Bose opinions

 

Chippa
I am looking to spend about $160 on surround speakers and I wanted some opinions on the Bose 161s and on Bose in general. I particularly love the way they sound, although I have not heard any JBL's, Paradigms, or Klipsch. I mean, is Bose really that bad, as the reviews say, or will I be satisfied with them? Thanks
 

If you have Bose speakers for the rest of your setup and you like the way the 161's sound, then by all means get those. Personally I think JBL speakers are superior for the price. Titanium dome tweeters and terrific bass make for great speakers-especially for Rock and Roll. These also work wonders in a surround sound set-up's. Go to Bizrate.com for the best prices. The N-24's sound great at around $100/pair. Make sure you check the shipping prices of the various retailers. Lastly, whichever brand you have for the rest of your system, you should stick to. This will give you the most seemless presentation for DD movies.
 

listen to, then buy, the paradigms for the same or less money. More versatile, more pleasant, more effective.
The Titans, Atoms, or Minis will all work wonders. Only buy the klipsch rears if you like to watch movies with police sirens in the rear channels, that's about all they will ever sound like.
 

"Only buy the klipsch rears if you like to watch movies with police sirens in the rear channels, that's about all they will ever sound like."
That's just plain WRONG! A 6.1 setup with all Klipsch Heritage ANYTHING(preferably Klipschorns and Cornwalls or Lascalas) does NOT sound like police sirens unless you're actually watching a movie with police sirens. Klispch makes more than computer speakers and Quintets people.
 

Bose does suck...if you listen to any other comparable sat sys...they sound better...for example..mirage omnisat...or canton..read again the article on why bose sucks...
 

Chippa
I am not interested in the Bose cubes. I am interested in the bookshelf Bose speakers. Does that article pertain the the 201's,301's?

Thanks.
 

I bought a pair of 201s for $159 when I first bought my stereo. They are currently my main speakers, and I love them. They have virtually no bass, but everyone needs a sub anyway. I only found out about the bad reviews after I bought them and I am glad for it. These, however will be my rear surrounds after I can figure out what I am going to get for the fronts. These speakers are lacking the mid bass area a lttle. I was no more impressed with the 601s or 701s than I am with my 201s and the sub. I think that the 601s and the 701s are really a dissapointment. THe 301s are a little fuller soundsing in the mid bass range, so keep this in mind.
I would stray away from anything less than the 201s for surrounds.
My $.02
 

301s as main speakers for stereo are average. I just purchased them last week, and am already looking for an alternative. I used to think highly of bose (ignorance?) till I purchased my own. I am not an audiophile and am looking up bose on the net only now. I don't expect a bookshelf to reproduce bass, but I find 301s to be lacking in mid range as well as higher frequencies. The sound is too hollow.

I purchased Bose 301V for main speakers and VCS-30 for surround (VCS-10 for center & 161 for rear). I am thinking of replacing the 301s with JBL S38s. Is this a good move or are there better alternatives to 301s.

Thanks
 

Jeff
Eric... this dude is looking at buying a $160 pair of speakers and you're talking about a five digit system... probably not really applicable... although I'm sure you're not lying. I have a set of Klipsch RS-7s that perform absolutely awesome!!
 

Anonymous
I would go with paradigm atom for $180. Your ears will thank you for it. The boses can be tiring with the wrong components. If you can dish out a little more, there is Axiom m3ti for $248 at www.axiomaudio.com Scrawl down to the very buttom, and goto there factory outlet. They got great reviews. I think the boses might give you listner fatigue and you will not enjoy music as much.
 

me
bose has put way more money into their marketing than into quality parts used in their speakers.
 

Former Bose luver
as a Bose owner, Lifestyle 20 system, i have recently created a Home Theater system with the help of an audiophile..I had purchased another Bose system, only to become educated and returned it...For about 2/3 the cost of Bose newest Lifestyle, i bought an a$$-kickin system...Integra 6.2 receiver, Integra 5.3 DVD/CD changer, RBH comapct surround system an 8.1 sub from RBH, and 2 outdoor speakers also form RBH..The sound is great(kicks Bose a$$) and the price cheaper...
 

Bose spends 80% of their budget on advertising and 20% on research. Most of the better brands have that figure reversed, which means that what used to be state of the art is now obsolete. Check out Energy XL150 for about $200. They are hard to beat for the price.
 

I think that from a cat's perspective Bose speakers would sound really good, however I am not a cat. I think Cerwin Vega is a good starting point in realistic price range and excellent quality.
 

timn8ter
I'll add a vote for either Paradigm or Axiom. Both are well built, well designed speakers that give you value for your money instead of hype.
 

Anonymous
How do the fluance speakers compare for the price ??
 

Juan Cordero
I have a slite concern. A friend of mine is offering me a Acoustimass 25 series II subwoofer for $200. I thought it was a bargin untill I found out that this item does not work with any other receiver, or at least that's what the Bose representative said. What can I do?
 

timn8ter
If you only have $200 to spend and want a almost complete system Fluance would be ok. There's no sub and the Onkyo SKS-HT500 is probably slightly better (plus you get a sub). Chippa was asking about surround speakers though. It depends on what your mains are. No point in getting surrounds that outperform your mains. Fluance makes some decent surrounds for the money. I wouldn't compare them to something like the Axiom's though.
 

