I have an opportunity to purchase a Bose Acoustimass 16 speaker system from a friend at an extremely attractive price, and I fully intend to do so; this opportunity will not come again.
The Bose system is a 6.1 channel system. However, one of the receivers that appeals to me is the Harman/Kardon AV 635, which is designed for 7.1 channel systems. The brochure states that it can be used for 6.1 channel systems, but only as a last resort, and instead recommends a second rear surround speaker.
My questions: What is my best course of action, accepting that I will buy the Bose system? Should I buy a 6.1 channel receiver instead? Should I buy the 7.1 channel system, and accept the compromise? Can I buy a seventh satellite speaker and connect it directly to the receiver, or is it required that the satellite connect through the sub-woofer?
Because nobody else has replied yet: You have heard the assorted “Bose sucks” points of view, no? If you have and still want to buy the speakers, well, more power to you. Just make sure that it’s an extremely attractive price.
While my two favorite quotes for Bose products are “no highs, no lows, must be Bose” and “Better sound through marketing,” they do some amazing things with tiny drivers. For the price, I would say go for it, but keep an eye out to upgrading sometime in the future to something, at least for the fronts, that is a two-way or better system, with speakers that are sized correctly for the frequencies you want to reproduce.
As for the question, I would say that you would be fine buying a seventh speaker and connecting it straight to the amplifier. I wouldn’t suggest buying a seventh of the Bose cubes, because it’ll sound like crap. I think the Sub module probably has some sort of Digital Signal Processing that helps out the tiny (2 x 2.5 in for the satellites, 3 x 5.25 in for the sub) speakers.
That being said, another issue you might have if you go that route is level balance. Due to the special processing, the seventh speaker might sound louder than the rest. It doesn’t look like the H/K AV 635 provides for individual adjustment of the speaker volumes, although that is just from a quick perusal of the manual.
My suggestion? Find a reciever that does 6.1. Less hassle and less things to worry about making it sound bad.
I’d say get the 7.1 receiver and connect the 6.1 channel Bose. Reason being it’s pretty rare to find dvds decoded in 7.1 surround. 5.1 DTS or Dolby Digital seems to be the norm for most dvds out there. 6.1 and 7.1 is becoming more prevalent but still rare.
The reason I don’t like the Bose is because it’s not a true 6.1 system.
In a true 6.1 system the “.1” channel is a dedicated subwoofer channel.
In the bose system the sub not only works as the “.1” channel, but is also the bass and mid-bass for your other 6 satellites. Notice that every satellite is not connected directly to the receiver but runs through the sub first. Kind of cuts back on the whole “discrete” channel seperation job the reciever does.
Something else to make sure of is that all of the pieces and parts are there for the Bose system. In order to get from the reciever to the Bose system, you need what looks like a 13 pin connector to a breakout cable of some sort to get to the reciever.
That would be my assumption too. I just didn’t see any mention of it in an admittedly late-night and quick scan of the manual.
Despite marketing claims to the contrary, I’ve given up on finding one affordable system that will give me both a satisfactory music environment, and a home theater audio environment. Fortunately I have two rooms to devote to this, so I will use the Bose system for home theater in my living room, and I’ll set up my audio system in a spare bedroom.
I have a set of B&W DM-10 speakers (the darn things are about 25 years old) that I like for music. I know that there are better speakers out there, but I’ve grown used to the sound. On the other hand, I’m not as concerned about the perfect tonal quality for the home theater, and more concerned with getting the surround sound experience. So I appreciate and understand the comments, but this might be a cheap and effective way for me to get a surround sound system.
I don’t know what price range youare getting the speakers for, but anything over a 200-300 would be a joke. Go look at the Athena Micra package to go with that HK receiver(they are tiny bookshelf speakers too), and will blow away the Bose sound. There are any number of small satellite systems that will humiliate the acoustimass for many hundreds of dollars cheaper
Ok, have some more time now…audio advisor(audioadvisor.com) has the Micra package, which is a complete 5.1 satellite system (5 speakers and a powered 8" sub) for 300 bucks. Add one more micra for 60 bucks. You can find it cheaper at best buy on occasion…it was down around 150 or so on sale last year a couple of times.
Alternatively, you could go to a bookshelf size, and get 3 pairs of the B1.2 at 120 a pair for the satellites, and add the P4000 sub at 150, for a total of 510. This package will blow away by a long measure any Bose product.
In fact, if you are willing to go to bookshelf size, there are any number of companies at make speakers that will kill the Acoustimass in the 400-600 dollar range
My last HT was an Athena speaker package, I had the F1s(same as B1 except afloorstanding speaker, so bigger cabinet) for my FL and FR, and my L and R. I had the C1 for center, and a pair of B1s for the surounds. Athena P400 sub. I drove it with a Pioneer 1015 receiver (rated at 110x7). It was ridiculous how loud it would get and still sound clean. People were amazed(especially considering how cheap I got them, I grabbed them all at clearance at BB when the new models came out, the .2 versions).
The HK635 is going for street price of around 600 right now on several sites…it’s a great deal on a very good music receiver that is also a strong HT receiver. I’ve heard it is kind of buggy however. I would really try to impress on on you though that the HK 635 is overkill sonically for any Bose speaker. Dont spend 600 bucks on a decent receiver for those speakers.