Easy to integreate into any room decor, except the excessive amount of wires is a pain. Bose customer service is excellent, as a plastic bushing broke on one of my floor stands. I phoned the 1-800 number and a new part was immediately couriered within 2 days. Absolutely free !

Sonically, don't bother with this system.

I'm told that most audiophiles call Bose speakers "Bozos", well, they're right. Only idiots buy the Acoustimass stuff (me included). I fell for the hype of great sound from a small package etc. The sound quality and overall response of this system is CRAP ! However, I still have them as the wife loves their unobtrusiveness in the decor. If you can hide the sub reasonably well, and mount the cubes on the wall (with hidden wires) these speakers are nearly child proof. Best used as ambience or TV speakers. Not good for serious listening pleasure.

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Energy PRO 22s

good bass

less mid

i think these sound wicked apart from the mid

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jbl lx2003

Tight, controlled sound Great treble and controlled bass Will fill most any room with sound from any listening position For what I paid, pretty sweet

Somewhat (not terribly, mind you) weak in the midrange.

Well, this just seems slightly unfair. These speakers are not that terrible, and I'm talking about 10+ year old first series ones before they had cool swivelly cubes and what not. They have held up really well, and overall I'm pleased. They do not produce the greatest sound out there, but these are definitely a form over function product I've decided. It's great that small speakers can make so much sound, but I'd rather have larger ones that make more. But for what they are, they're great. Music of all styles is extremely accurate with this, and the bass responds tight and with control, although not as much as some people like I guess (I don't get this. Bass is such a small part of the whole spectrum of sound. Why do people make such a huge deal out of this?!?!?). I'll stop wasting my breath here and air it out: I like the product, and it works well. I am in the process of upgrading (or downgrading, if you only look at price) to a Cerwin-Vega setup that I heard and fell in love with, but that's a matter of opinion too. Bose is really remarkable in their ability to engineer such strange musical devices, and when these debuted, there was nothing like them made by any company, and now look, everyone's got a sub/sat set, so before you knock them, at least thank them for moving mainstream (not audiophile) speaker sales away from bland 12" 3-way speakers in unassuming boxes.

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Cerwin-Vega LS and E Series 2 (really, much better than any CV stereotypes may lead you to think), Bose 301s (I like em, except for the crappy enclosures), Bose 601's (the old ones, from back when a n

impressive low and clear high

lack of mid

The first time I listend to my Bose am5 I almost began to cry because of the really lousy quality... I was used to the warm sound of Bose 501's. But after reading the manual for a few times and moving the sub arround alot I really found a good sound. It's is VERY important where to place the subwoofer. And besides that, although bose denies it, the speakers really need a powerful amp, I've got them hooked up to a 75 watts at 8ohm Harman Kardon and it sounds perfect, especially live music. This speakersysteem shall never give the sound of the bigger ones, but a good bass is really no problem > use a good amp and place the sub the right way! All speakers have a 'sweet spot' so have these, just have to find it...

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Bose SDI series 3 (501), Quadral ascent

Size

Price, lack of quality sound!

I bought the Bose AM-7, and AM-5s as a complete Home Theater set up. I lived with these speakers for five years. I loved that they were so small, and that they put out alot of sound. I fell into the Bose hype. Well I could never understand why I had to always have to turn up the bass and treble on my Pioneer receiver to get some what full sound. I felt that I never had enough bass, and my music always sounded very thin. Well I just did not know any better back then, I thought that hay there Bose they must be the best look at all the advertisements! Well it was not until I in Circuit City and they had a pair of Polk Audio Book shelf speakers playing did I realize how crappy my Bose sounded. The Polk speakers cost only 120 a pair, and had much better bass and very warm detailed sound. Now mind you I had two bass boxes with my AM-7s and AM-5s, and these book shelfs killed the Bose in every way! They have the Bose in the same room so I did blind A/B compairisons. Well this realy made me feel stupid because I paid $1200 for my AM-7, and AM-5s and this cheap book shelf speaker sounded much better! Well I sold them for $600 and went out looking for speakers. I found a wonderfull company named Definitive Technology. They seemed to have the most bank for the buck, and sounded twice as good as their price tag! I decided on the Definitive Technology Pro-Cenima Pro Tower 400 system $1750. They sounded Awesome! They had bass that you could feel, and mids and highs that was warm and detailed. I have sence up graded to Definitive Technology BP2002TL front and back, C/L/R2002 in line with a Pro-Sub 200TL (full range center), and a PF15TL (LFE sub only). This is the best $5600 I could have ever spent! I have had this set up for three years now and can't imagine better sound for the money, plus I like having 5 12" 250 watt subs and a 15" 325 watt LFE sub. Don't Bose buy speakers, you can get much better sound for more then half the price. No highs no lows it must be BOSE! And if you have to have small speakers listen to the Energy Take 5, or the newer version. They also kill the Bose.

