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Bose



  A shiny black one.
Bose systems, are they really worth the money? Got a good budget just wonder if anyone knows of a system that will compete with it?
 
Some people say no, some say yes.

In fairness, I once listened to a load of really small computer monitor speakers, and although the Bose with £279.99 which was much more than the others, they were by FAR the best sounding small speakers we found. On the other side, Bose £80 ones weren't very good at all.

Not very helpful!

I think it's quite subjective. I'd listen to a few and see what YOU think.. If they sound good to you, great! :)
 

Andy_con

ClioSport Club Member
  clio 182
bose...

you pick it up expecting there to be something inside but no nothing. light as a feather...
 
  Fiat Panda 100hp
They are very good systems, you can get better sound from a good hifi setup etc, go to superfi and they have some good stuff. Surround sound wise they take some beating.. sounds stunning.

My dad has the liftstyle one too, which is the little compact unit, with 2 little speakers in - they fill a a massive room with sound, too loud to listen to at full volume, and surprizing a lot of bass too.
 
My dad has the liftstyle one too, which is the little compact unit, with 2 little speakers in - they fill a a massive room with sound, too loud to listen to at full volume, and surprizing a lot of bass too.

That's what I found too. We only sampled the normal 2.0 systems, and the higher end Bose units were very very good... in all departments...
 
  Fiat Panda 100hp
As above, the £80 2.0 speakers are pish. Pay some money and you wont be dissapointed.
 
  3 x Renaults + Lexus
Bose are overrated and overpriced. They may have good small sat speakers but the subs are huge the wiring is cheap and not well thought out. They are a waste of money a premium product that people buy into the marketing hype.

Same goes for BOSE in car I had BOSE speakers in my AMG and they are rubbish compared to what I have now

Honestly BOSE & B&O are not that good

Cost does not = quality
 
  A shiny black one.
Bose are overrated and overpriced. They may have good small sat speakers but the subs are huge the wiring is cheap and not well thought out. They are a waste of money a premium product that people buy into the marketing hype.

Same goes for BOSE in car I had BOSE speakers in my AMG and they are rubbish compared to what I have now

Honestly BOSE & B&O are not that good

Cost does not = quality

Appreciate your comment but what would you see as an alternative for similiar to bose money?
 

Sash

ClioSport Club Member
  A Yellow One
IMO Bose FTW, Sound quality from such tiny speakers is unbeatable.

B&O again pretty good sound quality but If it were me buying id go for bose.
 
  3 x Renaults + Lexus
Appreciate your comment but what would you see as an alternative for similiar to bose money?

What do you want from they system

Are you just putting in CD's?
Do you want multi room audio or plan on this?
Do you need something small?
Do you want a "all in one box"?
Do you play MP3's?
What sort of budget do you have?
 

Andy_con

ClioSport Club Member
  clio 182
Bose are overrated and overpriced. They may have good small sat speakers but the subs are huge the wiring is cheap and not well thought out. They are a waste of money a premium product that people buy into the marketing hype.

Same goes for BOSE in car I had BOSE speakers in my AMG and they are rubbish compared to what I have now

Honestly BOSE & B&O are not that good

Cost does not = quality

totally agree

Naim Audio

http://www.naim-audio.com/products/av2.html
 
  A shiny black one.
Are you just putting in CD's? No just need connection for ipod music plus other equipment.
Do you want multi room audio or plan on this? Just my front room
Do you need something small? Would rather keep speaker size as small as possible
Do you want a "all in one box"? If it makes me think im in the movie it can come in 50 boxes
Do you play MP3's? Via IPOD
What sort of budget do you have? Was looking at the Bose V30 which is 2400ish but with a deal and trade in got them down to 1975 but have budgeted for full price

Ive got bluray player, sky, PS3 looking to run them all through one main amplifier into TV
Was also looking for upscaling to 1080p for non HD sources running through the system as I think sky HD is a waste!
 
Last edited:
  172 /megane cab
i want to get a bose sounddock for my ipod just not sure if they are worth 200 notes ? any1 got one or had one ?
 
  SLK 350
Go buy a What HiFi mag, there's quality kit released all the time. Personally if I was in the market for new kit I'd be buying Sonos ZP's and doing a full zoned home install via a NAS/external HDD.

Take a look at some Marrantz/NAD/Arcam stuff, or get yourself on AVforums, you'll get much better feedback.

RE Soundock, if it's for a normal iPod (not iPhone 3G), then save yourself £100 and get a Klipsch iGroove, they were cheap on Amazon. Much better sound than the Bose too.
 
  3 x Renaults + Lexus
If you can live without the BOSE cubes the best speakers are

B&W http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/
KEF http://www2.kef.com/

These will smash the BOSE speakers all day long.

