5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the Bose Solo 5...so you won't have to sleep with the dog!!

2026-02-27    -David C. Kimzey

I searched around Amazon and the internet for a one speaker (with no separate bass or satellite speakers) system that we could use in our living room. My wife gave me very CLEAR orders about having something that would fit into our entertainment center without being an eye sore while still sounding good enough to watch tv shows or movies. Well, now that she has pretty much told me that I might be sleeping with the dog, and trust me the dog doesn't like it either! Anyway, I watched youtube videos on the Bose system and the competitors. I chose the Bose Solo 5, praying that I didn't need to buy a larger dog bed too. This speaker is great! It has good bass but not overpowering the spoken words or the sound effects in whatever we are watching. WHEW! It has a well rounded sound, and can get loud enough that we can find the right volume for whatever we are watching! I haven't yet needed to max out the volume yet, except to drown out the wife's voice!!! I have other Bose speakers and have been satisfied with the quality of their products. Luckily for Bose, I didn't need to buy bandages, because, if I am honest, the dog and the wife both bite! So great job Bose! Don't get me the wrong, I still can't sleep in the bed, but at least I am in the a/c!! I am very satisfied with the Bose Solo 5! I just wished Bose made replacement wives?? (I am not concerned, because the wife won't read this! :)The universal remote that comes with this system is so good, that we have it as our primary remote for the living room. It controls that sat box, the tv, and the Bose speaker. I love that remote. The instructions were clear and replaced the tv and sat remote. Nearly worth the buy for the remote. So we are very satisfied with the remote too. Easy to hook up and setup. Great!

5.0 out of 5 stars Small size, powerful sound, lives up to Bose name!

2026-02-25    -pm culby

I had wanted to upgrade our family room TV to a soundbar for years. I was seeking something that was smaller but could still deliver some bass, but I didn't want to have to deal with a subwoofer. I researched a ton! At first I looked at the Roku Soundbar, but I realized that wouldn't work if I wanted to have great sound while watching DVDs -- and that soundbar was huge! It would take up my entire TV entertainment center. Then I looked at a compact Polk audio system. Well, my TV does not have an HDMI-ARC input - only HDMI. I have Bose computer speakers that I love and enjoyed a Bose speaker for an old school iPod about 10 years ago. I trusted the brand so I did some more delving into what they had to offer. I ended up going with this Bose 5 system over their Bose TV Speaker because of the promise of the bass; reviews of the Bose TV speaker said that system was more for enhancing dialogue clarity (and it was ~$80 more). The Bose 5 delivers! It took only a few minutes to set up; I use the optical cable. Make sure you completely follow the instructions when programming the remote. When I first programmed it, I got it to sync to the settings but didn't do the last step to finalize it, so the sound would go in and out. Once I realized my mistake and went back through programming the remote, I haven't encountered any issues. You can program the universal remote to work with your cable, which I did, but I chose not to sync the power on/off of the Bose remote with that of cable, because I don't always want to use the Bose speakers when watching TV, especially early in the morning when I'm the first one up. Turning the system on and off is super easy -- even my elderly parent can manage it. And boy does the bass deliver! It's so nice to watch some movies at home and have a semi-movie theater experience. And syncing to my phone through Bluetooth was a snap. I will say I've had to play with the sound settings. Once I realized that my TV's speakers stay on even when I turn the Bose on, I've learned to turn the TV speakers down a bit (but not muted) and the Bose speaker up for the best quality output and to not get a weird echo, which is particularly noticeable with news. I highly recommend this system for its size, quality of sound, and ease of use!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent speaker, clear sound

2026-02-05    -Stephanie

I bought this speaker for my 85-year-old grandparents because their old sound bar (LG) sounded like it was going out. TV speakers are not clear enough for my grandfather so external speakers are a must. There was a noticeable difference between this Bose speaker and their previous LG at its best. Here are their favorite features:Size - it fits between the legs of their TV so it tucks in nicely under the TV (their old one had to sit out in front quite a bit)No separate subwoofer - that’s right, it’s a perk. The sound is much more balanced from this one speaker than it was from their old soundbar with a subwoofer. You can also adjust the bass and the range is pretty good.- Sound - conversation is clearThis soundbar doesn’t compare with high end surround sound but if that’s what you expect out of a single 24-inch single speaker, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. While it’s a Bose, it’s also under $200 so curb your expectations. My Bose bluetooth speaker cost more than this soundbar so that should tell you something. It’s a fantastic speaker, significantly better than TV speakers and better than most soundbars I’ve heard. I doubt you’ll find a better one at this price point.Added bonus - plenty of people complain about the bulky 90s-style remote included but that may be my grandfather’s favorite part, lol. He hates the dinky remote that came with his new TV, which doesn’t have numbers on it. It’s nice that the remote is universal and you can easily program it to all your other devices but yes, it’s unnecessarily old school.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent speaker, clear sound

