Bose? The best in Audio?

[Swanny]

B&W always makes good stuff. That's what I've got.

 

[rudeguy]

ok...I used to be manager of the audio dept at a very large retailer here in michigan and here is my advice:

1. go to a variety of stores and listen to everything you can, everyone has different tastes in sound and no one system is perfect for everyone

2. bose systems arent bad, from what you said you are looking at one of the lifestyle series, which the only one of those worth buying is the ls30 or 35...both very pricy but but have things that only bose can give you, the question is do you need those things. "proprietary" bose features are subtle but some people love them. the biggest one is the feature that will adapt the speakers for any enviroment...this one is actually cool...you can put freakin buckets over the speakers and they will adapt and still sound good. (i saw more than one bose rep do this)....the higher end systems are also upgradeabe, which means bose will send you a disc if they develop new software for your system, dont forget that this doesnt mean you can upgrade to say thx or 7.1 surround because the bose head unit doesnt have the speaker outputs or onboard amps for that....the "acoustimass module"(subwoofer) is also exclusive in the fact that it is non directional, meaning you can hid it behind you couch if you want to and it will still sound as good as if it were in the middle of your living room, bad thing is that is sounds like an 8 inch sub, probably because its actually a 5 1/4".....bose is always coming out with exclusive features...but the other companies always follow suit shortly after....prologic 2 is a good example of this, pl2 lets you put a mono input into the reciever and get 5.1 sound out of it, all the good recievers have this now.

3. I highly recomend going with a good...not top end reciever...this is the piece where the technology changes the most....spend some money on it but dont go overboard...next years will be 200 dollars less and have more features....put the money into the speakers...and the sub...those are the things that you can always incorporate into your new system

If i was to design my perfect system i would have a good onkyo reciever (like the tx-sr600 that i have now)...going to a good center channel, polk makes some very nice ones in many different sizes so you can pick one that is right for your room, dont forget the center is what most of the dialog from your movies is going to come from and also the most visible speaker since it will be on top of your tv....for the fronts it would either be mirage or polk( i really like polk) i would go with towers since they give you really good sound and chances are the fronts are going to end up on stands anyways, alot of the high end towers come with built in subs if you are a basshead....the rears i would go with some nice directional speakers that arent too big since ideally they will be hanging from your ceiling....maybe another speaker for the middle for your 6.1....the sub would have to be a velodyne 12"....you just cant get better...for your dvd/cd/mp3 needs look into doing that from your pc, i have a pc in my living room just for that, that way i can find any song or movie i want in a matter of seconds

I am done...sorry if it was too much info

 

[XCLAN]

very good recommendations guyz...thanx...

I have been to the local stereo SHOP....yes i only have 1. and they advertise that they will match los Angeles prices. 3 times i have tried to get them to match a price...they are generally 300$ more expensive per 1000$. all they carry is Bose...Pioneer...blah blah...nothing high end really.

I have been hitting Audio forums.....But still askin cuzz there are obviously a lot of people who interested in audio...

Now if Only I can find some Kef 3005 speakers in the US.... thats what I am leaning toward.

 

[deftron]

Axiom speakers have a very good price to performance ratio

 

[ElFenix]

i'm gonna have to disagree with rudeguy - subwoofers are hardly exclusive and the bose one is particularly directional. it simply has to cover too much range because those tiny speakers don't go down very far.

 

[KokomoGST]

Car audio? Bose da suck even moreso... bang for the buck's definition has changed from "value for your dollar" to "taking it up the @$$ and having to pay lotsa money for it."

For $700 you can get a SWEET aftermarket system... but now since so many car manus are forcing systems down your throat with custom dashes...

 

[Goosemaster]

1. Listen to what you will buy

EVEN If you have to travel to Uganda...do it. There is no point in buying something you will LISTEN TO by looking at its picture.

KEF is very good.Mirage from my experience is awesome. B&W is falwless. Paradigm is nice but some say it is a little too bright sometimes(easily fiexd). Klipschs highs are fantastic so you will need to adjust your treble down a bit but they are almost second to none in regards to the capabilities of their horns.


I personally have an onkyo tx-sr600 powering two Mirage frx-5. The sound is as neutral as possible so I get the sound the artist was trying for at the recording= awesome.


AS for recievers, spend some money and get one with preouts....this will asure that you can upgrade amp-wise in the future.
I say an onkyo 787 THX-certified reciever on ebay a while ago for $600.

