Customer Ratings & Reviews

Verdict: The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is as good as soundbars get, and when paired with other Bose Lifestyle units, it delivers the most impressive home theater performance we have ever experienced at home. Background. This review is only for the soundbar unit, but we installed several pieces to build a Bose home theater system. Initial impressions. Unboxing Bose equipment always conveys quality… It’s packed well, it’s heavy, and it looks amazing. This is a very long soundbar, and also quite wide; I recommend measuring where you plan to install it (just in case). It looks… fantastic! Sleek glass top, discreet and convenient controls, hidden speakers on all sides, and angled power and HDMI connectors. Setup. Initially, the app indicated that setup would take 45 minutes, but in the end, it was closer to 15 min, not bad at all! While mostly smooth, during setup, one or two screens stalled for a bit, for example, once it found the soundbar, there was no continuation arrow… It was just stuck there. I had to quit the app and relaunch, and from there I could proceed to add the other pieces. I love that you can press the “bell” icon to generate a sound on the speaker for testing. Once plugged-in, connect the HDMI cable through the ARC connections on both ends. If you have additional compatible Bose units, you can connect them wirelessly to the soundbar through the app. Of note, unless I missed it in the box… the system does not come with a physical remote; your smartphone serves as the remote. Performance. The sound bar design effectively distributes sound forwards, backwards, upwards, and to the sides, effectively simulating spatial sound. The soundbar is plenty loud, with decent bass, essentially better than the vast majority of soundbars, but not perfect. Beyond the bass, the sound is full and rich. While excellent on its own, when the soundbar is paired with the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speakers, the experience exceeds ALL our expectations of quality, immersion, and power! Features. Custom Tune for the specific room you setup is fantastic. SpeechClarity is interesting, but I don’t plan to ever use it since we will primarily use it for movies and music. I love that it has airplay and google cast. App. The app is simple, so manage expectations. It doesn’t offer much more than digital remote and basic settings customization. In the end, it works well and does what it needs to do. Things I love: - Large and powerful soundbar - Excellent performance for movies and music - It looks great, with a sleek glass top and easy controls - Seamless integration with other Bose units to build an epic home theater system that you can grow over time - Alexa integration is very convenient Things I don’t love: - Did I miss the physical remote somewhere in the box?! A physical remote would be great, and should be included for something this high-end. I understand I can control from the app, but I am not the only person that uses the sound system. My wife is not interested to install and use yet another app. And when the kids, their friends, and other guests visit, they can’t turn the volume down without using Alexa or getting up to press the physical buttons. This doesn’t make sense! - The Alexa setup failed a few times. I logged out of the Alexa app and logged back in, and that seemed to solve it - I do wish there were physical back/skip buttons on the sound bar. Why not put +/- at the top and bottom of the circle, and back/skip on the left and right of the circle? Sure, I can remember to double-press or triple-press the play button, but other people will not know that… Better to just put the buttons since there is space on the touch controls Overall, I am thrilled with the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, but most importantly, I LOVE the seamless integration with other Bose units to create an incredible and scalable home theater system. We most highly recommend the Bose Lifestyle line-up.

I've either owned or had experience (through friends/family) with many Bose products over the years. This started with a pair of 901's back in the 70's when I admired but could not afford such an extravagance. Luckily I had a friend with spendable cash. When the original Lifestyle surround system came on the market; I was working steadily, and that became my Christmas present to myself. What followed was CD Clock/Radio; outdoor speakers, smart soundbars, and headphones, both bud & noise cancelling styles. The new LS Ultra Soundbar follows in their tradition of beautifully designed and well engineered products. Upon unboxing, I was immediately impressed with the smooth plate glass top of the soundbar piece. The body of the unit is sleek, elegant, and at about 42" long, definitely not unassuming. A statement piece to be sure. The subwoofer for the LS is also topped with a thick slab of plate glass, and quite heavy relative to its size. By its heft alone, one could imagine the thunderous bass its body could produce. Rear satellite speakers also quite hefty for their size. If you'd be looking to wall shelve the set, I wouldn't be cheaping out on a drywall bracket. Mounting screw hole is provided on the bottom. Upon setup, I was prepared for an adventure with the Bose app. With my previously owned Smart Soundbar 600, I could never get the app to cooperate with the unit. Once I finally got it connected, it ended up dropping it, and wouldn't reconnect. I finally gave up and became satisfied using the remote. With the new LS Ultra, the experience was quite different. The app guided me through the process, first connecting the main soundbar, then subwoofer, and finally, the satellites. I'm sure many of you have had adventures making the TV connection - will it be recognized & configure properly? No adventure for me this time. Hooked the provided HDMI cable into the ARC input on the tv, and all was good. Both units turned on/off properly in sync with each other. The app also contains a function for self tuning/configuration to your room. A series of tones are emitted from the main unit, you take your phone to your favored seating position, and the unit calibrates. The first time around, it gave me a "didn't quite get that"; which was probably because I was holding the phone at the wrong angle. A second go-through went through with no issue. It then asked for a secondary seat position, and went through the process again; however, I don't see anything in the app that would allow you to select a primary/secondary function. The end result produced a beautifully rich and all encompassing sound. The imaging and soundstage are dead-on perfect. I did play with the app's adjustment sliders for bass/mid/treble, left/right, front/back, but came back to neutral, as it seemed the "tuning" function of the app had done its job. I do own other high end audio equipment, my vinyl record collection spans decades and several thousand records. Subjectively, I've always felt that Bose products had their own "color" or "flavor." As such, when listening to vinyl, I strive to keep things as neutral as possible to preserve the original intention of the artist and/or recording process. I've always chose amplifiers & speakers with those qualities, consequently, Bose has not been my choice in that situation. However, video applications are different. If you've ever heard soundtracks to shows or movies, they do have a different sound than if you were playing the tracks on your CD or vinyl system. They're tuned that way. This Bose LS system portrays the audio/video experience perfectly. The streaming I've seen on Netflix, Apple & especially Disney are the best I've experienced. My personal wishlist - I do wish they had included a remote with the system. For one thing, the glass top of the system is a dust collector, and the embedded controls are super sensitive. If my wife comes by to Swiffer the dust, the controls respond, I'd like to be able to have a remote button to control at least on/off. Yes, I do know we have Alexa/Google to control our lives, but I'm an old school guy. I miss buttons! That said, this Bose is quite the statement piece for your audio/video room - highly recommended.

