Pleasant to look at, fits well on the top of my Sony Wega XBR400 36", Good Magnetic Sheilding

Poor base reproduction

My home theater consists of a pair of 301's front and 201's rear. I required a center speaker to compliment the rest of the speaker and opted for the Bose. It is a good overall center speaker, but the Bose quality was not just there. Overall, I am satisified with the speaker, but the $200 price is a bit steep for a speaker of this quality.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 301's and Bose 201

Good solid performer. Very nice uniuqe design.

Gets purchased and used by people who don't know what they are doing.

This speaker performs perfect for which it was designed. Most people who have a negative view of this component have know idea of it's purpose and or how to properly implement it.

Center channel audio is a very specific part of an entire sound system and this speaker performs well. It is not designed to sound just like the mains (nor would you want it to). Center channel sound is used specificaly for midrange sound such as vocal dialouge and to "center" the sound only.

You can always expect a solid performance from a a major line such as Bose to adhere specificaly to it's design.

Why did all you Bose bashers buy it in the first place?

Low Profile Design, Movie Dialogue is crisp, Blends well with front speakers when calibrated

Sounds "hollow" at lower volumes, Price is a tad high

When I first purchased this speaker I was disappointed with what I heard. Dialogue in movies seemed hollow and detached no matter how or where I placed the VCS 10.

However, after using Avia's Guide to Home Theater DVD and a sound level meter to calibrate my speakers (I had my Bose center set 4db too high and my left and right fronts set 3db too low) the center speaker's sound became seamless when my volume set to the calibrated level. However, this volume level was quite loud, and may be a bit too much for those who live in apartments.

Personally, I am satisfied with the product as it provides crisp dialogue that blends well with my other surround speakers. This speaker would be a better value if priced about $20 less (to set it apart from some of the higher-end centers), but it isn't a piece of crap as some of these obviously biased reviews would like you to think.

When purchasing a center channel you should at least give the VCS 10 a listen, even if you are already strongly considering purchasing another brand such as PSB or Energy...you may be surprised.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Pioneer, Energy

Fits into tight spaces

Takes some effort to match to rest of system

I've had the "baby Bose" for 9 months, and it sat idle for 8 of those months because, like many reviewers here, I thought it was a real paper weight. I finally decided to work on it again, and I'm now prepared to give Bose a little credit. Here's some of what I found:
1), First, get the left/right speaker working right. My room is very live, and I had to spend some time on speaker placement to get the bass up and treble down.
2), MOST IMPORTANT: Get the phasing of the L/C/R speakers right. They have to "blow and suck" together. Originally, I used a well known video test DVD to check center phasing, and I thought it was right. It wasn't, which caused anemic center sound. If you don't have a test disc(you may be lucky), just try reversing the center speaker's connections to see which way sounds best.
3), Lay the center speaker flat on the shelf or TV. I had mine tilted down toward the listener, but this little guy is so bass-challenged it needs all the help it can get. Putting it close to "boundaries" will beef up the bass.
4), Work on getting the match between the center and L/R speaker close. Using the test noise signal on your receiver and a Radio Shack level meter is a good start, but push the center volume up and down on some program material to fine tune it. The noise signal on my receiver goes lower in frequency than the Bose can reproduce, so its too easy to set the center volume artificially high using the level meter. This tends to emphasizes the highs on the center speaker over the lows that are being provided by the other speakers.

The bottom line is I now have a useful center speaker(no more sweet spot from the phantom center). Although the Bose isn't world class, it does fit the space available and does a creditable job. It just needs some nursing along to get decent results.

Similar Products Used:

None

NONE.

No highs? No Lows? MUST BE BOSE!
(SO true...)

MUDDY, with no clarity, articulation, or "snap".....just crap. Better sound out of my stock TV speakers.

AGAIN, no highs, no lows, BOSE!

I am a bonafide BOSE hater...somebody needs to tell Dr. Bose that there is life beyond extracting sound out of multiple 3-5" drivers.....their speakers are merely exercises in "Acoustical theory".....HOW 'BOUT A DAMN TWEETER?? Or a LARGER woofer? Embrace the new millenium and join the pack!! JEESH! BOSE is a thing of the past and was NEVER a quality speaker in my opinion, or to my ears. (Opinions vary) I don't know WHY I got sucked in on this center channel.

Similar Products Used:

Polk Audio, B&W,....although neither can be compared to this steamin' pile of suck that BOSE has put together.

Looks cool

The weakest link

What a dissappointment! I had never owned any Bose equipment and was never very impressed with their sound, but I trusted their "name". I waited for this speaker to go on sale and it's the worst buying decision I ever made. I bought this solely on looks because I didn't want a big box on top of my TV. As others have noted, the center channel gets up to 70% of the sound in a surround sound system and this speaker is now the weakest link in my system. The sound level is half of my other speakers, even after assigning less power to the L/R channels and max power to center. It just goes to show, looks aren't everything!

Similar Products Used:

none

i never even considered this speaker, it is nifty looking, but 4 2.5" drivers???hahaahahahahahahahahahhaha, please, stop the insanity! i have an infinity overature 1 for the center channel and it is very nice. it is also very heavy and somewhat ungainly for perching on top of the average tv. it looks like an ugly duckling but it sounds like a swan when you turn it on.
zero stars for bose vcs 10
5 stars for infinity

The only strength that this has is the fact that it is so small in size.

Lack of high frequence response. Lack of low frequency response.

The difference in listening is night and day between the Bose and Boston Acoustics. Many people say in their reviews that they heard hiss coming out of centers other than bose and thats why they liked the bose speaker. I would just like to say that the reason that they hear the hiss is the fact that their receiver is emitting the hiss noise and the bose has no high frequency response so you can't hear it. This speaker really lives up to the bose model----"No highs, No lows, Must be Bose!"

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics VR920 Center Speaker.

Beautiful design, authentic sound reproduction

I listened to alot of center speakers before making my purchase of the Bose VCS10. This was my final piece to my home theater system which includes the Bose Acoustimass 5 Series III and JBLs for the surrounds. The center speaker is designed to place dialog and central sounds coming from a logical position in your home theater set up. Bose delivers crisp, quality sound that one expects only in an actual theater enviornment. I am extremely pleased. The negative reviews I continually read on this website are obviously from either the inexperienced and easily persuaded and/or people trying hard to sell other products. Give a listen to the product... don't listen to what others are trying to push on you.

Rich seamless sound

none so far

I currently own Bose 301 and 201 series speakers. These have served as my main and surround speakers for several years. I recently upgraded my receiver to a 5.1 capability and wanted to add a center speaker and a subwoofer. All research suggested it was important to match by manufacturer your main and central speakers. I followed this advice. The VCS10 provides a clear,crisp, rich sound that blends well with my system. The speaker performs well in both movie and musical Dolby Pro Logic II environments.