Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550

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Votes 1 1
Rating 5 5

Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Home Sound Bar 550 comparison chart

Overall
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar
8.4
Denon Home Sound Bar 550
7.4
9
9
Multichannel surround
6
6

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550 review

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar
vs
Denon Home Sound Bar 550

To get acquainted with the specs of the devices, we suggest you familiarize with the comparison of Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar and Denon Home Sound Bar 550. It shows us that the Smart Ultra Soundbar is a better choice as a home soundbar than the Home Sound Bar 550. According to the results of our comparison, Smart Ultra Soundbar received 8.4 points out of 10 possible, and Home Sound Bar 550 was rated 7.4 points.

Advantages Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar over Denon Home Sound Bar 550

  • We do not know advantages

Advantages Denon Home Sound Bar 550 over Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar

  • Surround sound with DTS:X support

Audio features

The Smart Ultra Soundbar is rated 8 of 10 against 4 for the Home Sound Bar 550 according to the audio features rating.

Smart Ultra Soundbar
8
Home Sound Bar 550
4

It worth understanding the difference between the two types of amplification: a passive soundbar does not have its own amplifier and receives amplification from the signal source, while an active soundbar has a built-in amplifier. The same active type of amplification is used in the Smart Ultra Soundbar and the Home Sound Bar 550.

There are stereo soundbars and multichannel ones. It is with the help of multichannel devices that you can get volumetric sound. It is worth noting one of the main differences, the Smart Ultra Soundbar has 5.1.2 channels, while the Home Sound Bar 550 has 2.1 channels.

Smart Ultra Soundbar Home Sound Bar 550
Built-in channels5.1.22.1
Amplification typeactiveactive
Output power, WN/A53 (overall)
Separate speaker (in package)00
Separate speaker connectionshas nothas not

Subwoofers

Soundbars can have a built-in or external subwoofer. The first type is inseparable from the soundbar body, but for the second, you can choose a good location for deep bass. Both are not equipped with an external subwoofer. Competitors support wired connection to a separate external subwoofer.

Smart Ultra Soundbar Home Sound Bar 550
Built-in subwoofer
Separate subwoofer (in package)
Separate subwoofer connectionswiredwired

Multichannel surround

Unlike stereo, when reproducing multichannel sound, each specific direction of sound corresponds to its dedicated channel with a separate independent loudspeaker, which creates a three-dimensional sound stage. The multichannel sound reproduction capabilities of the soundbars were rated 6 out of 10.

Smart Ultra Soundbar
6
Home Sound Bar 550
6

The peculiarity of Dolby Atmos is that this format is object-oriented, that is, each object of the audio signal is sounded separately and linked to its spatial location. If we consider the models in terms of support for Dolby Atmos, then both soundbars can work with this technology.

DTS:X is an algorithm for processing sound scenes by the processor, linking directly to objects, rather than channels, and calculating the optimal distribution of sound output in a room. The manufacturer has implemented DTS:X technology only in Home Sound Bar 550.

Smart Ultra Soundbar Home Sound Bar 550
Dolby Atmos
Dolby (other)
DTS:X
DTS (other)

Streaming services

The possibility to listen online to millions of songs from one device has become a reality thanks to streaming services. The streaming services category rating is the same - 10 out of 10 points.

Smart Ultra Soundbar
10
Home Sound Bar 550
10

The popular Spotify service is available on both soundbars. The streaming audio from Pandora, SoundCloud, it is possible to listen to each of soundbars.

Smart Ultra Soundbar Home Sound Bar 550
Apple Music (AirPlay)
Amazon Music
Spotify
Other streaming servicesPandora, SoundCloudPandora, SoundCloud

Connectivity

The existence of a sufficient number of current connectors significantly expands the functionality of the device. For example, only through HDMI is it possible to implement the transfer of object-oriented formats, and the presence of a Bluetooth connection will allow remote control, etc. The devices received different ratings for connectivity: Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar was rated 9 out of 10, and Denon Home Sound Bar 550 was rated 8 out of 10.

Smart Ultra Soundbar
9
Home Sound Bar 550
8

The presence of Wi-Fi in the soundbar allows you to get rid of wires when connected to a sound source and get minimal audio latency when playing content from streaming services. Wireless connection via Wi-Fi is possible on both devices.

Bluetooth connection is now one of the main communication protocols for speaker systems, which provides excellent quality and minimal audio latency. The availability of Bluetooth protocol, we can see in both models. The competitors in this comparison has 1/1 HDMI inputs/outputs.

HDMI ARC is a very usefull technology that creates a two-way communication channel between a TV and another device. This is convenient since there is no need to use optical and other cables in the system. HDMI ARC is basic for both soundbars. Connecting external devices via USB can be done on both models.

Smart Ultra Soundbar Home Sound Bar 550
WI-FI
Bluetooth
Ethernet (RJ45)01
NFC
HDMI input/output1/11/1
HDMI ARC
HDMI eARC
HDMI CEC
Optical digital input/output1/01/0
USB1 (USB 2.0)1 (USB 2.0)
Coaxial digital input/output0/00/0
Analog audio input/output (RCA)0/00/0
Headphone output00
Subwoofer output01

Features

Voice control is designed to make operating the device more convenient. This allows you to control basic soundbar functions from anywhere in the room.

Proprietary applications allow you to control your soundbars remotely. This is possible both via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The ability to control the soundbar using the application is implemented in each of the competitors. Both soundbars have a built-in microphone.

Some soundbars can be part of a multi-room system and it is an affordable solution for sounding the whole house. However, it is impossible to create a multiroom system based on each of these soundbars.

Smart Ultra Soundbar Home Sound Bar 550
Voice control
App control
Microphone
Remote control
Multi-room

Dimensions

Smart Ultra Soundbar Home Sound Bar 550
Size (Wx H x D), cm/inN/A65.7x7.3x11.9/25.9x2.9x4.7
Weight, kg/poundsN/A3.5/7.8
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