Bose Solo 5 Soundbar - Refurb - $119.99 + Tax - Free Shipping

Looks good to me! In for 1!

repatch wrote: ↑ It's a narrow bar, sitting under your TV, how in heck is it going to implement 5.1 audio?

For the 5 portion you'd need speakers to the sides of you. And 3.1 speakers in a tiny enclosure? That's just a complete waste. Even getting 2.0 separation at that distance is dubious. And the .1? The bar is to small for effective low frequency stuff.

ANY bar that claims 5.1 is probably just talking about it being able to downsample 5.1 into 2.0, which is frankly not much of a feature.

Perhaps he didn’t say it properly, but he’s right. A 5.1 soundbar will need satellite speakers to get the 3.1 + (2) = 5.1

I don’t see how a single soundbar with no satellite can be a 5.1. Heck, this sound bar isn’t even a 3.1/2.1 as there are no dedicated subwoofer. It’s simply a stereo soundbar, which will suit and satisfy most !

dherling wrote: ↑ I bought in the last sale and it took 3 weeks. 1 week for Bose to ship and 2 weeks for UPS to get it to me. Happy with the soundbar but the shipping time was disappointing.

what are you thoughts on bass and clarity?

fatcowxlive wrote: ↑ How is this for an apartment? From the reviews I've seen it's good for smaller spaces. The TV is strictly used for Movies and Gaming, no music or anything else. I heard that the detail and clarity is good, but does anyone here have it and can speak on how it is for video games? Also is not having any surround sound simulation a big miss? Thanks!

for gaming, you're better off with a good pair of cans

SimonL556 wrote: ↑ Perhaps he didn’t say it properly, but he’s right. A 5.1 soundbar will need satellite speakers to get the 3.1 + (2) = 5.1

I don’t see how a single soundbar with no satellite can be a 5.1. Heck, this sound bar isn’t even a 3.1/2.1 as there are no dedicated subwoofer. It’s simply a stereo soundbar, which will suit and satisfy most !

There are tons of soundbars that do "virtual" surround. They can do 5.1 or 7.1 sound by bouncing sound off the walls. In an ideal room, the reflecting technology used can simulate the side and rear speakers. I've had a bunch of Nakamichi, Sony, and Yamaha sound bars, and they work well enough but having a real home theater setup is always better. If you're tight on space or don't want to spent a lot of money, then soundbars are fine. Just temper your expectations, because they'll never sound the same as traditional speakers, and they're not good in all situations (e.g. listening to music).

The Bose soundbar will work well enough, but typically I found Bose systems lack punch. They'll do well for normal TV viewing, but don't expect it to sound like you're in a movie theater. They'll excel with content that has a lot of dialogue. I just ordered this soundbar today, so I have no experience with it. I'm speaking based on the Bose 3-2-1 speaker I owned for several years, before replacing it with a soundbar. I also have friends that own Bose home theater setups.

My Lg smart tv doesn’t have Bluetooth. How can I connect this to tv if I get one?

iamagtaguy wrote: ↑ My Lg smart tv doesn’t have Bluetooth. How can I connect this to tv if I get one?

Most TVs have an optical and/or coaxial audio port for audio output. Just look on the back.

thanks OP. i bought on ebay because i was able to use my eBay Bucks.

RanelD742511 wrote: ↑ Obviously you know nothing about soundbars with 5.1 channel, go to Costco or Best Buy dude. Anyway, it’s time
for me to block you now as i am just wasting my time
with your nonsense. Not worth my time.

Why am I going to Costco or Best Buy?

You're right, I don't know anything about soundbars with 5.1 labelled on the box.

All I know is that to get 5.1 SURROUND you NEED to have speakers SURROUNDING you. How does a single, narrow, soundbar, sitting under your TV do that?

Again, considering one wide apart the drivers are in a soundbar, the MOST you can hope to get is 2.1, and the .1 is probably barely there because something so small isn't going going to have much to contribute in the sub category.