I bought a new premium TV last year and had a pretty good home theatre system but I wanted to go premium with the sound as well and BOSE has a big reputation, and I wanted to go big and see if the hype was justified. I have the Quite comfort headphones and a stand alone speaker for road trips and they hit way above their wight class. I was hoping the same for the Home theater. Got the LIfesytle Ultra Soundbar, The Ultra Subwoofer and two Ultra speakers for the rear fight and left. Un boxing was easy and simple. I love that the only chords you need was a power chord for each of the units and an eArc/ARC cable…that’s it. The app makes the actual set up the easiest home theater set up I have ever done…NOTE: Your tv must be e/Arc because you have to control the Bose Ultras from your tv remote or app or by actually touching the sound bar. Set up was a few clicks and all the magic just happens. Power chords are the only chord and cable wrangling needed. The sound bar is beautiful and a little heavy. About 15 pounds. That’s something to consider because I plan to hang it under my Mantle mount pull down tv arm. My new tv was lighter than my old one and then I upgraded on the mantle mount to hold more weight but I might need to adjust tension on the pull down hydraulics. I got on BOSE website and ordered the wall mounting brackets and I will have to figure out the right combination of hanging accessories to make it work. The sound bar is clearly designed to be sitting on a shelf but I don’t want it that way so I must innovate a bit. Also if you plan to use a generic wall mount BOSE has a grove on the underneath so that must be taken into consideration as a generic one may not work. If I can hang it on a wall though… I should be able to mount it on my tv arm….We’ll see. So back to being designed for a shelf primarily… the unit has volume control and pause and play on a physical button on the top of the unit. Yes you actually can walk up to it and spin the virtual volume wheel to the left or right to turn up the sound or down. I like that…I think… but it seems very retro and I doubt I will use that very often if ever…. Who wants to walk up to their sound bar and push buttons in 2026??? The unit doesn’t even come with a remote….I know sound bar remotes seem archaic and sit in the sofa storage box 95% of the time but for a premium system… give us a bone and throw in a basic remote. It would be nice at a party if I could have that in my pocket and mute quickly…. To be fair, The BOSE app is very nice, quick and responsive and is better than a remote in so far as how easy it is and more functional that a remote…but I want both options. The subwoofer is heavy, well built and looks really good in my Livingroom. The base is so amazingly clean and balanced and powerful…You truly do feel it… even at scale…. Even when the volume is not high…you can still feel the base and it is proportional to the other sound profiles and just amazing! The Sub Looks like a small coffee table instead of some big open woofer. I like that. The rear speakers are larger than my other rears on my old system and that’s because BOSE has done something really unique and versatile with the Ultra speaker …. They can be a stand alone speaker unto themselves…. Really interesting and very cool. I absolutely love the concept of being able to just unplug my speaker and take it with me on a trip or better yet buy two more and have whole home audio. The Ultra speakers being a stand alone unit with stand alone audio features (mid’s, highs and base) bring a whole lot to the home theater experience. They hit so much harder than traditional supplemental rear speakers in other systems I have had. I was watching a show and charter walked in stage right and slammed a door on the screen, I jumped because I swore my main door of my house just slammed behind me….amazing….It literally tricked my brain with just how realist the sound profile was. So realistic and immersive… and that brings me to the overall sound quality. Bose is an investment in experiences for me and my spouse… from movies with the spouse, to concert quality sound from my streams …Apple, Spotifiy, Youtube, Netflix, HULU, Paramount…ect ect…My spouse and I are so busy that we only have a couple of hours to escape and relax and get lost in music or shows….BOSE delivers that experience on a silver plater with style and elegance. I don’t know how they are able to have such clear dialogue while still maintaining the lush and vibrant and sometimes loud audio soundscape of some of the movies and shows out there and the Base…BOSE knows BASE. The app has a dialog boost setting… 1, 2, and 3. I tired all three and I actually prefer and can hear quite fine the native setting of the system (No subtitles needed ever again!). You can easily use the app to increase base and mid ect…but I found that the sound profile out of the box is spot on….It uses your cell phone to gage and analyses the room!!! You actually set you phone on the unit and run a calibration.. then you sit in your spot on the couch and run the calibration again and do that two more times in sperate places you sit at and it generates the best sound for those location…insanely smart… and I could hear the difference…. The sound in so enveloping…It’s like it is everywhere all at once…You have to experience it to really have an appreciation of just how smart the tech is. It comes preloaded with the Alexa assistant …bummer… I hate Alexa. I wish it had a Google Gemini option but if you’re an Alexa family you good to go out of the gate. Also Gamers…. Amazing!!! I play mostly first person shooters (or at least till GTA 6 comes out)… but the bullets and music are next level. Despite the very minor gripes about no remote and Alexa…. Bose Ultra Lifestyle lives up to the hype for me. If you love sound…Sound loves BOSE and it shows! Can’t go wrong!

