Home > Consumer Reviews > Bose® 3 2 1® Series II DVD Home Entertainment System

Bose claims that this system, with only two speakers and a subwoofer (Acoustimass module in Bose-speak), approaches the sound of a conventional 5 speaker system. This was evident the first night we listened to it. I had not yet taken down the rear speakers of my old surround-sound system, and my step-son commented that the sound of the movie was great coming from the rear speakers. They were no longer hooked-up! It's not a perfect surround-sound experience, but for two speakers and a subwoofer it's amazingly close. And the clarity! From old movies to newly recorded music, the detail if fantastic. The Acoustimass module delivers outstanding performance. The ease of setup was inline with Apple standards -- very simple directions, and the setup CD was a bonus. It's difficult to believe that three speakers and a media center replaced 6 speakers, a DVD player, a receiver, many and lengthy wires, with the end-result being a far more satisfying experience. Oh! The universal remote actually works for all my devices! I suppose I have to list a "con", so I'll say that $1000.00 for a home theater system is pricy, and should indeed provide a lot of bang for the buck. Yet the 3-2-1 Series II delivers on these expectations. I highly recommend this home theater system.

I ended up getting the Bose system the same day I spent $2500 on a new HDTV, with the idea that I would have the best sound and look avaliable...In the store the system sounded great! The demo was playing Lord of the Rings...but when I got home, listening to regular movies or tv there is no surround sound about it...The pros are the size and looks. I like the fact that my living room doesn't have a large shelf system or 5 or 6 speakers arranged all over the place. The sound quality is very nice, I like the radio feature and the remote. The progressive DVD player has a quality picture...but the sound didn't "wow" me when I got it home. For the money, I need "wow"...The con is the price, I think there is a lot more out there that you could get and still have some money in your pocket.

I submitted an image above. The Bose 3-2-1 delivers realistic sound which makes watching any show or movie a much better experience. We always were satisfied with our mediocre HD TV speakers. But this Bose 3-2-1 system delivers such clear sound effects, music and speech that I couldn't believe what we had been missing. Because of this great sound improvement we started watching action movies, concerts and other programs that we'd never seen. The Acoustimass® module vibrates our wood floor and the two speakers create amazing sound clarity. Even faint sound effects are easily picked up with these speakers. This system doesn't knock your walls down with the thuds and exaggerated sound effects that some Home Theater systems use. Instead, because the Bose sound is so real, sometimes people think that the speaker noise is coming from outside our house .

I initially had a Series I 321, and recently upgraded it to a Series II. For me, the 321 systems are great in principle, and until fairly recently, there really wasn't much in the way of competition in terms of simplicity and portability. With new competition from Sony and Denon, however, I'd say the 321 has become less compelling, and you'd do well to shop around a bit.

That said, the 321 Series II is very nicely designed for what it is. It is unobtrusive and the controls are very nicely laid out. The sound is good, but not excellent.

I have had quality issues with the Series II, but to the credit of Bose, they are very much standing by their product. I'm in the process of exchanging my SECOND system since upgrading in December. Although that has been frustrating, their customer service has been outstanding. I can call a toll free number and talk to a real person with minimal waiting. Most importantly, they take what I say seriously, and have not jerked me around at all; for both exchanges they paid shipping both ways.

If I could do it over again I would look hard at the Denon S101, or even consider buying separate components, but at the end of the day there's something about the Bose design that I really like. Whereas most HTIB systems are gaudy in appearance, the Bose is elegant and simple by comparison. And, even though I've had some quality issues, I have never had such a good experience dealing with customer service in the electronics industry. That goes a long way for me, and accordingly I gave this four stars.

Never played DVD's very well. The sound seems to be not fully coordinated with the images. After a year stopped reading any DVD with even minimal imperfections. After a year and a half stopped playing even brand new DVDs
Looks good, but I would not buy it again