ha!!

I have heard a lot better at a lot cheaper....so what if they are small!!

I have to agree with what Gary has said. I have two uncles who bought the acoustimass and I dont know why they ever did that. I have heard better sounding equipment for much lesser. I recently went for one of those public relations Bose shows where they made a big deal about their speakers. I cant imagine playing anything else on these speakers apart from mellow classical music (only music played during the show...). Try playing rock or metal on these....they wont perform well at all!
Also one more thing...what base response are people talking about....I didnt hear any.

My two cents worth....

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Energy C4's, Infinity, Klipsch, Magnepan 1.4's

Bass purity, spaciousness, imaging(when properly set up), flexibility.

High-freq. roll off noticeable when combined with high end electronics, weak lower midrange.

To begin, this speaker system was designed with real, everyday people in mind. Not, for instance, an audiophile that "owns a studio that cost more than his house"-as previously noted in another review. The Acoustimass Five speaker system incorporates technology that many other companies woukd not have the "balls" to approach. For example, if an audio equipment company known for it's audiophile reputation created a table radio/CD player that replaced racks of equipment, they would most likely be shunned and go out of business. But because Bose has such a reputation in the CONSUMER world, their ideas are openly accepted. The sound created by the AM-5's is somewhat affected by their placement in the room. Essentialy, it will make it or break it. As with all speakers, they sound best when properly set up. It is immediately noticeable that the satellites roll off some high frequencies. This may, perhaps, be an undesirable trait when testing speakers with an oscilloscope and test tones. But because the average adult human can only hear frequencies up to about 16khz (16 thousand hertz, or cycles per second), there is no point in frequency extension up to or even beyond 20 thousand hertz (20 khz). In music, unlike home theater, there is very, very little low frequency content below 40 hz. This is approximately the roll off frequency of the Acoustimass module. Thus, the listener is not missing very much of the music, if any. If you position the bass module in a corner of the room near the satellites, the low frequencies will be highly audible throughout the room. When coupled with high-quality components (not separates, in this case i mean receiver and cd player etc.) the music will seem to emanate from various places in the soundstage of the room. Just as Bose suggests, you are transported to the live performance. Being affected by the emotion of a performance does not necessarily mean that you have to hear the conductors foot tapping on the ground, and the breathing of the idle performer. Why would anyone want to hear these sounds, as they are not part of what the performer or sound engineer intended the listener to hear. For $600 dollars, the AM-5's are a good value, in terms of technology, realism, and value.One must note that, because Bose is such a successfull company, there must be something behind their sciences that pleases the common public, which makes up the majority of their customer community. Their research program, coupled with their "proprietary" Syncom computer testing and many talented engineers creates a brief explanation of their success. They have sound systems which they custom-designed installed in many major attractions across the globe, such as St. Peter's Basilica, The Japan National Theater, Wang Theater in Hollywood, The Sistine Chapel, Madison Square Garden, and General Motors Place. Now if the comittees that had reviewed Bose and rejected them simply because they use "paper" drivers, wouldn't that be ridiculous. And no, Bose speakers are not installed in St. Peter's Basilica simply because the Pope is going deaf. I give full credit to ANY audio company that could supply EVERY member of the audience in the Basislica with high-quality, not necessarily audiophile quality sound. In this case, my applause goes to Bose. And to contribute to the so-called factor of all Bose equipment being "pricey," my church, the acclaimed St. Paul's Cathedral, chose Bose sound partly because it was the LOWEST OFFERING. Probably one of the biggest reasons Bose bashers are the way they are is because Bose uses "paper" cones in most of their indoor audio drivers, and use foam surrounds in the same. First off, it is true that paper offers the most natural sound reproduction. It is the only material that ONLY makes sound when coupled with a motor driver. Thus, resonant frequencies in the cone are greatly reduced. In response to the claim that they use foam in their surrounds...The material is actually foamed plastic, which does not deteriorate. And then there is even another wonderful scientific deduction made previously in these reviews. "If Bose speakers are indestructible, then why do you have to route the cubes through the filter in the bassbox?" That person obviously does not realize something called common sense. The cubes were engineered to produce frquencies above approx. 200 hz. The bass module was engineered to reproduce the frequencies lower than this. What happens to a speaker that is put to an application that it was not meant for?? Bad sound. Dur. If someone used center channels as their front mains in a home theater system and a bipole surround speaker as their center, it would sound pretty screwed up. Same idea. Oh and speaking of crossovers, here is a concept that many people do not understand. Crosovers add distortion. If you go without a crossover, you go without more distortion. The bass module in all of the Acoustimass Systems have no high frequency filter. The only filter incorporated in this system is a low freq. filter for the satellites, so that they do not have to reproduce any distortion-causing low freq.'s. The design of the module allows it to cancel out almost all high frequencies, and thus eliminate the need for a crossover, thereby reducing distortion. Here is one Bose product that few people have never heard of:The Acoustic Waveguide Cannon. It is a twelve foot long tube, containing one twelve inch woofer and an extremely long folded waveguide tube. It is capable of producing sound in the 20hz to 60hz region at levels up to and beyond 100dB. Now who was it that said Bose couldn't make bass? It is not suprising how very ignorant people are when it comes to home audio. How is it that one can compare B&W Nautilus 801's to Bose AM-5's?? Dr. Bose never intended to flatten all the competition, especially that of the audiophile background. All that Bose has tried to do is provide people with quality sound. Apparently, with a company bringing in approximately $600,000,000 dollars a year, his company has succeeded.

