I must confess: I listen to music on my Bose soundbar. If you know anything about audio gear, I guarantee you read that sentence and winced. Then, you hear Bose and you think hi-fi, right? You think luxurious, premium brand, with cool tech and even cooler listening.
Well, most people do, but I know it's a stretch to generalize. Most audio aficionados I've met will disagree with the general populace's opinion that Bose is untouchable, and I'm kind of on the fence. Bose has made some awesome products — the discontinued SoundTrue headphones that were my first ever foray into the world of 'premium' audio gear — and, naturally, some flops. But I don't think the Bose soundbar I've got is a flop.
I've got one of the more affordable Bose soundbars: the Bose Smart Soundbar (2024). No, it's not the Sonos Arc Ultra or the Marshall Heston, but IMO the Bose soundbar's got a different use case. I only awarded a 3.5-rating in my review, because it's not as strong as other soundbars overall.
However, if you see it as a TV/gaming/music soundbar rather than a blockbuster movie soundbar, it definitely becomes at least a 4-star soundbar.
Even so, sometimes even high-end soundbars play music very poorly. Soundbars and music speakers are naturally tuned differently, as will produce sound in different ways. However, the Bose Smart Soundbar is my guilty pleasure, and I listen to music on it every single day...
So why is listening to music on a soundbar worth it?
Yes, I use my soundbar to listen to music.
Please don't come for me in the comments. Or, maybe, please do, and I can explain my reasonings to you. But for the sake of time, I'll also explain my reasonings here.
I have the Bose Smart Soundbar, which, if you hadn't guessed, is a soundbar stuffed with smart capabilities. It's got smart home integration (but I don't use smart speakers so can't attest to its adeptness), a mic, and, the best thing of all, AirPlay (or Google Cast, if you're an Android user).
AirPlay/Google Cast is the only reason I gravitate towards my Bose soundbar for everyday listening. It's so easy to play music directly from my iPhone 16 Pro via Spotify or Qobuz, our best streaming service for audiophiles.
Instead of having to turn on my Bluetooth speaker or connect my Edifier R1280T speakers to my laptop via aux, I just have to tap on my phone to play through my soundbar.
That's why I use my soundbar at home — it's so easy.
On top of being able to stream directly from my phone, my Smart Soundbar is always plugged in and ready to go. I never have to charge it. I never have to fiddle with Bluetooth settings to get it working. I can join my boyfriend's Spotify Jam and change the playlist without needing to connect to the speaker or ask him for the Jam QR code — very sneaky. (Of course you don't have to scan the Jam QR code every time — just when on different networks.)
So while the soundbar doesn't play music as perfectly as wired speakers or wired headphones, for everyday listening, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to pay. And, when you really think about it, when I'm cooking or cleaning, I'm not in the right headspace to listen to music deeply anyway.
I mostly use the Bose soundbar for music when I'm doing something else — aforementioned cooking or cleaning, or hanging out with friends — so I don't mind that the sound isn't as pristine as I'd usually expect. For serious listening sessions, I use other audio devices.
But I'm not a monster — of course there are exceptions
I know soundbars are generally quite poor at music playback. Trust me, I've tested enough of them — from $67 glorified TV speakers like the Majority Naga soundbar to $1,699 premium setups like the JBL Bar 1300X — to know that most of them have subpar music tuning. When you think about what a soundbar is actually supposed to do — make movies sound epic — that's not too surprising.
Music and movies invariably use different DSPs, different mixes, and different EQs to provide the user with a different type of sound. Movies have a lot of dialogue, so voices need to be audible without overpowering booming bass battle scenes. If you listen to music with the same tuning, it's going to sound weird and distorted.
Music generally needs more of a subtle and gentle tuning. When you think about it, the professional studio engineers, mixers, and producers have already done the hard work for you, right? So why would you need to fiddle with the sound?
When a new album releases, I don't listen to it for the first time on the Bose Smart Soundbar. Of course not. As I said above, I'm not a monster, am I?
I'll listen to new releases either on my AirPods Pro 2 or my Edifier R1280T — the speakers you see above. While I've only just got these speakers, I've already used them to death. The sound clarity is off-the-charts good. Instead of doing what some affordable brands are guilty of and bumping up the bass to hide a low quality center speaker, the Edifier R1280T have a really natural, balanced EQ that lets the whole frequency range shine.
So if one of my favorite artists releases a new record, I'll play it properly. Ideally on Qobuz (but not all my fave small bands are on Qobuz), but Spotify is my second best for serious listens.
I'm getting a turntable soon, so I'm beyond excited to dust off the collector's edition records I've had since 2012 and finally listen to them. Of course not on the Bose Smart Soundbar.
What could make me change my ways?
Well, the obvious answer is an AirPlay/Google Cast adapter for my wired bookshelf speakers.
And, thankfully, such things exist.
Ta-da!
I need to get my hands on this nifty device so I can finally stop being a pathetic excuse for a music lover and actually listen to my favorite songs in hi-res, like the artist intended.
But, for now, I'm going to outsource my everyday music listening to my soundbar. Sorry not sorry.
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