The new Bose Lifestyle Ultra Home Theater system has me going back to re-watch old movies because of how good it is. This Bose Lifestyle Ultra soundbar is part of a complete system that's paired with the Lifestyle Ultra subwoofer and the new Lifestyle Ultra speakers (setup as dedicated rear surrounds). I have to say, coming from another high-end soundbar, Bose certainly managed to impress me with theirs. At launch, I didn't know quite what to expect since pictures were scarce. I'm not a big fan of soundbars that have a full plastic enclosure; they just feel and look somewhat cheap to me. I was extremely pleased with the look and build quality of this new Bose Lifestyle Ultra soundbar. The entire middle portion and sides of the soundbar are enveloped in a rigid textured fabric that feels premium. The upper section of the soundbar features a gorgeous glass top. The capacitive touch-sensitive buttons also feel ultra premium. I love that you can quickly wind your finger around the large volume dial in a clockwise fashion, or counter-clockwise, to quickly increase or decrease the volume. The build quality is very top notch. Setup was an absolute breeze. After connecting the included HDMI cable to the soundbar's dedicated eARC port to my TV's eARC HDMI port, I was ready to enjoy audio from all of the sources connected to my TV. I downloaded the Bose app, I entered my requested Wi-Fi credentials (ensure it's a 2.4Ghz SSID otherwise the Bose app may not detect your devices), and the Bose app immediately detected my soundbar. Once I powered on my pair of Bose LS Ultra speakers, and LS Ultra subwoofer, the app immediately detected them as well. On the app homepage, there was an option to add the new devices as part of a home theater (i.e. "Build a Home Theater"). In this section you're able to designate your left/right surrounds as well as the subwoofer. I love the built in ping feature which allows you to individually ping each device to ensure the app has communication to each one. Also, to ensure they're in the desired locations in your room. Once I had everything verified on the app, I saved the configuration and was eager to test the cinematic experience. I quickly noticed that instead of having a physical remote, everything could be adjusted and fine tuned directly on the app itself. The EQ allowed me to adjust treble, mids, and bass. There's also additional adjustments that allowed me to fine tune the center channel, the height of the sound, and the surround sound channel. You're also able to quickly toggle off either the rear surrounds or subwoofer. This is one of my favorite features. During the week, if I catch myself watching a late night hockey or basketball game and feel that the powerful sub might annoy some neighbors, I can quickly turn it off. As someone who has always been a proponent of dedicated home theater amplifiers and passive speakers for the absolute best cinematic experience, I’ve been extremely impressed with what Bose was able to accomplish here. Let's face it, not all of us have the space, the ability to properly mount speakers and conceal speaker wires, or the desire to have bookshelf speakers and large center channels dominating the room. Some of us may not want to plunge down the home theater research rabbit hole. Don't get me wrong, the soundbar is good on it's own, but the system really comes to life with the subwoofer and rear speakers. If you'll be building it out piece by piece, I would recommend getting the soundbar and subwoofer first, and finally the rear speakers. The reason I recommend this order is because the soundbar already does an excellent job with it's spatial audio. Bose calls this proprietary technology, "PhaseGuide". I'm not one for marketing buzzwords, but let me tell you - IT DELIVERS! For context, I turned off my rear speakers because I wanted to see how the soundbar's PhaseGuide technology would handle Dolby Atmos content on it's own. I must preface this by saying that everyone's audio experience will differ based on room acoustics, furnishings, room size, layout, etc. For my living room, what really helped bring the virtual surround sound to life was the ability to increase the surround sound volume directly in the Bose app. With the surround sound volume turned up to 7+, watching the severe weather mountain climbing scene in Netflix's new movie "Apex" felt like I was in the theaters. I could hear the harsh winds whiz above me, behind me, and then quickly dart from left to right. I could hear crumbling rocks beginning to fall from above me. My previous high-end soundbar's virtual surround was good, but this was a noticeable improvement. The dialogue on this Bose LS Ultra soundbar is also the best I've heard on any soundbar. I constantly leave the AI voice enchancement "SpeechClarity" option on "Medium" as I really like how crisp, clear, and organic it makes voices sound. It accomplishes a very natural voice reproduction that I haven't heard on any soundbar. I also like that when watching sports, it emphasizes the commentators voice while slightly toning down the background noise. I didn't expect to like listening to music as much as I did on this soundbar when paired with the rear speakers and subwoofer. For reference, my main music listening setup consists of a dedicated 2-channel stereo Rega Brio Mk7 amplifier, Dynaudio Contour S1.4 speakers, and a Bluesound Node Icon. It would be extremely difficult for any soundbar to compete with that in regards to music. While I didn't get anywhere near the same level of musical detail, fullness, instrument separation, and soundstage as my Dynaudios, it still did a very good job of producing a decently wide soundstage with a very bright and pleasant sound signature. With a bit of mid and treble adjustments in the EQ, vocals sounded very clear and natural. My favorite music to listen to though, by far, was Dolby Atmos music from Tidal. Talk about an immersive 360-degree audio experience! Hearing different instruments coming from all around the room is something that has to be experienced, as words can't quite capture it. It's genuinely hard for me to think of any major cons, especially considering the level of performance Bose is delivering here from a fully wireless home theater system that also happens to be sleek and modern. And therein lies why I'm so impressed with this soundbar, matching LS subwoofer, and rear speakers. For a truly wireless home theater system that eliminates speaker cables, and the need for a dedicated home theater amplifier, I really couldn't be happier with the cinematic experience that Bose has brought into my home. I guess if I had to nitpick, I do wish that Bose would have included a small physical remote. Aside from that, well done Bose. Even the packaging was top notch!

This is my 2nd Bose soundbar , first was the smart 600 I believe. That little soundbar sounded great even without a sub. This new version of the Bose’s higher end sound bar is leaps and bounds above my older one. This soundbar produces such rich and clear sound from the highs to the bottom end. I’ve always loved Bose sound signature mainly because while they focus on every aspect of sound, they make sure to put an emphasis on center channel(vocal) clarity. You can’t compare any other brands because Bose has always nailed it. So for me vocal clarity is most important. But everything else sounds great as well from music to thunder and all those sounds you want to hear when watching movies. Treble is nice and clean without being overly sharp. Bass on just the soundbar is adequate but nothing to write home about. But it’s solid. Tho I do have and recommend a bose sub. Height channels work well. This the most balanced sound out of any bars that I have had. Adding the sub makes everything even better and if you want the full surround sound you should get a pair of Bose surrounds. I have the whole set up. And every single person I have giving a demo to, was amazed. It’s really the best set up you can get right now. But it is on the higher end of the retail spectrum but you pay for quality and sound. Plus the design is sleek and elegant, not to big or tall. Blends in nicely with the tv. You have Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay built in after you set up through the app and add everything together. There is no more remotes but it has an EARC so you can either control through your tv remote or the app. You can customize the sound to your liking. I pretty much leave it at default but you can adjust pretty much every setting. This does offer a dialogue enhancement but to me you don’t need it. changing that setting will introduce some weird and unnatural sounding voices. Again, if you know Bose you know it’s going to be great. I love it and this is my new favorite set up for enjoying a fun movie night with my wife and kids.

The new Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is a dream product. The beauty of its quality and simplicity encases a dynamic technical product that exemplifies the ultimate in a musical sound system’s centerpiece. Made of PC-ABS Plastic, Fabric, and Rubber with a glass top panel, it features a minimalist design, is sleek enough to fit any décor, and is available in either black or white. Using current technology, it primarily works via the app or with a soft touch at the controls. Little accessories are needed because this sound bar is designed like products should be, with every piece having a purpose and every purpose serving a dynamic function. There is not even a physical remote to keep up with. The sound bar features 5.1.2 speakers, designed to be enhanced with optional surround speakers for multi-room configurations, but alone, it has magnificent sound on its own. The finished sound bar’s overall dimensions are 3.632 H x 43.283” W x 4.922” D, and it weighs 14.758 lbs. The speaker portion of the bar is 2.648”H x 43.283”W x 4.922”D, the remainder is for the touch controls, which are located at the end of the top of the bar. The soundbar supports Bluetooth 5.3 and is designed to work through the app to wirelessly connect via Apple AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy. It supports wireless connectivity and is Wi-Fi-enabled. Downloading the app was simple, and the app immediately found the soundbar. It also allowed me to easily register the product and choose to set it up alone, as a soundbar with speakers, or as a complete home theater. Then I was able to tune the bar using my phone and the app to achieve optimal sound at its final location. The sound technology is fabulous. The soundbar comes with a power cord and an HDMI Cable. Once the app is loaded, it pretty much sets itself up and optimizes its sound. If I could give it more than just five stars, I definitely would. It is an excellent product, an audiophile-grade soundbar with excellent sound. If you love music, you will love listening to it on this system. Your audio will be crystal clear and rich, and your videos will be cinematic.

