Bose Acoustimass 16

[arbasu]

Can someone throw some light on the good-bad-n-ugly of the Bose range of speakers for home theater use?

The Best Buy stores do not even keep Bose speakers configured in the same demo-room with Mirage, Definitive, etc....saying, apparently, "Bose does not belong in the same room" - not sure what that means?

Need some insights...please
Thanks

[JerryDelColliano]

People will jump on this one and run with it but I recomend you do your own listening tests at a Magnolia and judge for yourself.

There is NO more hated speaker company than Bose. As they say "no highs, no lows - it must be Bose" which as a sonic characteristic I think can be a fair description when looking at Definitive, Paradigm, PSB, B&W and many other speakers in the same price range.

Where Bose is FANTASTIC is how they multi-channle market. I don't mean 5.1 marketing. I mean they sell their gear VERY well in the New York Times, infomercials, at Circuit, to the Staples Center, at Outlet malls and beyond. NOBODY can compete with Bose at this level. What I can't understand is why they don't engineer speakers that show how bad ass they can be when they want. Maybe the negative attention is part of their plan? The scoreboard doesn't lie and they are winning.

[deacongreg]

That is a good question. I owned a pair of 901 Series IVs some years ago that I won at what they called back then the Stereo Hi-Fi show at the Statler Hilton Hotel. Now, I believe, they still make the pro or studio model for I still see them from time to time at shows. Puts out a lot of power. Hard to blow these things up.

While in retail, I had a pair of the early Acoustmass AM 5s. Got them in a salesmen contest. A big hole in the middle. Highs, muddy bass, absolutely NO MIDRANGE. But of course, when demoed, the sub was hidden, the cubes were on shelves, and the customer was like - WOW!! OH MY GOD, the sound is coming from those cubes! People bought them I always thought for the novelty of them. Small, bassy, and the WAF is very high. Buy your receiver, and you were in.

The home theater system reminds me of Bang and Olufsens system. In design only!! You have the amp/control center, remote to contro everything, the cubes and the woofer. If you go to a BOSE store, the demo is still the WOW factor. They show you a movie in surround, the cubes are covered by a fake bookshelf speaker, then revealed and lowered at the near end of the demo. If you have a Bose store near you Jerry, take 20 minutes and do it. Its funny, but to the masses, probably very effective, despite the HOLE in the middle.

[luke]

I have older broken in studio 6.1 and older boses that i broke in and have enjoyed.

[J.J.]

[quote=JerryDelColliano;4507]People will jump on this one and run with it but I recomend you do your own listening tests at a Magnolia and judge for yourself.

There is NO more hated speaker company than Bose. As they say "no highs, no lows - it must be Bose" which as a sonic characteristic I think can be a fair description when looking at Definitive, Paradigm, PSB, B&W and many other speakers in the same price range.
QUOTE]

For the same money Bose wouldn't be on my list to even audition. Because of the marketing they do get on people's lists and hope that the salesmanship will close the deal. I have seen the demos and they are entertaining (funny).

[JerryDelColliano]

Its not nice to mess with Bose salespeople but I bet it could be funny.

At the same time Dr. Bose laughs his way to the bank!!!