Apple TV and Philips 4K TV with the Bose CineMate 15. Flanked by the amazing LEGO 10242 MINI Cooper and the 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van. Apple TV and Philips 4K TV with the Bose CineMate 15. Flanked by the amazing LEGO 10242 MINI Cooper and the 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van.

Last august I moved to a brand new place. With my hectic life, I love taking a break and immersing myself in movies and TV shows. (Even with the bad habit of working while watching them). If it are movies I have seen before, I don’t mind that much, as I love to listen to the soundtrack. A good sound system is so important that I don’t mind bad video quality, but I find bad sound dreadful.

For picking the right system, I tested two brand new Bose sound systems.

Bose CineMate 15

CineMate 15 front Speaker

The CineMate is a $599 two part home cinema system. In front of the TV you place a small stylish speaker, with a cable leading to a heavy bass cabinet.

When they say the sound is immersive, you better believe it. The full sound coming from that tiny speaker is downright impressive, which stays clean, no matter what you throw at it. The thing that was most surprising to me was that the sound easily fills a room.

CineMate 15 Bass Cabinet CineMate 15 Bass Cabinet

The punch that the little speaker packed was outright impressive. According to a friend it does produce a very centred sound, but I never found a problem with that.

The universal remote is easy to use, and has a nice ergonomic feeling to it, with a premium heft. I didn’t customise it, but it does seems easy to do. It is however kinda huge for turning up and down the volume compare to the ultimate design of the Apple Remote.

The only problem with this set is the wiring of the bass cabinet. While the cables are all long enough, if have an integrated system like the IKEA BESTA you might have to do some extra cable management. A wireless option would be amazing.

I never dared to max out the system, out of fear of having quite a few angry neighbours.

If you want your sound to pack a punch, but don’t want a lot of hassle, this is it!

Bose Solo 15

The Bose Solo didn't have any issue making the Millennium Falcon roar. The Bose Solo didn’t have any issue making the Millennium Falcon roar.

For my bedroom I tested the Bose Solo 15. The €399 audio system has the characteristics of a sound bar, but it’s much bigger than that. In fact, it’s more like an oversized stand to put your TV on. One cable for power, and a tiny optic audio cable makes it that even the biggest technologically illiterate person can install this.

It comes bundled with the same great remote as the Cinemate.

If you are a fan of heavy bass, it does suffer slightly from the fact that everything is integrated into one big box, but for everyday use, this is a great solution for those wanting more than their TV sound, but are not willing to pay a lot, or give away precious living space to clunky speakers.