Bose Smart Soundbar 600 Soundbar Review

The Bose Soundbar 600 is similar to the Bose Smart Soundbar 300, with a sleek plastic design. The main difference between the two bars is the 600's metal grille, which covers the up-firing drivers within.

You can add on a sub from Bose separately.

Bose sells compatible satellites, which you can purchase separately.

The Bose Soundbar 600 is the same size and shape as the Bose Smart Soundbar 300, so it's quite compact and fits between the legs of a 55" TV stand.

The Bose Soundbar 600 has great build quality. It's mainly made of plastic, which feels really solid and durable. The metal grille on top helps to protect the up-firing drivers within, too.

• Manual
• Optical cable (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• HDMI cable (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• Remote with battery
• Power cable (4.9 ft / 1.5m)

The Bose Soundbar 600 has a decent stereo frequency response. It's a unique bar with TrueSpace technology inside to upmix stereo content with height effects when you listen. The overall sound is pleasing, with a clear and detailed representation of voices and other lead instruments in the mix and a touch of extra punch in the high-bass. It's a little processed, though, as you can tell the bar is pushing the soundstage wider and wider. You can't turn TrueSpace off, but if you like a more cinematic sound, it's not an issue. Of course, as a standalone bar, there isn't much rumble in the low-bass, but you can add a separate sub if you wish to improve its bass reproduction.

You can adjust the bar's bass and treble, and they're marked by increments of 10 by the manufacturer. Setting the bar down one bass setting to '-10' results in a more balanced and even sound, as you notice less punch in the high-bass. Voices and other instruments remain clearly and accurately reproduced from the bar.

The Bose Soundbar 600's stereo soundstage is decent, thanks to its unique side-firing stereo drivers that push sound well past the edges of the bar itself. However, the overall effect isn't as immersive-sounding as with Bose's more premium offerings since the focus is just okay. Sound effects seem to come from more general areas, and there's a different timber to audio as it stretches to the far edges, which doesn't feel as real or natural.

The Bose Soundbar 600 gets loud enough to fill larger, more open spaces with sound, making it a solid choice for living rooms and basements alike. That said, as you crank up the volume, there's some compression in the mix that impacts the quality of audio reproduction.

Distortion falls within good limits, whether you're listening at a normal volume or with the volume cranked up.

Its discrete center improves vocal reproduction, and the channel offers a balanced and even frequency response, so dialogue remains clear and accurate in the mix. You shouldn't have trouble following along when you watch movies or TV shows.

The Bose Soundbar 600's surround performance is pretty unique compared to others in the Bose lineup. With its TrueSpace technology, it uses its side-firing stereo channels, center channel, and up-firing height channels to simulate a phantom surround. The extra height effects bring a more cinematic feel to the sound. Still, it's not quite as clear or accurate as the performance with discrete satellites, which you can purchase from the manufacturer separately.

The bar uses up-firing drivers to ricochet sound off the ceiling, simulating the illusion of height. It's not quite as clear or as real as what you get with a home theater setup's down-firing speakers, but it's a common setup with soundbars. The balanced frequency response on these channels means that sound effects are reproduced with accuracy, too.

Subjectively, the bar's soundstage with Atmos content is impressive, given its small size. Sound extends to the space around you as if you've been dropped right into the middle of the action. Compared to more premium models like the Bose Smart Soundbar 900, you don't notice as much height. Helicopters and drones don't seem to fly from overhead, but rather, it feels like they're centered in front of you. There's not a lot of rumble, either, but for a small standalone bar, it does well.

If you choose to mount the bar to your wall, use the Bose Music app to activate the Wall EQ, which lets you choose between different audio settings based on its positioning. However, there's no setting for leaving the bar flat on a table, and you don't get a true room correction feature like with more premium models such as the Bose Smart Soundbar 700. As a result, the bar sounds a little different depending on the room you're in, but at least you can adjust its bass and treble to compensate a bit. You won't find an EQ, though. The presets in the app let you set up your favorite radio stations for easy access, but they don't impact the bar's audio reproduction.

You can connect the bar to your TV over Optical or HDMI connections. There's also a BASS port to connect a Bose Bass Module, an IR port for an IR emitter, and a micro-USB port to service the bar. However, there's no HDMI In, so you can't use the bar as a hub between devices or for video passthrough.

Via ARC, the bar supports many different audio formats, including 5.1 surround formats like Dolby Digital, as well as lossless and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos.

The bar supports Dolby Digital over Optical, which is commonly found on many different streaming platforms and Blu-rays.

The bar has low latency, meaning you can enjoy movies and videos without any noticeable lip-synching issues. The video you see on screen matches the audio you hear, which is great. Some apps and TVs may compensate for latency differently; however, if you have any issues, there's an audio sync feature in the Bose Music app to manually compensate for the delay.

The bar lets you wirelessly stream audio from your phone or other mobile devices over lots of different platforms. With Chromecast built-in, you can connect a third-party Google Assistant device to the bar to control it with your voice.

There's no display, but a group of LED lights on the front of the bar flashes different colors and patterns depending on the settings you adjust. You can see the manual for a full list of the meanings behind each pattern.

The bar's controls are simple: there's a microphone mute button to disable the built-in voice assistant, as well as an Action button that lets you manually enable Alexa. You need the remote or the app to play and pause your audio.

The remote is simple and lets you control the bar's most basic features. You can find additional support via the Bose Music app, so if you own compatible Bose speakers, you can connect them to the bar.

Built-in Amazon Alexa support lets you control the bar with your voice, and you can set up this feature in the Bose Music app. Plus, if you have a third-party Google Assistant device, you can connect it to the bar using Chromecast built-in for additional voice assistant support.