Compact size

price vs audio quality

I recently replaced an AV Receiver that I purchased in 1990. My old receiver was one of the first prologic's to come out. It had a left/right rca output for the center speaker. I connected this to the audio in of my Sony TV and used its internal speakers for the Center.

I replaced this receiver with a Sony STRDA80ES and hence had to buy a center speaker. My fronts are Bose AC3s (from 1990). My rears are Bose 301s (from the 80's). The VCS-10 works great with my set-up.

I wouldn't recommend this speaker for use with non Bose speakers. It did sound flatter than other speakers I auditioned in the showroom... but it matches the sound I already have.

When I upgrade my fronts/rears at some point in the future, maybe I'll notice the deficiencies everyone moans about in the previous postings.

Paul Harvey likes Bose. It's small so you're wife will let you take it home. Sounds good in those small kiosks at Sams club and Best Buy.

Sound is not clear. Put your hand over your mouth and talk. That is an idea of the sound quality.

I bought this for the name. It sounds pretty good in those little demo areas where you stand about 3 feet from it. It sounds less than ideal when you get it home and put it in a small living room. About 70% of the sound in a movie comes out of the center and four 2 1/2" drivers just can't do it justice. It's all right if you are just getting started or if your wife won't let you have a bigger center. If you are serious look somewhere else. I had a cheap Technics center and surrounds that I bought for a total of $150. I thought the Bose would sound better than one that costs about $50. No joking, the sound quality is about the same. One good thing about my experiance with Bose is I have done a lot of research and am now a well informed buyer. One last thing, you have to wonder why Bose never lists specs like every other speaker company. Are they afraid to list frequency response and sensitivity for comparisons with other brands? I think so. I have heard a worse center, a KLH, so I'll be generous and give it two stars.

Similar Products Used:

JBL

Size and looks.

Frequency response, sensitivity, and build quality.

With any speaker it's necessary to customize your system settings and work with its location to yield the best performance. After nearly a week with the Bose, I simply gave up. My former center channel speaker was a Design Acoustics, PS-CV. It contained 1 5.25" woofer and a 1/2 dome tweeter and produced cleaner and better sound throughout the frequency band than the Bose. I tried several locations, settings on my receiver and was still disheartened.
It's true that the center channel is the workhorse in a prologic system. With that in mind, I sent mine on a journey to the glue factory (back to Best Buy). I'm not a Bose basher; I own a set of AM5-II's. This is why I figured the VSC-10 would compliment my main channel speakers. I was less than impressed. While some may point out that the VSC-10's limitations are acceptable based on the job it must do, I ask you to do the following ... listen to it, and listen with a careful ear. Hook it up and compare it to another center speaker. Test it with several sources and in several conditions. The VSC-10 is incapable of producing low frequencies and fades quickly on the high side. Your receiver sends the frequencies to the channel and to the speaker ... the Bose simply can't reproduce them. Try a source with low Bass and one with highs. Leave the volume the same and switch the speakers back and forth and play the sound with your center channel only (turn off your mains!). You may say ... it works with the mains, so what's the point? The point is ... if it can't reproduce frequencies alone then it's not doing its job. As a stand alone speaker the center channel should still sound pretty darn good! If you turn off part of the band does the orchestra sound whole? Don't think so!
Other than size this speaker is extremely limited considering its high price.
Also, read the one page letter from Bose that comes in the box. In so many terms, it basically admits to the fact that this speaker has limitations. Stating that some speakers overemphasize some sounds and that while it may sound appealing in the short run it’s not truly ‘real’ sound. If a sound is recorded by a musician and included on a movie or a song it’s likely to be pretty real; further, it’s intended to be there. The fact that a speaker simply doesn’t produce the sound does not suddenly change this fact. I agree with others on this post … frequencies are not listed because they would prove to be less than acceptable.
Sorry for the long post ... I just feel very strongly about the poor performance of this product.

Similar Products Used:

Design Acoustics, Acoustic Research SC-2.

