Bose Home Speaker 500: Smart Bluetooth Speaker with Alexa Voice Control Built-in, Silver

For the past few years, I've been listening to music on Amazon Echo speakers, which I had synced in various rooms throughout my house. Because I had been listening to music more and more, when my family and I decided to move, I wanted to upgrade my speakers. I originally was set on getting a pair of the KEF LSX. Though I've never heard them, after all my research, I am sure they are amazing speakers. I also wanted to get some other less expensive speakers (at least compared to the LSX) for other parts of the house that I could sync to (using Air Play 2). I tested out a lot of options in this price range (and even a bit more expensive, like the Sonos Play 5). When we were in the process of moving, I decided on and ordered a Home Speaker 500. After using it for a day, I was so impressed by this speaker that I decided to forego the KEF LSX and just use the Bose throughout the house, so I ordered two more. So, for about the price of on set of LSX, I now have awesome speakers throughout my house. I'm sure I sacrificed sound quality by not getting the LSX (and I definitely sacrificed getting stereo sound on a wide soundstage), but, honestly, I love the sound of the Home Speaker 500, so I don't think I need anything that is 'audiophile' grade. What I Love Most: -The sound is full and rich. I don't know how to describe it otherwise, but everything I listen to sounds fantastic. -The speakers can also get really loud without any discernible distortion. I haven't pushed them to their full volume as they are quite loud enough even at 50% or 60%, and the sound really does fill the room (and the next room!). -The look & overall build quality. They are really handsome speakers with a substantial size without being too bulky. I also appreciate the aluminum finish much more than I expected I would. The aluminum also gives the speaker a really nice heft to it. Nothing about this speaker feels or looks cheap to me (which is partly why it's not a cheap speaker, obviously). -The screen. I have read reviews that criticize the screen as not useful and not in line with the current aesthetic for speakers. But, honestly, I listen to a lot of playlists on Spotify, and it's nice to be able to see what's playing. And, even when I'm playing stuff I know, I like seeing the album art. -EQ adjustments in the Bose app. You can change treble and bass on a pretty wide range (-100 to 100, with 0 being default). When we first moved in, we didn't have any rugs down, so the sound was way too bright. A small adjustment in the EQ made a huge difference. Now that we have some rugs down, I've adjusted the EQ again back towards the default, and they continue to sound great. Even though these speakers don't self-tune like some of the other speakers in this class (Sonos, Apple, and Google all do to some extent), the tuning you can do as a user I think will make these speakers work for you in any space. And, the speaker does have a host of microphones, so self-tuning is always something Bose could add in the future. (Minor) Complaints -The way groups work is a little different than with Amazon's Echo ecosystem. Instead of creating groups ahead of time, you have to go into the Bose app to create groups ad hoc. So, you can't ask Alexa to play music on a particular group of these Bose speakers. Instead, you have to get music started on one speaker and then create the group you want in the Bose app. Once it's set up and is playing continuously, any music command given to Alexa continues to play on that group. If you stop playing music, the group eventually dissolves. The positive to this is that you can also edit groups (add and remove speakers) on the fly without really interrupting the music. With the Echo ecosystem, I don't think this was possible (except possibly if you were using Spotify Connect with your Echo groups). -The app and software can be a bit buggy. It always does what I want it to -- eventually. And it doesn't take long to do what I want it to do. But it also doesn't always work the first time (such as creating or editing a group). Also, album art sometimes disappears, replaced by a generic, white musical note. I will say that the more I have used my speakers, the less buggy the system tends to be. Maybe I'm just becoming more proficient at navigating the software's quirks, or maybe Bose is making some updates to the speakers that I am not aware of. -Bose used two side-firing drivers in this speaker, which is supposed to give a wider soundstage for stereo sound. I don't really hear much stereo in these speakers, even with songs that have a lot of it (such as "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service). That said, the side-firing speakers do create a more room-filling sound as Bose claims. And, really, similar to the Echo, the sound quality doesn't change a lot no matter where you are in relationship to the speaker (though the little stereo you might get straight on gets lost completely if you are not more or less straight on to the front or back of the speaker). All in all, I absolutely recommend this speaker. It's a bit on the pricier side compared to some of the other speakers it gets compared to (but not all), but, for what I was looking for, I'm really quite satisfied.

