Bose Home Theater 15 Series

nobby

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Hi

would anyone consider purchasing such a speaker package and consider it better than going for traditional style speaker?

Also would you recommend running such speakers with a yamaha ax-1 or denon 3802 amp? Will i get the benefits of using these amps with these speakers?

They retail from around 800 to a grand + ... are they good value

thanks
 
would anyone consider purchasing such a speaker package and consider it better than going for traditional style speaker
No
Also would you recommend running such speakers with a yamaha ax-1 or denon 3802 amp? Will i get the benefits of using these amps with these speakers?
No

They retail from around 800 to a grand + ... are they good value
No

Do a search on this forum under "Bose" and see the answers on the many occasions that these questions have been asked
 
in comparison to the very good sub/sat packages from everyone else like Kef, Mission etc, Bose never allow their kit to be reviewed in any magazines as far as I can tell EVER.

really makes you wonder why, and with only one possible conclusion.
 
I did see 1 review a while ago and I think it was not very good, I too use to wonder why these speakers were never reviewed but then I came here and a few other forums only to find the answer.

On the whole most people think they are a bit rubbish and you can certainly get a lot more for your money. I guess you just can't make a speaker that small that still can produce very good sound.
 
Aside from the fact that a package like KEF's KHT2005 "Eggs" comprehensively outgun Bose on any level you can mention, they can also be had online for around £650 or so.

They are very, very good. Bose aren't.

Don't believe the hype.
 
its not really hype either is it?

just marketing in the same style as B & O, Hagen Daz (?), and other assorted firms with an "expensive so must be good" style.
 
Bose AM15 expensive at 1000 pounds - why?

Perhaps BOSE should go into partnership with the Salvation army and start giving their speakers away at 50 pounds

Or are they like any other speaker company trying to make a business out of selling a product

Bose compared to the KEF eggs - if you want funny looking oval shaped silver things looking at you in your living room then fine

Don't forget Bose started the sub-sat small speaker thing - KEF has followed copying the idea

It could be argued that the AM15 is a great design - small, 2 cubes in one so you can point them in different directions to disperse the sound, you can even attach them onto your ceiling and then say - where is the cinema sound coming from - I cannot see anything
 
Shop around, there are better systems available for the money.

Kef, Def Tech, Mission, B&W, Tannoy.....................

Personally, I dont like the Bose, nasty sounding crap! but thats just my opinion!;)

cheers
 
I think the issue here is not what stuff looks like, or how clever there marketing strategies are, but what the stuff sounds like. My personal feeling is that there is better sounding speakers around at the same price point as the KEF eggs. Many people on these forums have used the KEF speakers with a 3802 and they like what they sound... bt that is just their subjective response, and to be honest, how many people buy stuff and then come back here and say it sounds rubbish. We all like to feel we have done well with our money, so you can sometimes get an unjustified level of merit accredited towards purchases.

I prefer traditional cabinet speakers, but I do now own two KEF eggs as cheap(er), don't mind too much if the kids knock them over, rear effects speakers. But I wouldn't trust my music to them.
 
Sorry to disagree with most of you, but I've had my Bose system for about 18 months and think it's great. Great sound, great looking and unobtrusive in the corner of the room.
 
Its ok to disagree, thats what the forum is all about, free speech and hopefully if enough people reply to a message then people reading will get a well balanced view and hopefully be able to make up there mind about certain products.

Has always the forums should only be used to make up a shortlist to audition, this is particularly important when talking about speakers due to the subjective aspect.
 
agreed... always handy getting different people's views.

I still think its odd though if Bose speakers are so good, then why not let them be reviewed in group tests against kefs, missions etc?

this is my main bone of contention with them... I'm sure some of them sound okay, but having no review is just plain odd and a strange strategy.
 
Guys, I too auditioned Bose speakers ( and they are very impressive ) when i was looking to upgrade my surround sound... and after much research i think I discovered their limitations !

Its in the way Bose have implemented their solution... to keep their speakers so small they really only route high frequency sounds to them i.e. treble ( despite the technical jargon it is simply a physical impossibility to get speakers of this size to handle anything other than high frequency )... all the mid and bass range sound gets handled by their Acoustimas box.

Now for pure Audio (music ) listening, this is no problem... our ears really dont mind where the sounds come from ( and for audio only I would rate the Bose speakers very high indeed ).

However for use as a Surround Sound system this Bose implementation creates an issue.... in essence the only surround effects that can be steered to the speakers will be "high frequency" sounds.... ok for bullets flying around maybe.... but imagine a tank was supposed to rumble up from behind you and go to the front.... because the Bose speakers cant handle any mid range, you lose that part of the effect. This is why most other surround speakers are slightly bigger and have the ability to handle both High and Mid range frequecy sounds ( all bass of course going to the sub or bigger front speakers ).

Hope Ive described this well enough.... its a compromise really Bose are great speakers and give great sound for Audio.. their implementation however does not lend itself to Surround Sound for films.

I suspect also this is why Bose do not publish frequency levels for their system... it would then be too obvious and I we cant blame them for wanting a part of the Surround market. Its not that their systems are bad, they just dont quite make it as a surrond solution.

Having discovered all of this I did then go looking for the alternatives... I couldnt away with very large speakers in our room and settled on the Kef eggs + sub as my compromise.... at least the kefs can handle some mid range !

Overall I am happy with these, but would agree that even the sound from these is very "crisp". But the sub fills it all in brilliantly.... they work very well for music audio as well.

