I've heard Bose's new Lifestyle Ultra speakers—here are 5 things that actually stood out
From immersive audio to missing features, here's what jumped out in my early demos of Bose's new audio Lifestyle Collection.
Bose is heading back into whole-home audio with its brand-new Lifestyle Ultra Collection. The three new wireless audio products include the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, and the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer.
I’ve gotten to see the new speakers in person, handle them, and listen to some audio demos. I’ll need more time to comment on how good these speakers actually are and if they’re worth buying. They can be ordered now and will be available on May 15. The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker costs $299, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is $1,099, and the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer retails for $899.
There will be a lot to dig into about how these speakers work and sound, but for now, there are a few aspects worth noting. From someone who’s had the chance to discuss Bose’s new products with its executives and covered the music tech space for nearly 15 years, here are some of the interesting parts of the new Lifestyle Collection.
1. There’s no Dolby Atmos music support
One of the most interesting aspects of the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is its upfiring driver. This can provide bigger, more immersive sound from a speaker, with sound shooting up as well as forward.
But instead of using this driver array for spatially mixed, Dolby Atmos songs, Bose is instead opting for its TrueSpatial audio processing technology. This will automatically add height and depth to any song.
How does it sound? In my initial demos, the music sounded bigger than expected, with audible height to it. This aspect is even more exaggerated when pairing two Ultra Speakers. How well these manage the spatial aspect will be more apparent once I’ve had more time with these speakers at home.
This aspect is the same for the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar when using it for music. It won’t play Dolby Atmos song mixes. However, the Soundbar does support Dolby Atmos for movies and can mimic a full surround setup.
2. There are no in-app music services
One reason Bose might not support Dolby Atmos music, beyond Bose wanting to use its own spatial technology, is that it doesn’t support music services in its app. You can use Apple Music via AirPlay and Spotify via Spotify Connect. If there’s a music service without “casting” available, then you can stream music using Bluetooth.
On one hand, this simplifies the mobile app experience. I was told by several Bose executives that customers don’t really want or use in-app music services enough to warrant the complications.
In my experience, that rings true. I do use Apple Music in Sonos’ app so that I don’t have to be tethered to a speaker, but if the feature went away, I don’t know that I’d truly miss it.
3. The ported design gives a bigger sound
With a three-driver array in the Ultra Speaker and a nine-driver one in the Ultra soundbar, these speakers produce a good amount of sound. Even better, Bose is advertising its CleanBass technology with the new Ultra Collection.
I got a quick visual demo—yes, visual, with props—of how using a longer tube can introduce unwanted inflections and other audio distortions. Bose’s solution is to cut venting holes to produce a cleaner bass sound, hence the name.
4. The Soundbar’s secret weapon is a new dialog mode
I watched a few movie clips while the Ultra Soundbar directed sound all around the room using its PhaseGuide drivers. It’s a convincing home theater soundbar. But one of the features it has that seems the most useful is its SpeechClarity technology. Bose uses AI to isolate and enhance dialogue.
Other companies have used this type of language, but in practice, I heard more speech without losing other parts of the background sound or making the movie sound completely unnatural. That’s the dream.
By the way, the wireless Ultra Subwoofer also uses CleanBass tech and packs a punch. It can be paired to an Ultra Soundbar or an Ultra Speaker.
5. Yes, Bose’s new speaker and soundbar resemble Sonos’ products
It’s hard not to see similarities between Bose’s Lifestyle Ultra Speaker and Sonos’ Era 100. Both are similar in size, with a cylindrical design. The similarities continue between the Sonos Arc Ultra and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar.
Both the Era 100 and Ultra Speaker feature Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, aux input support, AirPlay, and Spotify Connect. They can be grouped to play the same thing across the house or work individually. Each can be used in a home theater setup as rear speakers for compatible soundbars.
There are some differences, but they’re minor. Basically, each company is putting pressure on the other, which is providing consumers with a little more choice. The buying choices don’t come cheap, however.