Small Size

Weak Sound&Bass, Poor Tonal Balance,

I was first interested in these speakers because of their size, but when I went to audition these speakers, I was thoroughly disappointed. The expensive price do not justify the extremely poor sound these little cubes produce. Weak bass and poor tonal balance are all I heard. The Cambridge SoundWorks Ensemble are about half the price and 20X better in sound and build quality.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Sound Works Ensemble, Klipsch, Energy

Great movie sound. Closest thing to being in a theater.

Music isnt as impressive but still sounds very good when considering the very small cones.

I bought these and then got a little worried when I read the reviews here. When my speakers arrived I was half expecting to send them back. To my delight these speakers sounded great from day 1. I still love them after a few months. I think the bad reviews here might be a little biased as I cant fault these speakers. I'm sure there are better speakers out there but not this size or at this price. DVD movies aound exceptional in my condo and freinds have all commented positively about this. Out of all my purcahses this year I'm happiest with these speakers.

Nice look, small size, bass module can be hided almost everywhere, strong bass for a passive subwoofer, high frequencies easily achieved

IT F****N COSTS TO BUY BOSE! especially from Malta: Here they are much higher in price.

THEY HAVE ALMOST NO SPECIFICATIONS!!!!!!! (ESP. FREQUENCY RANGE) and this really kicks me!!!!

Well,
I don't know what performance other Bose products have but i think that in this site they are a bit OVER critized (badly). I possess the AM 5 for nearly a year now and am very happy with them. Also, i'm not using them with a seperate overpowered amp, just with a mini-system (Aiwa XR-AVH80) and i must admit that they give me extraordinary performance.

HOWEVER, i admit that they are really OVERPRICED. I mean: there are many products out there that surely compete with Bose (not to say beat them as i didn't hear many demos).
I bought them just because Bose fascinated me in the way the work their products. However, i surely believe that for the price you pay for Bose, you can get MUCH better products.

I mean, here, in Malta, Acoustimass 5 cost Lm 265 (ROUGHLY about $530). With Lm 250 (roughly about $500) i can get Sony's SA-VE505 (which is a complete Home Theater speaker system: 120W/ch, active subwoofer 100W) Acoustimass 5 are just good for stereo (if you don't want to end up either with two subwoofers (my parents would kill me) or programming your system in a way that the LFE channel (.1) goes throughout the main speakers (i.e. Bose's "subwoofer").

Bose may have qualitative products, but surely they are NOT the best around. Their Direct/Reflecting system and Acoustimass bass (according to them only they (Bose) manufacture subwoofers whose bass cannot be localized: pure bullsh*t)) are the only two features that they use to attract clients.

They would be much more famous if they would lower their prices

Similar Products Used:

Namco, Aiwa and some others.

Size, Sound...

Hard to position....

Sorry to see so many people have a dislike for Bose's sound. However, when I first bought the AM-5 home, I didn't get the sound that I want. Till I started positioning the speakers and the sub around. It took me awhile, but I finally got the right position. Man! The sound is good, it's a bit weak on the treble, but it's good for vocals and other Jazzy type of musics.

Similar Products Used:

AM-3,AM-10,Mission 753,JBL,Tannoy

I like my Bose Speakers; however, if I was throwing a party I would want other speakers to boom over the talking. As I don't through too many parties, I is great for easy listening and you definetly can pick out what the singer(s) are singing very clear and clean.

I brought AM5 when they offer discount $$$. For a lower price, it is the most valuable speaker compare with other brands.

I have listened to Bose Acoustimass loudspeakers, and I was not disappointed. I also had VERY LOW expectations.
I have used a Futterman H3aa with Magneplanar T-III3A T/M since 1974. My Futtermans have been updated twice, lastly to NYAL specs, and this has refined the sound further These OTL amps couple to 20 Hz. These amps cost me $500 from Mr. F. and I think I have gotten my money's worth. I also really liked Mr. F.

I 'hopped up' a $200 AIWA 7CD compact system by reworking the supplied speakers, adding a CSW Powered Subwoofer II, and adding CSW blocking filters. The result is embarrassingly good for $600, although not QUITE up to the H3aa/T-IIIA. I do think this modified AIWA rig could easily surpass the Bose.

I've done enough product demo's of Bose speakers as work (CC) to know they really don't sound good at all. They carry no midrange. The bass is sloppy at best. Proper imaging is nearly impossible. Spend your money else where.

I bough a pair of 301 series IV and really disappointed it. It sounded so goodat store but when I brought it home and listened. It sounded completely
different. There are totally no bass (120 Watts/ch Sony receiver STR-D1015).
With $300.00 you can get much better speaker than Bose.

I simply cannot believe that so many of these reviews are so terribly negative. For a midpriced five speaker surround system, especially where space is at a premium, I do not think one can purchase better speakers. Now, my ears are not so golden that I can hear the difference that a separate CD transport/DAC makes, and I will never understand $90,000 tube amplifiers, but I can tell junk when I hear it, and the Bose Acoustimass system is not junk. The bass is extremely clean and full, the mid-range transitions are very transparent, and the treble will vibrate my crystal. The only complaint that I can fathom is that the low pass crossover is set high enough so that placement of the bass module becomes important to preserve proper stereo imaging. That's it. I have a feeling that detractors of this system do so to bolster their egos at owning more esoteric brands.