Bose acoustimass 3 or a soundbar?

[slackerinabox]

I live in your typical small NYC apartment and have gradually reduced my 5.1 into a more wife and guest friendly 2.1 system. Now I'm considering going even small and am considering either a bose acoustimass or a soundbar. Obviously I know there's a lot of bose hate in these circles but the price is right ($199) and the size great. I'm looking for a good enough system for a smallish living area.

The bose am wins for the price but I'd still need a receiver and wiring will be a minor challenge since I'm going for the completely wireless look. I don't really mind routing the wires if the sound quality would be better, but what would you do- let's take the budget up to $300ish - soundbar or bose acoustimass3? Mostly home theater, my logitech thx 2.1s work absurdly well for music so I'm going to leave that up.

 

[NutBucket]

Boston Acoustics Soundbar. The only Bose I'd consider buying are their large speakers like the 901.

 

[Howard]

Is your space so small that the size of the front bookshelf/satellites is a big deal?

 

[slackerinabox]

Is your space so small that the size of the front bookshelf/satellites is a big deal?

Not really, I just want to wall mount as much as possible and eventually get rid of our stand (tv is wall mounted already). The receiver's the bigger deal than the actual speakers, which is why a sound bar is appealing

 

[Howard]

nm

 

[darkswordsman17]

Look into active bookshelf pairs like the Swans M200MKII. Or maybe a T amp, there's quite a few decently small ones that you could easily hide. There's speakers that you could wall mount as well. If you're concerned about the wires, maybe consider an LED light strip that can add ambient lighting and cover up the wires.

 

[DigDog]

Boston Acoustics Soundbar. The only Bose I'd consider buying are their large speakers like the 901.

this, word per word.

<- is acoustics / audio pr0

 

[thomsbrain]

I have the Acoustimass 3 set, left over from my college dorm days. It's okay as long as you have an additional powered subwoofer and room EQ calibration on your receiver (they have a hole in the midrange unless you correct it).

The basic Bose "sub" can't play anything lower than about 50-60 Hz without distorting horribly and playing incorrect frequencies, so you need an additional separate sub and a receiver with active bass management. Satellites play highs and upper mids, Bose "sub" plays low mids, your real sub plays lows.

Think of them as bookshelf replacements, not full-range speakers.

 

[kwrzesien]

I have the exact same need for my bedroom and have settled on the Yamaha YAS-101 which is ~250 USD. It's just one piece, just run power and a TOSLINK from the TV, turns on and off automatically. Even has an IR repeater in case it sits in front of the bottom of the TV and IR receiver. Can be wall mounted easily.

It has four drivers: Left, Right and a pair of 3" ported subs. Small and decently attractive (IMHO). Quality is nothing like it's big brothers (YSP-4100/5100 Digital Sound Projector, 42 drivers, $1,900-$2,300) but everything in between either has a separate sub or sub/amp.