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There are quite a few things that can make home theaters crappy, and one of them is the fact that the vast majority of people are working with just a soundbar. Don’t get me wrong, soundbars are great for hoisting your audio experience off the floor and making it serviceable, but they’re still only part of the home theater equation.
To make a true home theater setup, you want to add surround sound channels—typically two smaller speakers to the sides that bolster ambient sound, adding a sense of space—so that audio is coming from multiple angles, not just blasting at your face. And don’t forget low-end. To get real bass, you need a subwoofer, which is big enough to move lots of air.
At the end of all that, you’re looking at a multi-speaker setup that can cost quite a bit of money, especially if you want something outside the budget range. But what if there was one audio gadget that could get you most of the way there? This Holy Grail home audio device is what the $1,100 Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is going for. While you can still augment the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar with other speakers, Bose is attempting to cram enough in the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar to satisfy those who don’t want all the extras.