For Amps

Onkyo http://www.onkyo.com/
Harman Kardon http://www.harmankardon.com/

Again power and performace will kick the BOSE into next week (but not size)

Bear in mind if you play lots of MP3 they will sound bad on decent HIFI...THey sound ok on IPods but on top end kit the holes in MP3's show

A very good system is the SONOS www.sonos.com great bit of kit and very cheap compared to the BOSE ideal for MP3 users and if you have lots of MP3's on your PC

But as for 1 AMP for all (HI-FI/TV) look at the Harmon Kardon kit its big and heavy but real performance....

SKY HD is a bit of a con not FULL HD but a bit better

If you want prices let me know we are a distibutor for all of the above
 
If you can live without the BOSE cubes the best speakers are

B&W http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/
KEF http://www2.kef.com/

These will smash the BOSE speakers all day long.

For Amps

Onkyo http://www.onkyo.com/
Harman Kardon http://www.harmankardon.com/

Again power and performace will kick the BOSE into next week (but not size)

Bear in mind if you play lots of MP3 they will sound bad on decent HIFI...THey sound ok on IPods but on top end kit the holes in MP3's show

A very good system is the SONOS www.sonos.com great bit of kit and very cheap compared to the BOSE ideal for MP3 users and if you have lots of MP3's on your PC

But as for 1 AMP for all (HI-FI/TV) look at the Harmon Kardon kit its big and heavy but real performance....

SKY HD is a bit of a con not FULL HD but a bit better

If you want prices let me know we are a distibutor for all of the above


Finally someone on CS who knows about GOOD hifi!!

EDIT: Although I would recommend different amps, thst personal preference
 
  182 Cup
As a retirement present my Dad has just got a Bose Acoustic Wave music system 2. It's a great bit of kit and has a great sound all the way up to maximum volume. It's very easy to set up, pretty much just plug in and go. The key thing for them is that it's so simple, no sound adjustment, no silly amount of buttons, etc. If it was my cash though, no way. I like toys and buttons and the facility to tune the sound to my liking.

Saying that, I do have a Bose SoundDock and I'm very happy with it. A very full sound for its size and a quality item.
 
Go buy a What HiFi mag, there's quality kit released all the time. Personally if I was in the market for new kit I'd be buying Sonos ZP's and doing a full zoned home install via a NAS/external HDD.

Take a look at some Marrantz/NAD/Arcam stuff, or get yourself on AVforums, you'll get much better feedback.

RE Soundock, if it's for a normal iPod (not iPhone 3G), then save yourself £100 and get a Klipsch iGroove, they were cheap on Amazon. Much better sound than the Bose too.

The last thing I would do is recommend reading a hifi mag! They are more full of shite than car sales man!!

OP: Best thing to do is find a GOOD local specialist and go and see them and listen to some kit! If you want to drop me a pm telling me where abouts you live etc I will point you in the direction of a good proper hi fi dealers
 
  SLK 350
So because you wouldn't recommend a mag, I'm wrong... Ha.

There's plenty to be learnt from reading some articles, and a fine selection of HiFi stores listed in the back, which usually will offer much more competitive pricing than any local store. I agree listening in a store prior to blowing your cash is essential, but that's not at the expense of doing some research first...otherwise a salesmen will tell you what you want to hear!
 
  Clio 182.
Finally someone on CS who knows about GOOD hifi!!

EDIT: Although I would recommend different amps, thst personal preference

Agreed. Onkyo = poor music sound.

To me, Bose is what most people would consider to be high-end stuff, but to an enthusiast, its just lo-fi crap with a great marketing team. Bose made their name through making great commercial speakers, and i think their reputation followed through to their home cinema ranges. Unfortunatley it would seem the quality didnt.
 
  3 x Renaults + Lexus
I would say the Sonos if you play MP3's you can do 2 things with them.

Dont spend £1000 on MP3 setups they sound like crap its a utter waste of cash

1. You can buy a ZonePlayer ZP120 which has a built in amp which is very good for smaller applications we normally fit with up to 4 speakers in a ceiling and they sound great

2. You buy a ZonePLayer90 which does not have a amp built in and then connect this into any amp I have put them in with ROTEL amps & B&W speakers and they work/sound fine apart from MP3's which show there weakness on top end kit

All you then do is connect this to your PC via network get a controller (they do a nice little LCD remote) and we now do Sonos to Pronto controllers, but they also do a Free IPhone app so you can run via Iphone install your speakers and bingo....

It snyc your music (MP3) first time from your PC it has so many cool features, you can also run a CD player etc from the LINE IN

Costs far less than the BOSE (tech is 10 years ahead of BOSE the multi room audio is leagues ahead at 20% of the cost) and if you get some nice speakers with it either B&W or KEF or RBH it will sound great and cost far less + you get to wireless controler for great control and you get internet radio and it ties in with Napster etc...

I have done some big Sonos installs they expand up to 32 zones and in the hundreds i have sold this year none have broken, all customers love them becuase they work like IPOD's and the also work 100% of the time...

BOSE & B&O protect there retail prices to force it to be a premium max rrp product but its not really that good it looks good sounds ok and is way over priced.

