In my bedroom I currently have a Onkyo receiver, and a Sony 200 disc changer and some other component pieces hooked up to it. I have 2 bookshelf speakers and 2 tower speakers. We just got a king sized bed, and I am now noticing how much room those 4 speakers take up. I’d like to get some small, high output wall mounted speakers and get rid of the 4 biggins. I know that Bose makes a set, I was checking these out: Acoustimass® 3 speaker system
I know that some people think that Bose is overrated and overpriced – I’m open to opinions if I should be talked out of Bose. I am not a total audiophile dork and some of the high end differences between speakers probably don’t matter to me. I just want a set that I can mount in the ceiling corners in my bedroom, and they need to have a little bit of kick to them. I want to spend roughly $250. They will be used for music only (no video/theatre use).
Any help or suggestions are appreciated.
I used to work for Bose, and I have a lot of thier stuff. Lifestyle 12, quiet comfort headset, wave radio and a pair of 701’s.
Bose stuff doesn’t suck as much as people say. Audiophile types tend to hate it for the same reasons that computer folks hate AOL. It’s a product that is aggressively marketed as easy to use, but doesn’t have the functionality that is industry standard.
I am happy with my Bose stuff, but that’s because I bought it at employee discount prices. (About $.40 on the dollar).
At full price, Bose speakers simply are not worth it. You are better off going to www.crutchfield.com or looking at a crutchfield catelog. They have good prices and if you tell them a price range, they will find you a good set of speakers.
I would check out Polk Speakers and maybe Klipsch. I have some Klipsch speakers for my computer and they are really nice. I have listened to Polk speakers and they sounded great too. I don’t think that the Klipsch will make your budget though.
My recommendation is to go to a place with a lot of different speakers for sale, bring in 2 or 3 of your favorite CD’s and listen to the speakers, comparing them against each other. Choose CD’s that vary in style and texture.
Speakers (and headphones) are the most personal audio gear you buy because whether they sound good or not depends on your perception. What I like, you may not–that sort of thing.
BTW I have some Boston Acoustics and Cambridge Soundworks.
I got the home theatre set (SCS series) and I am very very satisfied with it. It cost me roughly about $400, but it was with a woofer and 6 speakers.What you want will definetly be cheaper.
I suggest you give this brand a try and like Qburn suggested take your fav cds with you to judge the sound.
My surrounds are a smallish pair of Polks. I believe they’re RT5 or RT15’s (something like that). They sound pretty nice. I’d recommend them…of course, as with all things like this, I’d recommend listening to them first to see if they fit your needs.
BG A1’s (black finish) or Z1’s (real nice cherry). I would say check them out at www.bgcorp.com but those models aren’t posted yet. :rolleyes: I beleave they are sold on-line at PCMall or you can call around.
The early word is that they are the “perfect speaker”.
She told me she loved me like a brother. She was from Arkansas, hence the Joy!
Personally I like my Bose speakers. I have some 201’s for front speakers, a VCS-10 center channel & 110 (?) models for rear (looks discontinued, about equivalent to the 161 model they have now).
Base response was a surprise, though, when we were watching Jurassic Park for the first time. You know the T-Rex part, “Boom! <ripple>,<ripple>”.
The 201’s went “boom”.
I have added non-Bose subwoofer and I’m now just pleased as punch with the whole setup.
Bye the way, the lifestyle cubes sound like crap without the “Bass module”. They’re just for the high-end directional stuff. The real meat of the music comes out of the base module.
I too have replaced larger speakers with smaller ones and have never been really satisfied with the sound quality. Even high quality small wall mounted speakers just don’t pump out the volume and image that I like. That being said, brands in addition to the above worth considering include PSB and Energy–the latter makes a pretty nice small speaker.
One other approach that some folks like: installing flush-mounted ones directly in the wall. The hollow area between the wall studs help provide some body to the sound. I have never actually heard any of these but they do save space.
Some good sites include Audio Advisor (dealer), audio asylum, and audioreview.
I have these
in my home system. I like them fairly well. Right now I only have them as the rear surround, I’m not sure if they put out enough for a front pair. But overall, I like the B&W line of speakers. Nice sound, at a not so bad price.
Thanks for the input. I went with Athena’s AS-B1s after talking with a guy who I work with who (after posting this thread) I found out he does custom installations on the side. After his rave reviews and reading up on them online, I went and listened to them…they sounded really good. As one reviewer says says:
I have them in the “warm up” phase now…after they are broken in I will crank them this weekend. I plan on mounting them on Saturday.