I bit the bullet at this major price for this speaker. I wanted a Bluetooth speaker that could fill the room with good sound. My only complaint about this speaker is the price. As others have said the sound is full, has depth & while not stereo, if in front of it almost seems like it. Contrary to the instructions I did not start with their app. I already have it for my Soundbar 700, and just wanted to use as an ordinary Bluetooth speaker. No problem there, press the Bluetooth button on it and saw it on my Samsung Galaxy Bluetooth list. Hit Pair and it connected immediately. When I played my Apple music it identified the song and artist. This plugs in, no battery to charge, yay! Also just a plug, no bulky transformer to try and find a place to plug in. And no on/off switch surprised me. Guess since ac powered don't need one. Then I opened the Bose app and of course it wanted to add it in with my soundbar. Didn't work until the 3rd try. Then about a15 minute download to the latest ware. Then you had to click on the app in your Bluetooth list to make it work. It has a few features like adjust the tone etc. Not of interest to me as fine as it is for my environment. In order to just do it as a regular Bluetooth speaker had to close the app and re-pair it to my phone directly. I will listen to my Apple music and some streaming online music sources all directly without needing the Bose app. Once you get over the sticker shock likely you will love it. I have a few other somewhat expensive Bluetooth speakers and this one blows them all away. Have had some issues with my Bose soundbar, hopefully this won't have any.

The Bose Home Speaker 500 delivers rich sound, sleek design, and smart features that elevate any comfort zone. It’s a premium speaker that blends audio quality with voice control and visual flair. This speaker earns its place in my comfort ritual lineup. The audio quality is outstanding—crisp highs, full mids, and deep bass that fills the room without distortion. Whether I’m playing ambient noise for sleep, jazz for breakfast, or podcasts during cleanup, the sound stays balanced and immersive. Alexa integration works smoothly, letting me control music, check the weather, or manage smart home routines hands-free. The built-in display adds a nice visual touch, showing album art and track info without needing to check my phone. It’s not flashy, but it’s functional and elegant. Setup through the Bose Music app takes a few steps, but once connected, it’s easy to manage sources and preferences. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi streaming are reliable, and the speaker handles Spotify, Amazon Music, and other services without hiccups. Design-wise, it’s a sleek, modern unit that fits well on a shelf, nightstand, or kitchen counter. The build feels premium, and the touch controls are intuitive. It’s not waterproof, so it’s best kept indoors, but it’s a solid anchor for any smart audio setup. The Bose Home Speaker 500 isn’t just a speaker—it’s a sound companion. It anchors my morning rituals, enhances my sleep routines, and responds to voice commands with ease. If you’re building a comfort-focused smart home, this speaker brings warmth, clarity, and control in one polished package.

I was specifically looking for a smart speaker with Google and Alexa built in. I tried the Sonos - One (Gen 2) and I really do prefer that sound over this Bose 500 . The Sonos was not as loud as the Bose but delivered a clearer, crisper sound with sharp clear Bass. Where the Bose 500 was more mid range and deeper Bass. Both units produced great sounds. The only issue I had with Sonos is that it does not have Bluetooth. That was a deal breaker, otherwise I would have chosen it over Bose. The next unit I tried was the Marshall - Uxbridge Smart Speaker and it is a great unit and great sound, but not very much Bass. The smart capabilities are great but however, it is lacking a deep punch in sound. I tried the Sony XB402M Smart Speaker and simply put-Don't waste your money on it. It is a great little unit for what it does but does not compare in sound quality to Bose or Sonos and falls short in bass by an immeasurable amount. I then tried this Bose 500-I was amazed at how great it sounds. It has Bluetooth and Google and Alexa integration that is wonderful. Yet, like most other 3rd party smart speakers, you don't get 100pct of the smart capabilities but the only one I found is asking Alexa to connect to my phone. It won't do that on the Bose and only tested it on Sonos and Sonos lacked even more abilities than the Bose. When using Google as the smart assistant, there was no issue with asking it connect to my phone. In overall sound, the two top choices are the Sonos and Bose. Until Sonos updates to Bluetooth, I would pass it up and choose the Bose. Also, there are no issues of it connecting to Wi-Fi as people report. A lot of tech issues are a result of people not knowing what to do. They may be on an unstable wifi and having spotty connection issues, etc. So many variables to consider. Don't buy into those negative reviews on connections for this Bose unit, It is more likely their user error.