Similar Products Used:

Definitive Technology Pro-Tower 400, Pro Monitor 200, BP2002TL, Energy exl-15, AM-7, and AM-5.

Bose does a lot of research so you know you are getting quality that you don't get from other companies. It's amazing how much sound comes from those tiny speakers. His fiance likes how they are almost invisible. You don't need fancy speaker cable to use them. Simple power cord is fine. You can put the bass module anywhere in the room, even under the sofa, and still get good sound. It's amazing how much sound comes from these tiny speakers.

They do cost a lot, but I guess you have to pay that much to pay for all the research that goes into them. They also make you feel like a fool for all your past speaker purchases, becuase obviously those other companies don't do as much research, and can't make all this sound come from these tiny speakers. Also they sound so good that you want to turn up the volume and then have to turn them off after 30 minutes or else you'll get a headache. Too much of a good thing is bad, you know!

Actually it was my older brother, not me, who bought the speakers but since I lived with him for over a year after graduation I got to use them. My brother is a real technical guy and knows all about sound systems. He knows that you have to place speakers at the right position inside the bookshelves in order to get the best sound. Otherwise you end up hearing just one of the speakers. It is true that he did spend a few years as an aircraft technician for United, and thus lost some of his hearing, but this hasn't diminished his ability to recognize quality sound when he sees it. He wanted something to replace the aging AR's our Dad gave him a few years ago. So he went and did some research. My brother heard that Bose has a good name in audiophile quality sound, and saw an ad in the Smithsonian magazine showing these speakers and bragging about how so much sound can come from these tiny speakers. So my brother wanted to find out more. He found that Consumer Reports gave them a good score. He even looked up an early CR review and found that the first time the reviewed these speakers got a bad rating. However (this is a rumor I hear so don't sue me if I am wrong) Bose's legal department complained to CR that these speakers were not evaulated correctly, which is why they did poorly. Now that CR knows how to appreciate these speakers, they get a better review. It's good that Bose is kind enough to educate CR. Some companies treat you like idiots that succomb to marketing gimmiks but not Bose- they really care for their reputation and will help you out. So my brother wanted to find out more about these speakers. He did a lot of reading and found that Bose really does a lot of research and that the founder is a professor of acoustics at MIT. He's a scientist in Psychoacoustics Technology, which is about how tho make speakers sound good. Heck- if MIT students buy these speakers, and if MIT graduates end up working for Bose to do research, then they must be good. He went to Circuit City and listened to them with hs expert ears. They sounded really good and the salesperson told him that he really has no need to listen to anything else since Bose is top of the line. Actually my brother already knew that from all the reading he did in ads for Bose and all the advice he got from his friends. He agreed and bought them on the spot. They are more difficult to put together than the ARs, you have four cables rather than two, but the difference is worth it. You can listen to classical music and feel yourself in the music. We listened to Boston and the guitar really blew us away. They maybe were lacking in the deepest bass from action movie explosions. The sound was not clear there, but we think this is only because we put the bass module under the sofa. The true testament to how accurate these speakers are came when my brother played the soundtrack to his favorite movie- Conan. There is one section where some wind instrument (I cannot remember it's name, I thing it's a timpooni) is usually audible when we play it with the ARs. Well, in the Bose's you couldn't hear that instrument any more! This shows just how innaccurate those old AR's were! Bose must really know something- they don't publish specifications on speakers because they know specifications can be misleading. Heck- you can make numbers mean anything if you really want to. My brother made a really good decision. And once I save up money and pay off a few credit card debts, I will buy myself a top of the line Bose system with many, many of those tiny satellite speakers and a stylish little console. I dream of the day when I too can have such great sound from such tiny little speakers!

