Bose has just taken the wraps off its new Lifestyle Collection, a three-strong line-up of multi-room-friendly audio products, which it hopes will give a certain brand – cough, Sonos, cough – a serious run for its money.
The focal point is the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Dolby Atmos soundbar.
Article continues belowThese drivers work with a pair of Bose’s proprietary PhaseGuide drivers, which help spread sound in specific directions to give a wide, all-encompassing soundstage.
The Bose Lifestyle Ultra soundbar features a textured-knit fabric that wraps around the unit with a glass top which stretches across the soundbar and includes a touch-sensitive control panel for playback, volume and Bluetooth pairing.
Struggle to understand conversations in modern movies and TV shows? Bose’s new SpeechClarity technology uses an AI algorithm to boost dialogue but not the effects around it. There’s also CleanBass technology, which works with Bose’s QuietPort design (there are two ports on the rear of the bar) to deliver quality bass without any unwanted distortion.
To help with set-up, you can use Bose CustomTune (which used to be called Bose ADAPTiQ). This is a technology that analyses your room dimensions, surfaces and furniture placement to deliver the best audio experience for your particular room layout. It’s all done through the microphone in your Android or iOS device.
No remote control is provided in the box, although one is sold separately (as is an optional wall mount. Bose has revamped its own app, which you use to control and set-up the soundbar, connect a subwoofer and/or surrounds and alter audio settings.
You do get an HDMI cable, though, which you can use with the soundbar’s eARC-supporting HDMI socket.
There’s an ethernet port on the rear of the bar for a wired connection, or you can use the built-in wi-fi. Music streaming is enabled via Bluetooth 5.3, Google Cast, Apple AirPlay or Spotify Connect. Surprisingly, there’s no Tidal Connect at launch, but Bose guarantees us that it is working on bringing it to the Lifestyle Collection as soon as possible post-launch.
The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is available in black or white smoke and costs £1000 / €1000 / $1099 / AU$1800, which puts it right up against the all-conquering Sonos Arc Ultra.
Want to add more oomph to the soundbar? This is where the matching Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer comes in. Priced at £900 / €900 / $899 / AU$1300 and available in the same black or white smoke finishes, the sub is ported underneath and features a 10-inch upfiring woofer.
If you want to add a couple of surrounds to the system or simply want a wireless speaker for another room in your house, Bose has also unveiled the Sonos Era 100-rivalling Lifestyle Ultra Speaker. Priced at £300 / €350 / $299 / AU$550, it uses a three-driver array (two front-facing and one up-firing) to disperse sound, although unlike the soundbar, it doesn’t support Dolby Atmos when used by itself.
It is available in the same black or white smoke finishes, but there is also a rather fetching ‘Driftwood Sand’ option, which features a solid white oak base. At £349 / €369 / $349, it does set you back a little bit more.
Like the rest of the products in the range, the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker includes Bose’s CleanBass technology, which combines the speaker’s QuietPort on the rear of the speaker with clever DSP (digital signal processing) to deliver deep, tight bass.
The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker can be used on its own or in a pair for stereo playback. Alternatively, you can add them as surround channels for the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar. The speakers aren’t backwards compatible with any of Bose’s older soundbars, though.
Like the soundbar, the wireless speaker features Alexa support, wi-fi connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, Google Cast, Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect. It adds an auxiliary 3.5mm input should you want to connect an external source. You also get touch-sensitive controls on top of the device, including the ability to mute the built-in microphone.
The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer will ship from the 15th of May and can be preordered today through the Bose website.
MORE:
Read our Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar hands-on review
And our Sonos Arc Ultra review
Our pick of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars you can buy right now
Is the crown starting to slip on Bose, the king of noise-cancelling headphones?
