BOSE Acoustimass/Lifestyle systems - why you should steer clear!!

[Entertainment72]

Doby.. someone must have forced you to listen to Bose as a child.. and now have nightmares... damn them.. damn them to hell!

[dobyblue]

When I was a child, BOSE speakers were half decent.

(circa 1979 b.1973)

[blupq]

Well, after living 5 year in a townhouse is time to upgrade, now that I have a bigger house, need better speaker, but I can tell you, I have no complain with bose. Ill test some other brands around.

[MacDaddyOJack]

Originally Posted by blupq

Well, after living 5 year in a townhouse is time to upgrade, now that I have a bigger house, need better speaker, but I can tell you, I have no complain with bose. Ill test some other brands around.

Wait 'till you test some of those other brands. Then you will hear what speakers are really supposed to sound like. Don't waste your money again.

[GORT]

Originally Posted by Blu n Gold

Aren't speakers kind of subjective?

If you like the sound of the Bose, buy them. There are really nice sets from other brands that are cheaper, but listen to them first. I never really trust "spec" numbers. Always listen to the speakers, and always see the TV.

The bottom line is they are over priced for what you are getting if they are not worth $1,300

[blupq]

ha, they did the job on a small room, so, I made my list after reading all the comments here, very insteresting!!!

[Yautja]

I must say this was an interesting read, a few years back myself & a friend went to a HI-FI expo (Sydney-Australia) and we did walk into the BOSE sound-room I must say they were very organised & very helpful with their customers we even got a free shirt from them but after having heard their demo I wasn't impressed at all, I walked out of there very disappointed, there's far better systems that out-perform BOSE big time, I guess I also did my good deed of the day because my friend was determined to get a BOSE system but I told him let's go to some of the other sound-rooms, like NHT, ENERGY, B&W and several others, in the end he realised BOSE wasn't what he was expecting, he could not believe the difference in sound quality, he ended up getting a nice NHT system

[bjoneill74]

I don't think Bose sounds horrible, but there is much much better stuff out there for far less $$.
I like music and movies loud and this is where Bose falls way short. They just crap out.
The masses that think they know good sound can pretend that they know good sound in Bose.. but can't fault Bose for having a good marketing approach.

Slightly better than average for a way over average price.. No thanks..

The Bose system in my old car sounded much better than what came in my new car, but that's another topic

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by SSLAYERR

I must say this was an interesting read, a few years back myself & a friend went to a HI-FI expo (Sydney-Australia) and we did walk into the BOSE sound-room I must say they were very organised & very helpful with their customers we even got a free shirt from them but after having heard their demo I wasn't impressed at all, I walked out of there very disappointed, there's far better systems that out-perform BOSE big time, I guess I also did my good deed of the day because my friend was determined to get a BOSE system but I told him let's go to some of the other sound-rooms, like NHT, ENERGY, B&W and several others, in the end he realised BOSE wasn't what he was expecting, he could not believe the difference in sound quality, he ended up getting a nice NHT system

Nice sub you got there! I wish I could have found one....

[Blu Haze]

IM clear but i picked up some of there in ear headphones on ebay and they great.. Sorry had tol

[dobyblue]

BOSE speakers are so [sarcasm]good[/sarcasm] that the 901 loudspeaker has a whopping ONE professional review listed on BOSE's website...from 1993....from "The Oregonian"

Ha, ha.

[blupq]

Well, I was waiting until tomorrow to check the Klipsh but something happen, I just got the Bose replacemant today, Polk RM6880 in CC, excellent sound and good price!!!

[mr.hidef]

Originally Posted by darrinveit

No highs, no lows, it's gotta be Bose.

Where do you people get this *%@# !. My bose speakers put out such extreme high end i usually have to back off the volume some....and low end? shakes my room apart! I must agree, they are made a little cheaper than some, and they definately are overpriced, but my system sounds AWESOME.(could be the ONKYO 805) Ever wonder why when you go to a bose (official store) store, they are always hooked up to ONKYO's?. Oh.and anyone who knows anything about accoustics and soundstages knows that for low end, the cabinet with several smaller speakers (instead of 1 large one) will sound deep, and handle a lot more volume. Someday though, I might have to go with the B&W's, or maybe klipsh references. P.S. Don't ya
'll have anything better to do then slam on people who like bose? I mean come on! grow a pair.

