I replaced my Sonos Arc with Bose's Lifestyle Ultra soundbar for weeks - here's my verdict

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Bose has been in the home theater game for a long time, though its modern product catalog favors innovation and updates in its personal audio and wearables categories. As a result, the company's home theater lineup has been stale, with only a few soundbars, rears, and subs to choose from.

Also: Forget the soundbar: How I upgraded my TV audio with spare Bluetooth speakers Still, the company makes an effort to remind its consumer base of its home theater roots, and the new Lifestyle Ultra lineup , consisting of a smart speaker, soundbar, and subwoofer, shows it wants to continue its tenure in the industry. I spent a week with the $1,099 Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar , swapping my beloved Sonos Arc with Bose's latest offering. With the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar residing in the same price range as Sonos's and Sony's premium equivalents, Bose has big shoes to fill. Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article. The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar debuts with a nine-driver array, with two upfiring speakers, four front-facing speakers, one dedicated center tweeter, and two horizontal speakers. On its own, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar delivers a 5.0.2-channel arrangement. Under the hood, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar closely resembles its predecessor, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, as both feature a nine-driver array. However, Bose fitted the new Lifestyle Ultra bar with an improved AI-powered speech enhancement algorithm, a microphone-enabled room-correction feature, a proprietary spatial audio upmixing software, and enhanced bass response technology. Jada Jones/ZDNET Bose gave its premium soundbar a much-welcomed facelift, introducing a glass panel along the topside and a touch-enabled dial of controls on the bar's right side. Bose also swapped squoval edges for rounded ones, resulting in an elevated, modern look. Overall, the soundbar is good; it does what it needs to do, especially in the midrange. The soundbar's center channel handles dialogue very well, and Bose's AI-powered dialogue enhancement sounds more natural than some competitors'.

Key points

• Also: Forget the soundbar: How I upgraded my TV audio with spare Bluetooth speakers Still, the company makes an effort to remind its consumer base of its home theater roots, and the new Lifestyle U…
• I spent a week with the $1,099 Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar , swapping my beloved Sonos Arc with Bose's latest offering.
• With the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar residing in the same price range as Sonos's and Sony's premium equivalents, Bose has big shoes to fill.
• Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.
• The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar debuts with a nine-driver array, with two upfiring speakers, four front-facing speakers, one dedicated center tweeter, and two horizontal speakers.