BoseHomeTheatreSpeakers 5.1 Channel / Want to decide on Receiver (1 Viewer)

[David Willow]

Hi Peter,

What is your budget and what are you connecting them too? Also, I know you like the size but would you be willing to get bigger speakers for better sound?

All small speakers have issues. While Bose may tell you they don't (and charge a premium for it), they do and there is nothing they can do about (the laws of physics are a real bitch ).


BTW - There's nothing wrong with wanting small speakers as long as you realize you are not getting the best sound.

 

[Jeff Leeds]

I used to be very active on this forum and sorta dropped off a few years ago but now I am back. I have a set of 901's that I got from Bose in 1998 after my 1979 901's failed....I paid $1200 for the 1979 901's and used them for nearly 20 years. Actually they failed because one of them fell over on the stand during the 1994 earthquake and it popped out all the drivers in the back of the speaker. I was in a Bose store in 1998 and they told me there was a "recall" on them. Apparently dust mites would eat up the materials they used from 1977 to 1982 and it would kill the speakers. So I ended up paying $400 bucks for a brand new set of 901's after mail them back to them with my old 100 watt 2x Bose received. Now THAT is an amazing thing for a company to do standing behind their producst. The 1998 901's are not the best music speakers, but for home theater they are very good and for sure you couldn't buy anythign close to that quality for $400 bucks.
So I do believe that Bose is a very good company that really does stand behind their products. However, I agree with the post that they "lost their way" with the cubes. I have a set of 201's and 301's in my home that I have had for 12 and 14 years respectively and they sound good (not great) but lasted well and are durable. I also have one of their center channels as they are super thin and also is pretty good. I couldn't find anything else for the $200 bucks that would sit right on the flat panel and I think it i pretty well made.
So you can see I have Bose products (their noise cancellation headphones are by far the best) but their cubes SUCK. I have talked at least 3 family members out of them and several friends. I had one buddy who just couldn't get past the cubes and bought them and brought them home and didn't like them at all. He returned them to the Bose store and got 4 301's and a center channel. We setup that and it sound WAY better...the Bose store itself woudln't give him a full money back return, or frankly I woudl have steered him elsewhere.
Take you time and go check out other cube type speakers and standard subs before you throw down on the 5.1 Bose...you will probably save money and get better sound. But at the end of it if you really like the Bose yes they will last a long time and do the job. But I can tell you for sure they are not the best and there are lots of other very well made products that will last just as long.

 

[swaroopchanda]

I also used to be a BOSE fan, but not after going through this thread and after some auditions. As per the suggestions here, I did audition Polk and Definitive systems this weekend. I need some help from you guys to build my HT system. Please help me with your suggestions
I am able to audition these
Polk RTi A7 towers - Sounds great, Not much bass
Definitive Technology - ProCinema 600 5.1 - Sounds good to me
Definitive Technology - ProCinema 600 5.1 - front speakers replaced with Definitive BP-8040ST standing towers - I found this setup sounded best for me
Polk Audio 1900/1600 5.1 - I could not find a store with this setup, I heard good reviews about these, will they sound comparable to ProCinema 600 5.1?

Here is my Idea to reduce the cost of speakers setup:
1. Polk Audio 1900 5.1 ($500 at best buy) + 2 BP-8040ST standing towers ($1300 on ebay)
2. Polk Audio 1600 5.1 ($400 on ebay) + 2 BP-8040ST standing towers ($1300 on ebay)

Instead of this
3. ProCinema 600 5.1 ($650 on ebay) + 2 BP-8040ST standing towers ($1300 on ebay)

What do you guys think of this setup polk 5.1 + 2 BP-8040ST standing towers?
Please let me know your suggestions.

Thanks,
Swaroop