Hope this helps. Rgds Phil
 
Hi Everyone,
I think What Hifi? has just reviewed a Bose setup (i'm not sure on which model) in their latest issue. The review is quite positive.
 
Yes I read it. Said compared to the competition the Bose still sounds very good

Interesting that the single cubes sound bad but the double ones sound good. This I also thought when auditioning them
 
Originally posted by Phil Brown



Now for pure Audio (music ) listening, this is no problem... our ears really dont mind where the sounds come from ( and for audio only I would rate the Bose speakers very high indeed ).


I have to disagree. Where the Bose acoustimass speaker range falls down is in its reproduction of music. I have listened to the AG Nucleus Micros and the aforementioned Bose speaker system, both are let down by their reproduction of music. The micros were quite passable in this respect, especially next to the Bose speakers.

I wouldn't buy a sub/sat system if I wanted to listen to music for the simple reason that you can get much better "full range" speakers for the money you would spend.

For HC I would buy a sub/sat system, but definitely not a Bose one.
 
And just to add my spanner in the works, I wouldn't agree about the eggs being good for music (but I thought they were great for effects and higher volume stuff). I found them to be very lacking in the mid-range. I guess it just goes to show that you've got to go and listen and decide for yourself. Also take a reasonable range of music/movies to listen too that falls in your taste category. It may be that the person who found them great for music just listens to different music to me.
 
I bet if Bose produce a cube speaker the size of a pinhead bet they're still market as "Superior sound to a big ugly floorstander"

Them Kef Eggs are 100x better than Bose- proper build, better drivers, not overpriced, better woofer, etc etc etc...
 
I prefer the Bose to the Kef eggs when I listened to them. The Kef look good on paper with its midrange driver theory, but it doesn't sound good. The Bose is more lifelike IMO
 
Originally posted by Skabyol
I think What Hifi? has just reviewed a Bose setup (i'm not sure on which model) in their latest issue. The review is quite positive.
Magazine reviews are getting less and less reliable though.

the Gallos had a bad review elsewhere, the Bose for the first time a good one.

nothing to do with Bose having advertising with What Hifi then.:D it happens with lots of other magazines and publications so... (do a search for the previous thread on this subject).

I have no problem with sub/sat packages though, in whatever form they are going to dominate for the next 5 years at least. In a small modern living room, there just isn't enough space for big conventional speakers plus the look/ aesthetics that it forces on a room. if you have a separate hc/ hifi room, then its not a problem.

maybe until that one speaker technology (licensed to pioneer now?) takes off, sub/sats are here to stay.

must admit, all the Bose I've heard so far have been poor to average, and very expensive for the looks/ finish of the speakers.

Far better sub/sats are available from others for much less.
 
I have a pal who after many months (years) of me advising him to get a 'proper' 5.1 system, finally did.
He has moved the BOSE clock-radio system into his spare room.....................or to us the.......
(garage) and now has the MJ Accoustics Pro Cinema 1 package.
It cost him £800.00 all in and is superior in quality.

It has midrange
It sounds good
It does not sound compressed
His sub actually tries to produce bass

It's amazing how many people buy the BOSE system because they are not allowed to have 'big' speakers in their living areas.

Good things about BOSE...

Small speakers... & that's it.

Adzman
 
As someone who has listened to both BOSE and traditional setups I'll post my meagre opinions. My brother-in-law has had a BOSE setup for 2 years now and whenever I'm visiting I get to listen to it for movies and music.

Sorry but for the money he paid (£1200) it is utter cack and that's being kind, he got it because he works in Allders and he could get it cheaper. To him it's great but then he has upgraded from a Nicam TV. At Xmas when we visited I took some system killing DVDs like Titan AE and The Haunting. The BOSE sub just couldn't handle the bass and it wasn't even loud, to prevent the sub from distorting the sub had to be turned down so low that the bass was hardly audible. A Paradigm PS 1000 or PDR-12 would trounce the sub in performance yet still be way cheaper at sub £250. The BOSE speakers themselves just cannot go loud at all without the treble sounding like an old wireless, by loud I don't even mean reference level, I'm talking about 15Db lower than reference level :eek:

BOSE to me is an upgrade to a TV that comes with speakers, it is ok for TV viewing only but should not be thought of as a movie/music tool. I'd go so far as to say that anyone who rates the BOSE system seriously needs to at least get a demo of some real speakers, I wouldn't pay £400 for the system and I mean that.

I realise there may be some happy BOSE customers reading this and you may not like my post but if we're talking about value for money I'll stake my life on the fact that for equal money you could do far better than a BOSE..............and my first setups were ultra low budget speakers and subs so I know what the competition is like. Apologies nevertheless if I offend any BOSE owners.

N.B - The BOSE system he has is the one where the speakers are in 2 twistable sections, not sure of the model number/name for that one.

Phil
 
Agree 100% with Phil. For the money, Bose are a rip-off, knock a 0 off the price and only then I'll consider them.

The Bose module is not a "subwoofer" -ie down to 20hz. It's just a "woofer", as like a standmount 6.5" midrange/bass driver.

A set of £100 standmounts will sound MILES better, at a fraction of the price.
 
Having heard Bose systems over the years at HiFi and AV shows etc,I've never heard one that comes close to a comparably priced set of speakers from almost any quality manufacturer I can think of.

IMHO they really do represent very poor value for money,and have only the advantage of small size.

The Kef or Gallo sub/sat packages are so far ahead in terms of sound quality and finish.
 

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