The size is incredible! My wife loves them. In fact, wwhile we were shopping for a apeaker set-up, she chose the AM6 over an building up to a larger speaker set-up. I was sold on the size and the sound from the demo room. They sound very clear under normal load conditions and for movies, I can "feel" the sound.

The whole expensive bracket thing is annoying. I just built some 2" round log 3'6" stands for them, to go with our southwestern home theme. My big complaint is when I crank up the sound, powered my a TEAC Dolby Digital receiver, it distorts. I thought they wouldn't do that, but I think it is the receiver's fault. It's not the best, but it is our first receiver and we got it for Christmas. It only does the distortion thing when I listed to music . . . I never have the volume up too loud for movies, b/c we live in an upstairs apartment.

If we had the money, I would have put the system together one pair at a time, but we didn't. We had a strict budget of $600 for speakers, so we got this. In the future, for listening to music, in stereo mode, we will get some nice front towers, with a speaker selection switch, but use the AM-6 for the movies. I love the sound and the size, and I can't afford the best. Buying the best we could afford was what we did. People will always find something wrong with everything, so sure, people won't like them for some reason or another, but for what we do with them, they're awesome!

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This is our first set-up, however, I was used to my dad's set-up. He has a Harmon-Kardon receiver, Pionier laser disc/cd/kareoke disc player, Infinity center and surrounds, and Blues towers up front. His system shakes the whole house.

Extremely good, natural sound reproduction with crystal clear high's and powerful mid's too.

Low range. Subwoofer is disgusting. Want to throw it away, but it is an integral part of the system. :)

***** This is for the SAM's AM600 Acoustimass System.
I'm not exactly sure how the match works, but I believe Acoustimass 6 must be the same as

The difference was that we got a free JVC RX-6010 Digital+DTS ready receiver with rca/optical/coax-digital inputs. Very nice little receiver to get free. MSRP $200. Deal ends/ended Dec. 31, 2001. Was very popular. Units sold out in 2/3 SAM's in the Memphis area. Hard to find! :)

The mid & high range are INCREDIBLY well reproduced, but the sub sucks terribly. No wonder the demo models never have bass at the store. They CAN'T! Just get a powered sub with this... I wish I had my Velodyne here. VLF-1012 rocks my world. Best deal with best punch (responds at 24hz, 150watt, very very very clean. god bless velodyne's quality & Nicholson's of Nashville)

Another small weakness, tho not really, is that you should get good mounts/positions for them. They need to be at ear-level or close, otherwise the speakers closest to ear-level will easily overpower the ones that are not.

Great deal! Definitely get a powered sub to go with it tho, or it won't be a complete system for good listening.

Only thing to keep this from 5 stars is the lack of sub.

Questions/Comments? Respond to: audioreview@kashmiri.dhs.org

Similar Products Used:

3M STV Digital 6 (ProLogic 180Watt 5spkr+sub package), Velodyne VLF-1012 150Watt Sub, Klipsch floorstanding 200Watt KLF-30?, Marantz receiver, Radio Shack Super Tweeter (up to 40khz response! I love them! Only $30! Clearest triangles ever!!)

Small: good for people who are willing to sacrifice sound quality for saving space

Sound quality, "sub" is weak, proprietary wires, poor for music due to lack of midrange, cheap feel, poor excuse for a center channel, expensive, even more expensive mounts. They're just bad.

. I have had these speakers for about three years now and I like them less every time I hear them. I have a new Sony Dolby Digital receiver with a whole lot of features, but no matter how many hours I spend tweaking them, these speakers never sound good. I sometimes wonder if maybe the "bass module" stopped working, but no, it just sucks. I have listened to a $300 set of JBL satellite speakers with a powered sub. They still had no mid's but at least the bass was good.
I bought these speakers because it was as easy as going to Best Buy and buying one box. But if I had spent a few hours looking at the alternatives, I would be much happier now. I am currently trying to sell these speakers to buy some nice towers. If you have space for anything larger than these speakers, look for an alternative. If you dont have space for anything larger, continue looking for an alternative.

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JBL with powered sub

small size, great bass if you take time to match receiver

cables are easy to use, hard to hide without cutting.

