Bose-Not all they're cracked up to be?

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bushmonkey-ps3

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Now, not for one minute am i saying that Bose speakers/set-ups are bad.
However, for about £1500 for a Lifestyle V20 you would expect the absolute best in home cinema.

Despite this astronomical price tag i have heard that said model really lacks the kind of power(especially lower frequencies from the sub) you'd expect.

My question is kinda simple:
For £1500 is there a better option than Bose (Bearing in mind the room is fairly small)

I don't want to jump into the "wow, got to have it" image that the brand "Bose" portrays in many peoples mind.
 
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The trouble with Bose stuff is the kit is too small to give good sound.

If you can go larger, you can easily improve things at that money.

For example, a £300 AV receiver, say a £300 subwoofer and a £400 set of speakers will easily better the Bose system and save you £500 :smashin:

If you spend the whole £1500, you're just in another league.

Having a small room isn't a problem unless that is why you want little kit.

Even then, there is better small kit to be had for that money, imo.
 
Now, not for one minute am i saying that Bose speakers/set-ups are bad.
However, for about £1500 for a Lifestyle V20 you would expect the absolute best in home cinema.

Despite this astronomical price tag i have heard that said model really lacks the kind of power(especially lower frequencies from the sub) you'd expect.

My question is kinda simple:
For £1500 is there a better option than Bose (Bearing in mind the room is fairly small)

I don't want to jump into the "wow, got to have it" image that the brand "Bose" portrays in many peoples mind.


What Bose is Really GOOD at is Advertising and Public Relations. Think of them as being a BRAND ... a bit like Armani but without the Super Models. :D

£1500 should buy you a good system but you will need to work at Selection and Think about what you want ... Bose is for people who don't like to think but do think that they have loads- a - Money.

By that standard £1500 is actually bargain basement and is for people who aspire to Real Designer Stuff but can't really afford it or they'd call in B and W 'custom '

Custom Audio Speakers Systems – For People Who Love Sound - Bowers & Wilkins | B&W Speakers

or the slightly more demanding ...

View the 800D at Bowers & Wilkins - The World's leading Hi Fi and Home Theatre Brand


By contest Bose is for people who DO have a credit card.


There are lots of options at that £1500 price point but you will have to measure your room and post its size and furbishments together with your intended use for the speaker system - Home Cinema/Music kind of music - and the equipment that you intend to use with those speakers. Toil and Trouble and people will tell you that you must ... Audition .. prospective speaker Kit rather than saying Cho0se THIS ... its just perfect with those Vermilion Drapes My Dear !!

Bose is the Interior Designers Choice... usually by people who can't really afford an Interior Designer :D


Arnold.
 
this is what i thought...

am i right in saying that KEF are a good brand...combine it with maybe this receiver?
SONY STRDA2400-BLK at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc.

Cheers,

Kef are indeed a good brand, even though their smaller speakers are not to my personal liking.

As already said, better than Bose though :smashin:

The Sony you suggest is ok, but moving up in price a bit is generally worthwhile, imo. Again, probably better than the Bose.

A suggestion I'd give serious consideration to is to get the speakers minus a sub and buy the sub seperately, if you can. Might not be that easy though, as the smaller sets tend to be 5.1 packages

If you can, I'd very strongly recommend getting the BK XLS200.

One other thing I've just thought of, is Bose use proprietary connectors, which doesn't help with upgrading. It may not be important now, but you never know. The bonus with true seperates, is you can upgrade any component, any time :smashin:
 
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this is what i thought...

am i right in saying that KEF are a good brand...combine it with maybe this receiver?
SONY STRDA2400-BLK at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc.

Cheers,

The £1500 budget is just for the speakers, then ?

Kef is indeed a good make but you do need to listen to speakers with you own choice of material and there is no lack of choice. For instance I do endorse Badger0-0 s suggestion that you give some thought to the Receiver and buy the Sub Separate to the 5 surround speakers ... I too have a BK Sub ...

XLS300/PR

Which you could buy later after selecting your surrounds.

If you have to buy a speakers system in one fell swipe then maybe something like ....



ACOUSTIC ENERGY AELITE 3 5.1 SPEAKER PACKAGE ...


ACOUSTIC ENERGY AELITE 3 5.1 SPEAKER PACKAGE - available from Superfi UK Visit http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/product_id/2075 for details


If you have to have small speakers then you can even save money ... and don't think that it doesn't pain me to point you to this ..

DENON AVR 1909 DENON DVD 1940 AND MORDAUNT SHORT ALUMNI 5.1 SPEAKER SYSTEM. BLACK SYSTEM ...

