Bose cubes and an Acoustimass 7? (1 Viewer)

[moofdogg]

New to the forum like about a million of you all...wondering about something...got a great deal on 4 jewel cube speakers (two each) and a Bose small center...as I figured...direct hook up to my Yamaha RX-V463 ... they sound thin and high...I need the sub. So, I purchased a SONY 100 W sub from Best Buy, love it...makes enough rumble that my wife wants it turned down...but it gives great bass... to the question for this expert group...I am looking at several Acoustimass subs on eBay and find the 7 series has plain speaker wire hook up in from the receiver and out to the front R and L and Center ... will that work with the newer jewel cube speakers I have? I plan on leaving the two rear R and L alone... that is, I am not going to hook them up through anther acoustimasss sub... Thanks for any and all opinions on the Acoustimass 7 and the front 3 speakers. All the best and thanks for the reply.

 

[David Willow]

Save your money. Do not buy the Bose. They are overpriced and under perform. Even with the 'bass module' they will sound 'thin'. Now, I can't say if the older stuff works with the newer stuff. Not many Bose fans on these type forums....

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I'm not sure why you're looking to add anything to the system you have. It sounds like you have 5 standard surround speakers (FL, C, FR, RL, RR) and an actual subwoofer - which the Bose "bass modules" are not. What is it you think you're missing?

The Bose small cube systems are not generally well thought of among HT enthusiasts.

A) They are a compromise between aesthetics and sound quality. They acheive the small size by using tiny drivers with severly limited range. Basically each contains a single mid-range speaker. Even with the addition of one of their "bass modules" you don't get the full sound you should be hearing. "No highs, no lows, it must be Bose" is not just a snappy insult like "Found on road dead" for Ford. It is a real description of what you end up with. (This applies only to the cube systems, not Bose's full-sized, full-range speakers.) For some people having tiny, easy-to-hide speakers is more important than decent sound. For them, Bose is a good choice. For people who care more about the sound, not so much.

B) They are over-priced for what you get. You can get a quite decent (and fairly small) set of speakers, and an actual Audio/Visual Receiver (AVR) for a lot less, or a much better system for the same money.

Regards,

Joe

 

[gene c]

While I certainly agree with David and Joseph, were you thinking of replacing the Sony sub with the Acoustimass or adding the Acoustimas and keeping the Sony?

It's usually difficult to integrate Bose products with products from other manufactures, and quite often there own stuff. Bose designs them that way.

But you should be able to connect your cube speakers to an Acoustimass 7 module. It depends on the connections on the rear of the 7 and the cubes you have. If they are compatible then set the fronts and center to Large in the receivers setup menu. The Acoustimass has a built in crossover. But the rears, if connected straight to the receiver, will receive a full range signal which will kill them.

If you plan on using the Sony sub as well then set the fronts and center to Small and the receivers crossover to 80. The Sony will handle what it can under 80, the Acoustimass will handle 80 to 200 and the cubes 280 to (only) 13k. But there will be nothing between 200 and 280. Yet another reason why Bose isn't very popular around here.

As for the rears, I would also hook them up to the Acoustimass, otherwise they will receive a signal down to 80 hz which will probably damage them eventually. If you use just the Acoustimass and hook the rears straight to the receiver they will receive a full range signal as I believe the 463 only allows 1 crossover setting for all speaker groups. A full range signal into a cube will distroy it. Confusing, isn't it?

If you decide to forgo the Acoustimass and just use the Sony the set all speakers to small and the receivers crossover to it's highest setting and hope for the best.



The best thing to do is keep the Sony, sell the cubes and look for something else from Infinity, JBL, Polk, etc. Sorry, but you asked

.

 

[moofdogg]

Good advise from you all and thank you. I'm stuck with the cubes...my wife loves the sound...keeping my Sony sub and adding the acoustimass module is the way I will have to go for the front...but the 7 only has speaker clips for L C and R...how would I hook the rears up and still have the 5.1 effect? Also, I have looked into my manual for the 463 and do not see how to "set" the speakers as you suggested. Perhaps I missed something. anyway, will live and learn on this and appreciate the input. Thank you.