Anything Sonos does, Bose does better, or so the argument goes. For a while, it felt like the latter was more interested in what you put in your ears than what you put in your living room. Just when it seemed Bose had quietly stepped back from the home audio scene, the American audio giant pulled back the curtain on its brand-new Lifestyle Collection.
The collection comprises a trio of audio devices that includes the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, and the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer, which Bose explains are “all built with Bose’s most advanced proprietary audio technologies and engineered to work together across flexible configurations, from a single space to multiple rooms, to deliver high-quality sound.”
As detailed in the company’s press release, all three devices are currently available for preorder. The speaker is priced at $299, the subwoofer at $899, and the soundbar at $1,099. The collection primarily comes in black and white, though the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is also available in a limited-edition Driftwood Sand finish. Sonos has set the bar high with a combination of proprietary acoustic technology, seamless ecosystem integration, and a focus on premium, minimalist design, and it seems Bose is following suit.
The Lifestyle Ultra soundbar is arguably the most talked-about piece in the lineup. Bose describes it as the most “radical acoustic redesign of its soundbars in a decade,” built around a 5.0.2 configuration with full Dolby Atmos support via HDMI eARC. “The soundbar features an entirely new acoustic architecture engineered to deliver cinematic performance from a single enclosure,” the company says.
Inside, six full-range drivers do the heavy lifting, two of which fire upward, alongside a center tweeter for dialogue clarity and two PhaseGuide drivers that handle directional audio. What Hi-Fi, which got an early hands-on, describes the build as feeling “relatively premium and nice to the touch.”
Aesthetically, the soundbar and speakers share a combination of textured fabric grilles and polished glass, lending them a sophisticated, shelf-worthy appearance. With that design language and its performance ambitions, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar makes a clear play for the brand, challenging Sonos’ dominance in the home audio space.
CNN, which also had an early look, noted how Bose repositioned its PhaseGuide drivers compared to the previous Smart Ultra Soundbar, moving them inward rather than toward the far edges. Dialogue has received notable attention this time around, too. SpeechClarity, an evolution of Bose’s older AI Dialog feature, uses artificial intelligence to distinguish, isolate, and amplify dialogue above muddying background effects, rather than simply boosting the center channel as earlier systems did.
Then there’s the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, which is versatile on so many levels. It can be used solo, as part of a stereo pair, or as wireless rear channels in a full surround system, with TrueSpatial digital signal processing working alongside an up-firing driver to widen the listening sweet spot.
As highlighted in the company’s press release, the bass performance is handled by CleanBass technology, complemented by a rear QuietPort treatment that uses resistive materials to reduce disruptive resonances, allowing for longer ports in a compact enclosure without audible turbulence. At $299, that’s a considerable amount of engineering packed into a fabric-wrapped cabinet.
Lastly, we have the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer. Sleek and powerful, the subwoofer is powered by CleanBass technology and the same acoustic QuietPort opening. According to Bose, it delivers deep, controlled bass that stays clean at any volume, adding the weight and authority expected of a serious home theater system.
When paired together, two Lifestyle Ultra Speakers, along with the soundbar and subwoofer, bring the full system to a 7.1.4-channel configuration. One of the more welcome changes in this new lineup is its compatibility with mainstream streaming platforms.
Unlike its predecessors, which required a proprietary app, the new collection supports Google Cast and Apple AirPlay for music playback. Built-in Alexa+ handles voice control, and Bluetooth 5.3 enables direct device streaming. Is this a worthy opponent for the Sonos Arc Ultra or the recently released Era100 SL? Only time will tell. For now, pre-orders are open, with the full launch set for May 15.
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