First off i would like to say, i own the Bose 500 and 300 speakers. They sound very good for their size and the 500 can definitely fill a living room with sound. Base is good and everything sounds very clear. If you have other Bose products you know the sound, and wont be disappointed. The main downside with this speaker is not the sound but the accessibility of the bose music app. More on that in a moment Sound - As mentioned this is one of the strongest features of the speaker. It is a quality sound and can get loud. i have it in my living room and never use at more than 50% volume so cannot comment on distortion but unless your going to be in a massive room i dont think you should need to turn it to the upper volume levels. Appearance - This looks clean and minimal. It can easily sit on any table or shelf and is unobtrusive. The screen on it is a nice touch though its practicality is limited. The main thing for me is doubles as a clock so you can put it on a table next to the couch and be able to see the time at glance. While it does show the album art this is more a novelty than anything because its too small to really recognize much unless your close and unless you know the album art of every song you're better off just identifying it by listening. still its a nice touch. Functionality - the speaker has 6 preset buttons on the top which can be set for any cpmaptiable service, whether it be a station, song mix etc. if you have something you always listen to, like a spotfiy daily mix, this is ideal to just walk over and select than have to pull your phone out all the time. It also has a mute button for the mic so you can turn that off if you arent keen on Bose music listening to everything you say. It is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant (not home). though note that google home is more limited functionality. This was added later via firmware update so its not like having a Nest audio. it will perform basic functions like timers, weather, music, calendar sync, but keep in mind that the speaker does not support YouTube Music. Even though they are owned by same company. The speaker also supports apple airplay but NOT chromecast. This is a major issue which i will talk about next depending on what music service you favor. Spotify connect works flawlessly and alexa cast is decent but tends to lose sync more than normal (its still not great even on echos). Music Services - Bose Music app supports the following services: Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora, IHeart Radio, TuneIn, Sirius XM radio. Notably missing services are Youtube Music and Tidal. These services are accesed through the Bose Music App, which has limited functionality. The good news with the app is its easy to use multiple services at once. You can switch between any of them seamlessly at any point. The biggest issue is that some of these services have better support through the app than others. Deezer is bare bones and unless you already have all the playlists saved, it is difficult to use it for any type of music discovery. Also you have to have premium version or you only get 30 second previews of songs. Iheart radio is okay if you only use it for radio or shuffle but does not support on demand or podcasts at all. Despite iheart advertising as one of the best podcast services you cannot use them through bose music. If you want podcasts you have to listen through TuneIn or spotify connect. Pandora is also only radio so if you have pandora premium you are SOL. Its very basic implementation. I would say that Spotify and Amazon music have the most support, while there is a weird quirk with amazon music that for some reason you cannot favorite songs on the app or through voice unless it is on a station. If you have spotify and want a great speaker to play it on, this is perfect as you can totally discount the bose music app and just use spotify connect. i actually think Bose Music implementation of amazon music is better than Amazons own app, but that isnt saying much. Finally, airplay is supported but NOT chromecast. This is a massive oversight considering how poorly implemented some of the other services are through the Bose app. I could look past the medicore bose music app if i could just cast those services through chromecast but alas its not possible. so if you are on Deezer, Iheart, Pandora you are out of luck unless you can deal with the bose music app. Setup/Ease of Use - when the speaker first came out there were issues with connection and setup. It takes forever to download firmware updates. there are numerous reviews that talk about nightmare experiences trying to get your bose music account synced and setup with the speaker. however, they have made multiple patches and i think now its mostly fine. the grouping also used to be finicky and would not always connect to the second speaker, but again since the last few updates this seems to have resolved itself. the voice functionality works but obviously favors amazon music. im old school though and still prefer to run things off my device and much prefer the original music service apps than bose music half implementation. Sound is great and if you are on one of the better supported services, like spotify or amazon you got a winner here. Its also usually on sale for $100 off so can easily be had for cheaper than list price. the full price is not worth it.