I used to sell the top of the range Lifestyles they were £4500 rrp in the UK i could import from the USA for £2500 with Taxes and VAT and even at £2500 I would have about 100 other setups before BOSE. The speaker wire that comes with the BOSE I can buy from about £15 per 100M the stuff we install in wall that no one sees costs us 10X more but its decent.

Bose are small because they put the AMP in the SUB which is a crap idea (well for installers like me) they cabling is a joke and only BOSE systems use the same cable layout... Hence another reason not to touch them

But if you do get BOSE wait for the pound to get better import from the US (they are made in mexico) and flip the 115/230V on the back
 

Ali

  V6, Trackhawk, GTS
EPIC!!! My bro got his. 3k tho...But the quailty is unreal!

Would i buy it...No chance I bought Philips 500£! Do me fine.
 
  A shiny black one.
Bowers and wilkins 683 theatre it shall be + Onkyo TX-SR876! (once I find somewhere to hear them first)

Thankyou for the input!

One more question, the amp is thx certified, does it matter if the speakers are not?
 
  LY 182 FF CUPPED
Ben I have some B&W 603 speakers in the house with a Denon AV Amp....and a few extras you are welcome to have a listen.
I have also owned Bose kit before ( only a Lifestyle 10 )
 
  3 x Renaults + Lexus
Bowers and wilkins 683 theatre it shall be + Onkyo TX-SR876! (once I find somewhere to hear them first)

Thankyou for the input!

One more question, the amp is thx certified, does it matter if the speakers are not?

It has THX2+ certification I would not worry about the speakers not having this it is designed for larger rooms where you are 10 foot from screen... But the B&W speakers will be fine with this ans so will the amp

Think SuperFi have some B&W on demo this will decimate any BOSE however they are very power hungry the big B&W speakers

I have the 603's and they are amazing the more time I use them the better they sound

The Onkyo amp is great we have them in stock but only in silver
 
  SLK 350
THX Certification amounts to "pay us $$$$ and we'll allow you to stamp our name on your product" it's by no means a foolproof means of judging how good kit is.
 
  Ph1 172 & meg 225 lu
i want to get a bose sounddock for my ipod just not sure if they are worth 200 notes ? any1 got one or had one ?

i have one and they sound v-good for the money
you can use it to amplify the alarm when your getting up in the morning and charge the iphone too
 
we have got the Lifestyle 48 system here, (surround + media centre thingy) and tbh it is really not worth the money!!! it cant play anything new (bluray or wateva) and the speakers arnt great. The only bose thing i would recomend is the ipod dock like ppl said, but the B&O looks and sounds miles better! I would definatly go and have a listen in somewere like sevenoaks to see what sounds the best to you!
 
ive had the acoustimass 10 for a few years now and it more than does the job for me, 360 and films sound tip top
 
  182
If your after something compact, the Sony Golfball all in one system is suprisingly good. I have a one in my front room and it fills it quite nicely and is pretty good for music too. A lot of all in one systems sound a mess when you play music through them but this one has suprising clarity.

As for seperates, to make it worthwhile over a decent all-in-one you are looking at at least double the money.

As said, check out avforums, they will sort you out
 
I'm after an Ipod speaker dock for our new kitchen, possibly with built in Digital radio ?? (if there are such things!)

Can anyone recommend anything decent ? looking at around the £200 mark.......
 
  Sunflower Yellow Ph1 172
have to agree with comments about sonos and B&W speakers, my old man has the following awesome setup

B&W M-1 Speakers and stands
B&W PV-1 sub (http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/display.aspx?infid=1480&sc=ht)
denon AVR-3806 amp
Pioneer 42" plasma
Sonos Zoneplayer 90 (through the amp)
Sonos Zoneplayer ZP120 stand alone in conservatory
Sonos Zoneplayer 90 upstairs
Sony PS3
Sky HD

Sound quality is amazing, i would say it is better than being at the cinema, no distortion even at high volumes.
The sonos setup again is awesome, all linked together wirelessly, can stream music off the main PC and my laptop, can have the same tune playing in all 3 zones and all sync'd or split off into seperate zones all controlled by a free app on my iphone. also pay the £10 a month subscription to napster and can stream any tune off there (pritty much any music you could think of from my more obscure trance, techno and house tunes to just on the shelf chart albums and even nursery rhymes for my son)
Used to have the Bose ipod dock in the conservatory but that now sits in the loft because the stand alone sonos system beats it in every way, feels better made, more solid and much better sound.
 
  clio 172/Fabia vRS
My 2 cents. Anything that says "Lifestyle" or similar on it is well marketed and look nice but is probably overpriced. I used to sell hi-fi and I've found onkyo, marrantz, denon and yamaha made good amps then and still do now. I have Kef speakers, but B and W are good as others have mentioned.
It all depends how much space for all the boxes and wiring you have and how much setup you fancy doing. One box solutions are neat, but can't compete with proper hifi or home cinema amps and speakers.
And for the record I always found Bose to be over-rated and over priced.
 


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