Quick question about Bose Home Theater System/Speakers.
 

Hey I need some input on this issue. I currently own an Onkyo HTR510 6.1. Other than the minor issue of the center channel being a little weak, I am very happy with the system.

My question at hand is my buddy is selling his Bose Acoustimass 16 Series 6.1 HT system (he got a little in over his head with payments) and I have a chance to pick this up at a great price. Is it worth it to upgrade, sell my current Onkyo 6.1 speakers, and hook up the Bose speakers? Will the Bose speakers work well with my Onkyo amp? I do not want to upgrade amps, I just thought upgrading the speakers and using the Onkyo amp would work good, will it? How will the sound quality be? Better than the current Onkyo speakers? Plus the small size of the Bose speakers is more ideal for my living envirement.

Input/feedback is appreciated.

You're opening a huge can of worms here, but the short answer is, Don't do it.

Bose gets little to no respect around here, and for good reason. I don't know how much your budy wants for his speakers, but at full retail they're way overpriced for what you get. I think you can do better.

What kind of price is he offering? Generally Bose is trash for the price you pay. But if he's willing to give you a decent price, I'd say try them out and if you don't like them you can sell them on ebay where the ignorant run rampant and make a profit. However, they may just fit your room and and sound great to you.

Do some research. Most would not consider this an "upgrade". Especially if you're happy with what you have, just say no to Bose... :)

Whew!!!!! Glad I consulted the experts here. I didn't know much about Bose, so I am glad I asked. What he is asking is not that much below retail, they are basically new, very rarely used with original box. Still just below retail is around $1000 So with the input I have gotten here I will be passing. :beer: :beer:

Ok with the above in mind, can somebody suggest me a set of 6.1 speakers, that will work well with my Onkyo amp, that are about the size of the Bose speakers or maybe a little bigger? The reason I am asking is that soon i will be making the dive into buying my first place, and in reality it could possible be smaller that the big place I am renting now, so I wanted something a little more compact, maybe something I don't need stands for, but I have stands so I mise will use them if I have them. But I want something that sounds just as good as the Onkyo's.

Input appreciated!

Thanks again everybody.

I also suggest not buying anything BOSE.

As for small speakers it depends on what your tastes are. Here is a few brands I checked out before purchasing my Klipsch gear.


Orbaudio Anthony Gallo
Athena Speakers
Klipsch

Ohhhhh thanks for the links DthRdrX, I am really feeling those orbs! :rock2:

Go to http://www.av123.com and see what they have. There is a new line that they're developing that sounds promising. And you'll NEVER find better customer service than from those guys. (and make sure to include their forums in your research. Their members are amazing and brutally honest.)

Worth reading if you really want to argue w/ Bose fans.

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html


Edit: Some comparisons w/ other speakers

http://liquidtheater.com/editorial_56.html

Seems like you've been steered away from the Bose speakers, but just in case you're not, I seem to remember Bose using a proprietary type speaker connection that may not have been compatible with your Onkyo.

As far as small speakers go, I don't know what your budget is, but there is an underrated (IMO) speaker company called Tannoy, that makes some amazing satellites. http://www.tannoy.com/ArenaSatellite

www.svsound.com or www.av123.com if they have a small system again. 123 discontinued their last line before they even said much about a replacement. Strange, but people love the speakers. When available.

See my post above. That's supposed to be AV123 not 123AV.

Damn!! Thanks for the links and feedback everybody, :rock: that read on the Bose is bananas!!

No need to repeat (but I will), getting the Bose would not be an upgrade.

For small speaker systems check out,

NHT
KEF
Celestion

for starters...

Great links mrhan:

Frequency Response 280 Hz to 13.3k Hz at ±10.5 dB!?! Wow.

Also, they had to close down the Bose review sections on audioreview.com because they were soooo bad and got soooo many reviews. Looks like they've reset them all, but you can get a good idea by reading some of them.

Paradigm has a small sized Cinema series. I have larger Paradigms myself, but for fun the salesman demo'd the Cinema's against a pair of Bose that a cutomer GAVE him, and the Paradigm's blew them out of the water.

They have a number of options in that line.

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/Site...ma_Series.html

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/Site...aSeriesBIG.jpg

I'll put in a third vote for av123.com. You just can't beat them on bang for the buck. Do yourself a favor and if you can, stick to at least small bookshelf speakers. Tiny satellite type speakers can only do so much, and will most likely be a downgrade from what you have now. The others are right that for that $1000, you can do a LOT better than that Bose system. If it were my $1000 right now, I'd get the following:

From av123.com - the x-ls 5.1 system which will get you 5 of the new x-ls bookshelf speakers, plus the new x-sub for $696. http://www.av123.com/products_produc...s&product=83.1
If you aren't worried about having a different finish, I'd also add the ELT DPA dipole surround speakers for $250 more (http://www.av123.com/products_produc...s&product=57.1) and have yourself a heck of a 7.1 system for $946. Shipping for that may take you a bit over $1000 though. If you aren't interested in 7.1, you might be able to talk the boys into upgrading you to one of the UFW subs for the price difference to hit that $1000 mark. No promises, but they've been known to do cool things like that.

My first runner up would probably be Paradigms. With $1k, I'd get into the Performance series instead of the Cinema series. You should be able to get two pairs of Atoms and a CC-170 for ~$650ish. That leaves you $350 for your choice of subs. I'd still look at av123's x-sub as above, although that might get you into SVS or HSU's entry level subs if you'd rather go that way.

Any way you go, you can get a nice little system going with that $1000! :) Let us know what you decide on.

I'm glad this thread popped up when it did. One of my buddies is getting ready to buy some new speakers, and mentioned he was going to get bose.