Help! - I need a Bose alternative (1 Viewer)

[Tom Corcoran]

Hello - I'm brand new to the Forum and feel very lucky to have just found it. I'm building a new house and am trying to decide on a home theater setup.

To get right to the point, the #1 priority is that it is small and not very noticable. This will be in the living room and my wife doesn't really want a TV in there let alone a HT system. I will have a 42" plasma and a small 16" deep cabinet below that is not big enough for typical AV equipment. We are not audio/videophiles and watch one or two movies a week and very little TV

On paper the Bose Lifestyle 35 is perfect but I'm well aware of the, er... limitations and reputation here. I would prefer a setup like the Gallo mini's but my main problem then is the receiver. I'd prefer have a DVD/CD unit similar to the Bose that is a tiny box on a table. I'd rather not deal with a separate receiver, DVD, CD, etc. or have it in a remote location.

Does anyone know of a small Bose type unit that could power the Gallo system or something similar? I'm doing much of the work on the house myself and unfortunately am within a couple of weeks of having the walls sealed up so I need to make a quick decision. I'm hoping to prewire the speakers and come up with a powered DVD/CD player like the Bose.

Thanks in advance.

 

[David Preston]

As for small speakers that sound great the Energy Take 5.2 look and sound great and are small. You can also take a look at Link Removed and see the Micros. Thats what I will be using as rears. You can get them in a few different finishes also they are smaller in person than they look on the site. When you get it all worked out post some pics for us to see. I'm sure someone can help you with you other need for a DVD/CD player. I saw that this was your very first post when you said your were brand new you were not kidding. Welcome to the best HT site. Go to the Speakers area and do a search on Bose you will see that they are not the way to go. Not many people think very highly of them here. Let us know what you decide. David

 

[Tom Corcoran]

Thanks for the reply David. I've done a lot of research on this site and have found some excellent info. on many of the smaller speaker systems. I'm confident that I will be able to come up with one that will work. I do have some time to choose one, for now I just need to get the cable in place in the walls.

I'm having a hard time finding a small receiver / DVD / CD unit similar to the Bose. I will have my stereo setup in another room so the living room system will just be for the occasional movie and CD. I'd like to find something sleek looking like the Bose that could sit on a table. Barring that I need to find one that will fit in a 16" deep cabinet. I'd rather not relocate the components to another room if at all possible. I was hoping to find a system similar to Bose but it looks like there aren't any others on the market.

Does anyone know if the Bose unit is capable of powering other speaker systems?

 

[ChristopherBer]

A small reciever that would be nice is the Harman Kardon 7.1-Channel Dolby Digital EX/DTS®-ES Surround Sound Receiver HK DPR1001 for $999. And then throw in a nice slim DVD player + Gallo speakers you will enjoy.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

There ARE some receiver/DVD player combo's. I think Pioneer makes one. But they are full-sized receivers.

But this is not a bad thing. Get a copy of "Audio Video Interiors" magazine. This is the "House and Garden" of home theater. There are LOTS of pictures of how to make the equipment disappear.

Also, we have a fourm for building a home theater area (and a new forum for "Home Theater Builder" magazine) and many of these have suggestions for putting equipment in a closet or cabinent to hide it. It's worth a few minutes of your time to check it out. These ideas would allow you to buy cheaper, separate units rather than a combo unit.

 

[David Preston]

Consider the Yamaha DVXS100. Yamaha Canada just dropped the retail price from $1799.00 to $1299.00. They are Yamaha speakers and sub with it but they actually sound pretty good. The DVD player is progressive scan too using the Faroujda DCDi chip set. Looks nice too. Not sure what it cost U.S. I copied this from another post. Go to Yamaha site and see if you can see a picture. It looks nice.

 

[Mark Hedges]

Also consider Sony ES models. They have 2 integrated reciever/DVD units, which also offer SACD playback.

JVC also has an integrated unit. A good place to look is Crutchfield.com - they have good pictures and carry a lot of stuff. I buy from other places though as Crutchfield's prices are high.

Mark

 

[Bobpaul]

Hi:

I would take a look at the Paradigm line of inwall speakers. An Indian friend of mine (has a little hoard of kids set on manipulating all variables) has a system 5.1 surr. built into walls entirely, with a plasma hanging from the wall and the components inside a glass door closet which is vented by a roof fan. First i thought he was mocking me as i could not see the speakers. That is because the grills are painted in the color of the walls.

Some of the custom install places will do this for you. The earlier in the planning/building you coordinate with them, the better the results.

Good luck.

Bob