Price £899.95 ...


https://www.forumhifivisual.co.uk/H...NI_5_1_SPEAKER_SYSTEM__BLACK_SYSTEM_2338.html

Oh .. theres a DVD player in that package too. :devil:


Taking the Receiver separately its a question of Budget V your requirements but usually Onkyo come out ahead for connectivity with Home Cinema ....

ONKYO TXSR606 HOME CINEMA RECEIVER - available from Superfi UK Visit http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/product_id/4128 for details

Whilst I have Denon - a 2808 - on account of its musicality. Heres the Denon sites product comparison page - which can look a bit confusing at first .....


DENON UK | Information and technical specs | AVR-2809


Or here at Richer sounds less confusing sales pitch ...

DENON AVR2089 at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc.


Have a look at the linked Stuff but you will discover that most people here on the forums will urge you to listen to as much of this stuff as you can manage until you can develop an informed opinion.

I hope that this helps you off to a good start.

Welcome to the Forums.


Arnold.
 
ok, clarification

£1500 must include an amp...sorry if i didnt make that apparent.

and cheers to everyone
 
What Bose is Really GOOD at is Advertising and Public Relations. Think of them as being a BRAND ... a bit like Armani but without the Super Models. :D

£1500 should buy you a good system but you will need to work at Selection and Think about what you want ... Bose is for people who don't like to think but do think that they have loads- a - Money.

By that standard £1500 is actually bargain basement and is for people who aspire to Real Designer Stuff but can't really afford it or they'd call in B and W 'custom '

Custom Audio Speakers Systems – For People Who Love Sound - Bowers & Wilkins | B&W Speakers

or the slightly more demanding ...

View the 800D at Bowers & Wilkins - The World's leading Hi Fi and Home Theatre Brand


By contest Bose is for people who DO have a credit card.


There are lots of options at that £1500 price point but you will have to measure your room and post its size and furbishments together with your intended use for the speaker system - Home Cinema/Music kind of music - and the equipment that you intend to use with those speakers. Toil and Trouble and people will tell you that you must ... Audition .. prospective speaker Kit rather than saying Cho0se THIS ... its just perfect with those Vermilion Drapes My Dear !!

Bose is the Interior Designers Choice... usually by people who can't really afford an Interior Designer :D


Arnold.

that's a very anti-BOSE post.

BOSE is not neccerserily a credit card generation purchase. bose is aimed at the average consumer. It's for people who want better than most sound but don't want the hassle of DTS DD MCACC DVD VHS DCDi DAC IC RS232 ect ect.

if you went out to buy a car for £60k you go to BMW Audi Porche or whoever and buy one. you don't normaly go and spec up and engine chassis brakes wheels ect.

sure you could get better performance for your money but people don't want the hassle, bring in BOSE the one box solution that sounds pretty good for a one box solution.

I'll answer the OP's question now.

I'd look for Quad L-Ite package in black for about £1000 and then add an onkyo 706, brings you in at about £100 over before cables....but hey....

welcome to the hobby.
 
i saw some of the Quad L-ite speakers...but again, they are small satellite speakers aren't they?
i think from what i have learned is that bigger speakers aren't necessarily better, but will certainly add more depth to the experience...
 
that's a very anti-BOSE post.

BOSE is not neccerserily a credit card generation purchase. bose is aimed at the average consumer. It's for people who want better than most sound but don't want the hassle of DTS DD MCACC DVD VHS DCDi DAC IC RS232 ect ect.

if you went out to buy a car for £60k you go to BMW Audi Porche or whoever and buy one. you don't normaly go and spec up and engine chassis brakes wheels ect.

sure you could get better performance for your money but people don't want the hassle, bring in BOSE the one box solution that sounds pretty good for a one box solution.

I'll answer the OP's question now.

I'd look for Quad L-Ite package in black for about £1000 and then add an onkyo 706, brings you in at about £100 over before cables....but hey....

welcome to the hobby.

The interesting thing (and I feel it sums it up somewhat) is you can't find specs for that kit.

I read the audioholics review on this setup and the sub is equivalent to 7.4".
That's not a sub and indeed, they don't even call it that, because they can't.

It's for people who want better than most sound

Personally, I'd say it's better than the telly itself, but that's about all.

if you went out to buy a car for £60k you go to BMW Audi Porche or whoever and buy one. you don't normaly go and spec up and engine chassis brakes wheels ect.

Maybe, but you know those motors can back up what they say.

Bose has a place, for people who don't know better, imo.
But if you want proper performance, you don't buy Bose.