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is part of their new Lifestyle Ultra collection. It can be used standalone or in a virtual home theater setup with the new Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and a pair of Lifestyle Ultra Speakers for surround sound. I’m using the soundbar in the home theater configuration. In the box you get the soundbar itself, the power cable, and an HDMI cable. I was looking for a remote since my last Bose soundbar had one, but this model does not include one. The soundbar has a sleek piano black finish. It also comes in white if that would suit your interior décor better. It can be mounted onto a wall, but you will need to buy a wall bracket separately from Bose. On the rear you’ll find the HDMI e-ARC port for connecting to a TV, and an ethernet jack for a wired network connection. It also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.3. On top of the soundbar are power, play/pause, and volume controls. In addition, there is a microphone mute, Bluetooth pairing, and action button. The action button works with voice assistants like Alexa to stop a timer or alarm. Setup was incredibly easy; in fact, it might be the easiest setup I’ve ever seen on any device. Simply plug in the device and use the Bose app on your phone to configure. Just follow the instructions. The app immediately found the device (plus the subwoofer and surround speakers) and walked me through the rest of the process. I think you need to sign up for an account, but I previously had an account for my other Bose soundbars and headphones. It did take a bit of time to download all the updated firmware and apply it to each device. The sound quality of this soundbar is excellent, as you’d expect from Bose. I replaced a 2.1 sound system in my living room that I thought was pretty good, but I was blown away by what this soundbar can achieve. Dialog in movies and TV shows is loud and very clear. It also has a good amount of treble that my previous system did not. I’ve always been skeptical of Dolby Atmos features from a soundbar but this soundbar does a great job of emulating the height effect by using upward-firing drivers. Despite the soundbar being under my TV, Bose’s spatial audio technology makes sounds feel like they’re coming from around the room instead of a single location. When paired with the sub and surrounds, it does an incredible job of creating an immersive home theater setup without all the big unsightly speakers. One feature I really like is that the Bose app shows exactly what audio format is being received. I can confirm whether I’m receiving Dolby Atmos or PCM 5.1 correctly. When playing music through a service like Alexa, it shows the name of the song and playback controls such as skip. You can also adjust the sound in the app, but I let the system configure itself with Bose CustomTune, which plays calibration tones that are picked up by your phone’s microphone to automatically tune the audio for your specific room and seating positions. You do need to have a TV with an eARC HDMI port to receive Dolby Atmos digital audio. Almost all new TVs will have this, but some older ones will not. Something you will want to check prior to purchasing to make sure you get to hear the effects. You will also need content in Dolby Atmos such as that found on some premium streaming services or Ultra HD Blu-rays. One thing to note if you prefer movies on physical media is that the soundbar does not support DTS or DTS:X, just the Dolby formats. Besides TV audio, you can also stream music from your phone using Airplay or Google Cast, or simply connect your phone as a Bluetooth device. You can have up to eight different devices paired to the soundbar at once. Pros: - Excellent Sound Quality - Bose TrueSpatial is superb - SpeechClarity enhances dialog performance - Dolby Atmos support - Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant support - Apple AirPlay and Google Cast - Roku TV Ready (use your Roku remote) - Use standalone or with subwoofer and surround speakers Cons: - No remote included - No DTS support Overall – This is the best soundbar I’ve ever heard. I’d highly recommend getting the entire home theater set with the subwoofer and speakers if you can, but the nice thing is you can just start with the soundbar and add the extra components later.

I got this Bose Lifestyle sound bar along with a full package of Lifestyle, Ultra Subwoofer, and Lifestyle Ultra Surround Speaker; therefore, I am describing this as a full setup, not as an individual sound bar or subwoofer or the Lifestyle speaker. Unpacking Everything comes in recyclable packaging, and the products are well packed because of the weight of the subwoofer, which is very heavy. The box was opened on one side, but otherwise, everything was OK. No damage. I hope Bose should put more sturdy packaging. The sound bar comes with an HDMI cable, and a Power Cable , Subwoofer comes with only Power Cable. The Lifestyle Surround Speakers comes with Power cables. Build Quality The soundbar has a glass top and instead of metal mash. It has a woven soft fabric. this is my personal preference- I like the metal mesh more than the fabric, just because I feel like the metal is more sturdy and gets a more premium look than the fabric. The fabric also attracts more dust and over time It will get dirty while the metal mesh you can simply wipe with a soft damp cloth and it again shines. on the right side of the sound bar. There is a volume button and a play/ pause button, all are touch buttons. The upward firing Dolby Atoms speaker is also at the end of the sound bar. I like the previous version of the Sound Bar Ultra, but this is my personal preference. Other people might like this. Overall, it does give a premium feel. The subwoofer and the small speakers also follow the same woven mesh cloth aesthetics and look the same and easily blend with any room decor. Setup I have other Bose products, soundbar ultra and also quite comfort headphones, and I own the Bose product since the SoundTouch series which I still love. So, as always, the set up is based on the app, you have to download the Bose app, and then everything is just on a screen prompt, and you have to follow the set up. For this particular product, there was a little bit of a hiccup in the beginning. Sometimes the subwoofer was not recognizing, sometimes one of the small speakers was not recognized, and I think that it was as soon as I turned on the speakers. They were downloading a software update or firmware update. That issue went away after some time when things became installed and restarted. They just pair up with each other and kind of become a home theater system. I set up so that the sound bar is in front of my TV and the subwoofer is on the right side of the sound bar, and two surround speakers are on the back of the room on the left and right sides. Connection are wireless, that means everything is just a need to be connected in power, and then it’s just a breeze. The small speakers can be set up in a different way. Can we use them as individual speakers or in a stereo speaker in a different room so that it gives different options. And that’s really good to have. More speakers can be added at a later time point, or if someone wants to have a 7.1 experience, they can buy more speakers and add them to experience a truly immersive sound. Sound output, dialogue clarity, and bass The sound output is really crisp and clean. Their is in a toggle button in the app that you can turn on the dialogue or spoken dialogue clarity you can choose from low, medium, and high. Even without turning that on, the dialogues are very clear, and I really like this feature on the Bose speakers. During the setup The app automatically asks to connect the sound bar to Wi-Fi and find speakers and subwoofer on the network, and once everything is set up, it asks whether we want to tune the sound or surround experience based on our room. That is a good thing because as we have furniture and other stuff in the room, so it can tune up at the place where you sit and adjust the surround experience based on that. These days, everything is becoming up-based and phone-based, and I really do not like that because now I have to, let’s suppose if I have to change the volume or any other settings. I have to pick up my phone. It would have been very good if Bose included a remote with this product, and I still miss the universal remote with my SoundTouch sound bar. It is kind of becoming a personal music system, not for a family or shared one, so everyone has to have an app and use the phone to change basic things. That’s one down point; a remote could have been much better so that if I want to increase the bass, I can simply press the button on the remote or enable the spoken dialogue clarity button. The app has different controls in the volume and tribble and surround, which can be adjusted individually from -10 to +10. The midway is zero; even at the midway, that is zero value, the sound output is really loud and very clear; it does not break if you increase the volume. The subwoofer is really very deep bass. I am living on the first floor in an apartment building and even at zero mid value I was watching a movie and the whole floor was filled with the deep bass that was really a thrilling experience, and the surround system really built up on that and it is really a movie hall kind of experience. Overall, I really like the Lifestyle Ultra series sound bar and speaker system in my personal feeling. I felt that the series is missing a universal remote, and it would have been great if instead of the fabric, it should have a premium metal mash like their previous soundbars. I do recommend this anyone want to have a home theater experience