Hi! Don't get me wrong; I've always liked Bose Products tremendously. I had a set of Bose Desktop Companion 3 Speakers which sounded incredibly great, but I traded them up for Bose Desktop Companion 5's which sound even better (had a set of Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones which sounded great too!). Here's the problem that I have with the Bose Home Speaker 500. It's a BLUETOOTH speaker with Alexa BUILT IN, right? Well... any of Amazon's Echo Products do NOT connect to Bluetooth devices especially well... and the Alex App does NOT find this speaker at all. Period. Even when I specifically did a search for Blue Tooth Devices in the Alexa App, it STILL doesn't find it. Case in point: I have Klipsh (Bluetooth) Speakers and the Alexa App DOESN'T find them either; never could, never did, and never will (so I hardwired them instead). And that's one thing I've learned from past experience: If I'm not able to discover a device using the Alexa App, chances are that I'm going to run into problems with WHATEVER device I'm attempting to use. The Bose Home Speaker 500 is no exception: I will say that the SOUND of this speaker is incredible, but that's the ONLY thing good i can say about the Bose 500. As far as I'm concerned, all the rest is crap. The first thing I had to do was install the Bose Music App which really only allowed me to connect my speakers to WiFi (I had to use the Bose Music App to connect to WiFi), but that's about it. The app also allowed me raise or lower the volume of the speaker, change bass treble and such, and/or change the source that I was using (Auxiliary/Bluetooth) but other than that the "Music App" wasn't much of a music app at all (because that's pretty much ALL it does). Not an impressive app at all especially since it DOES come from Bose and they're a company that tends to boast about superb music quality. With the Bose Music App there's nothing "superb" too see OR hear. Additionally, I lost my WiFi connection to the speaker no less then five times in a two day period. Unlike Alexa (which automatically reconnects to all my Echo's if I loose my WiFi connection) this speaker does NOT "re-discover" itself once the WiFi connection is lost. Instead I had to reset the speaker to factory settings, and run through the set-up process all over again (and it's not because my WiFi single is weak either. My WiFi Router is located in my bedroom within 12 feet of the speaker, and my WiFi signal is excellent... (I checked). You CAN'T control the volume level on this speaker with Alexa to any great extent at all. You can say: "Alexa, lower the volume", and the sound will go down just a little bit, or if you say "Alexa, raise the volume, and the sound will go up a little bit, but saying: "Alexa, volume level 5, volume level 7, volume level ANYTHING doesn't do a thing... so once again, the Bose 500 doesn't work with Alexa like any of Amazon's Echo Dot family of speakers work with Alexa. Furthermore, I was UNABLE to connect this speaker to ANY other speaker in my apartment. I have my speakers to play on the "Everywhere Group". If I say: "Alexa, play "Dirty Laundry by Don Henley EVERYWHERE", the song will play in all the rooms of my apartment with the EXCEPTION of my bedroom (which is where I had the Bose 500 situated). Since this is a BLUETOOTH speaker that is designed to connect to a WIRELESS network (but since the speaker is non-discoverable by the Alexa App) I could NOT connect this speaker to my "Everywhere Group" at all... which means that it's one HELL of an expensive door-stop as far as I'm concerned. Totally worthless. I WAS planning on setting up a REALLY nice sound system in my home, and was going to use Bose everything, but now I've decided against buying Bose ANYTHING at this point. I mean how can you sell a product, say that it's compatible with Alexa, only to find out that it really DOESN'T work with Alexa? Actually, I don't understand a lot of these companies that manufacture speakers. They make BLUETOOTH speakers that connect to WiFi (using THEIR app of course), when instead it would be a whole lot easier if they made WiFi speakers that are COMPATIBLE with Bluetooth peripherals and what not. On the other hand, why doesn't Amazon