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Polk, JBL, Infinity, Sony, KLH, Boston Acoustics, Mission

Small, take up no space.

They just don't sound good and for that price, Yikes!

The Bose speakers in my 10 year old Ford sound infinitely better than these things do, and well I wouldn't say Bose car audio is the best way to go either. Nuff' said.

size

when i first heard these speakers, i thought they were the best thing in the world... boy was i naive! i really belive with bose products it gives the saying 'ignorance is bliss!' most meaning. i was happy w/ my setup until one year i got a roomate that was majoring music. i was really excited to show off my setup. when he heard it he gave a polite, 'umm.. that's nice'. well i got offended and asked him what i meant by that.. he went into his room, brought down a pair of take 2's.. boy was i surprised.. pink floyd never sounded better!! when i heard how much they were $150/pr did i kick myself for spending >$400 for 2 little speakers (made out of papers) and a cheesy sub.

needless to say i sold my bose and got the energy's. if you are doing a price comparison dollar for dollar you can do so much better than bose. ie. for the same price as my bose setup i got 2 take 2's and a nice energy sub for about $50 less.

if you don't like the energy's, which can be a bit bright for some, try the paradigm atoms. the new 2.0 version are just incredible at $150/pr!

as for mr. winston below, i don't know what you mean by bad quality.. you'll never wear the speakers out because they are not made out of paper.. and with paper cones, ultimately they can only do sooo much.. as for bulky.. if you consider the energy's 1/4 - 1/3 bigger than the bose bulky.. so be it. but if you did a fair comparison (comparable setup, same music), and you ultimately end up liking the bose.. more power to you.

anyways as a x-bose fan.. i recommend listening to other speakers. there are a lot of better speakers at a cheaper price. don't get sucked in by the name. but if you ultimately like bose, there not much else i can say..

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Energy Take 2's
Paradigm Atoms
NHT Super 0's

Small size,powerfull bass,mid is good and so is treble

set up

These are very good speakers and have very good dynimac range to suit my needs and they went surprisingly loud around 99db I think which is very good for a small speaker that fit in my hand so perfectly.but you need a good amp
to push the passive sub which it goes down to about 35khs
overall a perfact speaker system for mid to large sized rooms.

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every

No break-in necessary -- they sound equally bad before and after.

They have got the trinity of good quality speakers -- fatiguing highs, thin and muddy mids if at all, and boomy and undefined lows.

My girlfriend loves the speakers I have from the very beginning; nevertheless, she had been a stout backer of the Bose satellite systems -- claiming that they are the best in terms of sound and looks. Contrary to a previous reviewer's claim that these speakers are expensive, they are relatively cheap comparing to the speakers enthusiastically sought after by many. So, to break the myth held by my girlfriend, I bought them with 30 days return policy guaranteed (make sure that you have that escape route).

She apparently loved their cuteness. After a day or two of endearing their cuteness, she began to raise questions such as "it sounds different from the ( ) we have." My ( ) is soliloquy 5 -- not that expensive (about $200 more than the Bose) yet "good" sounding. I did not express my opinions about the Bose at all and told her to try them out. I added that we would keep them and sell the Soliloquy if she liked the Bose better.

In the fourth day, she tried the Soliloquy back. Yeah, she noticed the improvement right away. She could not pinpoint the difference in precise terms; nevertheless, it was not that difficult for her to acknowledge the superiority of the Soliloquy in very simple terms, "I like this sound far better." Of course, she should -- my Soliloquy's would be a Ferrari if the Bose were a Yugo although both are similarly priced (alright, 200 bucks more). Then, she realized --again -- how classy the Soliloquy's looked comparing to the toy-like quality of the Bose.

