Bose Reveals Their Lifestyle Collection

Music and audio have been two huge pieces of my life. So growing up, I was always fascinated by the things that create the sound I hear. Two major items that influenced how I listened to sound were my grandmother’s kitchen speaker and a pair of headphones my grandfather traveled with. My grandmother’s speaker fascinated me because, for such a small rectangle, it could produce so much sound that it filled the kitchen and carried its sound far beyond it. But the headphones fascinated me for another reason: noise cancellation. When I tried my grandfather’s headphones on as a young child, I was entranced by the lack of sound. Despite both being very different devices, they were connected by the fact that they were both Bose.

For the rest of my life, I have always gone to Bose. Headphones, speakers, or anything I needed for sound would be Bose. I’d save up all my money to get a new pair of headphones, and they’d last for years. I have 2 by my desk right now for everyday use, actually. So when I was invited to a Bose media day in NYC for a top-secret event, I jumped on it like a fresh hot dog from a street vendor.

The first device I was shown was the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker ($299). In the center of a room was the Ultra Speaker, which, on its own, was impressive to look at. The design fit in seamlessly with the room’s decor, to the point that it felt like it belonged there. With many speakers, they never quite match the aesthetic of a normal home but have a techy gleam. There was a level of warmth in the design of this speaker with a wood-finished bottom. But then the demo began.

When the music started, the room was filled with sound from top to bottom. When I say from top to bottom, I mean it. There is a speaker pointed straight up in the device to give a certain level of height to the range. I was taken aback as I listened because the sound didn’t have a clear trajectory; instead, it filled the space. There was a sense of giddiness in me because I thought about how cool it was to even imagine going up, but Bose did it. I found myself mouthing the word “WOW” as I watched… and the demo team caught it. I was beyond impressed with a speaker of this size and its capabilities. But then they revealed two more, paired in stereo.

There was no choppiness or strain in any of the sounds as they did another demo using a right- and left-placed Ultra Speaker working in tandem. The device is going to blow away any speaker of the same range. It’s also integrated with Alexa+, which makes it the first device with the new system running on it. But even with all the cool parts of it, I melted into the sound and wasn’t really sure how they could top a demo like this. The entire day lay ahead, and more magic was about to happen.

The next demo was the Lifestyle Collections Ultra Soundbar and Subwoofer. For me, I have always been hesitant of a soundbar and have never owned one. I couldn’t understand the need for one, but it all clicked as I watched a scene from Dune. Every sound was crisp in every corner of the room. Whispers were as mysterious to me as they were to Timmy on the screen because they felt like they were coming from nowhere. That was even before they turned on the subwoofer, which only made the sound heavier and soul-shaking with how it vibrated through my body.

But what most impressed me about the soundbar was the new Bose Speechclarity feature. Using the sound of whatever scene is playing, the device can enhance the spoken parts of the audio so they’re clearer among the rest of the sound. It was an impressive piece of technology aimed at improving the viewing experience. They mentioned using their hearing-aid technology to develop the new feature, which impressed me. Using all the tech throughout the company to improve everything is why I have always chosen Bose. There was another demo to show off the device’s directional sound, where someone from the Bose team held the speaker portion of the bar like a magic wand to illustrate how the sound is directed. I was like a kid in a candy store as I watched something I had always wondered about on full display.

The demo ended with the scene from Bohemian Rhapsody where Freddie Mercury is doing his call-and-recall routine with the audience. Feeling the sound reverberate between the stage and the audience sold me on the Lifestyle collection. Each piece was beautifully crafted to enhance sound for the best listening experience, without sacrificing the look of your home with something too tech-forward. I am thankful for the invite to see how the future of sound is being shaped by Bose, as it has been shaped since I was a kid listening to the radio in my grandparents’ kitchen or asking my grandfather to try on his headphones to surround myself in sound.

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker($299), the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar($1,099), and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer($899)will be available starting May 15thandcan bepreorderedtoday atBose.com.The Lifestyle Collection comes in Black or White Smoke, and the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is also available in limited-edition Driftwood Sand ($349), a soft beige reminiscent of fine upholstery, featuring a solid white oak base that’s destined to age beautifully over time.