Bose

I have a Bose. I like it, but it's overpriced. There are better options out there if you are willing to spend what Bose charges.

 

costco and samsclub now sells a costoco 5.1 speakers with a Yamaha amp. it sounds like the bose hometheater system. and it's only 799, compared to 2200. I'd get that instead. too bad it was not available when I was shopping for one. But I just love my Bose.

 

He's showing a Bose single unit sound system for $400, not a full surround sound system.

 

Over-rated

Take a look at B&O

 

"No highs, no lows, it must be Bose." Audiophiles HATE Bose with a passion because of their inaccuracy. To them, Bose is like Apple in a world of Android stereo products. But, if you like the sound, they have decent build quality. Generally, for the money, you can get better sounding systems, but it takes a bit of research. Also, everyone's ears are different, so go in and audition some systems. If you like the sound of Bose, that's all that really matters.

 

You're kidding, right? Bang is the only stereo more over-rated......style over substance.

Now B&W.........

 

baqui is right. although the older bose stuff was quite good, imo, when it used to still be made in the states and from real wood. if you can find a decent pair of used 901's or 8.2's then they're definitely worth buying.

b&o's are now better than bose and at a comparable price, although the vocals on the bose may still be superior.

 

^^^^ just realized baqui said 'b&o'......and not b&w, which i thought he meant...

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com

these speakers are great for the price

 

MartinLogan if you truly love your ears...

 

I LOATHE Bose. So overrated and muffled sounding. I put Bowers & Wilkins in my ceilings and for the front bar, and just...wow. My last car also had Bose "Premium" audio and it was horrific, I had to change everything immediately. Now I also love my B&W in my car as well. Yamaha, Sony, etc. if you're in the market for surround sound in a box, I would take any of them over Bose.

 

I've already warned my wife that if we ever win the lottery, I'd want a pair of Nautilus speakers. Of course, they have an active crossover which requires eight channels of amplification, and I'd also want Mark Levinson No 53's to drive them. Hard to imagine a lottery big enough to justify $260,000 on speakers and amplification alone. One can dream....

 

I have a Bose 321 system. I don't much care for it. I only got it because somebody at Chase (or whoever does their points/rewards system) marked it for 14,000 points instead of 140,000 points it should have been. I have it in my bedroom.

In my living room I have Fluance speakers which I got a few years ago at 299.99 (now 375, http://www.fluance.com/product/SXHTB_5_Speaker_Surround_Sound_Home_Theater_System.eng-9.html) and they sound much better to me than the bose. The only thing is you will still have to add a receiver and the quality of the receiver made a big difference in sound. I went from a 200 dollar receiver to a 1000 dollar receiver and the sound became much better. Though even with the cheap receiver it still sounded better than the Bose.

 

I also have the Bose 321 system I bought new ten years ago for a grand. It sounds great in my opinion, but have never compared the sound to anything else. Over-rated? Probably so.

 

I bought the following soundbar after doing some pretty exhaustive reviews online. Then again, my budget was <$300. I am pretty happy with the choice I made.

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/haier-sbev40-slim/4505-7868_7-35151959.html

 

By the way, here's CNET's review (and 2 customer reviews) of the Bose Solo TV sound system.

http://reviews.cnet.com/separate-speakers/bose-solo-tv-sound/4505-7869_7-35438075.html

 

OP, you can do better by buying a quality receiver first and then getting a 5.1 speaker package. However, if you can be patient like I was, you can have a quality audio system.

When I first started dabbling in HiFi and home theater audio, I only bought two speakers and a stereo amp. As I made more money, I added a good turntable and then a CD player. Since you want to go the home theater route instead of HiFi music, I suggest getting the two best speakers and 5.1 receiver you can afford. Unless your room dimensions are quite large, 5.1 surround remains the best bang for your buck. You can later add a center channel and two surround speakers. Just make sure they timbre-match your front-pair that you first bought.

For receivers, I'd look into Marantz, Denon, and Pioneer Elite.

For speakers, besides the excellent recommendations for B&W, look into KEF, Krell, Definitive, Focal, and Dynaudio.

Buying the best component for your money one piece at a time will be very rewarding in the end.

 

If you're looking for a soundbar Amazon has a great deal on a Samsung HW E350 for their Black Friday promotion. Less than $100 not too shabby

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-HW-E3...d=1353444854&sr=8-2&keywords=samsung+soundbar

 

No optical sound input? Thats a bad omen.

 

I had focal components in my last car, and the sound was amazing!Big fan. Also, I noticed you mentioned Denon as a receiver, but I hate mine and can never figure half of the stuff out. Also, it likes to turn on and then back on at least twice a week which shuts down the TV for long periods of time. Not what I expected for such an expensive receiver.