything from turning it on and off to playing and pausing video playback and changing channels.

Along with Dolby Atmos, the Soundbar 600 features proprietary TrueSpace processing. This takes incoming stereo, mono, and 5.1-channel sound sources and upconverts them for an Atmos-like immersive presentation using the soundbar’s full speaker array.

• Features score: 4/5

Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review: sound quality

• Great dialogue clarity 
• Spacious presentation of Dolby Atmos soundtracks  
• Somewhat light on bass 

Before I dove deep into evaluating the Bose’s performance, I simply used it as the soundbar for my TV setup in a relatively spacious room. 

Basically, I had no serious complaints: movie and TV dialogue was routinely clear and full-sounding, music and sound effects were rendered in a spacious manner that extended the presentation well beyond the confines of the bar itself, and even music sounded well-balanced and with decent stereo separation – something many soundbars fail to deliver.

On action movies with Dolby Atmos soundtracks like John Wick 3, Bose’s bar created a believable sense of atmosphere in scenes with rain, the water appearing to fall from above the TV’s screen. Other demo-worthy Atmos scenes, like those from District 9 and Godzilla (2016), sci-fi films where there are plenty of helicopters flying overhead throughout, were well-served by the Soundbar 600, with the sound easily scaling up to match the onscreen action, and also extending above and beyond it.

While the Bose’s sound was mostly dynamic, even in my relatively large room, sound effects like the stomping of Godzilla through the streets of Honolulu lacked the bass oomph I know to be there – compact, all-in-one designs like the 600 can only do so much in the deep bass department. Even with that limitation, the bass the Soundbar 600 managed was clean and well-controlled, and it helped to add excitement to scenes from John Wick 3 where the protagonist fights would-be assassins in tightly enclosed spaces.

Music also sounded good on the Bose, and that’s not something you can say for every soundbar. Listening to the new stereo mixes on the just-released The Beatles' Revolver box set (streamed from Tidal to the soundbar from my iPhone using Chromecast), Tomorrow Never Knows had a dense, psychedelic, swirling presentation, and Good Day Sunshine had a full quality, with the Motown-esque horn section accompaniment sounding brassy and crisp. Overall, music had a too-crisp balance on the Bose bar, but I’d attribute that to the missing bass octaves, and I can’t say I found the sound to be fatiguing overall.

• Sound quality score: 4/5

Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review: Design

• Basic, compact form-factor
• Excellent build quality 
• Small, throwaway remote control 

The Soundbar 600 has the basic bar-like form factor as many other soundbars, and comes only in a black finish. At 27 inches wide by 2 inches high and 4 inches deep, it’s a fairly sleek and compact design for an all-in-one unit.

Given the Soundbar 600’s approachable price, build quality is excellent: a metal mesh grille surrounds the bar’s front and sides, and the back panel has left and right ports (to enhance bass output) and a metal sink to prevent the built-in amplifier from overheating. Lifting the Soundbar 600 up in your hands, its impressive heft tells you it’s been designed to last.

Bose’s included remote control is a compact type with basic buttons to operate power, volume, mute, and input selection. Those same functions can be carried out via the Bose Music app, and there are also touch controls on the soundbar’s top that let you power it on/off and activate or deactivate the built-in microphone for voice control.

• Design score: 5/5

Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review: Usability and setup

• HDMI eARC connection 
• App-based setup and control 
• No alphanumeric front panel display 

With only HDMI eARC and optical digital ports available for connecting to a TV, setup is simple enough and will be based on which of those your TV provides. Using the HDMI eARC connection, of course, gives you access to advanced features like Dolby Atmos sound – something optical digital connections don’t support – and HDMI CEC control, which lets you adjust the soundbar’s volume level using the TV’s remote control, among other things.

Bose’s remote control is basic and tiny enough that it’s easy to forget about (there’s a high likelihood it will disappear into your sofa’s cushions at some point). For the most part, I used the Bose Music app for setup and control, which works well and is easy to navigate. 

This guides you through initial setup, where you – annoyingly – first need to create a Bose account. Once that’s done, the app discovers your Wi-Fi network and links the Soundbar 600 to it. The next step is to add info to the app for any supported music services, a list that includes: Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, and Sirius XM. Other services not supported by the app can be streamed wirelessly to the Soundbar 600 using AirPlay, Chromecast, or Bluetooth.

App-based controls include center channel (dialogue) and height channel level, plus bass and treble adjustments. There’s also a wall EQ setting meant to adjust the sound for on-wall installations and a Dialogue Mode to enhance voice clarity on TV shows and movies if that’s ever an issue.

