Bose Way of life Extremely Speaker
execs and cons
- Nice sound
- Native Android and iOS casting
- Smooth, trendy design
- Pricier than some rivals
- Favors Bose’s in-house spatial audio over Atmos
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The newest from Bose is the Way of life Extremely household, which features a soundbar, a subwoofer, and a wise speaker, and I discover the sensible speaker to be essentially the most attention-grabbing product within the lineup. Sensible audio system for the house are rising in reputation, and extra customers are taken with whole-home audio merchandise with sensible house options — Bose is true on time.
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I spent every week with the Way of life Extremely Speaker, and although it is $50 to $100+ greater than its counterparts from Apple, Sonos, and Amazon, it has one appreciable increase over the remaining. Let’s dive in.
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Out with the outdated, in with the brand new
The Way of life Extremely Speaker is the neatest speaker in Bose’s present catalog, promising Wi-Fi streaming, Bluetooth connectivity, AirPlay and Google Solid compatibility, Alexa built-in, and stereo pairing, wrapped in a modern, trendy design.
As a real Wi-Fi sensible speaker, the Way of life Extremely Speaker requires connection to an influence supply, so it is not transportable. With a three-speaker configuration, together with two front-facing and one upfiring speaker, the Way of life Extremely Speaker will get lots loud. The upfiring speaker is not a devoted Atmos top channel, and a single speaker is not Atmos-compatible.
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As an alternative, the speaker makes use of Bose’s proprietary TrueSpatial expertise for added depth and area; I am detached about it. Fortuitously, TrueSpatial does not sound as artificially upmixed as the corporate’s Immersive Audio in its headphones and earbuds, however a singular upfiring speaker is not sufficient for true immersion.
Nevertheless, with a further Way of life Extremely Speaker providing one other upfiring speaker and the Soundbar providing two extra, I am assured you’d get a fuller top expertise.
Nonetheless, even by itself as a single sensible speaker, there’s deep, punchy bass and noticeable highs and mids. At increased volumes, the bass can get muddy, however a fast EQ adjustment within the Bose companion app is a simple repair. General, the sound profile is similar to Sonos’s Period 100: an pleasant, full of life, heat sound with the V-shaped audio profile most individuals favor.
Versatility for the win
The Way of life Extremely Speaker works nice by itself, not solely for its pleasant sound, but in addition for its ecosystem-agnostic design, which has at all times been certainly one of Bose’s strengths. The corporate’s lack of an affinity for a single software program ecosystem means its gadgets match simply into your present ecosystem. I think about {that a} main upside.
Alexa built-in, Google Solid, and Apple AirPlay are on deck, so if in case you have a number of Wi-Fi audio system with Android and/or Apple-friendly casting, you possibly can group them collectively. Whereas checking off duties on my after-work chores record, I grouped my kitchen’s Sonos Period 100 and the Bose Way of life Extremely in my upstairs workplace for multi-room audio. It labored like a appeal.
The Way of life Extremely additionally contains a 3.5mm aux-in port for wired connectivity with analog gadgets, similar to a turntable. In a pair, two of those audio system behave equally to Sonos’s choices; you possibly can remodel them from standalone sensible audio system into rear audio system in a house theater configuration or use them as particular person left- and right-channel audio sources. Or, you possibly can place a number of round the home for multi-room audio.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Bose’s merchandise are nice for individuals who need one thing that can work nicely proper out of the field, with an equal appreciation for simplicity and trendy design. You should utilize practically any model of telephone, laptop computer, or pill with the Way of life Extremely Speaker, and it’ll simply combine into your private home audio ecosystem, which is Bose’s biggest power.
Additionally: Sony vs. Bose: My shopping for recommendation after listening to flagship headphones from each manufacturers
The Way of life Extremely Speaker is a stable sensible speaker for folks with mixed-device ecosystems, particularly those that aren’t enormous followers of voice assistants. Solely Alexa and Alexa+ can be found on the Way of life Extremely Speaker to US customers. Although an Apple HomePod or a Sonos Period 100 is cheaper, these audio system have a number of {hardware} and software program limitations and function inside closed ecosystems.
