Sound quality: Bose's SoundTouch 300 delivers sound quality that falls in the good range - it reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound. The bass has good impact, but is a bit boomy, doesn't go particularly deep, and on some program material sounds subdued. The midrange is slightly hazy and grainy. The treble is fairly extended, but is subdued. It does a so-so job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), and the overall sound has a "processed" quality - there is a faint sense that something in the sound is shifting up and down or cutting in and out, and on louder program material the overall volume level sounds compressed. The dialog mode sounds gritty, constricted, and bass-shy. There was no significant difference between the HDMI, optical, WiFi, and Bluetooth inputs. The sound bar can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Very good overall. Setup: The steps to program its universal remote to control a TV are quick, easy, and straight forward. HDMI CEC activation and deactivation is done on the connected TV and the instructions that come with this unit direct the user to refer to the instructions that come with the TV. All appropriate cables for TV connection are included with the system. Ease of Use: This model can work seamlessly with most TVs - it can respond to the volume and mute buttons of an HDMI CEC compatible TV's remote when it is connected to the TV via the HDMI ARC ports, or you can set the universal remote that comes with the soundbar to control the volume and mute functions of many TVs. The universal remote is a bit cluttered - the volume and mute buttons are mixed in with other controls. When watching TV this model is intended to be operated using the HDMI CEC compatible TV's remote or its own remote. The soundbar lacks console controls but has an auto on/standby feature. The display has a WiFi status/power indicator, and source indicators that consists of lights over symbols that are readable from arms length. There is an indication when the volume is being changed, but no level is shown. Mute and DSP (digital sound processing) effect mode indicators are visible from the typical listening position. No surround/stereo status indication is provided for optional surround sound operation.
Features setup and ease of use: Good overall. Setup: Network streaming setup is typically is done with an Apple or Android app download. WiFi setup is straight forward and clear instructions are provided in the app, but it required more steps than the usual setup. LAN cable setup is also straight forward, but a LAN cable is not provided. The soundbar must be registered with the manufacturer for network functionality; registration requires the user's email and a password. Wired input setup is complicated and confusing - the optical input is meant as an alternate for the HDMI ARC input and is not for stand-alone use. In order to use the regular HDMI input it has to be programmed into the universal remote as a separate source. If any of the HDMI inputs are connected they take priority over the optical input. Pairing of a Bluetooth device was easy and straight forward - just hold down a well marked button on the physical remote. Optional NFC pairing is available for use with Bluetooth devices that have that feature. Ease of Use: For non-TV use this model is intended to be operated using its own physical remote or via WiFi with the Bose setup apps that also act as remotes. We found these app remotes to be glitch-free, and their streaming content player sections (used to play audio streamed from the Internet or from a computer on your home network) to be easy to navigate, well marked, and well organized. The app remote general sections (used to control the soundbar like a typical physical remote) were lacking - they didn't provide a way to select the TV as a source so their use was very limited. The physical remote is a bit cluttered but easy to use - the volume and mute buttons are mixed in with other controls. Although the physical remote could be used to select some pre-set streaming sources its use with the soundbar's WiFi streaming function was limited. The soundbar console lacks controls but has an auto on/standby feature. The console display is minimal - this model is intended to be operated using the display screens of the mobile device apps. The console has a WiFi status/power indicator, and source indicators that consists of lights over symbols that are readable from arms length. There is an indication when the volume is being changed, but no level is shown. Mute and DSP effect mode indicators are visible from the typical listening position, but no surround/stereo status indication is provided for optional surround sound operation.