Anonymous
and sony ??(Over the fluance)
 

to timn8ter- I was wondering about your opinions on the MTX line of home tower speakers. I was interested in the 10in three way model. Also between a Cerwin Vega 12in three way and a MTX three way wich is better quality ie- you take the mount screws of the woofer and look at the magnet and no. 1 it does not say china, or taiwan. And no. 2 the speakers were put together well, like a adequate magnet, and sturdy basket. I baught a pair of Jensen 1533 towers in 1998, they sound good and can handle lots of power. The one thing I was suprised to find was that when I took the actual woofer out the magnet was stamped made in taiwan. When I originally baught the speakers they said assembled in U.S.A.- So basically the partical board boxes were made here and the boxes and assembly of the final package were done here. So basically I am just trying to avoid that happening again. Thank you
 

Hawk
Juan:

I have a better suggestion for a sub. Go to the DMC Electronics website (www.dmc-electronics.com) and get one of their PSB SubZero subwoofers, available for $199. It will embarrass the Bose sub and will work with any receiver. PSB is an audiophile brand and their products are very well respected. The SubZero has been very favorably reviewed in several magazines (you can find the reviews here on Ecoustics). If I only had a couple of bills to spend on a sub, this is the way I would go.

Hope this helps.
 

G-Man
I agree with Timn8ter on this, although besides the Paradigm's and Axioms (which can be purchased direct from Axiom online with a 30 day return policy) there is a similarly excellent online company that makes wonderful speakers online--Aperion. And they look great too with real cherry wood.
 

timn8ter
I have a general suspicion of low priced three way systems. It's very difficult to design and build a crossover for a three way that doesn't have serious bumps and impedance problems. Plus, I truly believe that bass should be handled by a separate system. The nature of low frequency waves from a sub and the interaction with standing waves in a room make it necessary to place subs in a completely different point in the room. Generally, in the corner. Conversely, the mid and tweeter are going to work best away from the walls. A well designed two way system will have almost no crossover induced problems and will have a low enough bass roll off to allow your sub to pick up before it starts lagging. For example, I'm running a pair of mid-tweet-mid towers that can hit 45 Hz. I cross over to the sub at 80 Hz. Both of these numbers are well inside the "comfort zone" of both systems therefore integration is nice and smooth.
 

timn8ter- thanx for the honest opinion on the three ways. This makes sense, I recently read about people who design single driver speakers. It is basically a full range driver that handles the highs and lows and looks similar to a woofer with a pointed cone. The box designs vary in size and shape, and on the inside of the box it is a bit labyrinth looking. The people who build these claim that the crossover is the worst thing to come along in the electronic world.
 

timn8ter
Ah yes, the purists. Ever on the search for the "perfect" full range driver. If they could change the laws of physics (as we understand them) to achieve this lofty goal they would. I always get a chuckle out of this guys project. http://www.t-linespeakers.org/projects/sampson/index.html
 

timn8ter- You shuold see the work put into these single driven speakers, it is crazy. They do look pretty cool though, here is the site http://
melhuish.org/audio/fullrange.htm Does the word gumby come to mind.
 

I have a Bose lifestyle 35 and am not at all satified at the sound quality. I am a novice in this area. Since i kept the system long enough, i will not be able to return it. So, i want to improve on waht i have. Can you please suggest a way out of this grave that i created for myself.
 

elitefan
Donham,
What receiver do you have and are you thinking about changing it also? What's your budget?
 

I have the Bose receiver that comes with the lifestyle 35 system. Do i have to change the receiver to get more clarity in the sound? I can stretch my buget to $700 but around $400 should be ideal.
BTW does replacing ordinary cables with special cable (don't know wht to call them) help?
 

Jerry
When I was in high school I was using a cheap Sharp receiver boasting 50 wpc and even then I knew that it sounded less than perfect, but with a part time minimum wage job what's a guy to do? But even then I decided to upgrade from the 18 gauge lamp cord I was using to the $1 a foot 12 gauge OFC cable that Radio Shack sold. Even with my system limitations, I immediately noticed more efficiency, punchier bass, and better treble response. They were slight, but noticeable.
 

James Lee
Donham,

In what ways do you want to improve the sound of Bose 35?

You could try better cables at
http://www.accessories4less.com/Amazing/items.asp?CartId=6424642VUHA-EVEREST-F363&Cc=CAB%2DSPFT&tpc=

The 6003 is an affrdable improvement over the stock.

For $630, you can get energy speakers at

http://www.goodguys.com/adtemplate.asp?invky=724388&catky=643993

This is if you want some softness in your sound - Hear them at googguys before buying them. They might not offer you more clarity.

For $799, you can get NAD Receiver (T752) and DVD player (T512) at:

http://saturdayaudio.com/

The Bose is not really bad sounding to me - just over priced. The NAD and Energy system will sound better for half the price.

If you really don't like the sound of the Bose, perhaps you can sell it locally and buy the NAD / Energy package.
 

Joe Mamma
Always remember: Bose. Rhymes with "blows".
 

Jerry
It also rhymes with nose, goes, toes, rose, snows, grows, throws, crows, foes, Moe's, windows,.....So what?
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