2026-02-24    -Stephanie

I bought this speaker for my 85-year-old grandparents because their old sound bar (LG) sounded like it was going out. TV speakers are not clear enough for my grandfather so external speakers are a must. There was a noticeable difference between this Bose speaker and their previous LG at its best. Here are their favorite features:Size - it fits between the legs of their TV so it tucks in nicely under the TV (their old one had to sit out in front quite a bit)No separate subwoofer - that’s right, it’s a perk. The sound is much more balanced from this one speaker than it was from their old soundbar with a subwoofer. You can also adjust the bass and the range is pretty good.- Sound - conversation is clearThis soundbar doesn’t compare with high end surround sound but if that’s what you expect out of a single 24-inch single speaker, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. While it’s a Bose, it’s also under $200 so curb your expectations. My Bose bluetooth speaker cost more than this soundbar so that should tell you something. It’s a fantastic speaker, significantly better than TV speakers and better than most soundbars I’ve heard. I doubt you’ll find a better one at this price point.Added bonus - plenty of people complain about the bulky 90s-style remote included but that may be my grandfather’s favorite part, lol. He hates the dinky remote that came with his new TV, which doesn’t have numbers on it. It’s nice that the remote is universal and you can easily program it to all your other devices but yes, it’s unnecessarily old school.

5.0 out of 5 stars Small size, powerful sound, lives up to Bose name!

2026-01-01    -pm culby

I had wanted to upgrade our family room TV to a soundbar for years. I was seeking something that was smaller but could still deliver some bass, but I didn't want to have to deal with a subwoofer. I researched a ton! At first I looked at the Roku Soundbar, but I realized that wouldn't work if I wanted to have great sound while watching DVDs -- and that soundbar was huge! It would take up my entire TV entertainment center. Then I looked at a compact Polk audio system. Well, my TV does not have an HDMI-ARC input - only HDMI. I have Bose computer speakers that I love and enjoyed a Bose speaker for an old school iPod about 10 years ago. I trusted the brand so I did some more delving into what they had to offer. I ended up going with this Bose 5 system over their Bose TV Speaker because of the promise of the bass; reviews of the Bose TV speaker said that system was more for enhancing dialogue clarity (and it was ~$80 more). The Bose 5 delivers! It took only a few minutes to set up; I use the optical cable. Make sure you completely follow the instructions when programming the remote. When I first programmed it, I got it to sync to the settings but didn't do the last step to finalize it, so the sound would go in and out. Once I realized my mistake and went back through programming the remote, I haven't encountered any issues. You can program the universal remote to work with your cable, which I did, but I chose not to sync the power on/off of the Bose remote with that of cable, because I don't always want to use the Bose speakers when watching TV, especially early in the morning when I'm the first one up. Turning the system on and off is super easy -- even my elderly parent can manage it. And boy does the bass deliver! It's so nice to watch some movies at home and have a semi-movie theater experience. And syncing to my phone through Bluetooth was a snap. I will say I've had to play with the sound settings. Once I realized that my TV's speakers stay on even when I turn the Bose on, I've learned to turn the TV speakers down a bit (but not muted) and the Bose speaker up for the best quality output and to not get a weird echo, which is particularly noticeable with news. I highly recommend this system for its size, quality of sound, and ease of use!

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the Bose Solo 5...so you won't have to sleep with the dog!!

2025-12-27    -David C. Kimzey

I searched around Amazon and the internet for a one speaker (with no separate bass or satellite speakers) system that we could use in our living room. My wife gave me very CLEAR orders about having something that would fit into our entertainment center without being an eye sore while still sounding good enough to watch tv shows or movies. Well, now that she has pretty much told me that I might be sleeping with the dog, and trust me the dog doesn't like it either! Anyway, I watched youtube videos on the Bose system and the competitors. I chose the Bose Solo 5, praying that I didn't need to buy a larger dog bed too. This speaker is great! It has good bass but not overpowering the spoken words or the sound effects in whatever we are watching. WHEW! It has a well rounded sound, and can get loud enough that we can find the right volume for whatever we are watching! I haven't yet needed to max out the volume yet, except to drown out the wife's voice!!! I have other Bose speakers and have been satisfied with the quality of their products. Luckily for Bose, I didn't need to buy bandages, because, if I am honest, the dog and the wife both bite! So great job Bose! Don't get me the wrong, I still can't sleep in the bed, but at least I am in the a/c!! I am very satisfied with the Bose Solo 5! I just wished Bose made replacement wives?? (I am not concerned, because the wife won't read this! :)The universal remote that comes with this system is so good, that we have it as our primary remote for the living room. It controls that sat box, the tv, and the Bose speaker. I love that remote. The instructions were clear and replaced the tv and sat remote. Nearly worth the buy for the remote. So we are very satisfied with the remote too. Easy to hook up and setup. Great!