Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker

Typical Bose Hardware

The bottom line: The Bose Lifestyle Ultra presents itself as understated, elegant, and well-built, compact in size, with a three-way driver system plus TrueSpatial and CleanBass technology for added spaciousness and bass power.

Understated, elegant, dynamic, refined, and unobtrusive – all these descriptions fit the Bose Lifestyle Ultra. The available colors, too – White Smoke, Black, or Driftwood Sand – speak to its quality and style.

At just under 1.6 kilograms and measuring 18.5 x 12 x 16.8 cm, the speaker is neither particularly heavy nor especially bulky, which, as it turns out, does nothing to diminish its sound power and presence.

The front is half covered by a cap made of quality mesh material. The rest is sturdy plastic. In the Driftwood Sand color option, the base is accented with a wood-veneer ring. On top sit a control panel and a speaker vent. On the underside, the Bose rests on two sturdy rubber feet. There’s also a screw thread for attaching the optionally available wall mount or floor stand. On the back are the power connector and a mini-jack input.

As usual, Bose is stingy with technical details about its components, but under the hood is a three-way system with a woofer and a tweeter, both firing forward. A further tweeter fires upward. Combined with what Bose calls TrueSpatial technology, this is meant to add more height and spaciousness. As another DSP touch, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra uses CleanBass technology together with the Quiet Port, which winds through the housing and vents out the back, to boost bass power.

Connectivity, Features, App

The bottom line: Setup runs through the Bose app, with streaming available via AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Google Cast, or Alexa. Bluetooth 5.3 and a mini-jack cable are available as alternatives, though without multiroom functionality.

Joining a network requires the Bose app. Once you’ve signed in and assigned the product, the app asks for your Wi-Fi password and you’re ready to stream via AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Google Cast, or Alexa as well. The latter takes a bit more effort to activate, but once it’s set up and the speaker’s microphone is enabled, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra can be controlled quite well by voice. One quirky detail is the standby timer, which only allows for shutting off after 20 minutes or never.

Alternatively, you can feed the speaker via Bluetooth 5.3 or a mini-jack cable. In that case, you naturally give up multiroom functionality or network-based wake-up. That’s why, for me, streaming over AirPlay is the first choice.

The speaker can be controlled via the touch panel on top or through the connected source device. Particularly nice is the circular touch control for volume on the housing. In the app, you can switch sources, set up the stereo configuration, and activate a somewhat awkward three-band EQ. An additional height control adjusts the upward-firing tweeter to increase or decrease the sense of space.

Solo and Stereo Sound

The bottom line: Solo, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra delivers a powerful, warm sound with punchy bass that stays stable all the way up to maximum volume. In stereo pairing, staging, depth, and imaging gain noticeably more naturalness.

As already mentioned, the housing of the Bose Lifestyle Ultra isn’t particularly large. Even so, the small unit delivers a genuinely surprising, powerful, and dense sound, with a tight, punchy bass and clear highs that get the room moving. Fresh and open, if somewhat underperforming in the midrange, it drives Grandbrothers’ “We Collide” through the room impressively, with a generous helping of bass.

The point-source dispersion of the standalone speaker narrows the soundstage somewhat. However, the upward-firing speaker works hard to keep that impression from feeling too confined, adding width through additional ceiling reflections.

The warm core of the Bose Lifestyle Ultra does a lot of good with David Gilmour and the current live version of “Sorrow,” whose guitar intro genuinely simmers and rumbles, without anything sounding boomy or harsh. Vocals and instruments develop with intensity, though they remain a touch fuzzy. Remarkably, the little Bose stays tonally stable all the way to maximum volume, though this holds up better with a rocking David Gilmour track than with more treble-heavy material, which can start to get a bit harsh.

Overall, the little Bose Lifestyle Ultra delivers sound that really grabs you, once again proving Bose’s clever use of DSP, which can also be adjusted here and there via the EQ to suit personal taste.

If a second Bose Lifestyle Ultra is available, it can be paired quickly and easily via the app into a stereo setup, unlocking a clear gain in width, depth, and quality in the sound. Staging, depth, imaging, and movement all come across as authentic, natural, and full of detail – who would want the solo setup after that?

Conclusion

Bose impresses once again. The little Bose Lifestyle Ultra already convinces as a solo speaker with rich, powerful sound that has nothing to hide from. At the same time, the American brand fits in beautifully, both visually and acoustically, in a larger living space, and thrives there. Treat yourself to a second one for stereo, and the sound experience improves significantly, making a return to the good old system with giant speakers even less likely. All in all, a worthwhile investment that can later be expanded into a surround system.

FAQ

Can the Bose Lifestyle Ultra be paired with a second speaker for stereo?
Yes, two Bose Lifestyle Ultra speakers can be easily paired into a stereo setup via the Bose app. This delivers noticeably more width, depth, and imaging precision in the sound.

Which streaming services does the Bose Lifestyle Ultra support?
The speaker can be controlled via Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Google Cast, and Amazon Alexa. Playback also works over Bluetooth 5.3 or a mini-jack cable.

How do you set up the Bose Lifestyle Ultra?
Setup happens through the Bose app, where users sign in, assign the speaker, and enter their Wi-Fi password. Activating Alexa takes a bit more effort than the rest of the setup.

How is the Bose Lifestyle Ultra built?
The housing combines a mesh-material cap with sturdy plastic and comes in White Smoke, Black, and Driftwood Sand. A wall mount and floor stand are available as optional accessories.

Can the Bose Lifestyle Ultra be used in a surround setup?
Yes, according to Bose, the Lifestyle Ultra can eventually be expanded into a surround system. This configuration wasn’t yet available to test for our review.

Who is the Bose Lifestyle Ultra a good fit for?
It suits users looking for a compact yet powerful-sounding speaker for streaming and multiroom setups. Anyone wanting an even wider soundstage benefits further from pairing two units in stereo.

Technical Specifications

Form Factor

Compact speaker for streaming and multiroom

Dimensions (H x W x D)

18.47 x 12.11 x 16.75 cm

Weight

1.66 kg

Material

Plastic (PC-ABS), fabric, rubber

Wireless Connectivity

Apple AirPlay 2, Bluetooth 5.3, Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi

Sound Options

Multiroom, stereo mode (two paired speakers), surround sound configuration

App

Bose App

Audio Cable Included

No

Color Options

White Smoke, Black, Driftwood Sand