The Bose went back to the store promptly. Never has she paid attention to any Bose since then.

The Bose represents a true triumphant story of marketing over quality. A lot of fancy yet inappropriate terms such as "acoustic mass" and weird advices such as "hide the bass module behind a couch."

Many fans of the Bose have not tried good speakers in the matching price range. That is one big reason that they settle for "the Bose sound." After riding overpriced used Escorts (e.g. some low end yet surprisingly expensive speakers from sony, pioneer, even infinity), a new Yugo (e.g. Bose) would be appreciated.

There are many good sounding and handsome looking bookshelf speakers. Once they give them a serious try, they will realize what a rip-off Bose products are and never look back. The only advantage of the Bose satellites is in size, which can be easily countered by other products such as NHT Superzero (and the matching true subwoofer).

Again, the Bose can be an relatively inexpensive alternative only when taking the size into consideration. However, if you are willing to do a bit of research, you can use that money much more wisely.

Finally, yeah, my speakers (NHT Superzero, B&W CDM1SE, and Soliloquy 5) impressed a lot of girls. :)

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Nothing like the Bose I can find, or name anything that sounds bad yet surprisingly overpriced.

I think that it truly is BETTER SOUND THROUGH MARKETING!!!!!!! AMAR SHOULD BE ASHAMED.

If you have any, compare to others.

You, if you go with Boose.

If anyone out there is actually still considering Boose at this point, you may need to scroll up and take another look. Boose is not great because 'Chevy sees fit to put'em in Corvettes, they're good enough for me'. If you believe that logic I've got some AC-Delco speakers for your home theatre too. People like sports teams just because the team represents their home town, not because they are the best, or even good! Name is not everything.

Compare these (or any others in this price range) to the Energy Take 5 HT System, and if you still want Boose, you may need to visit an Audiologist, Psychiatrist or both! Energy's RULE!!!

I also gave it five stars, so the IDIOTS looking for good reviews will stop here. WAKE UP!!!

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Energy Take 5 System

Small enough to be hidden from view...

...but you can still hear the little turds.

Why do I do it? Is it a perverity in my nature? Hanging around you losers on the Bose site is like watching the drunken queens stagger out of the poof bar downtown (with no disrespect meant to gays in the Audioreview.com audience: this bar would freak you out, if you don't like hamsters and ex-East German shot-putters). I can't help it: you're the Jim Rose Circus of the audio world. No matter how hairy the Emperors sac is, you only see his spiffy new clothes.

The critical audio community bluntly ignores your little pets. They have to: poor reviews have historically brought lawsuits. Yet good reviews have lowered credibility. Talk about the devil and the deep blue sea.

When "Rocky 17- Adrian's Revenge" & "House Party 7- Living Wit' Mom (But Still Gettin' Jiggy Wit It)" get piss-pot-poor reviews, you think, 'Yikes- I'll avoid that flick like AIDS!' When Jack-In-The-Box kills a few kids with tainted meat, you think, 'hmmm...I think I'll hit White Castle...' But when a few hundred people say their Bose speakers sucked the big shclanger, you think "HOLY %$#T! How Dare They?"

Wake up! We live in America. No matter how much of a retard you feel like for your purchase, sticking up for it to the exclusion of all reason won't get you chicks or shaving-foam commercials. And if you bought em' 20 years ago and haven't REALLY kept up (you know who you are, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more...), then you really should hear the wonderfull advances that KLH and Yamaha have made in the intervening years. Truly breathtaking: these scientists have actually devised a way to SEPERATE THE AUDIO SPECTRUM and send each section to a driver specifically designed for JUST THAT RANGE! COWABUNGA!

Look, if you are the kind of person that really thinks about stuff, you'd realize that McDonalds doesn't sell nine-thousand-trillion burgers per day because it's better than Charlie Trotter's food; Mickey D's has a good ad agency and a BIG head start on the competition. But don't tell the Bose Inquisition I told you- I don't want to be burned at the stake as an audiophile... uh, I mean a Bose-hater (hmmm...player hater, bose hater, master...).

On second thought, don't tell Amar I was here...

Live long and enjoy the gear.

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Solar powered radio we built when I was in Boy Scouts.

Size, Name Recognition, Warrantry

Price, base, range.

Previous to purchasing these speakers two years ago, I owned a pair of KLH's that were 20 year old. The bose marketing got to me and the result was that I purchase these speakers along with some Bose satalites. I was pretty satisfied for a while until I became serious about home theater.

Bottom line...you can get so much more for your money from just about any other major brand than that of Bose.

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None