Bose Lifestyle 135 Performances
And now the question we have all been waiting for: ‘How does it sound?’ Broad. Bose claims to produce surround sound with this 1.1 setup that is equivalent to the sound of larger 5.1 systems and it seems that the Bose Lifestyle 135 is surprisingly good at that. You would almost forget that the sound only comes from centrally under your TV. Of course it’s just not as impressive as the real 5.1 or 7.1 alternative, but Bose beautifully spreads the sound throughout the entire space, provided that the correct settings are used. The setup is quite cumbersome, but luckily you only have to do this once. You turn the system on and follow the instructions on the screen. You will be asked to put on a headset and sit on 5 different places in the room. After the speakers put out a few beeps and buzzing noises and the TV displays the message that everything has been set correctly, you can start listening.
You should understand however, that this is not a sound bar for audiophiles who desire the pure natural sounds of their music. In the first place, the Bose Lifestyle 135 is a sound bar for watching movies or series. You will notice this when hearing the very present, typical “Bose sound”. The basses are clearly audible and very detailed so it’s not unusual that sometimes your windows start shaking and you can almost physically feel the explosion that you are listening to.
However, do not expect the subwoofer to be overly loud. Halfway through the volume scale, which is only feasible when the neighbors are not home, the subwoofer reaches its maximum volume (in order to prevent the distortion of the bass) and it’s the speaker array that makes itself heard even more.
The speaker array focuses on the treble to make the gunshots sound just a tad more realistic. The area where the Bose Lifestyle 135 lacks a bit are the midtones. The dialogues are still excellent, but when you are listening to music you notice that Bose also struggles to match the warm sound of two separate, larger speakers. But that is not the essence of this sound bar. Bose aims to combine an optimal surround sound with a minimum use of space and, in this area, the Bose Lifestyle 135 is one of the best choices in its class. However, seen that Bose asks the amount of €2699 in exchange of its product, that is not more than fair.
Is the system worth the money? That all depends on how you use it. Do you consider the media console to be superfluous? Then pick the version with only the speaker array and the sub which is for sale for €1499 or check out the Harman Kardon SB16, which combines a more balanced sound with a price tag that is only half the size.
Bose Lifestyle 135 Conclusion
The Bose Lifestyle 135 is definitely not suitable for everyone. True Music lovers or film buffs will always feel like they are missing something with a sound bar setup. But when your pockets are deep enough and you want a decent home cinema that is compact, easy to use and without any cables, you should definitely think about the Bose Lifestyle 135.