Like other budget soundbars, the Sonos Beam included, the Bose 600 lacks a front panel LED alphanumeric display, instead using color-coded lighting sequences to provide feedback to remote control commands. As usual, I couldn’t be bothered to memorize these, instead relying solely on the app for all of my adjustments and tweaks save for volume using the TV’s remote.

• Usability and setup score: 4.5/5

Bose Smart Soundbar 600 review: Value

•  Great overall value 
•  Offers features the competition lacks 

At $499, the Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is bumping up against some strong budget bar competition. The main one is the Sonos Beam Gen 2 ($450), but there are many others in the under $500 range from companies like Denon, Polk Audio, Samsung, Sony, LG, and Vizio.

Where the Bose distinguishes itself and provides value is its use of actual up-firing speakers to convey Dolby Atmos overhead effects, as well as its effective TrueSpace processing of sources with a lesser channel count. Its control app, while not at the same level as Sonos’ app, is also sophisticated, and there’s ample streaming support, with Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, and Bluetooth all onboard.

What’s lacking here is bass, which is something you can get with even modest soundbar systems that include an external subwoofer. Adding one of the company’s wireless Bass Modules ($499) should address that shortcoming, but then it bumps the system price up to $1,000 – a range where you can find other compelling options, including the all-in-one Sonos Arc.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Bose Smart Soundbar 600?

Buy it if…

Don't buy it if…

Also consider

• First reviewed: November 2022
• How we test: read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Editor's note

• Original review date: March 2022
• Current Sony flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar
• Launch price: $1,399 / £1,299 / AU$1,699
• Target price now: $999 / £1,299 / AU$1,699

Update: February 2024. The Sony HT-A7000 remains the company’s flagship soundbar, and the only all-in-one model equipped for 7.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos sound. It was initially pricey at launch, and remains so in the UK and Australia, though its price has seen regular drops in the US, with discounts from $1,399 to around $999 being common. That price makes it competitive with the Sonos Arc, the  5.0.2-channel flagship soundbar from Sonos. The Sony’s higher channel count, multiple HDMI inputs, and DTS:X support make it a superior option to the Arc, however, and the now under-$1,000 price, while still high, is a better value than at launch. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

One-minute review

The Sony HT-A7000 comes with a pedigree. It follows the Sony HT-ST5000 as the company’s new de facto flagship soundbar and it carries an air of distinction.

What helps elevate the HT-A7000 above its competitors is its integrated upfiring speakers that help it support true Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, with a sprinkling of Sony’s new 360 Reality Audio format thrown in, too. 

There are other niceties thrown in at this price - such as the two HDMI 2.1 ports that will allow you to connect both your PS5 and Xbox Series X to the soundbar - and it even has room to grow thanks to an optional subwoofer and rear surround speakers. 

At this price point we wish some of those optional extras were simply included in the box and that the height channels produced a more convincing soundstage, but what’s on offer is a powerful, room-filling soundbar that richly deserves a place amongst the best soundbars.

Price & release date

The Sony HT-A7000 Soundbar made its debut at the tail-end of 2021, effectively replacing the older Sony HT-ST5000 model that long held a position on our best soundbar list.

In terms of pricing, the Sony HT-A7000 comes in at $1,399 / £1,299 / AU$1,699  - and that’s just for the soundbar. If you want to add a subwoofer and rear speakers, that’s going to cost you an extra $300 / £449 / AU$599 and $350 / £449 / AU$649  respectively, depending on which of Sony’s two subwoofers you decide to use. (The more expensive subwoofer, the SA-SW5, costs $698 / ‎£699 / AU$899 by itself, so be prepared for that.)

For a soundbar, that’s a lot of money - especially if you plan on buying all the extras that go with it. Overall, that’s not a horrible price if this becomes your one home cinema purchase for the next decade, but most folks will want a more flexible option at this price point.

Design

At roughly 51 inches long and three inches tall, the HT-A7000 is a pretty big ‘bar. It’s just the right size to fit underneath a Sony X95J TV or one of Sony’s new OLED TVs, but it could very easily block the IR sensor on TVs from other manufacturers or collide with the legs. 

In short, it’s a long bar and probably not the best partner for any screen below 55 inches.

The good news is that big ‘bars like these often pack big drivers to go inside of them - and that’s absolutely what’s going on here. Inside the HT-A7000 are two upfiring speakers for overhead sound, two beam tweeters and five front speakers and a subwoofer that’s in charge of handling the bass for a total output of 500W.

Covering all those speakers is a mish-mash of textures and materials. On the front is a metal grille that covers all the front-firing drivers and a small LED screen, while on the top you’ve got a fabric mesh covering the upfiring drivers. There’s also a glossy finish on the top where you can find the touch-capacitive control buttons. 

