Good Points: Well rounded sound with great stereo
presence and lifelike reproduction of sound from stereo music to
digital surround sound. Compact packaging and clean installation
provides great coverage (with a little experimenting) for nearly any
room configuration.
Bad Points: Passive Acoustimass modules need to be
tweaked for volume output with your receiver bass controls or EQ,
powered modules should be tuned for crossover frequency and bass volume
with your receiver (if so equipped) as well as adjusted with their own
volume control. This is not a bad thing, but it is critical. I suggest
you do not use receiver features such as "loudness' (pre-determined
bass and treble boosts) or "double bass". Though Bose bashers are
correct about an inherent absence of frequency response between 220 and
280 hz I say that these frequencies often "muddie" the sound of any
system detracting from the overall clarity and pleasing sound quality.
I think Bose may very well have designed their systems to sound that
way intentionally just as they are not hot in the 2 to 4k range as
these frequencies are sharp and painful to one's ears. Paying for new
Bose products does open the way up for many other options, some may
even be technically more efficient for the same or less money, but few
can match the end result for your ears.
General comments: 1. I was a professional sound
engineer (studio & live) for 17 years and also played keyboards
professionally for many years. 2. I now own a music company providing
CD and Digital jukeboxes and sound systems to bars and taverns
throughout the Northeast. 3. I was anti Bose (price vs sound) for
better than 2 decades! I've used numerous professional and extreme high
end products in my work including studio monitors and live sound
speaker arrays. Stereo imaging and clear, "pleasing to the ear" sound
top to bottom are not always easy to achieve. Then I installed my first
Touchtunes Digital Downloading jukebox with an integrated Bose sound
system. A Touchtunes representative and a Bose rep both helped with my
first installation and I despite my musical and audio experience I
proceeded to learn a great deal more about sound staging and room area
coverage. Then I installed a few more systems... each and every room
configuration I've encountered, whether it required 1 zone or multiple
zones, has been easily covered with clear stereo sound stages, minimal
dropout, and tight, punchy lows, adequate midrange and clear highs. I
now have replaced many of my pre-existing systems with used Acoustimass
modules teamed with and assorted 201s, 301s, 161s and 141s driven by a
variety of pro amplifers, jukebox inegrated amps, and inexpensive
receivers and amps and I can honestly say that for the end user, the
listener, Bose systems and products perform very well indeed. My home
systems are now comprised of (1) an Acoustimass 15 system with dual
cubes (front and rear) and additional 301 fronts and 141 rears and
center powered by a mid-priced Onkyo (primarily for A/V surround
system), and (2) another system (NSM CD jukebox, turntable and DVD),
with 901 fronts, JBL center and dual cube rears all powered by a Rotel
RSX 1065 with a Kenwood programmable EQ and parametric. In all
instances, I set up sound systems not only with my ears, but with scope
analysis, pink noise and a Phonic Audio analyzer. The Bose systems
require very little EQ (a small boost from 10-20k and a small dip
around 1k) to achieve an essentially flat response. USED Bose products
provide tremendous bang for the buck over-all performance no matter
what the critics and nay-sayers write or say!!!!