Also check out Denon. Onkyo's Integra line. Marantz

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: XCLAN
very good recommendations guyz...thanx...

I have been to the local stereo SHOP....yes i only have 1. and they advertise that they will match los Angeles prices. 3 times i have tried to get them to match a price...they are generally 300$ more expensive per 1000$. all they carry is Bose...Pioneer...blah blah...nothing high end really.

I have been hitting Audio forums.....But still askin cuzz there are obviously a lot of people who interested in audio...

Now if Only I can find some Kef 3005 speakers in the US.... thats what I am leaning toward.

I know where you can get the 2005s. Here

The 2005s look the same as the 3005s, but I haven't read the specs. I really suggest larger speakers, though.

BTW, I'd check out that retailer first. I've never done business with them.

 

[isasir]

You should look into the Klipsch Quintets for surround speakers. Small, wall-mountable and good bang for buck. You can get a pair off E-Bay or ubid.com for about $85 shipped.

 

[GasX]

If you like Bose because of the small size, then get Gallo Speakers. The are actually high quality speakers rather than the crap Bose sells. Otherwise, get "real" speakers...

 

[glen]

Paradigm
Hard to beat them.
I personally Use legacy.

 

[nord1899]

I've got a B&W setup (303's for front and rear, LCR3 for center) along with a Definitive Tech subwoofer (ProSub 100TL). Total cost of all the speakers was under $1200. Bought it from a local home theater shop where they gave me discounts on the sticker price.

Paired it up with some H/K electronics and I am extremely happy with the entry-level audiophile equipment.

 

[DeafeningSilence]

I agree with the person who mentioned PSB earlier.

I bought a pair that I learned about in an old Hot Deal thread, and I've been extremely pleased with them.

 

[XCLAN]

I am driving to Lancaster...maybe even as far as Los Angeles this weekend ..or maybe monday to test the sound of some speakers at best buy, CC, Frys{if possible} and any high end audio shops i see while randomly driving.
are there any holidays comming up that may have a huge sale?

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: XCLAN
I am driving to Lancaster...maybe even as far as Los Angeles this weekend ..or maybe monday to test the sound of some speakers at best buy, CC, Frys{if possible} and any high end audio shops i see while randomly driving.
are there any holidays comming up that may have a huge sale?

Do yourself a favor and FIND the high end shops before you go. Ask about shops in the Lancaster/SFV/LA areas at AVS.com. Most will be tucked away, and not right off any off ramps. Also, not all are reliable. Many are fly-by-night ops.

I'd forget CC, Bestbuy and Frys. I've never seen any speaker system at these stores that could hold a candle to the better stuff.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

VMPS RM40 won BEST IN SHOW at Las Vegas' CES 2002 (over thousands of products) and was Dead Heat Runner-up in 2003 (the winner was a technology that was implemented into their speaker) with their RM/x Speaker.

This speakers compete with speakers in the $20k-$100k range. The pro reviews put them in a league of their own and UNMATCHABLE by ANYTHING in their pricepoint.

 

[DanJ]

I have an Axiom Audio setup. Check the reviews. Hard to beat in the price range, even over Paradigm.

 

[Pepsi90919]

bose is the fram of the audio world

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Originally posted by: DanJ
I have an Axiom Audio setup. Check the reviews. Hard to beat in the price range, even over Paradigm.

Yes, Axiom is the best bang for buck at their price point.

 

[Howard]

For some reason I find vmpseurope.com easier to navigate. But that's just me.

 

[Howard]

BTW, most of the VMPS speakers are out of his price range, even as pairs.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Yes, VMPS is for the audiophile with some scratch--not a problem though for most yuppies who frequent this board.

 

[sharkeeper]

I miss the VMPS Super Tower III. This loudspeaker was available along with the larger subwoofer (that's what they called it!) that had very enormous output capability from low end to high end on just about any caliber of equipment. The system we set up in a studio was penta-amplfied and was quite crazy. I also personally modified the passive radiators from variable weight to servo weighting using conjugate sinus injection. It was (then) a $20,000 modification, but the bass had such control that words cannot desribe it.

Cheers!

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Sharkeeper,
Must have been awesome! I'm still in love with my RM40's. They really deserve the hype!

 

[shabby]

Originally posted by: Windogg
Just look for two dudes in a white van if you want the best speakers.

Hahah good one
Bose components are like Macs, they look pretty... and thats about it.