I tried Bose's all-new soundbar – the bass is stellar, even without a sub

Bose is going all-in on "lifestyle', with its all-new Lifestyle range – which not only includes this, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, but also the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, which I've written about previously.

I got to test out the latest products ahead of their official reveal when visiting Bose in Manhattan, to get a real-world perspective on the new soundbar, which the audio brand describes as its "biggest acoustic overhaul in over a decade".

That means it's out with the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar and in with the Lifestlye Ultra Soundbar, which also amps up the design language, control interface – akin to an iPod-like circular volume adjustment, sat atop the 'bar itself – and material choices.

I've tested out many of the best soundbars over the years and what Bose has come up with here is a clear Sonos competitor, able to go toe-to-toe against one of the most successful brands. It'll pair nicely, whether you've got a 55-inch or 65-inch TV that needs audio enhancing.

Bring the bass

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In my first test of the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, I was shown a snippet of 6 Underground – the chaotic Ryan Reynolds action-comedy – which, with no subwoofer connected for that test, showed off just how capably the 'bar alone handles bass. Indeed, I could feel the floor vibrating beneath my feet.

While Bose will also sell you the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer (priced £/$899), I suspect that many homes simply won't need one – not only on account of cost and space, but because the soundbar's ports allow low-end to flow so amply from the single unit. That'll make it a key Sonos Arc competitor.

Not that the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is solely about low-end output. The 5.0.2 arrangement uses nine elements, arranged over five channels to output the front soundstage, with two upfiring speakers to ensure greater height. It's a great addition for decoding Dolby Atmos mixes.

A lot of Bose's proprietary technologies help elevate the soundbar's abilities, too. The brand's PhaseGuide pair is able to adjust sound direction to give a focused output wherever you're sitting in relation to it. With that, 6 Underground's audio sounded true to the on-screen characters.

Dolby Atmos and surround options

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The soundbar positions a tweeter right in its centre, with a pair of transducers to its side, providing a core frontal output. But two other transducers to either side ensure a wide stereo field straight out of the box, while the up-firing drivers near those finish the fuller picture.

I've looked back over my notes from the listening session and have keenly written down "insanely wide", so Bose has clearly done a grand job in delivering that room-filling output for great immersion. And with added TrueSpatial processing, it's able to upmix even basic mixes into virtual surround sound experiences.

The Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar will handle your Dolby Atmos mixes no problems, therefore, but you can jazz things up yet further by pairing with the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and go even further by including two Lifestyle Ultra Speakers as a rear pair.

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That complete system is a 7.1.4 system instead, utilising the addition of the Speakers' upfiring drivers for emphasised side-position output in the mix, plus rear overhead channels. I like that this could be added later, rather than spending a small fortune up front.

Speaking of pricing, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar will cost £999 / $1099 when it goes on sale from 15 May. It's available in Black or Smoke White options.

Top tier controls

There's more to this soundbar than sound quality alone, though. I think it justifies its asking price with some of the design flourishes – that glass topping looking sophisticated (and not too reflective, fortunately), and material choices being suitably high-end.

But it's the integrated controls that set the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar apart from its nearest competition. The sunken control wheel atop the 'bar is unlike anything I've seen on competitor systems and feels truly natural to use – which is a good job, as there's no separate remote control included (only app-based controls).

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It's small touches like this that set the new Lifestyle option apart from its Smart predecessor. It's a design language that runs through the range, too, as the Ultra Speaker has a smaller equivalent of that control on top.

For those in the USA, this is the first Amazon Alexa+ enabled product to hit the market, so conversational voice interaction is a reality. That'll be coming to wider markets over time, though no date is yet set.

In terms of connectivity, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar goes down a familiar Sonos-like path, as there's an HDMI eARC port and no additional HDMI 2.1 passthrough for this product. The latter would be a nice-to-have, though it's not an essential for many people.

With so much choice in this space, Bose's all-new soundbar both looks and sounds the part. I like how bold and bassy it sounds as a standalone product, but it's the appeal of future upgrades – with subwoofer and rear speaker additions – that could transform your living room into a spectacular home-cinema space.

That said, Samsung's all-in-one-box Q990 is sometimes a steal for what it offers – so Bose is up against some stiff competition too. Or, for a single 'bar with standout design (and passthrough options), Marshall's Heston 120 is a distinct alternative.