WB South

Clients have asked what is the difference between Bose Soundtouch speakers and Bose Smart speakers. There are a couple of significant differences to consider when selecting between the two product lines. The first is the Alexa control. With the Smart speaker products, Alexa control is built into the product. With the Soundtouch products, control is through an external Alexa device using the Bose Alexa skill set. The 2ndconsideration, a larger one, is the number of available S

Many people are getting the Amazon Alexa device for the holidays and want to know if their Bose Soundtouch music system can be controlled with Alexa. The answer is yes. You can control most Bose Soundtouch systems with Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Tap or any Alexa-enabled device. The 1ststep is to download the Bose Soundtouch Control Skill into your Amazon account. Once you have done this, you will need to enter your Bose Soundtouch account’s username and password. That’s it, your

Last week we reviewed how to connect your new smart TV to your newer Bose system. This week, we would like to review connecting your new smart TV to an older CD/DVD based Bose Home Theater system. With these older systems, your video components connected to the various inputs of your TV and the audio are connected directly to the Bose system. The simplest method to connect your new TV to the Bose system is to connect your various components directly to the HDMI inputs of you

During the holiday season, many of our clients will be purchasing new smart TV’s and will be asking is my new TV compatible with my Bose system and how do I connect it to my Bose system. The new smart TV’s are compatible with most Bose systems. How you connect the new TV depends on which Bose system you have. If you have one of the newer Bose Home Theater systems with Soundtouch streaming, your video components are connected directly to your Bose system’s console/receiver and

Having installed Bose systems for the past 30 years, we often get calls from past clients, asking if their older Bose systems can still be repaired. Bose still offers factory repair service on many of their older systems. However due to the availability of certain replacement parts, some older systems can no longer be repaired. Starting with the Bose V-20 system, originally released around 2007 and newer, these systems can still receive Bose factory service. Systems manufactu

Many of our clients have older Bose systems that had in-ceiling/in-floor bass speakers. These systems were known as Bose BIV systems and were often sold through homebuilders for new construction homes. These systems are now 20-25 years old and are starting to experience issues with the CD based Media Centers and amplifier, TA series. Since the TA amplifiers and CD based Media Centers are no longer manufactured and cannot be repaired due to lack of parts, clients are asking i

Everyday more and more devices are being connected to your home’s Wi-Fi network. The last couple of weeks, we have discussed the importance of a strong Wi-Fi network throughout your home and how to quickly test the strength and coverage. In many cases, you will find your Wi-Fi coverage will vary throughout your home. You can strengthen the coverage of your network by adding Access Points or Range Extenders. These devices are not the same. An Access Point is wired back to you

Last week, we reviewed the recommended Internet speeds for streaming, 5 Mb/s for music, 25 Mb/s for video. However, the speed is only part of the equation. Once you have determined you have sufficient speed coming into your home, the next question is “Is this speed being distributed throughout my home over my Wi-Fi network?” As a quick refresher, your Wi-Fi network is created by your router and allows your various devices to connect to the Internet. In many cases, your Inter

For many of our clients, upgrading their home entertainment systems to take advantage of today’s video and music streaming services can be a daunting task. Many questions center around what hardware is required and what services are better than others. However, the 1stquestion that needs to be answered is the client’s Internet speed and the strength of their wireless network. There are many variables that impact your Internet speed, the biggest being the number of devices str

Many people today are upgrading their older Bose Home Entertainment systems to be compatible in today’s world of streaming music and video and 4K video. In most cases, most existing speakers and wiring can be used for the upgrade. Simply upgrading your Bose Lifestyle console and bass module and any music expansion amplifiers will bring your system into today’s digital world. However if your Bose system is 20 years old or older, there is a good chance your existing speakers c

As the summer winds down, many clients want to know if it is necessary to take down their outdoor Bose speakers for the winter season. The answer is no. The speakers, including Models 151, 251, and FS-51's, are designed for permanent outdoor installation and come with a 5-year warranty. Bose outdoor speakers are designed to withstand sun, high humidity (rain and snow), salt and fog and operate in a temperature range of -40° F to 158° F; -40° C to 70° C. Please visit out websi

With Flo heading towards the Mid-Atlantic region, we would like to remind our clients to un-plug their Bose systems and TV’s along with any other electronic devices before the storm. This will eliminate damage from lighting and power surges during the storm. After the storm has passed, be sure your power has been fully restored and is stable before plugging your devices back in. There are times, when power is first restored, that power may drop in out and this can damage your

In selecting the proper TV bracket, first and foremost, confirm the bracket will support the size and weight of your TV. The weight of the same size TV can vary. There are 3 basic types of TV brackets, flat, tilt, and full motion, also known as an articulating arm. The flat bracket is the most common and allows you to mount the TV to the wall with no motion whatsoever. If you use this type of bracket, be sure it has lateral movement, which allows you to center the TV on the

The answer to this question is yes and no, it all depends on the model of speaker. If you have the older Bose 191 speaker, the answer is yes. The Bose 191 speaker was designed to be both used as an in ceiling and in wall version and was shipped with 2 different speaker grilles, one for the ceiling and one for the walls. Please note this speaker model has been discontinued. The newer models, 591’s, 691’s, 791’s and 891’s are designed for specific installations. The 591’s and

At WB South, service calls are a big part of our business. The problems are varied such as no picture on my TV, Deck speakers have a static sound, the remote is not working etc. A majority of the time, these issues are related to cable boxes being upgraded, router has been changed, or cables are un-plugged and our technicians can correct them on site. However, if during the trouble shooting process, it is determined that the product is defective, the Bose product needs to be

As with all apps, Bose is constantly improving the Soundtouch app through the use of downloadable updates. If you are having difficulty downloading an update, you can try the following. First, delete the existing app from your device. Next, go to www.Bose.com/soundtouch_appand download the latest version of the Soundtouch app. Open the app and enter your username and password. Please note, all of your previous information will be retained. You will not need to enter Network