Are Bose 5.1 systems really worth the money anything as good as Bose for less?

I do like Bose and think they have quite a good sound but the mini sat/sub setup often has a big hole where a decent midrange should be. Plus they are horribly overpriced! Do you have an amp or other gear already or are you looking for an all in solution?
 
My friend bought a £2000 Bose home entertainment unit (forgot the name). Its quite impressive. You can control your ipod, hifi etc through the one unit wirelessly and it sounds great. Not sure its worth that much though.
 
No, they're not worth the money. Yes, you can get a lot better system for the same price.

You'd be better off with seperates..... an AV reciever and a set of speakers. Take a look at richer sounds website to see the kinda things you should be looking at. For £400 you should be able to put together something pretty awesome, expecially if you buy second hand.
 
Have a look at the Cambridge Audio Minx system if you are after small cube type speakers. Most Richer Sounds have them available for demo.
 
Yeah, they're ok for what they are (in fact they're quite similar to the Sony system I have but the BOSE has slightly larger speakers) - however, as others have said, they won't compete with a dedicated seperates system.

Are you specifcally looking for something compact or are you looking for outright spec/performance. The two don't readily go hand in hand so compromise is probably necessary.

Also 2nd hand kit would get you better performance for your £400 budget or similar performance for less.

gt
 
As above, Bose are ok but terrible value for money, you will get much better for much less if you look around.

Boston Soundware XS can be had from a few richer sounds stores cheap at the moment and are a steal at £169. Then an amp like the Pioneer VSX 521 or Sony STRDH520 or even an Onkyo 509 if you up the budget a little would round you off with a great package.
 
Heh Heh....good reading that,I knew Bose were crap but just goes to show how marketing and mythology can influence so many people.......fools and their money are easily parted!!
 
That link's amazing. :D

I always knew they weren't exactly competitive/comparable but I didn't realise they were that poorly designed/built! :(

I mean... an 80hz blackhole from 200hz to 280hz?!?

gt
 
panthro said:
My friend bought a £2000 Bose home entertainment unit (forgot the name). Its quite impressive. You can control your ipod, hifi etc through the one unit wirelessly and it sounds great. Not sure its worth that much though.
Click to expand...

I'd spend my £2,000 elsewhere on far more capable and sonically better setup...

Most if not all amps these days have the controls you mention....I can control my RX-V3067 with ease across all my tablets and our phones
 
Lmao at that link. I didn't realise they were THAT bad.

Although......

Last summer I went on holiday, and the apartment we stayed in boasted a BOSE speaker system.

We decided that my laptop speaker provided a better experience, due to reasons highlighted in that article. Terrible mids, and they all come out of the "subwoofer".

I'm not sure which specific model it was, but it was crap. One of these things on my lappy sounded better.

648876.jpg
 
panthro said:
My friend bought a £2000 Bose home entertainment unit (forgot the name). Its quite impressive. You can control your ipod, hifi etc through the one unit wirelessly and it sounds great. Not sure its worth that much though.
Click to expand...

My 7.1 sound system (although I am only using 5.1 atm) costs me just under £2,000 and I am pretty certain it can do more and sound better than the £2,000Bose system.

THX certified
Apple Airplay enabled
DLNA
Itnernet radio
6 HDMI in, 2 HDMI out
3D
All channels Pre-outs
etc etc etc

Granted, it will not have the same "Life Style" design to it but if you are willing to sacrafice slightly in the looks department you will get much better sound.
 
Bose are overrated and not good value for money.
Go on the richersounds website and look for some good Onkyo systems, or mix and match.
 
Raymond Lin said:
My 7.1 sound system (although I am only using 5.1 atm) costs me just under £2,000 and I am pretty certain it can do more and sound better than the £2,000Bose system.

THX certified
Apple Airplay enabled
DLNA
Itnernet radio
6 HDMI in, 2 HDMI out
3D
All channels Pre-outs
etc etc etc

Granted, it will not have the same "Life Style" design to it but if you are willing to sacrafice slightly in the looks department you will get much better sound.
Click to expand...

You can control ipods and stuff with my £200 sony amp ;) Wirelessly too (well, its got a remote control!).
 
Bose, horrible harsh sound & overpriced

If your are on a budget go on ebay, I got a Denon 7.1 amp and seven Eltax speakers four of which are floor standers with built in subs and payed a total of £112.

I know it not audiophile stuff but for the price you can complain.
 
Grimley said:
Have a read of this, this is probably the most famous anti-Bose webpage on the internet.

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
Click to expand...

they might well be right about bose using cheap components and overly complicated reflex setups, but come off it....

True subwoofers start at 8 inches in diameter and taper off at 15 inches. Size selection depends largely on the application. Smaller subwoofers move faster and thus have tighter bass response for improved clarity and accuracy, but larger subwoofers can reproduce lower frequencies and at louder volumes.
Click to expand...

REALLY? absolute, 100% donkey :rolleyes:
 
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