Smooth sound, no distrotion, excellent voice repoduction

Need to have matched speakers

Wow I have not seen so many people who hate a speaker manufacture as much as Bose! And to those who say it's marketing that keeps them in buisness I doubt that, as an engineer myself you better have a good product, because even the best marketing campaign isn't going to save you it the long run. This is an excellent center channel speaker doing what it was designed to do, replicate accurate dialogue. And it does that extremely well. But you do need to match the VCS 1O to other Bose speakers for best sound, but that's just common sense, since your mains and center channel should be of the same manufacturer as they all have their distinct sound qualities. I have Bose 301 mains and 101 surrounds with a Polk PSW25O for a sub and the sound quality is excellent and very well balanced. You should set the center channel to small so that your subwoofer picks up the lows, don't worry about the highs the VCS 1O handles that just fine, I watched Gladiatior with DTS audio and it was incredible! One short comming of this center channel speaker is you do need a subwoofer to really make it come alive. But that's okay because all HTS should have a subwoofer. And the looks and size make this great sounding speaker an even better value. Sorry all you Bose haters, loudness is not the criteria for a good speaker, precise sound repoduction is and this speaker does a great job at that!

• Very accurate sound
• Attractive design
• No hiss
• Great value

• None found yet

At first when I got this speaker, I pretty much thought what everyone else did - that Bose bit it on this one. However, once I set my receiver on large, it sounded beautiful. The sound was really clean without any of the hiss other brands have. And as far as power goes, it's definitely not lacking. Also, when I contacted the company about the speaker not sounding very good, they replied quickly and were very helpful. Looks like Bose is still the king after all! =}

Similar Products Used:

Tested in stores (I'm not sure of the model numbers, but they were all right around that $200 price range): Energy, Polk Audio, Boston, Klipsch. The Energy and Klipsch were horrible and the Polk and Boston were ok, but they still had quite a bit of hiss.

The speaker sounds great,and looks good to.

I like this speaker alot. It looks great, and sounds pretty good for a bose speaker. I got mine for only $100 and I think it is well worth twice that amount, which would be it's normal price. I use it in my bedroom setup and I have absolutely no complaints about it, but I don't think I would recommend it for a primary home theater set up, but for the price it is very good. This is the best bose product available.

I've had this speaker for about a month now and have tried it with a couple of systems. This speaker is amazing when used with other Bose products. I've used it with the 701's on the front and Model 100's on the rear and it sounds great, it easily makes the system. I also tried it with some Acoustimass 3's on the front channels and I felt it improved the system to the point where the cubes were bareable. But, when I tired it with a pair of Boston Acoustics it was lacking in quality. But, Bose designed the VCS 10 to work with 501's and 701's and I think they did a great job for once (as long as your not using the 501's which are the worst speaker ever made). So, as long as you are using Bose products for your other channels this speaker gets a 5, if not i'd give it a 3.

Size, and shape

Very muddy sound, no clarity

i didn`t really buy the speaker. I sell them. That is until I compared them to a few other center speakers. I compared them side by side in the store that I work. I expected it to at least match the other speakers in the line but was very disappointed. The Ncenter was a lot better. I could barely hear voices and there was not much of the higher frequencies coming out. The other speakers in our store sound better and cost considerably less. We sell pretty low end stuff and the Bose is lower than our worst. I am not a Bose hater. I actually don`t mind the 501`s. If you`re considering buying this speaker, make sure you listen to it first. Remember, the center speaker is the most important in a home theater set up.

Similar Products Used:

JBL Ncenter, B&W ISF2000,

Size, design, performance - with other Bose speakers

Fair Trade Price

I like this speaker.

I think that it sounds good with my other Bose speakers (4001 Mains and 141 Rears). This is apparently an important factor, judging from some of the other posts in this thread. I have built my HT up essentially one component at a time over a number of years, and have heard an improvement in the sound quality as I progressed. I acquired my current speakers in the following order: 4001 Mains, 141 Rears and VCS-10 Center. I have a JBL PSW-10 Subwoofer. Yes, I am on a budget, and went with the suggestion to use speakers from the same manufacturer because they all have the same "voice". The experience of others seems to bear this out, especially with the VCS-10. Caveat emptor.

I have used these speakers with a Sony STR-DE715 and STR-DB830 receiver. The 830's Bass Redirection feature seems to help improve the overall sound quality, but I would not expect that much Bass Response from 2.5" speakers in the first place.

The VCS-10 is a bit pricey, and I have not been able to find it for less than MSRP.

The VCS-10 sounds good (in my system), fits in my HT cabinet, and looks good as well. At the end of the day, when the sun goes down, I am happy with this speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, JBL