Help me fix my Bose (1 Viewer)

[Chris-St]

I originally bought a Bose Acoustimass VI system with a Harmon/Kardon AVR 130 receiver. I wish I had consulted this website before purchasing: I am not only amazed with most members' knowledge, but also with their equal disgust for Bose products.

Anyway, I was not happy with the bass of my Acoustimass system so I bought an Athena AS-P300 8" subwoofer. I really like hearing real bass, but I now need help with my system settings.

To lay some groundwork:

--I live in a small (carpeted) Chicago apartment.
--I use my system for equal part TV, DVDs and CDs.
--My AVR 130 only has one sub input which is hooked up to my Athena sub, not the Bose system.

Now my questions:

--Which sub input do I want to use on my Athena subwoofer: Direct (crossover bypass) or Sub (adjustable settings)?
--Do I want my receiver speaker settings at small or large?
--What do I want to set my Bose front and surround speaker crossover's at?
--Do I want my sub setting on my receiver to read "LFE only" or "Left+Right+LFE"?
--Should I keep the Acoustimass "sub" and the Athena sub separated? If so, how far apart?
--Any general recommendations to optimize sound?

I appreciate any help that the knowledgeable members of Home Theater Forum can provide. I realize the first advice most will give is, "Get rid of the Bose!"; however, that option may not be in the financial cards. However, I again point out that had I consulted this site before buying, I would not currently own Bose.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Lev-S]

Answers

--Depends on if you want the receiver or sub to handle bass crossover.
--Small
--As high as possible with the cubes (they are pretty tinny)
--LFE only
--Throw out the "bass module"
--Get rid of the Bose... (Serious)

Problem with bringing in a good speaker into a bunch of bad speakers is that they may never perfectly blend together. If you are using Bose speakers, room optimization isn't really a priority. You could always sell the Bose on the eBay for a fairly high price and use a fraction of the profit to buy matching Athena gear.

 

[JeremyR]

I'll second that... Put the Bose out on ebay and set a reserve you're comfortable with so you can put that money forward for upgrading. If it doesn't make it past the reserve, don't sell 'em. But you'd be absolutely floored what the uninformed will pay for Bose..

 

[Chris-St]

Thank you for your help. I will make the suggested chances and then, if I am still not satisfied, I will look into selling the Bose to some poor soul.

Please clarify the following:

When you say, "throw out the bass module," are you suggesting I hook up the satellites directing into the receiver (not into receiver via the bass module)?

Thanks again.

P.S. Anybody wanna buy a sweet Bose system?

 

[JeremyR]

Here's a Bose Acoustimass VI system a guy is trying to sell on ebay (granted it's brand new) for about $450.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=32861


Just for an example of what you can do (and that I'm a big Paradigm fan), if you really like the small speakers, you can get an entire setup in the Paradigm Cinema series for retail at $417

http://www.hometheatersound.com/equi...m_cinema70.htm

If you pair these up with that new Athena sub you'll have a system that will make you wonder how in the world you ever dealt with those Bose cubes. The Paradigm dealer should do nothing less than 10% off retail, and probably should do 15% which would get you into those Paradigms (4 Sats and 1 Center) for around $350-$375. Or if you can throw a little extra in you can move up to 4 bookshelf Paradigm Atoms, and the CC-170 center channel for $490 with 15% discount which is a great setup. Certainly you can get at least halfway there selling that Bose setup, probably close to completely paying for a new Paradigm Cinema setup. It was just an example of what can be done.

 

[JeremyR]

Regarding directly hooking up those Bose cubes to the receiver.. I'm no expert at this stuff, but I'm going to guess they are going through that bass module for a reason. I'd be afraid you'd completely fry those cubes and then have absolutely nothing. If you dared do it, for sure you'd want everything set on small. But I wouldn't risk it. I'd imagine he meant just to use the LFE out for the Athena, and then continue to run the speaker wire to the bass module, and then out to the sats.

 

[Chris-St]

Thanks for the research. Small speakers is definitely a priority due to lack of space, so your recommendations are especially helpful.

 

[JeremyR]

No problem, there are of course many other options out there. I don't buy into the "Bose is crap" theory that alot of people have. I don't personally own any, but my Dad does have some. He's got Bose 301 Bookshelfs, their surround speakers, and their center channel. Though I don't like them NEARLY as well as I do my Paradigm's, they aren't bad sounding speakers, but certainly not worth IMO opinion what he paid for them. I think the real problem with Bose lie in those Acoustimass systems. It's a price/performance issue, and the price is certainly high on those, but the performance is not.

 

[Steve Lucas]

Do NOT hook the cubes up directly to the receiver
Not only will they fry quickly, but the they need to be connected to the bass module to get the proper impedance.
I have the AM-5 system (yeah, i know, but I bought them 20 years ago) so I know how they work.
1-Run the sub from the adjustable output on your receiver.
2-Set all speakers to small. The bass module really doesn't play that low.
3-I'd set the BOSE crossovers at at least 100Hz, if not 120. Set the sub crossover to match. I normally wouldn't suggest running the crossovers this high, but again, the bass module doesn't play all that low.
4-Use Right+Left+LFE, That way your sub will take over the bass that your bass module can't reproduce.
5- You'll have to experiment with this one to see what sounds best. Mine are separated by about 5'.
6-Don't be afraid to play with speaker placement. Especially the bass module and sub. It can make a world of difference.

 

[brentl]

Consider the Athena .5s as an upgrade. They come with mounts and all for around $600 Canadian. Since you already have the sub it works great.

brent