The Bose Smart Speaker 500
I think I might be getting worse at making videos that appeal to a wide audience. Spending a week on a video about a discontinued, unpopular, expensive, smart-speaker is probably not the way to fame and fortune. Nevertheless, that’s what I’ve been doing. I don’t dislike the video, but I just feel I might have been making it for an audience of one.
A day off might help to reset things and perhaps I should aim for a more frivolous topic and a shorter video next time. Although this one was originally envisioned to just be a quick project and look how it worked out.
Anyway while I’m wrestling with getting my brain back in gear, I hope you’re all faring well. Take care of yourself and I’ll give this another try next week.
Comments (45)
After seeing Mat's update I ordered a refurbished one from Bose and it arrived (Netherlands to UK) this morning. It has a European plug. This is only a minor annoyance because I have a permanent adapter that I can re-use. Most 'refurbished' items I've had are indistinguishable from new. This isn't quite perfect but you'd have to look very hard to find any blemishes. There were no bits of plastic film to peel off. Initial setup was straightforward, except that it gave me a choice of two identically-named SSIDs for the wifi. I suspect one is 2.4Ghz and the other 5GHz but if that's the case it's impossible to tell which is which. Unfortunately, BT (therefore also EE and Plusnet) no longer gives you the option of assigning the two frequencies different names on their routers. I initially connected the Bose to my Alexa account. The process for this is a bit convoluted and you have to open the Alexa app to complete the process and enable voice commands. Once set up, I could ask the speaker to play any radio station but there doesn't appear to be a way to assign a station selected this way to a preset. It seems to behave like any other Alexa speaker but I haven't attempted to put it into a speaker group with others and I'm not sure if this is possible. To answer my previous question about whether Alexa and Google Assistant can be active at the same time, starting the setup for Google immediately logs the device out of my Alexa account. I couldn't get the Google setup to work at all. The Google app can't find the device. I tried this several times but didn't spend too much time troubleshooting. I suspect but haven't confirmed that it's because the speaker is on the 2.4Ghz network and the phone I'm using is on 5GHz. Fixing the Google issue isn't too important because it works fine on Alexa and I discovered that you don't need to have a Google account active on the device to use Chromecast. I've tried the speaker with Airplay and Chromecast to confirm that both work fine and show the station logo or album/podcast artwork, depending on the app. For some reason iBroadcast (a music locker app is silent over Chromecast. I suspect it's because I have enabled the option to stream the original (mostly FLAC files) at maximum quality. Again, I've yet to troubleshoot this and may not bother. I haven't bothered testing Bluetooth. The sound is good but not spectacular. It's better than most of my other wireless speakers only because it's stereo. It will go neighbour-annoyingly loud but it seems a bit harsh at very high volumes One surprise: TuneIn Radio works! I was able to select BBC and commercial stations and assign them to presets. The only difference from the video that I can see is that Mat was using the iPhone app and I was using the identical-looking Android one. As with my other theories, this could be a complete red herring.
I ordered another as well which just turned up. The deal was too good to miss out on. This silver one is going in the studio and replacing a Google smart speaker. Oddly enough my Tunein radio is now working today too - on both speakers. So I’ve set up the presets with normal radio stations rather than the Amazon ones. Mine also has a Euro plug and no protective film, but also no obvious marks.
My Mate VINCE did fix a Bose Wave4 a year ago
This thing didn’t click with me at all. I understand its uses and understand it maybe good for a lot of people. Not me though. I really do like that Bose Wave unit, it’s quirky and definitely more my kind of thing for sure. Also, as much as I do like my Apple products (have had Macintosh computers for 28 years as a graphic designer), I would not rely on them for enjoyment of music. Just reminds me of a cheap AliExpress bluetooth bathroom speaker …a bloody expensive one 😅 So yes, for me - the Wave is the winner here. Thanks for a brilliant video again, Matt. Saturday morning and I’m sitting in my car, in the countryside, pissing it down outside, I have a hot oat-milk cappuccino in hand and watching my favourite YouTube channel… life does not get any better than this!!! 🤣 Lee
Really enjoyed this
Great video, have a Bose Soundlink Revolve speaker that I use with the phone, laptop when travelling. Ofter better than the cheap tv sound that many accommodation providers use too. The black 500 shows as still available on Bose NZ site, silver is sold out.