I got this new Bose Ultra Lifestyle Soundbar as part of a package of speakers to make a complete Bose home theater that includes two of the new rear Ultra Lifestyle speakers and their new Ultra Lifestyle Subwoofer. If you buy each piece seperately as funds allow or just buy the all speakers at once at Best Buy. The Bose sound is extremely good when compared to my clunky aging reciever and wired speaker setup. Plus, most of the setup is pretty straight forward and only requires an outlet, one HDMI cable and phone app. I had a few minor issues with the app as the setup was very new and maybe I missed a step. Now with it up and running, it is just high end audio with very defined center channel audio. Setup: Unbox the speaker, power cord and HDMI. Sadly no remote included. Plug the power cord into the soundbar and wall outlet. Then plug the HDMI cable to eARC port on you TV and the soundbar. Now fire up the Bose app, tap the "+" and it should find the Bose LS Ultra Soundbar. Might be an update. Then just follow instructions on screen and you are on your way to audio from your TV or even Bluetooth devices. You can do the CustomTune setup that the app prefers. This utilizes your phone's microphones, first on the soundbar, then around the room. Or you can setup everything manually to your audio tastes, this option is always available even after CustomTune. There are 3 EQ settings, Treble, Mids, and Bass. And when connected to the rest of the speakers you can control Center, Height, and Surround as well as Subwoofer level for a lot of room thumping goodness if you live in a house. Once the setup is done and your ears are happy. You will just use the TV remote for volume up and down. The app will only be needed again to tweak levels. My flagship Android phone lost the soundbar during the update and made things a bit more difficult. But, I persisted and with a Bose representatives help I was able to get the setup to finish. Just make sure you are on your WiFi network for the whole process. I was on cell network at it likely led to my install issues. Bluetooth is straight forward. Hold BT button till light goes blue and pair speaker with device like phone. Audio: This soundbar has fantastic sound quality and a few nifty tricks for isolating the voice track (center channel) in every format of music and video I threw at it. Anything Atmos is where the soundbar shines. You can send 5.1 surround signals and 2.0 stereo too and it will upmix and fill in a psuedo surround depending on the speakers in your setup. If coming from a receiver and seperate speaker setup. This soundbar handles your Right, Center, Left and Atmos Height speakers. On its own this is slim low profile soundbar and is almost guranteed to beat the TV speakers and make any movie or music far more immersive. And if TV dialogue is hard to understand or typically sounds muddy. Turn on SpeechClarity (low, med, high) in the app and you will get a boosted center track that even on low makes dialogue pop and sound much more defined. SpeechClarity should allow you to turn closed caption off and hear the words being said better. Even without the Sub and rear Lifestyle speakers this soundbar is the base to build your best home theater speaker system. It gives you immersive audio from anything you watch on TV. And with Bluetooth you can connect many more devices to have audio sound even better. The Lifestyle speakers decode and even upscale the audio. You will get the best possible sound no matter how you listen. Even though a remote is not included. Bose did put touch controls on top of the speaker for volume, track advance, play and pause. So, guests can easily connect and share audio without needing the app and changing your setup.

Included-Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, HDMI cable, power cord Installation was a breeze. The soundbar, speakers and sub were all packed very well but were still simple to unpack. The speakers and sub just needed a power cord connected and plugged into an outlet. The soundbar needed the HDMI and the power cord connected and plugged in.  I already had the Bose app on my phone, so I went in and added the product to my list and connected it to my wi-fi. The app prompted me to walk through the set up after the system updated. Then you can customize your system. It calibrates the speakers and soundbar for the optimal expereince. It will adjust the sound to your space and locations of the speakers for optimal performance.  It only took a few minutes from start to finish which I appreciate.  This is my third Bose soundbar and this is the first one that did not include a remote. You have to control the sound bar by touch, voice control or via the app. I don't want to have to get up and touch buttons to control the settings or volume so I'm forced to usually use the app because the voice control can only help with basic functions, nothing like the EQ. I think it would be nice to have at least a simple remote with basic functions if my phone is not available. I love the look of the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar. It's always attractive in design. This one gives me a little bit of a retro vibe with the material on the front and wrapped around yet it has a fresh modern look. As far as sound quality, I think the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is the best one from Bose yet. I think Bose is the best on the market and nothing really compares to them. The sound quality is always amazing thanks to the 9 speakers, Dolby Atmos and Cleanbass technology and ability to customize the EQ and make adjustments on the sub and rear speakers too. I enjoy using the Lifestyle system when I'm watching TV or a movie and want a surround system experience because I have bundled the subwoofer and rear speakers with the soundbar. I also love streaming my playlist or satellite radio via Bluetooth when I want some background music on. The Bose Lifestyle Ulta Collections will definitely provide hours of premium entertainment.

