This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links it means we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn More
Bose is a company that doesn’t need an introduction when we speak of smart speakers with smart features. The fact that I am writing a comparison between two Bose Speakers, makes it quite hard for me to decide who comes out on top.
Bose offers some of the best smart speakers
Even though, Bose is the latest contender to hit the industry of home speakers. With the launch of Home Speaker 300 and 500, Bose sure gave the competition a hard blow, I can feel them shivering in fear.
Not only do Bose Home Speakers provide great audio capabilities, but they offer easy usage, and features like built-in Alexa and google assistant.
In today’s article, I will try to compare the Bose Home Speaker 300 and 500, so you can see which one will suits you the best, since picking “the best” out of them will be almost impossible.
I don’t doubt that both of them are great smart speakers, but anyway, let’s try.
While both bose home speakers are splendid and come from the very same manufacturer, they have their differences.
Below you will find what differentiates those bose home speakers from one another.
Bose 300:
This Bose speaker is one of the best smart speakers out there.
I can’t sugar coat it as much as I want to. It feels a bit outdated, but it still remains a solid pick for those who want to have a budget Bose speaker around their home.
So yeah, it is just a smart speaker with basic controls and a Google assistant. It looks good and sounds good. What else can you ask from a smart speaker?
Bose 500
This is another Bose speaker. Being from Bose, as I mentioned over and over again, is a testimony on its own that those speakers are good.
The other sibling of the Bose speaker 300, the 500, is a more advanced option that will offer 1 or 2 extra features. It will sound better and, yes, it is more expensive.
This bose speaker promises to light up your room with rich sound while you do your daily chores, just like the other bose speaker will do, but as I indicated being the more expensive option you get to experience better sound with this one.
So yeah in short words if you are in need of a smart speaker, both of those bose speaker will prove sufficient, just don’t expect anything groundbreaking.
Bose Home Speaker 300 vs 500: Build/Design
Starting with the size of the bose smart speakers first. First thing first, those are not your typical compact speaker, instead they are made to sit at home, still they are not heavy or anything so don’t get me wrong.
When it comes to size, both devices are pretty much similar, with the Bose 500, being slightly bigger, hence the name. Bose 500 measures 4.31 x 6.68 x 8.01 inches compared to the Bose 300 measuring 4.02 x 5.59 x 6.34 inches.
While the first one weighs 4.65 pounds, the latter one, Bose 300 is much lighter weighing only 2.09 pounds.
While this makes the Bose home speaker 300 more compact and easier to transport, the big size makes the Bose 500 more powerful in sound-providing aspects.
Both devices come in a nice aluminum finish body, quite solid but please note both of them are non-portable speakers meaning that they don’t feature an Ip rating (water resistance), I wouldn’t recommend using them in a wet environment.
The iconic or primary color of Bose 500 would be black, but it is also available in silver, while it’s vice versa with the 300, it comes in silver and it is available in black.
Besides giving your home a “sound” they also give your home a luxurious look. The silver color looks good and blend well in the kitchen, while the black version sits nicely in the living room.
Features and Connectivity:
While design-wise having slight differences, what separates the Bose 500, would definitely be the LCD screen. Additionally, Bose 500 sports sleek and modern LCD screen that let you know the time and the current song that is playing, so you won’t need to pull your smartphone every time.
Sadly, in comparison Bose home speaker 300 doesn’t include a LCD screen.
Another difference would be, that the Bose home speaker 500 packs 8 microphone arrays while its little brother, Bose 300 has 6. This is a minor difference, still a difference nonetheless.
Please take into consideration that those differences don’t make the Bose 300 any bad, they are just additionals and the compromise on price makes up for it since the Bose 300 comes in cheaper than its older brother.
As for the Voice Assistant, both speakers feature built in Alexa voice assistants, at the same time both have 3.5mm Audi Jack ports. They have flexible connectivity that includes WiFi, Bluetooth, and Airplay 2.
The Bluetooth version is 4.2, meaning it can handle the highest quality wireless audio available, and with plenty of room to spare. It has a connection range of up to 30 FT or 9 meters, meaning you will be fine around the house with no problem. Not going to lie, though, this is not the best Bluetooth version, the 5 version is out for a long time now.
Being from the Bose family, both Bose 300 and 500 are compatible with each other and the rest of Bose Family products. Meaning if you feel like there is not enough sound you can pair the devices for a multi-room listening experience.
What drives their compatibility, is the Bose Music App. A software that is viable both in Android and iOS, it let you control multiple Bose smart speakers and at the same time, the bose music app lets you put all music streaming services in one place like; Spotify, Deezer, Pandora,iHeart Radio, etc.
So yeah if you have a Bose product make sure that you download the bose music app right away.
Good sound quality from Bose is taken for granted, so don’t doubt their sound quality.
Being bigger in size, sure does the Bose 500 sound more powerful. Home Speaker 500 is intended to create a 3D room-filling listening experience, meaning the surround system it offers makes it ideal for home parties, or watching movies so you can get that cinematic feeling. You probably know that headphones are the best when it comes to watching movies, so it can be easily compared head to head with a pair of headphones for watching movies.
Bose home speaker 300 doesn’t fall short either, it also brings to the table a similar experience with its 360 degrees omnidirectional sound, costing cheaper, and being smaller it makes sense why it sounds “weaker” than its brother. Nevertheless, it sounds great and won’t miss any tones.
You don’t have to worry both of them packs the sound signature of Bose.
Bose Home speaker 300 can produce a maximum of 120 watts while on the other hand, its brother, the Bose Home Speaker 500 produces up to 156 watts.
As I mentioned before those are not portable speakers, since they lack a battery, meaning they should be plugged in.
And to wrap the article up, Both speakers have undoubtedly proven their selves to be “Bose Tier” speakers.
Regardless if it is the 500 or 300 both offer splendid sound quality and at the same time a good-looking sleek design, that blends almost anywhere, kitchen, living room, you name it!
It is true that Bose Home Speaker 500 packs a useful and good-looking LCD Display and it fills the room with loud music also the 8 microphone array, makes the Bose 500 the “better” or more powerful of the two devices, but it comes with a price that is hard to swallow.
But for some people, the slightly compact and wallet-friendly Bose home speaker 300, which doesn’t come with an LCD display, yet it offers great sound quality makes it an option to consider if you don’t want to break the bank and still hear the signature sound of Bose.
In a nutshell, if you are a party person who likes loud music and have money to burn, don’t hesitate on Bose Home Speaker 500.
If you are an average joe, who just wants some nice calm background music and wants to keep things at an affordable price, Bose Home Speaker 300 is your friend.
I’m a sound technician, ensuring that your events and shows are heard loud and clear. Crafting audio broadcasts, studio recordings, and live mixes with finesse to provide the best quality sound experience.
Whether you’re looking for information on audio equipment, looking to learn more about how things work in the music field, or looking for reviews of products, we got you covered!