Please, research this a bit, and see through the marketing wankery that is SO common in the audio industry.

sumtimw0ng wrote: ↑ for gaming, you're better off with a good pair of cans

That is ALWAYS the case, especially in FPS where audio direction is a very important part of the game (footsteps to the right? BLAST HIM!).

fudge_u wrote: ↑ There are tons of soundbars that do "virtual" surround. They can do 5.1 or 7.1 sound by bouncing sound off the walls. In an ideal room, the reflecting technology used can simulate the side and rear speakers. I've had a bunch of Nakamichi, Sony, and Yamaha sound bars, and they work well enough but having a real home theater setup is always better. If you're tight on space or don't want to spent a lot of money, then soundbars are fine. Just temper your expectations, because they'll never sound the same as traditional speakers, and they're not good in all situations (e.g. listening to music).

There is SO much wankery in the audio market, it's annoying.

As for 'virtual' surround, bouncing stuff off the wall to get side channels? That would require precise tuning to the room, along with active adjustments as people enter and leave that room. Sorry, that's just not happening.

What IS happening, and what always happens with these 'virtual' surround schemes, is they are just increasing the stereo separation between the two channels. This results in a 'wider' sound that I can see people feeling sounds better.

But to label it 5.1 or 7.1 is pure BS, misleading, and should be outlawed. 5.1 means you have 5.1 positions being driven, that's it, full stop. Any claims to the otherwise are just ripping people off.

repatch wrote: ↑ But to label it 5.1 or 7.1 is pure BS, misleading, and should be outlawed. 5.1 means you have 5.1 positions being driven, that's it, full stop. Any claims to the otherwise are just ripping people off.

That's why it's called virtual. Some manufacturers (Yamaha) also provide a calibration mic, so it can optimize the soundbar's ability to produce 5.1 or 7.1. Like I said before, it's not like a true 5.1 or 7.1 setup, but it's a great alternative for people that don't have the space or are looking for a cheap alternative. Typically, many of those soundbars also come with a sub too.

Virtual surround sound technology is no different than TV manufacturers advertising a TV with 240Hz refresh rate, when it's actual 120Hz and uses smoothing technology to achieve 240Hz.

My dad bought this last boxing day. He has it in his small bedroom and hooked it up thru hdmi. We were both unimpressed with it. If it wasnt for wall mounting and making holes in the drywall, he would have returned it in a heart beat. Honestly i thought it sounded bad too. And we’re not even close to audiophiles... i dont even know if it’s better than Sony’s built in tv speakers.

Funny how a simple deal for a low end Bose soundbar turns into a 5.1 and 7.1 dolby atmos “my bass is bigger than yours” debate.

Good deal for a $120. Thanks OP.

FYI had the sound bar before, it sounded worse than SoundLink mini to me. For tv, the Costco Vizio sound bar with slim woofer is a much better choice at 150 imo

Just a heads up for all this heat on the Bose fire sales, they are exiting the consumer market so don't expect much in the way of support for any of their gear moving forward.

As to buying Bose in general... They are all marketing no quality. Don't fall for the hype. We are entering a world where good dynamic full range sound is being replaced by shite like Bose Beats and Sonos that has all the frequencies that would make their little drivers rattle and distort removed by DSP. It's like buying a car that says it can reach max speed in 3 seconds because they changed the speedometer to only go upto 40kmh.

I mostly agree with you but there is definitely more than just stereo separation going on in a speaker like this.

https://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/audio ... index.html

Mind you that speaker is over $2k

Traian2003 wrote: ↑ My dad bought this last boxing day. He has it in his small bedroom and hooked it up thru hdmi. We were both unimpressed with it. If it wasnt for wall mounting and making holes in the drywall, he would have returned it in a heart beat. Honestly i thought it sounded bad too. And we’re not even close to audiophiles... i dont even know if it’s better than Sony’s built in tv speakers.

How did you hook it up through HDMI if there's no HDMI port?

dherling wrote: ↑ I mostly agree with you but there is definitely more than just stereo separation going on in a speaker like this.

https://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/audio ... index.html

Mind you that speaker is over $2k

I wanted that last year, but opted to build out a 5.1.2 setup instead for a bit more money.

I was expecting a peice of crap reading these reviews, it's certainly an improvement on my tv speakers(Toshiba 55) doesn't take up much room, makes vocals much easier to hear without boosting volume and has enough subtle bass for my needs , hell I even watched star wars on it and made the movie much more enjoyable for me. It's cheap and cheerful,enjoy,thanks OP