Having now ordered one, I'm wondering if it will support Google and Alexa simultaneously. Do you have to pick one or the other?
Looking at the app it will still let me setup Alexa as well, but I avoid using that one, so I can’t test out whether both can work simultaneously. It seems likely though.
Loved the video, I strongly agree to "I want to listen to music, I go to the music device and use it." I can't understand mono music players, it flattens the listening space. OK for music in the shower room, but not as a main device.
I thought it was a great video. Entertaining, informative and honest.
It’s all about the use case and being old enough to know what you like and having the confidence to tell the world. I’m happy with my Sonos/Alexa/Apple music setup for around the house with a pair of AudioEngine speakers in the study.
We can be old fashioned together. I rarely carry my phone around with me in the house; which is always causing me annoyances when I have to reauthenticate with something at work, because the authenticator app is on my phone and I have to go and find it (it's usually sat on the charging stand in my bedroom, because I use it as a bedside clock).
There are a lot of people now who have to do everything one-handed due to their phone being a permanent fixture in their other claw.
For what it’s worth, I don’t remember the last time you posted something I didn’t enjoy. Even if it’s something I’ll never buy or use, which is I think all of it, part of the charm and appeal of your channel is that you can make things interesting even if I’ll never see one.
Fun fact you can ask your HomePod “what song is this” and she tells you.
I have gone with WiiM devices in each room attached to either an amp and passive speakers or powered speakers. I feel the sound is just better that way and the WiiM gives all the connectivity you could want and does multi room perfectly.
Yes, Wiim devices are wonderfully versatile with a really good phone app; unfortunately, they seem to have fallen out with Apple and the latest models don't support Airplay. A Wiim Pro Plus or Ultra would be a great topic for a Techmoan video but it would be understandable if Mat thinks they've been done to death by other YouTubers.
That's certainly the most interesting smart speaker I've ever seen! And totally agree about the ability to interact with physical buttons without any phones etc. - just one of the reasons I love my Squeezebox radios and have periodic worries about what I'd do if they stopped working and/or the many features of LMS disappeared!
I could watch your videos purely for your presentation skills. For me, much of the appeal comes from the way you showcase a product, rather than the product itself - and in that regard, your latest video definitely delivers. Even though I wouldn't consider a smart speaker for myself (for personal reasons), I enjoy watching your take on it. It seems like it's becoming harder each day to capture a broad audience on YouTube. It could be the algorithm prioritizing shrill productions stuffed with awkwardly inserted sponsor plugs, or the sheer challenge of finding a gem in a huge pile of you-know-what.
I think to appease YouTube I’d need to sell heavily processed food to minors and have a boxing match while crashing a super car and exploiting employees.
I have gadget envy, mainly because of the nice screen, but I already have a surfeit of wireless speakers. Re TuneIn no longer being supported, what happens if you just tell it to play your chosen radio station? That works on other Google and Alexa devices. Alternatively, does it support Chromecast? Open almost* any music, radio or podcast app on your phone, press the casting icon and see if the Bose speaker is shown. Once it’s playing, it streams directly from the internet, without your phone acting as an intermediary. *not Apple Music
I enjoyed this tech video with a bit of "moan". Made me laugh, and a lot of it I agreed with. Old geezers for the win!
Burger! Brown Eyed Girl (one of my faves). Lots of good stuff in this, another fine video. I was doing tech support on a Bose 5 thingy on Saturday. For a premium product, the app was very clunky. Managed to get the speaker working, but I have to go back to get the streaming NAS working again.
Yet another thing that I didn't know existed and don't need, but now find I want and can't get. Why do you do this to me?
Cool stuff! Wish I had the means of affording bragging rights on new Apple stuff. Is that going to be the final thumbnail for the video, by the by?
I take it from this - that it’s not good.
Nice! I like the display on it! I also tried one of those Bose Wave things. Wow, that sounded quite good.. And yes, that makes me a bad audiophile.. Apart from the price, I thought the same thing: that thing might be nice in my kitchen! Interesting. I kind of like Bose.. I also have the Quitecomfort headphones and the Mini Link II. Both are very nice and still work well after years of use..