Bose makes the best speakers I have ever owned and this Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is no exception. The sound quality and overall performance is incredible. Setting up the speakers is easy with the Bose app. Just turn on the speaker and search in the app to setup the soundbar. I have the whole 4 piece set (2 satellite speakers, subwoofer, and soundbar) and when they are combined they make up the best home theater set I've ever owned. After adding all the components in the set, I ran CustomTune which optimizes the setup for your room and where you normally sit. It took about 10 minutes and uses the Bose app to know your different seating locations. After doing that, I connected it to the TV via eARC cable (similar to HDMI input). That was all the setup needed. My Samsung TV immediately connected and the I was able to control the volume on the speakers through the TV remote. No programming or fiddling with the settings...it just worked. Lastly, the audio from the soundbar was clear and combined with the other speakers and subwoofer, it far exceeded my expectations. There was also a setting to improve the speech clarity. With my other speakers, I often found myself rewinding to understand what was said. So far, I have not had to do it with that at the maximum setting. Overall, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar from Bose, combined with the satellite speakers and subwoofer is the best home theater set I have ever owned and I would highly recommend it for anyone that wants the best sound from there setup.

I’ve had the Bose TV Speaker and the Smart Soundbar in use under my TV before - and when I saw this new Lifestyle Soundbar, I couldn't resist. This needs to differ from my normal Good/Meh/Bad overview and I’ll be calling out things I like, don’t like or are problematic (**) or am indifferent/critical on (*), given the following categories: —- The App —- Streaming After removing my old Bose Smart Sound Bar, I had to make some mounting adjustments to support this newer, much larger and deeper soundbar, coming in at 21lbs. No issues once adjusted and my existing power and HDMI cables worked perfectly. The App: When I finished the physical installation and connection back to the TV - I began the App setup. Once the App was installed and I logged in, the soundbar popped up as a ‘ready to configure’ item and off it went - setup there was a breeze and it ensured that the components had the proper updates. This is a sharp looking sound bar, though it does collect fingerprints with the piano glossy finish. Actual controls are added in a circular area off to the right. The past few of the Bose soundbars didn’t have anything like a play/pause or volume control on the bar itself. In use, it has great ‘throwing’ capabilities off to the sides and towards the ceiling - where the sounds appear as if they are coming from speakers that don’t exit. I do take advantage of SpeechClarity, as the TV is used more for shows than movies. It can get loud, rumble with some nice bass all while keeping the dialogue crisp. - Movies/TV: Great clarity with adjustments *Critique - No remote in the box! **Issue: The soundbar power save sleep feature doesn’t wake it up nicely. You need to either: touch the soundbar, or in the App, select the Input to be TV (for me) again. When you’ve decided on your configuration, I highly recommend using the CustomTune feature, where in combination with your phone (instead of a mic connected to an Amp), the speakers will tune sounds for the 3 positions you may sit in when watching TV. —- Streaming: Streaming to these devices is easy with Spotify Connect, Bluetooth and Google Cast. Once enabled, Cast from YouTube Music - and if using Spotify, just select the Speaker / Pair, etc that’s been configured and walk away, as there’s a transfer of the song to the device, it’s not tied to your phone like when connected via Bluetooth. When using Bluetooth, say from a TV - it’s still easy, make an input mode App change and you’re off to send whatever to the speakers. *Critique - Soundbar: Music - you need to adjust all the levels as there isn't an “entertainment” or “music” option that you can move between. It’s a bit of a chore to need to un-tune from a movie and re-tune for music. If you’re in the market for a new Bose Soundbar - I highly recommend it! Oh yeah, get the Lifestyle Sub too!

I made this purchase after my old Bose finally gave out on me after many years. I love this one. Easy setup, slick look and crisp sound.