If you want a badge that people in the know laugh at, by all means buy their kit :smashin:

I have a mate who bought Bose.
When I hinted it was rubbish, he wouldn't have it and said "yeah, but it's small and people can't see it".
I couldn't argue :)
 
yeah thats true, most of the time.

sorry to use the car analogy again, but a 4 litre car is going to be fast. but there are faster 2 litters...... the best thing to do is to stop reading what OTHER people say and follow your ears. get out to local hifi shops have them line up kit in your budget and see what YOU like after all it's going to be YOU listening!!

also enjoy the demoing it can be good fun. take a few disks you like and have a good listen.
 
i saw some of the Quad L-ite speakers...but again, they are small satellite speakers aren't they?
i think from what i have learned is that bigger speakers aren't necessarily better, but will certainly add more depth to the experience...

The Quad lites will be significantly better than the Bose in that setup, imo.
The boxes and drivers are a fair bit larger and that is what counts.
The sub will just walk all over the Bose's bass module ;)
 
yeah thats true, most of the time.

sorry to use the car analogy again, but a 4 litre car is going to be fast. but there are faster 2 litters...... the best thing to do is to stop reading what OTHER people say and follow your ears. get out to local hifi shops have them line up kit in your budget and see what YOU like after all it's going to be YOU listening!!

also enjoy the demoing it can be good fun. take a few disks you like and have a good listen.

I won't bother arguing the car point, although I'd put my SVS 13 Ultra up against any sub you care to mention at low volume :)

Getting out and listening is great advice though :thumbsup:
 
However, for about £1500 for a Lifestyle V20 you would expect the absolute best in home cinema.
For £1500, you can't expect the best of anything, regardless of who makes it.

Russell
 
I won't bother arguing the car point, although I'd put my SVS 13 Ultra up against any sub you care to mention at low volume :)

Getting out and listening is great advice though :thumbsup:

the car point wasn't very well written ill admit that. what i meant is that a well made / tuned light 2 liter car can out do a 4 Liter tank of a car. it all comes down to striking a good balance.

talking subwoofers is different to talking a whole speaker package. size does matter.

at low level i would say that a high end infinite baffle sub with a good 500 Watt amp behind it would win at low level.....but that gets very DIY.
 
The Bose systems are very good at giving what a big chunk of the public want from a good quality cinema system. They shield you from a lot of the nitty gritty of sound formats and settings and let's face it, it's only a small percentage of 'geeky' users that actually bother with that side of things. I think a computer analogy would be better in that only a tiny percentage of owners dig deep into their computers capabilities, the majority just tend to use the basic functions over and over and moreover are perfectly happy doing that. The fact that someone has one bigger or better is, in real terms, not actually that relevant. Every brand that claims to be great, can be bettered. Whether someone wants to spend precious moments of their short life finding that 'perfect system' is a personal thing. Some find it fascinating, others find it mind-numbingly dull. To suggest that the Bose systems are 'rubbish' is laughable, they may not be the best, but anyone that's heard a properly set up system would have to agree that they're pretty good at what they do. And don't forget that with the arrival of downloaded movies becoming the norm at some point, the average person on the street will be watching and listening to movies in a highly compressed format a la the IPod generation. How much better can an enthusiast's system sound when fed that kind of content?

And no, I do not own a single Bose product.
 
My missis wants a Bose !!!

We have a soundbar that we bought cos she doesnt like wires. Im persuading her to get a propper system - BUT - she wants small, descrete speakers - and has heard of Bose.

Im trying to resist.

Problems are:

1. Speakers inc front L/R are gonna have to be small which will compromise stereo performance. Having said that the soundbar L/R are 8" speakers and sound OK - so If I can find some 8" speakers in a small box I should be OK. Also we dont actually listen to CDs much any more. Probably 80% Sky (HD), 10% Blue Rays, 8% Radio and 2% CDs.

2. The Receiver must be "freindly" like the Bose.

3. I know this is a bit strange , but the sub must not be too large !! (I Know I know). Ive looked at a monitor Audio sub thats about right at £200 (dont know the model) though it wont leave much for the rest of the speakers.

If I can get the price down to what we can currently afford (£7-800 all in) then Ive got a fighting chance :thumbsup:

So - Ideas please? Looking at the Denon 1909 for oprocessor - which leabes £400-£500 for speakers
 
My missis wants a Bose !!!

We have a soundbar that we bought cos she doesnt like wires. Im persuading her to get a propper system - BUT - she wants small, descrete speakers - and has heard of Bose.

Im trying to resist.

Problems are:

1. Speakers inc front L/R are gonna have to be small which will compromise stereo performance. Having said that the soundbar L/R are 8" speakers and sound OK - so If I can find some 8" speakers in a small box I should be OK. Also we dont actually listen to CDs much any more. Probably 80% Sky (HD), 10% Blue Rays, 8% Radio and 2% CDs.

2. The Receiver must be "freindly" like the Bose.

3. I know this is a bit strange , but the sub must not be too large !! (I Know I know). Ive looked at a monitor Audio sub thats about right at £200 (dont know the model) though it wont leave much for the rest of the speakers.

