Gadgetory

hey I'm Matthew Muscovy ak4 CNET and we are going to take a look at the Bose solo TV sound system this is the first truly affordable sound bar that Bose is made and it comes in at just $400 now traditional sound bars are long thin and they sit in front of your TV but the solo uses a pedestal design so it sits under your TV rather than in front of it I'm a big fan of the pedestal design from an aesthetics point of view as it cuts down on clutter and it also avoids the annoying problem where sound bars sometimes block your TV's remote sensor Bose isn't the only sound bar with a pedestal design but it is the best looking model it has a solid feel even though it's a plastic cabinet and its rounded edges make it look considerably more refined than the boxy looking zee Vox 420 the attention to detail carries over to the remote which is the best I've seen on a sound bar which is basic volume controls and a nicely textured feel the only slight misstep is there's no display on the front panel so you don't get any visual feedback letting you know when you're close to maximum volume it's not a huge loss but it would have been nice inputs are on the back and there's not much you get both optical and coaxial digital audio inputs plus an analogue audio input Bose is planning on you connecting all your home theater devices first to your TV and then using the TV's audio output to connect to the solo this arrangement works pretty well and you're only limited by how many inputs your TV has the other thing to note is that the solo is pretty small and Bose only recommends placing TVs on top of it that are 40 pounds or less so that works great for 32 inch TVs most 40 inch TVs will work and some 42 inch TVs will fit on top of it but if you have a larger TV you're going to have to go with a different sound bar the major compromise with the bow solo is sound quality on its own it sounds pretty good and it's definitely a big bump up from the built-in speakers on your TV but if you compare it to the $300 e Vox 420 the Z Vox is definitely better sounding considerably more powerful especially on movies it's also worth pointing out that traditional sound bars that include a wire the subwoofer generally sound better than both pedestal sound bars having a separate subwoofer really makes a difference but I don't think that boses middling sound quality should scare off too many buyers especially those that put a bigger premium on style and simplicity if all you're looking to do is replace your TV sound with something a little better without impinging too much on your living room aesthetics the bow solo is a solid home audio system I'm Matthew Muscovy ak and this is the bow solo