The LED screen certainly works well when you’re simply changing the volume, but it’s not the most helpful in showing you which format you’re working with: other soundbars will turn a certain color when they detect an Atmos signal or display it on the front LED. The A7000 does neither.

The included remote is straightforward to use, though you’ll be able to use your TV’s remote should you connect the soundbar via HDMI to your TV or AV receiver, which we highly recommend. 

Features

If you have a TV with an eARC port, you should have next to no problem setting up the HT-A7000. It’s really as easy as plugging in the power cable and running an HDMI cable between the TV and the soundbar. 

That being said, if you want a more in-depth setup and calibration process, Sony makes that relatively simple by building a basic UI into the soundbar itself. 

The most basic step you can take to improve the sound quality of the soundbar is to run a basic room calibration test. This takes just 20 seconds and it will help the soundbar know how far away from walls it is and which channels need extra power. 

You can manually adjust those settings for yourself in the simple UI Sony provides, but most folks should be fine with just the automatic calibration. 

Also this UI is where you can select other sources for audio. The soundbar supports HDMI obviously, but also 3.5mm auxiliary, Bluetooth audio, USB devices, Spotify, Chromecast, Amazon Alexa and 360 Reality Audio via Deezer, Tidal and Amazon Music. It’s a very wide selection of sources, and allows you to have some flexibility in terms of what you want to connect. 

Speaking of music, Sony also included its DSEE Extreme upscaling tech in the soundbar that helps restore details lost in the wireless transmission process. It’s something we’ve seen in the company’s flagship WH-1000M4 headphones, but not in a soundbar. 

Performance

By itself, the Sony HT-A7000 is capable of producing a 7.1.2-channel sound. While that sounds like a lot of sound output - and it certainly is - it’s mostly focused around the mid-range if you don’t go in and manually change the EQ. 

Out of the box, without any additional hardware hooked up, what you’ll hear is robust and clear dialogue. Throughout our testing, no matter the source, we were able to make out dialogue clearly, even when we changed the sound mode of the TV to something more dynamic, like, say the Cinema sound mode on a Sony TV.

The double woofers on the front of the bar do provide a bit of oomph - especially when you crank the volume up above the 60% mark - but they in no way replace what a discrete subwoofer can provide. The same can be said for the upfiring speakers and drivers responsible for surround sound that come off as a little weaker than what we’d like. 

We also noticed that the soundbar cut out once or twice during our two-week testing period. It would happen without rhyme or reason and would momentarily cause the audio to stop before resuming - however, it was certainly annoying whenever it happened.

In terms of stereo imaging and soundstage, there’s a lot to like about the HT-A7000 - it’s a very musically talented soundbar. Testing out some 360 Reality Audio music, you get a real room-filling sound with a clear idea of where all the instruments are located. 

Turning on some Spotify, we were impressed with the force of the soundbar and, again, that robust mid-range. Trebles could’ve been a little clearer and the bass - while easy to hear - just didn’t have the same depth that a separate sub can provide. 

Overall, we feel most folks will be pleased with the sound quality the soundbar provides, but there is obvious room for improvement for whatever Sony designs next. 

Should you buy the Sony HT-A7000 Soundbar?

Buy it if… 

You want a full-range soundbar that can play Dolby Atmos content
While the height channels could stand to be a bit stronger, overall the A7000 is a powerful soundbar that hits most of the right notes. It gives you a bit of everything right out of the box, and then you can always add more oomph to the bass or surround channels by picking up additional hardware.

You have two HDMI 2.1 devices and you want to save some ports
One of the biggest gripes we’ve heard about some TVs supporting just one or two HDMI 2.1 ports is that one of those belongs to the eARC port on the TV. The HT-A7000 allows you to effectively use that one eARC port as two more HDMI 2.1 ports - which is a huge boon for folks who have two (or more) HDMI 2.1 devices that need to be plugged in. 

Don’t buy it if… 

You want a complete system in a single box
Unfortunately, if you want a complete system with a sub-woofer and surround units in a single box, the HT-A7000 isn’t for you. Yes, those things are available to buy separately, but they’re relatively expensive compared to some HTIB systems from other manufacturers.

You want the full Dolby Atmos effect from a soundbar
We’ve known for years that getting a full surround sound effect from a soundbar has been, well, difficult. As more manufacturers have figured out how to do it thanks to room calibration features, we’re now at the point where we’re seeing the same thing happen with upfiring Atmos speakers. They’re good - but they’re just not the same as discrete speakers. 

• Check out our guide to the best soundbars for even more options