Don't downplay yourself Mat! I thought the self erasing VHS was excellent, it has really surprised and entertained me. And I still feel joy when I get an email from Techmoan (via Patreon) featuring a new video so you're doing just fine ;)
I'll slap on another comment here for others like me. This Bose is an elegant solution, but I'd be afraid of it maybe losing support. I have solved the very problems Mat had (no physical buttons and no screen and no stereo) in a less elegant solution with more capability for the same price using Echo Studios. https://youtu.be/E5PSywUNKSI?si=5Uu7Sp576vVD9cMj For anyone interested in stereo smart speakers, the Echo Studio has a 5.25 inch woofer, and 2 midrange stereo drivers plus some tweeters. And theoretically has Atmos support. You can also buy two of them for this price and set them in a stereo pair like I have them. So you connect them to the Fire TV stick you buy for $18 and you have real stereo, on a display, which also doubles as home theater. You can also upgrade the system with a subwoofer. The only issue is that it requires a tv and the physical buttons are on the remote. So those are big stumbling blocks for some people, but there's always give and take.
https://youtu.be/FHqA92sXLqw?si=8hkII47_mbqZ_KV_
Techmoan has, since blowing up, always had a significant element of "look at this cool shit you can't buy anymore." While it has a bread and butter of new tech and cameras and stuff, a lot of the big hits are very much cool shit you can't buy anymore. I'm not in the market for this bad boy though, I've got 4 Echo Studios which sound...pretty okay. EDIT: You know what it is? You're a late adopter of early adopter (or high end) stuff. I think you have a significant audience of late adopters of early adopter stuff...but that isn't the wide viewership of youtube. I see what you're saying.
As Mat has just shown you can buy them. Usually for a lower price than new until "The Techmoan Effect" kicks in and large numbers of people are bidding for them on eBay. Maybe leave it six months until bidding dies down a bit.
• 'Talking to the (bleep) thing' - I wonder if that was a swear or a 'Google.' Probably a swear. 👍🏻😃 • I see a natural progression - mash the Bose Wave, the Tuneshine, and the Apple Homepod together. Here ya go. • It would be fun to change the speaker's identity to something ridiculous so that when it says 'Playing on the ____' results in an internal chuckle. • Whenever I send my Soundburger Bluetooth sound to my Neumi BS5P speakers I hear an annoying echo 'feedback effect' from the Soundburger - because the Bluetooth has to 'catch up' to the tonearm's reverberation. Therefore I have to put the Soundburger in my cabinet so that I don't hear this feedback. It kind of impacts my experience because I like watching the record spin, so in the end I must listen via headphones while I watch my Soundburger spin. I often wonder if anyone else finds that issue disconcerting. • Last night (to cheer myself up) I tried to replace the belts on my Panasonic RX-F35. It resulted in the opposite effect, because I have worthless tools without sufficient grip strength to unscrew the tiny screws in the tape mechanism. 😋😅 Nice little video. Apologies again about my PMDD problem last week. I'm a flippin (bleep). Take care 🤍. EDIT: I'm old fashioned as I don't like talking to smart speakers of any kind. I had to mute my Amazon Fire Cube because it felt ridiculous to talk to.
The beep was ‘bloody’ but I get some viewers who can’t cope with any robust language - I didn’t know the Amish used the internet. You’re absolutely right about the progression - that’s exactly what’s going on here. I’ve been figuring out bit by bit what works for me when it comes to these things…and the track info plus the artwork turned out to be essential. I’d never recommend trying to replace belts to cheer yourself up - while the results can be satisfying on occasion, the process rarely makes me feel happy in the short term. I’m now trying to think of the silliest thing to call the speaker.
That actually seems like a decent product. I fully agree on the screen being a must have feature.
I agree with the others. This content works for me too. Really enjoyed it and as I'm considering a new smart speaker it's proven timely too.
I have over many years installed quite a bit of Bose equipment at customers homes. Mostly Lifestyle surround systems. Always been impressed by both build and sound quality. Customer support has been excellent as well. Oddly enough the only Bose “system” I have at home is the SoundLink Mini. First time I tested that I just had to buy it. Never tried their smart speakers, but maybe I should get one now before it is too late..
And I agree with Neil. You are too hard on yourself sometimes.
GREAT. Thanks to this EXCELLENT video, I'm not going to be able to get one, they'll all be sold out by the time I get there...
This is exactly what the audience wants Sir!
Sonos next! 😅
Stop being so flippin hard on yourself.
I don't dislike the video - but it's not exactly got mass appeal either.
Seems like just the sort of content I like, guess I'm the right niche :D
I hope so.