develop devices (or an app) that are each better equipped to connect to Bluetooth devices? Most folks that I know these days use services like Amazon Music, Spotify and Pandora, but those are all internet connected services. I receive them through my WiFi network, and it makes sense to have devices that are SPECIFICALLY designed to use a WiFi connection (not the other way around). I mean seriously. the Echo "family" of speakers connect via WiFi, which is why they're essentially "plug and play" speakers. No fuss no muss. The Bose 500 speaker is NOT worth the money. It only plays in one room, it can't be used in conjunction to any WiFi speakers that grouped in the Alexa App, and it drops WiFi connectivity on a regular basis. Sounds great, but definitely not worth the expense. At this point I'm going to find a different speaker system that actually WORKS with Alexa, or just get rid of all my Echo's and replace them with something else altogether. The Bose 500 is going back though.

I belabored over this purchase so I want to share what I learned. First of all, I started out looking for a Home solution that used a Voice Assistant (like Alexa or Siri) and something that would primarily be stationary and utilize my home’s Wi-Fi to play music, control lights, and replace the speakers I had my turntable connected to (for an optimized smaller overall footprint). First I was SO PUMPED for the timing of Apple’s HomePod 2 with better price and fancier flashing lights. Then I realized all of its limitations. Limitations that are actual standard on the Bose Smart Speaker 500. Not available on Apple HomePod 2, but available on the Bose 500: - Bluetooth capable - Aux input (for my turntable) - Ability to adjust treble and bass - Alexa assistant - SiriusXM streaming - Radio station programmable presets - streaming services like Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, Amazon Music Because more than a couple of these greatly improve the application, I went with the Bose 500 and I am so happy I did. The sound is so Bose; beautifully balanced and well executed. Sure it doesn’t have an indoor temperature readout, room mapping abilities or the mesmerizing color changing screen like Apple’s HomePod 2, but it has a pretty badass little display that shows artist/album details, or the station if you’re playing radio over internet. I can play my favorite stations from the cities I visit the most, right here at home. Incredible! And best of all is the QUALITY Bose sound and incredible sound output at high volumes. To me there is a clear choice! It’s all about the Bose Smart Speaker 500. BTW I also own the Sonos Move which competes with these speakers, the Bose sound quality is so much crisper and cleaner in my opinion.

We’ve used our new speaker now for about 3 weeks and couldn’t be happier. The sound is, of course, sublime. If you’re a classical music lover like me, the bass comes in loud and rich. We have a fairly large living room - the speaker has no trouble filling it with sound. We can also hear it well from our kitchen/dining room is is the next room over. Functionality is also exactly what we need. We haven’t tried pairing it with our Sound Bar 500, but, we don’t need to. It did take some time to figure out setting up Amazon Alexa. But a quick phone call to Bose support fixed that quick. Which, by the way, I was very impressed with Bose Support. I spoke with a gentleman based in London and he was very helpful. Here’s a tip - if you’re having trouble setting up Alexa and getting stuck on linking Alexa with Bose SoundTouch - there’s a linking option *without Bose SoundTouch* you can try. If not, call Bose Support for quick help. Looks - we got the silver which really compliments the interior decor and style we have. Looks great with everything else in the living room. It’s pricey, but so far, well worth the price. I’ve had an older Bose iPod dock for 13 years now. As long as this Smart Speaker 500 is made as well as their iPod dock, I trust it’ll stand the test of time. This is the first smart speaker we’ve owned. But we lived with someone who had an Amazon Echo Studio - I’d take the Bose Smart Speaker 500 over the Amazon Echo Studio. I would highly recommend the Bose Speaker 500!