Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased the Bose Solo three weeks ago and could not be happier. As described, it makes the dialogue easier to hear. I am replacing my Sony surround sound system with the Solo. The surround sound system involved wires running under the carpet and loud noises during movies that would completely drown out the dailogue. Setting it up was very easy. My 46" Sony Bravia TV sits nicely and solidly on top of the Solo. The TV weighs 40 lbs. so the weight is also just right. This is a much cleaner look than the multiple speakers the surround sound system used. That being said, I purchased this for the sound, and I am very pleased with that. It actually does make the spoken word easier to hear. I am in my sixties, and just beginning to lose the ability to hear all the words on television. I was tired of missing every fifth word or so and the "clear voice" feature on my Sony television did not remedy that. With the Bose Solo, after I got used to it, about three days, I can now hear almost every single word that is spoken and never have to adjust the volume up or down depending on background noise in the show. It does seem to me like the Solo makes those adjustments automatically. Hookup was a breeze. Place the unit where you want your TV to sit, plug in the power cord, connect the optical digital audio cable to the back of your television and the back of the Solo unit. For those unfamiliar, there is a slight resistance when you push the end of the cable into the hole, just push until it clicks into place and don't forget to remove the plastic caps on the ends of the cable prior to insertion. Place the TV on top of the unit and adjust the TV speaker settings to OFF. Program your remote control for the Bose system, there did not seem to be any codes listed in the instruction booklet, so I called comcast and got the code and programmed the Xfinity remote. If you use Comcast, and your remote is newer, with a red power button, the code you would want is 31229 or 31933.The small remote that came with the Solo is very nice, but I don't need it. The Solo unit now turns on and off with my television , and the volume up/down and mute buttons on the Xfinity remote control the Solo. If you have a different provider, call them. They keep a list of codes and will walk you through programming your remote if you need that. Any peripheral you connect to your TV, like a DVD or Blu Ray, cable box, Kindle Fire HD, computer etc. will all play very nicely through your Bose Solo. The TV acts as the switching center and whatever you are watching on the screen will play automatically from the Solo. You don't need to change anything manually. So anyway, yes, this is not a cheap sound bar, but it does seem to be a quality product that is very helpful if you have trouble hearing the dialogue. Also, I noticed the sound fills my large living room, with 18 foot ceilings, with no problem. I would not want anything louder than this. This review is of course my own opinion and I am not biased for or against Bose as this is the first product of theirs I have owned. Hope you find it helpful.