[mr.hidef]

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

I bet even after reading that article, some people will still buy Bose.

Why do you care? It's OTHER PEOPLES MONEY. How would you like this....Pioneer sucks. had one and threw it out and bought a onkyo. pioneers speakers are totally horrible. There blu-ray players are over priced aluminum doored junk, with cheap guts in them. people who buy pioneer are idiots. (this is what you people sound like. enjoy what you use and quit bashing other people for their tastes.

[un4gvn94538]

[richteer]

Originally Posted by mr.hidef

...

Whoa, looks like someone needs to take a chill pill!

If your Bose setup makes you happy, power to you. But you are seriously delusional if you think that they're as good as you think they are. Not one person I know who cares for good qulaity sound has a kind word to say about Bose and their over-priced products. And it's not about the price--many of the people who deride Bose's stuff--including many of the people here--can afford to spend what Bose charges (and more) on speakers. They just refuse to because there God knows how many other better choices.

[Canada]

The consumer can get a lot better speakers than you get for the price bose charges for their stuff.

[hoogoosedmoose41]

people who buy bose are looking to buy an appliance they know the name has a lot of brand reconition and thats good enough for them. Most people ive know that have Bose hardly listen to them. ...Bose is smart enough to know that people who buy their products dont know what the specs mean hence they dont list them.
my bro in law in case... he has several big holiday parties and get togethers... he gets a few people in the living room... I hear all his friend's oooohs and ahhhass... you've got bose speakers you must be a serious enthusiest! look at all the equipment you have! funny how they make that comment after looking not listening. ( he has a 17 yr old technics 60 wattt per channel receiver with prologic,a cassette deck and a compact disc player so old it doesnt even have digital outputs.
last time i watched a movie at my sisters house my bro in law was telling me how great they are... then he asks why its so hard to hear dialog during a movie and he asks why his surround speakers rattle and crackle at louder volumes.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by mr.hidef

Where do you people get this *%@# !.

From tested frequency responses of the BOSE Acoustimass system. Don't you read the original post?

My bose speakers put out such extreme high end i usually have to back off the volume some....

That's because they push spectrums that the human ear is most sensitive too....and it's not "high frequencies" it's usually between 3,000Hz to 4,000Hz. That's why an opera singer can sound so loud against an entire orchestra, those frequencies and your ears.
Read more here - http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=expert-opera-singer

and low end? shakes my room apart! I must agree, they are made a little cheaper than some

They are made cheaper than ALL speakers within $1,000 of their price.

anyone who knows anything about accoustics and soundstages knows that for low end, the cabinet with several smaller speakers (instead of 1 large one) will sound deep, and handle a lot more volume.

This is the biggest load of nonsense I've ever read. Ported subwoofers will often have one or two radiators, but you could put 100 small speakers in a cabinet and all you'll get if they're dropped in there the way BOSE does is a massive cacophony of bass with no control, no depth and no power.
Anyone who knows anything about acoustics and soundstages will know that placement of your bass and room acoustics are just as important as your speaker, but in the majority of cases it is the 13-18" woofers that will plummet the depths with the highest accuracy and lowest frequencies.
BOSE uses 5.5" untreated paper cones in their "bass module" (they can't even call it a sub, because it only gets down to 48Hz with any sort of usable volume) and they can only dream of hitting frequencies of 20Hz and below, which any sub worth mentioning can do.

Frequency Response:

BOSE "bass module" - 48Hz - 203Hz +/- 3dB
Paradigm Servo 15v2 - 15Hz - 150Hz +/- 3dB

When you go and get those B&W speakers, come back in here and let us know what you think. I'm pretty sure you'll have redefined your definition of what "awesome" means in terms of the sound you get from your speakers.

[Driver_King]

Well, it is an American product so you're supporting the best. Just like if you're buying a Microsoft product. If it's American, it's the best. Forget the facts, IT'S AMERICAN!.