Bose Lifestyle Ultra headphones review: The pair is the way to go

Over the years, Bose has made various attempts at wireless multi-room audio systems to compete with Sonos’ offerings. It’s new Lifestyle groupwhich includes Lifestyle Ultra Speaker ($299) I review here, Lifestyle Ultra Sound Bar ($1,099) and Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer ($899) takes a different approach. Instead of being linked to the Bose app for setup and use, it uses speakers Google Cast or Apple AirPlayso you can interfere with other Google Cast-enabled wireless speakers that you may already have in your home.

Read more: The best wireless Wi-Fi speakers of 2026

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Unfortunately, the new Lifestyle Ultra speakers are not backwards compatible with the company’s headphones Previous Wi-Fi speakersBut the shift toward a more open ecosystem is the right move, and the Lifestyle Ultra Alexa-enabled speaker is an attractive option for those looking for a compact, attractively designed wireless bookshelf speaker that plays big in its small stature. However, I highly suggest buying two if you can afford them because they sound significantly more impressive as a stereo pair (and you’ll get $70 off when you purchase a stereo).

Multiple use case scenarios

I tested the Ultra as a standalone speaker and as part of a stereo pair, but not with the Ultra Subwoofer or Ultra Soundbar. Measuring 7.3 x 4.8 x 6.6 inches and weighing 3.7 pounds, it’s a single-channel speaker with a height driver that uses the company’s “direct reflection” technology to add presence, though it’s not an Atmos height channel on its own. However, if you use the Ultra as a rear speaker with the Ultra Soundbar, the height driver will act as an Atmos channel.

Besides Wi-Fi, it also supports Bluetooth, but it has to be plugged in, so it’s not a portable speaker. It also has a 3.5mm input so you can connect it to a source component like a turntable.

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Easy setup

I initially set up the Ultra as a standalone speaker on my Wi-Fi network and later added a second Ultra to create a stereo pair. It was all done through the Bose app (iOS and Android) and was simple. First, you are asked whether the speaker will be used as part of a multi-room audio system, as a stereo pair or as rear channel speakers. The only issue I encountered was the somewhat long wait time for each speaker to be updated with the latest software. It took about 10 minutes per speaker.

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I set up the speakers in several different rooms, including the media room, home office, and larger living room. I placed them 1 to 3 feet from the wall. It looks best if you give it a little room to breathe (not directly against the wall). As a single speaker, the Ultra will easily fill a smaller room with sound. It can be played quite loudly at its highest volume, but I think it sounds best at around 60% to 65%. The same was true when I linked the two speakers as a stereo pair.

Although the speaker has pause/play and volume buttons as well as a microphone mute button on the top, I generally controlled playback through the Spotify app on my phone (the speaker supports Spotify Connect) or issued voice commands with Alexa after enabling this feature.

It seems that you cannot use your phone’s volume buttons to directly control the volume. Instead, the Spotify volume slider appeared on my phone when I pressed the volume buttons on my phone. Needless to say, I would have preferred to just use the volume buttons on my phone.

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Bose Lifestyle Ultra sound quality

Many reviewers compared the Lifestyle Ultra speaker to the Sonos Era 100 SL ($189), a “no words” version of the standard The era 100 ($219), which has a microphone and supports Amazon Alexa like the Bose speaker. Personally, the Ultra sounds slightly better than the Era 100. The Era 100 is a warmer speaker and delivers a greater dose of bass at its default setting, while the Bose’s bass is tighter, more defined, and more defined.

The Bose has a slightly wider and taller soundstage (thanks to the height driver), although the Era 100 has two side-angled speakers to create a more spacious “stereo” soundstage. Both speakers have options to adjust bass, treble, and midrange settings through the equalizer controls in the app.

As with a lot of wireless speakers, you’ll get some fluctuations in sound quality, depending on which track you’re listening to (based on the material and how well the track is recorded). There were moments where I thought, “Wow, this sounds really good,” and other moments where I found myself turning down the volume or skipping the track. Vocals sound clear and natural with overall nice tonal balance (the midrange is neither too forward nor recessed).

You won’t get the same level of clarity as you would with a good wired bookshelf in this price range, and some people may be disappointed that the Ultra doesn’t natively support 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution audio like Wim’s voice Soundbar (although it does stream CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz audio). But Bose wireless speakers and headphones are designed to deliver well-detailed, well-balanced sound that’s easy to listen to across a variety of music genres — and the Lifestyle Ultra speaker does just that.

I also compared the Bose to the more expensive ones Sonos era 300 ($479). As a standalone speaker, the Era 300 is clearly superior, offering more bass, more volume and a more expansive soundstage. While the Era 300 can fill a medium to large room with sound, I’d still tend to opt for two $529 Lifestyle Ultra speakers for true stereo (or two Era 100 speakers), especially if I’m setting up a sound system for a small living room. True stereo separation is hard to beat.

Final Thoughts on the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker

The sound quality of Bose’s built-in Wi-Fi smart speakers SonosApple, Amazon, Wim And others, and continue to improve over time. The Bose Lifestyle Ultra speaker is clearly a step up from previous Bose Wi-Fi speakers, incl 300 home speaker and the Home Speaker 500, which delivers richer, more accurate sound with powerful, well-defined bass. Yes, you can get better-sounding bookshelf speakers for the money with Bluetooth connectivity. (I’ve always liked the Edifier, Audioengine, and Fluance powered speaker options.) But they’re not “smart” speakers with voice assistants, and they don’t support a multi-room audio setup.

compared to A wide range of speaker options offered by SonosBose’s new Lifestyle speaker line is somewhat limited at launch. That’s supposed to change over time, but the Lifestyle Ultra speaker is an attractive alternative to the Sonos Era 100, even though it’s $70 more expensive. (The price gap narrows when you buy a pair on Amazon for $530, and we should see some additional sales as we head into the holiday buying season.)

The Bose looks a little better than the Era 100 and is just as attractive, if not more so. Ultimately, however, its competitive advantage may be that it doesn’t have a proprietary control app, instead allowing you to use Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, or Google Cast, and a host of non-Bose Google Cast-enabled speakers in a multi-room setup.

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra speaker is a top model in the compact smart speaker category, but as I’ve said many times, get a pair if you can afford it.