If I can get the price down to what we can currently afford (£7-800 all in) then Ive got a fighting chance :thumbsup:

So - Ideas please? Looking at the Denon 1909 for oprocessor - which leabes £400-£500 for speakers

after that it only really leaves very few options and the best would be Q acoustics 1000 package for £500 i think.
 
I think a computer analogy would be better in that only a tiny percentage of owners dig deep into their computers capabilities, the majority just tend to use the basic functions over and over and moreover are perfectly happy doing that.

But why would you knowingly buy a slower and more expensive computer, when you can buy a faster one for a third to half less money?

:)
 
previously someone said: "for £1500 you aren't going to get the best anyway"

bloody hell!
i just want a jaw dropping sound in my little room from a PS3...surely £1500 would have that covered?

i mean, i am not pretending to really know what i am talking about, but if i can get a bose system for £1500 (and the lifestyle v20 doesn't sound bad) i must be able to build a pretty awesome mix of amp/speakers myself for the same sorta money?

:suicide:
 
previously someone said: "for £1500 you aren't going to get the best anyway"

bloody hell!
i just want a jaw dropping sound in my little room from a PS3...surely £1500 would have that covered?

i mean, i am not pretending to really know what i am talking about, but if i can get a bose system for £1500 (and the lifestyle v20 doesn't sound bad) i must be able to build a pretty awesome mix of amp/speakers myself for the same sorta money?

:suicide:

Most definately but its a slipery slope and all to easy to start spending £1500 on one component!

Having a demo of the equipment you are looking to buy is vital but dont get drawn into listening to more expensive equipment. I wanted to upgrade a stereo setup to surround a few years ago with a budget of £1500 and ended up spending £3000 because I stated listening to more expensive kit, worth every penny though! :devil:
 
previously someone said: "for £1500 you aren't going to get the best anyway"

bloody hell!
i just want a jaw dropping sound in my little room from a PS3...surely £1500 would have that covered?

i mean, i am not pretending to really know what i am talking about, but if i can get a bose system for £1500 (and the lifestyle v20 doesn't sound bad) i must be able to build a pretty awesome mix of amp/speakers myself for the same sorta money?

:suicide:

What we have here is a confusion of terms. :D Who could blame you for being a little alarmed after all those Bose Comparators?

Bose is what is IS .. and that is a " Lifestyle System " that owes more to appearance and branding than it does to the actual sound produced. If thats what their customers wants then thats fine by me .. and I actually admire Boses marketing expertise though I have no such admiration for their product.

It is possible to do better than the Bose £1500 system if you are prepared to take the time and the trouble to do a little shopping around for advice and information, however, you really do need to give more information ... only now do you say that your source will be a PS3.

Now the PS3 is a very good source indeed for Home Cinema and up until fairly recently it had no real competition from Stand Alone Blue Ray players for movies but if you wanted really good performance for Music then you'd need to consider buying a separate CD player.

Budgets can always be strained on this kind of thing but £1500 is a decent budget for a Receiver and Speaker kit.

Here is a Very quick example of a small speaker system ...


Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 AV System reviews-whathifi.com

And here is Richer Sounds page for My Receiver that is now replaced by the latest Denon and and so is reduced to a fraction below £500.


DENON AVR2808 at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc.


If you want a Style Speaker package then look at these ...


KEF KHT2005.3 HOME CINEMA SPEAKER SYSTEM - available from Superfi UK Visit http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/product_id/4360 for details

At under £600 ... I don't like 'EGG ' type speakers and would prefer that you went for a Floor standing Front Left/ Right Speaker based Kit.. BUT .. that will have to do for now since I must go out.



I suggest that you give us a little more detailed information on what you require from your system.

" i just want a jaw dropping sound in my little room from a PS3 " ??

How 'little is 'little' and what shape is it ? If it's REALLY little then that limits your options.

Anyway, must GO.


Best Wishes .... and I'm sorry that you've had a Bose Debate inflicted upon you. :rolleyes:


Arnold.
 
But why would you knowingly buy a slower and more expensive computer, when you can buy a faster one for a third to half less money?

:)

Because you don't understand the technical side of things and just want something that looks ok and works?

Not my approach, but a lot of people are like that and will buy a laptop cos the outside case looks nice. If you ask them how fast the ram is say, they wouldn't even know what you were talking about and also wouldn't care. Just because you and I are enthusiasts/nerds about hifi etc, most people don't care.
 
ok guys...i basically got a little scared that this would happen...

i have confirmed my thoughts "for pure sound/performance, bose is overpriced"

i will do what i have been told since the beginning and "LISTEN" for myself...with my own material maybe?

sorry if i have been really noobish, but i dont wanna spend £1500 to get it wrong

cheers.
 
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