I want to start off with earlier this year, I bought and set up a very nice 5.1 home theater system for our living room. It wasn't tuned perfectly, and I didn’t have the speakers located in the physical space like I wanted. We have strange dimensions in the living room, so I was still figuring out what to do. But the latter issue was bothersome enough for my wife that she didn't care for the home theater system and wanted it gone. She wants our new TV console to be the focus of the living room, not a bunch of speakers and a fancy receiver. She probably wouldn't care much about whether we had a home theater setup or not, but I want great surround sound to match our beautiful-looking OLED, especially for movie watching. Right out of the box, pun intended, Bose made a great choice of a clean, simple, and mostly eco-friendly unboxing experience. The majority of packing materials were recyclable and did not have a mess of tie wraps or cable clutter. If you’ve ever set up a traditional home theater system, you know that it can suck to run speaker wire behind furniture, baseboards, or through walls just to connect your rear speakers to a receiver. Here, the only wires you need to deal with are a power cord for each unit and a single HDMI cable running from the soundbar to your TV. I decided on “going all in” on a fully connected Soundbar system. I hoped to get close to the sound I wanted, but still appeal to my wife visually. I tested the full setup from Bose’s new Lifestyle Ultra lineup: the soundbar, the Subwoofer, and a pair of the lineup's speakers for the rear left and right surround channels. It’s not supposed to match my previous 5.1 setup, but it absolutely sounds better than all the other soundbar and subwoofer combinations I've tried. More importantly, the Bose system is so good that I really don't miss the previous setup. The Bose Soundbar is not perfect, mostly due to some of the choices Bose made and not getting more granular with the options and setup. Inside the box, you get the soundbar, a power cable, and an HDMI cable. I expected a remote since most higher-priced soundbars have one, but this model doesn’t include one. The soundbar looks great with its glossy piano‑black finish, and there’s a white version if that fits your space better. I am afraid that even though I wouldn’t normally expect anyone to touch the soundbar after it’s been installed, I have two young kids…so the glossy black but turn into glossy scratched in no time. You can mount it on the wall, but the bracket is sold separately. I had a soundbar mount that attaches to the TV mount already, so I have hooked up to that. On the back, you’ll only find an HDMI eARC port for your TV and an Ethernet port if you prefer a wired connection. It does support Apple AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, and Google Cast. The soundbar can remember up to eight Bluetooth devices. The top has buttons for power, play/pause, volume, microphone mute, Bluetooth pairing, and an action button for voice assistants like Alexa. Setup was honestly one of the easiest I’ve ever done. Just plug it in, open the Bose app, and follow the steps. The app immediately detected the soundbar, subwoofer, and surrounds, then guided me through everything. You’ll need a Bose account, but I already had one. Even the firmware updates were pretty fast and easy to install. Back to the sound quality - it’s pretty great. Dialogue in movies and shows is super clear, and the treble is much better than what I had before. I’ve always been skeptical of Dolby Atmos on soundbars, but the upward‑firing speakers here actually create a convincing height effect even with my high ceiling. Even though the soundbar sits under my TV, Bose’s spatial audio processing makes it feel like sound is coming from the middle of the TV and almost like a bubble all around the sitting area of the living room. The subwoofer and surround speakers aren’t big and bulky but still crank out loud and clear sound. One really cool thing in the Bose app is that it shows exactly what audio format is coming in, so I can confirm when I’m getting Dolby Atmos or PCM 5.1 (which is what I get from Apple TV because Apple). When playing music through Alexa, the Bose and Alexa app display the song title and playback controls. You can tweak the sound manually with a basic equalizer for Treble, Mids, and Bass. You can also adjust the volume of the center, height, surrounds, and subwoofer level. I went with Bose’s CustomTune automatic calibration. It plays tones through each speaker and uses your phone’s microphone to fine‑tune the audio for your room. You need to place your phone on top of the soundbar without a case to get the best calibration. I tested Dolby Atmos with content from a couple of overpriced streaming services and an Ultra HD Blu‑ray disc. One thing to note: this soundbar doesn’t support DTS or DTS: X—only Dolby-branded formats. This is a bummer because I have quite a few discs with great DTS tracks. For music, you can stream using AirPlay, Google Cast, or Bluetooth. It also supports Spotify Connect. This type of wireless support is exactly what I want because it allows me to play music from anywhere in the house and from any device I own - Android, iOS, Windows, or MacOS. After spending time with the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, I can say that either I didn’t spend enough money on my previous soundbars or systems, or soundbars have come a long way. Setup was easy, the design looks great in most rooms, and the sound is rich, clear, and surprisingly immersive. Maybe not the best, but movies, shows, and music all sound very good, and the spatial audio really pulls you into the experience. Sure, it’s missing a remote and doesn’t support DTS, but those are small trade‑offs for the performance you get. If you can save enough money and you’re thinking about upgrading your setup, keeping your wife happy and still having a sleek setup—you’ll be impressed. You can also buy the soundbar now and not really get the bass, but when you’re ready, you can add the subwoofer and surround speakers. It will takes it to another level. It’s easily the best soundbar I’ve heard. I know, a “soundbar,” but movie nights did not suffer, and I don’t think I’m going to miss my 5.1 setup anytime soon.

First and foremost, this thing rocks which I’ll get into later. Unboxing was very easy and the soundbar was packed beautifully. Once it turned it on and installed the app it connected almost immediately. I will add that it did take awhile to update the software but that is nothing surprising these days. The app is very easy to use and once you play around for awhile you will get the hang of it. Once I plugged it into my HDMI Arc and I was up and running. I did have to make some adjustments to tweak the sound. I think it’s important to note, that with this system you will need to either use your TV remote, set to Arc, or use your phone, as there is no actual remote. It does have touch controls on the top, which I’m not a fan of but first impressions were very good. It looks really modern, nice finishes, and feels built really solid. Sound- This is my second Bose soundbar. I have a smaller that I keep in my kids room and the bass and clarity is amazing! This one, takes that to another level. The sound is so immersive and fills the room. I have no idea how the bass, treble, dialogue and immersion comes out of this thing. It just doesn’t make sense to me how it works but it does. I have a premium sound system in another room that is 5x more than this yet this Bose soundbar keeps up. One of the big features I love is the dialogue for movies. Center channel speakers are so important in a good sound system and this bar crushes it with their proprietary dialogue feature. I also am used to Audyssey sound calibration systems in my big system and Bose answers by using your phone and app to help determine sound settings and levels. Overall, I think for the money this is truly worth it! I know it’s hard to justify spending this much on a soundbar but I promise you that for the money, you can’t buy good enough equipment to even compare to this. Again, however they make this work, it sounds like a whole array of surround speakers in your room and it all comes from one speaker. Absolutely amazing and I can’t be happier. Hats off to you Bose on this one.

I’ve been using the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar with my Samsung 85” QN85B Neo QLED TV and honestly I’ve been really impressed with it so far. Physical setup was extremely simple. It was basically one power cable and one HDMI eARC connection to the TV. The soundbar fit perfectly underneath my TV while using the factory TV stand, and I like that Bose also included mounting holes for people who want a cleaner wall-mounted setup. The design looks sleek but still premium. The glossy black finish almost gives it a piano-like look in person and it blends really well into a modern living room setup. The first thing I watched/listened to was a drum show from Twenty One Pilots on YouTube Music, followed by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the Dolby Atmos performance immediately stood out. Even before I connected the full home theater system, the soundbar by itself sounded huge. The Atmos effects and spatial audio are seriously impressive and make the room feel much larger than it is. Dialogue clarity is phenomenal especially with the SpeechClarity feature. It genuinely helps during movies and shows. Every channel on the soundbar sounds clean and detailed, and it gets very loud while still sounding controlled. My living room is a large open 20x20 space and this thing fills it easily. Music playback is awesome. You can play, pause, skip tracks, and control volume directly on the soundbar itself. The touch volume slider feels modern and responsive, and I really like that Bose used touch controls instead of bulky physical buttons. Once I added the wireless subwoofer and rear speakers, the immersion got even better. The upward-firing Atmos speakers really help bounce sound around the room and create a convincing surround effect. The only frustrating part for me was the initial app setup process. I had some connection issues at first that seemed related to my phone/account setup. Once I switched devices and logged directly into my Bose account instead of using Google sign-in, everything connected properly. Bose support was also very responsive and helpful during troubleshooting. Now that everything is connected, the system has been stable with no issues. Overall, I’d absolutely recommend this soundbar. It delivers premium sound quality, strong Atmos immersion, excellent dialogue clarity, and the ability to wirelessly expand into a full surround system. The price may be high for some people, but the performance definitely feels premium.

