Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar Black

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra is a soundbar that stands out. This is not only due to the grand 5.1.2 channel sound, but also to hassle-free installation and a luxurious, glass design. Do operate the soundbar via the app or with clean hands, as fingerprints are easily visible through the glass surface.

5.1.2 channel sound The Lifestyle Ultra features 5 forward-facing channels, one built-in woofer, and 2 upward-facing speakers. Because of this, I consider the soundbar an ideal foundation for a home cinema set. Thanks to the 5 forward-facing channels, I hear rich sound and can easily distinguish between different tones when watching an action movie. This allows me to follow conversations without difficulty, even with loud explosions in the background. The woofer boosts the bass tones and ensures that I become completely immersed in the action. Finally, there are the 2 upward-facing channels, which allow technologies like Dolby Atmos to truly shine. The sound from the speakers bounces off the ceiling and walls to my seat. This way, the sound immediately sounds more spacious, even without rear speakers.

Luxury design What stands out immediately is the glass finish of the soundbar. The glass acts as a top layer over a large part of the Lifestyle Ultra, giving it a luxurious look. I find it a particularly nice addition if you already have many glass elements in your living room. At the same time, there is a caveat. The soundbar's buttons are also integrated into the glass, meaning fingerprints show up quickly. I therefore recommend using the Bose app as much as possible. You will find all the closures on the back. I think these are nicely concealed. Thanks to the design, you can insert the HDMI eARC cable and the power cable diagonally into the soundbar. This makes it easy to place the Lifestyle Ultra in front of a TV with a large central stand. You can easily run the cables along the stand without bending them.

Quick setup The soundbar works immediately when I connect the power cable and HDMI eARC cable. Straight out of the box, I am not entirely satisfied with the sound, so I download the Bose app. After a few updates, I control the soundbar and the matching Lifestyle Ultra subwoofer with a single app. I have access to many different settings here, allowing me to quickly adjust the sound. Within fifteen minutes, I have tuned the sound to my room and TV, and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

I had the predecessor first, the Bose 900; what a difference, especially with the voice clarity.

I already had a Bose 5.1 SoundTouch home cinema system with incredibly good surround sound, but this is clearly a significant step up. Ordered together with the speakers and the subwoofer. I have tried other brands as well, and they are truly very good too, but Bose somehow manages to split/define the tones/sounds even further... so pure and full. Even a simple TV broadcast sounds beautiful, whereas many tend to sound "flat". You pay a fairly large sum, but you get a lot in return!