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Sanyo, Radio Shack, Pre 1970 AR's

Sound is very good at moderate to low level. Size.

Distortion when used at very high power. They're tricky to position properly. (please install the cubes close to ear level!!!!)

I like a lot the way these speakers sound. You might not find the frequency response charts, or they migth not be "good", but what's important is if you like the way they sound. Don't trust people who say in reviews that they bought the speakers and they suck. If they know so much how can they buy speakers without listening to them first?. No way these speakers can get 1 star rating. Some other "audiophiles" just don't accept that good sound can come from mass marketed products. My recommendation is that you go to an audio store with your favorite CD and try as many speakers as you can, then decide. Better if you can close your eyes and have somebody switch the speakers for you.

Portability, except the bass module is kind of large, look nice.

Cost, sound.

I purchased this system direct from Bose had it for about three days and sent it back. First off the system looks great but that is about it after pondering it and its design and the logic behind it, its just not designed to be a music system, perhaps great for TV or DVD's or whatever but not music. Sure the music sounds crisp but no depth to it at all. Second its quite costly, for the price of that unit you and buy an excellent set of entry level top quality speakers which is exactly what I did, purchasing a pair of B&W 601 S3's and they are incredible no comparision at all to the Bose, quite amazing acutally makes me wonder why people buy Bose products at all for those prices actually. You are much better off looking at B&W, Wharfedale or quads put your money there and you will be amazed, even saving money compared to the cost of Bose products and the quality, technology and sound are just so much better its amazing.

Size ,looks and flexibility

None

I use my AM5's for music and for home theater as fronts in conjunction with Klipch rears and centre.I love these speakers for music but must agree the bass module cannot be compared to a designated sub . Having said that here,s what you do to optimize the bass .Throw away that 18g wire that comes with the unit and purchase some high Quality 12g for the bass module to reciever and 16g monster standard (it fits nicely into the stands )for the cubes ,the face the module toward a wall about (4 inches away )and enjoy ! In my opinion as well as others that have listened to my set up ,this WILL provide you with pretty much all the grown up bass you desire for music or home theatre .

size, good price at pawn shop!

very poor midrange, terrible vocal reproduction, stereo imaging marginal at best, little dynamic range, no sizzle at upper registers, "dull" sounding, poor construction

I was at first impressed with this system and yes I was swayed by "the name". I purchased these and they worked ok in various apartments that I lived in over a period of 8 years. During this time, I got married, had 2 kids and there was never enough money to get anything better. (I was a music educator and part-time professional musician)...Now after the divorce and career change, it was time to do some serious listening and see what other options were out there. I was blown away by the many very high quality choices out there by mayny different companies...and at a great deal of great sounding options at a price point much lower than my original $800 investment on the bose. I purchased a set of Klipsch speakers and never regreted it. As for the many people out here that say they love bose.....a couple of thoughts... 1. They truly cannot hear the difference. I have almost perfect pitch and am a part-time professional musician and yet my brother has a hard time hearing the lyrics in alot of songs...So whether it is hearing impairments or downright musical ignorance....they do not know that these bose systems sound very mediocre. 2. They have been "sold" by the huge amount of advertising out there and are invested in a decision that they are trying to defend to the rest of us...."I spent $800 (or $1000 or $1500 or $2000) on those plastic boxes stuck on my wall, they better sound good." If you feel that bose sounds good, then I feel pity for you and for anyone who visits you and has to listen to your "great system". If you are praising bose speaker systems then you obviously have not listened to any other alternatives or have a desire to spend more than a product is worth.

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advent, klh, yamaha professional, jbl, klipsch, bose professional, infinity, roland studio monitors