The Bose Alternative (1 Viewer)

[David Mill]

I’m trying to pick out a system for my mother. It must be very simple to operate, aesthetically pleasing, and not take up too much space. She is absolutely enamored with the Bose Lifestyle line. The integrated receiver and dvd player look great to her (nice and flat), and seem to be very easy to operate (switch back and forth between sources, adjust volume, power on, etc.). And, it doesn’t take up much space and sounds great to HER ears. However, I am sure I can find something similar in design, but of much better quality at a lower price by going with another brand (Yamaha, Sony, Onkyo, etc). But since I’ve never been interested in an integrated system before, I just don’t know much about them.

Can anyone recommend a ‘Bose Alternative’?

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Possibly something from Samsung, Sony or Panasonic would fit the bill for your mother. All 3 companies offer "all in one" systems where the receiver and DVD player are combined. All 3 companies also include some form of speaker package in the purchase price, too.

I know my answer seems kind of generic, but it should give you some direction on companies to check out for their "Bose Alternative" systems.

 

[FeisalK]

caveat: i am not enamored with B*se but...

The integrated receiver and dvd player look great to her (nice and flat), and seem to be very easy to operate (switch back and forth between sources, adjust volume, power on, etc.). And, it doesn’t take up much space and sounds great to HER ears.

Isn't the cardinal rule of auditioning "trust your ears"?

I think people who have things forced on them will find every little excuse to feel dissatisfied with it. She might like your alternative, but she will absolutely *love* the B*se.

Now if you took your mom out auditioning and found a better sounding system to her for half the price, AND she likes it, you're lucky. But if she's got her heart set on B*se, make her happy and get the B*se After all, not once did you mention SQ was important to her (would she have wanted the B*se in the first place?).

p.s. sorry about the minor rant :b

 

[cabreau]

I agree, take her out to listen to some others, maybe take her to a B&M that specializes in home audio, and let her listen to what they have. I actually heard a (dear God forgive me) HTIB Philips system a long time ago at Sears that I thought sounded better than the $2000 Yamaha/Bose system that my father owned...and it was only $400 AND it came with a DVD player built in. LOL.

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Panasonic offers some very nice combo system. I think all together a HTIB with a seperate DVD player might offer a little better performance but it always depends. I found that some combo system's that are 5.1 system won't do true Dolby Digital 5.1.

How much money would you be looking to spend? For $1000 you could put together a very nice component system that will completely kill the Bose system 10x fold.

 

[FeisalK]

I think "simple to operate" is a primary concern and points to a built-in DVD player. Have you looked at the Onkyo HTiBs?

 

[Steve*W]

Try looking at the Sony DAV-FC7. Not quite AS pleasing to the eye, but prob sounds just as good, if not better for half the price.

 

[prashanth_sharma]

Try the Niro 1.1 Pro system, Its made by the guy from Nakamichi, Niro Nakamichi. u can see it at http://niro.net

It has an integrated DVD/digital amp unit and 1 unit with all the 5 channels speakers in it AND according to this review it vastly outperforms Bose.

There are many more glowing reviews for this system on the net. And finally it also costs a whole lot less than the Bose systems.

-happy hunting

 

[Nhan_H]

I, too, had to lower my standards to help a friend pick out an HTiB system for his mom The problem with HTiB (besides sound quality when compared to pieced-together systems) is their in-store setup. Here's where Blose wins. They have their own room and are properly setup (to sound their best). The other HTiB systems get like 5 square feet worth of space and with speakers stacked on top of each other. There's no way you can properly audition most of them in-store. And most of them sound down-right crappy. These were systems at Best Buy, Circuit City, and even some at Ultimate Electronics.

Many of the receiver/DVD combo have such a high distortion rate (1-10%, as compared to a respectable less-than 0.1% THD). Of course you won't be able to find any numbers from Blose

All of the

 

[David Mill]

Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Sony Dream System!!! My brother has one in his apartment and it fits the bill and is -much- better than a Bose lifestyle system for a third of the price.

Looks elegant sounds good, great DVD player!

 

[pat_hamm]

Hello, I am the brother that Phil was referring to, and he is right, I love my sony dream system!!! Also, speaking to some other points mentioned above, Phil went into a store to see the instore setup of the model I have (we live 200 miles apart, so except for visits, that's the way we share opinions such as these) and he hated the way it sounded, but when he heard it in my living room, he loved it!

very easy to use, looks nice and sounds great!

The model I have is the Sony DAVC770, but I am not sure if it's still available. The other dream systems might be worth looking into, however...

 

[Stephen M]

My vote is for the latest Niro system. One box receiver/dvd player, one speaker and one sub, thats it! Great sound, very little space taken and looks great as well. The remote may be its one weakness.

 

[McPaul]

Have you thought about anything by Bang and Olufson?

It may be a little expensive (so is Bose), but they really have some funky lookin stuff. I don't know if they'd have something with surround, etc... but check em out?

 

[Jack Briggs]

Paul, B&O, once a respected manufacturer of distinctive high-fidelity audio products, has long since positioned itself in the market along the lines of Bose in offering "lifestyle-oriented" products. Far, far greater value in performance can be had from so many others.

 

[Philip Hamm]

BTW, I think for the record that Pat's Dream system sounds fabulous. It doesn't work well in a massive showroom, but in a small apartment it sounds great. The nice thing is that he's got drop tile ceilings in the living room part of his apartment making it very easy to string sapeaker wire through. This means that his speakers are way up and behind the listener, which is key for great surround sound.

I brought the SACD of Dark Side Of The Moon up and we listened, it sounded fantastic. A very impressive unit for about $600 or so.

Also, it has a digital in, and Pat has his digital cable hooked up, which gives him Dolby Digital for PPV and premium channels. This is a great feature that few similar systems have.

 

[FeisalK]

B&O may be looking for redemption with the Beolab 5 check out the specs

Dimensions/weight: Height 97 cm, Ø 49 cm / 61kg
Maximum sound pressure: 108 dB (stereo, pair)
Total amplification: 2500W
Power amplifier treble 250W Class D ICEPower®
Power amplifier mid-range 250W Class D ICEPower®
Power amplifier upper bass 1000W Class D ICEPower®
Power amplifier lower bass 1000W Class D ICEPower®
Effective frequency range 20 - 20,000 kHz
Cabinet principle/ net volume upper bass Sealed box / 5 litre
Cabinet principle/net volume lower bass Sealed box / 29 litre
Directivity control treble and mid-range Acoustic Lens Technology
Treble driver 1.8cm
Mid-range driver 7.6cm
Upper bass driver 16.5cm
Lower bass driver 38cm
Digital Signal Processor 32-bit floating point 180 MFLOPS, 512k byte Flash-ROM
Room adaptation Adaptive Bass Control (ABC)
Connections 2 x PowerLink, Phono (line), 2 x Digital SPDIF
Volume adjustment Built-in


ok, not exactly a Bose replacement..