The Bose Soundbar Lifestyle Ultra is a real beast of a unit that produces sound not expected from a soundbar. From the updated contemporary styling to connected ecosystems with other Bose products, the soundbar is a solid allrounder for your home theater setup with room for adding accessories when you want to take the plunge. Design: This is not a small soundbar, and it shouldn’t be for the price and its intended performance. It measures roughly 47 inches wide which still makes it slightly smaller than some of its main competitors. One thing to note with a soundbar like this: It has upwards firing speakers for Dolby Atmos so keep in mind that you cannot place it underneath your TV. It needs to be slightly out in front so that it can have an unobstructed line of sight to your ceiling. This design is not unique to this Bose soundbar, but it’s important to note. The material choices are really modern feeling with some unique decisions. The majority of the soundbar is fabric with a glass top piece that has some of the controls physically present. The glass design on top is a really cool touch by Bose that gives it it’s own unique design language to stand out a bit from it’s competitors. Connectivity: There’s nothing technically missing on the connectivity side of things, but nothing really stands out either. You get the standard HDMI eARC and WiFi and Bluetooth. The optional accessories connect wirelessly with the Soundbar. Bose also includes an HDMI cable in the box which is a nice touch for a premium product like this. You also get Google Cast which I use religiously. Audio: The meat and potatoes of this soundbar are excellent. From what I can tell there are 9 speakers total on this soundbar. These 9 speakers help create a good Dolby Atmos sound experience. What I noticed is missing and I was able to confirm on the internet there’s no DTS support, so you are pretty much stuck with Atmos for a spatial listening experience. Not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion since Atmos can be really good, just something t note. The sound from this bar is right on par with other premium soundbars I’ve reviewed in the past. There is no letdown I experienced in terms of a sound experience from the soundbar on its own. However, keep in mind this soundbar is also designed to function with two satellite speakers and a subwoofer. So, while just the soundbar alone already creates a great experience, with its optional extras you will have an even more profound experience. Best part? You can add those later if you want when you are ready!

Bose is a household name synonymous with great sounding speakers. My own vehicle has a Bose sound system from factory that I love, so I was excited to finally have a sound bar that shares the name and quality. ><><>Pros<><>< - Bose signature sound. Forward, center, and upward firing speakers on the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar create an immersive experience. We love watching our favorite shows and movies to feel like we’re right in the scene, especially when you pick up on background sounds you don’t normally pick out. - You can use the EQ in the Bose app to dial in the sound. Although the EQ is limited, you can still adjust for bass, mids, and treble. Other adjustments are center, height, and surround, along with subwoofer volume (if you have one, I highly recommend to get one). The app will also use your smartphone to optimize the sound by calibrating the speakers to your sitting position. The Custom Tune process takes a few minutes and a quiet room, but will further customize the sound to your place in the room. - Multiple options for connectivity are a must as homes become smart homes. You can use airplay, google cast, or just connect Bluetooth for multiple wireless options. The best way to connect to your TV however is the included HDMI cable into your eARC HDMI port on your TV. This allows the device to come on with your TV (in most cases) and pass thru audio from other HDMI connected devices. - I like how there’s a glass top for the soundbar. It adds a bit of elegance to it that departs from the standard “nice plastic”. There are haptic touch buttons on the top to use Bluetooth, mute the microphone, or power the device. Since this will likely be front and center of your living room along with your TV, it’s nice to see a bit extra was done for design. This currently looks great on my TV stand but if you want to buy the mount kit, you have the option to mount the soundbar to the wall as well. - Small thing to celebrate, but the power cable was long enough as to not restrict placement. The included HDMI had plenty of room to reach my wall mounted TV from my short entertainment stand below. ><><>Cons<><>< - One thing I would have liked to have in the app is a description for the EQ settings Center, Height, and Surround. It’s not immediately obvious what these do if this is your first surround sound system. Descriptions in the menu in general would be useful. - I didn’t see a manual or online documentation that explains what the buttons do on the soundbar. While the app does a good job walking you through setup, some documentation either within the app or in the box would be helpful. - I would have loved to see the wall mount kit included for the sound bar. Bose does sell a kit so you can bundle that if you’re interested, but it’s sold separately. Not a deal breaker and likely not included to prevent waste, but I personally prefer to mount my sound bars. This sound bar is an easy recommend. It has elegance, great sound, full featured with wifi, Bluetooth, and wireless connectivity. No noticeable delay in the sound, and if there was, you can adjust it within the app. Bose has been around for a long time and is a trusted brand.

Review for Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar Amazing theater sound! More than 20 years ago we got a Bose home theater system that has stood the test of time. But when we replaced our TV recently with a bigger screen, it was time to say goodbye to all the wires. The new Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is an excellent addition to our home theater set up, but when coupled with the Lifestyle Ultra Speakers and Subwoofer, the integrated system really shines. And by coupled, I mean wirelessly! The sound bar, subwoofer, and speakers each require a power cord, of course, and the included HDMI cable connects the soundbar to the TV, but I no longer need all the cables that ran to the audio control unit, the speakers, and the subwoofer. Once I added all the components, I used the feature called CustomTune in the app to optimize the setup for my listening space. You get to choose three different listening locations within the space and the app creates the best listening experience for you considering those three points in the room. This is hefty soundbar - in all the best ways. It is long (43”) but low-profile enough to sit below most TVs on stands. It has simple controls on top for volume as well as music controls for play/pause etc. When you want to play audio from another source such as Airplay or Spotify, you can do it directly from the soundbar or by directly from your music source. You can also fine-tune and control the audio from the app, or, if you prefer, by using Alexa voice commands. Best of all, the system is designed to “just work” with your current TV setup. So the remote for your TV or streaming service also works to mute or adjust the volume. Setup is pretty straightforward using the Bose app. You start by using Bluetooth to add the soundbar, which then lets you connect to your home WiFi. After that you add each of the speakers and the subwoofer to the app. Finally, you combine them into a single home theater configuration.

This Bose speaker is part of a system designed for your TV entertainment system, and kicks butt. The system sounds amazing. Perfect highs and mids with no distortions whatsoever. Setup was easy from a hardware perspective but setting up the app was initially problematic until Bose pushed out an update that enabled more customization for sound however the default found was just about perfect for me. To see this thing is loud is an understatement. I had the windows and the walls rattling in my living room and I could hear it coming from this living room to the front of the house. He gives the perfect theater experience in your own home. The sound bar itself looks good as part of your home entertainment set up. As a center channel of your sound system it is perfect. And added bonus is other than connect to your TV you can connect via Bluetooth to your phone tablet or computer pro providing excellent sound for listening to music or audiobooks or podcast it’s ajack of all trades kind of system that will provide many hours of listening enjoyment. You really cannot go wrong with Bose.