I went shopping for a home theatre system that could also do Karaoke for my wife. I had $2500 to spend. I like saving money. These speakers did it all for me. I have heard the best at friends' houses and these are great for the money! 5-Year warranty worked great on the one surround channel that went bad. Bose fixed it for free. I have heard some whiners complain about the passive bass unit, and yes, it does not match an active subwoofer, but for the price, THIS SYSTEM IS AWESOME!!! It was so easy to hook up!!!! The only problem I have with the system is the cables. They give you SO MUCH CABLE to try and fit in the largest of rooms, and since it comes with color-coded, speaker-specific connectors you don't really want to cut them. So, you are left with a whole bunch of cable laying around behind... something.

I listen to everything from Art Tatum (Jazz pianist) to TOOL (Hard Rock) and these speakers come through everytime.

For the easy hook-up, value, great sound, small size, these are great!!!

Similar Products Used:

cerwin-vega; JBL, Acoustic Research, Infinity, Polk Audio

size

bass module

I have been using this product for almost one year.
I am pleased with their size-since they wont take much space.
The sound is OK when playing cd's
When playing dvd the sound is great.
If you are looking for small speakers for caual cd listening and home theatre thrill, these are for you.
Just... dont forget to upgrade your passive subwoofer to an active one (if you insist).
I will do the same in the nearest future.
Value- little expensive for for a system with pasive sub.
rating - all in all its a very good product for home theatre usaje.
small size did not effect overall sound.

I got mine in white!!!

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non

Criteria for my home theater application: (1) Very small form factor (leading me to sub/sat)
(2) Dolby Pro Logic for surround (not AC-3)
(3) 100 watt output
(4) Reasonable accuracy
(5) Reasonable price

Considerations with equipment and room:
(1) 15x15x8' room, drywall, 1 exterior wall, carpeted floor
(2) Technics 80-watt Pro Logic receiver (SA-AX530)
(3) BSR EQ-3000 equalizer
(4) Typical array of CD player, DVD, VCR, etc.

I purchased the AM-6 and brought it home, thinking I'd done well. The other systems I tested were not very different, or more impressive, just larger. I wall-mounted the sats 6.5' off the ground, aiming them down at an angle of about 22.5 degrees, on the front and back walls, about 10' apart. The sub ended up at a corner, on the left side of the TV about 5' away.

POSITIVE COMMENTS

I was amazed at how well these speakers could do for their size. I played several varieties of music (jazz, classical, rock, etc) and all sounded good. Strings, percussion, and so on were crisp and to my ear quite accurate. Surround effects from DVD were vivid. I could track sounds well as they moved about the stage, as in the sound effects in Dark Side of the Moon and the bullets flying about in Starship Troopers.

I heard a lot of complaints about bass with the AM-6. With proper placement, no problems getting really awesome bass effects. The receiver provided ample power to drive even really loud bass without issue.

Test CDs:
Claude Bolling, Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio #2
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
Mahler, Symphony #5
Enya, Watermark
Rush, Signals and Moving Pictures (YYZ was particularly cool in this setup)

Test DVDs:
Star Trek First Contact
Starship Troopers
Amadeus

NEGATIVE COMMENTS

My only annoyance with the system was the lack of good placement positions for the bass module. I needed to get the bass module close to a wall or corner to get the full bass effect, which provided some directionality to lower midrange frequencies. It would appear the sub crossover is too high and a single midrange/tweeter module cannot accurately reproduce the lower midrange to my liking. The solution, of course, is to have separate drivers for mid and high, and of course that would jack up the price of the system.

CONCLUSIONS

I am not an audiophile (used to be when I had lots of spare time and money). I do, however, love good sound and the AM-6 does provide good sound in a very compact package, and gives me 6 speakers in a single box designed to work together with color-coded and fully-labeled instructions. It's easy to set up, and in the end cost me a total of $700, soup to nuts. Considering all factors, it did pretty well.

The system is still returnable, so if anyone can spec a better system, I'd be interested in hearing about it via email.

Some people who have submitted reviews for this speaker system have lost sight of the goals of the AM systems: BIG sound from a small speaker. Sure, maybe they deserve a 1 or 2 star rating compared to certain more traditional speaker designs, but compared to other speakers whose main drivers are the size of a Hawaiian Punch juice Box, they definiely deserve 5 stars... In fact, the AM's are the only ones that small as far as I know. Which bring me to my rating: the amount of sound that comes out of the system is mind boggling. Proper expirimentation with placement of the subwoofer will yeild near COMPLETELY nondirectional sound. You won't be able to tell where th lows are coming from with your eyes closed. With the bass boost capabilities of most modern amps, the subwoofer provides plenty of bass - so much that often i find myself turning it down... The sheer volume that the tiny 2 1/2 inch speakers can push is also amazing. Use common sense, though, if ou have a really big room these speakers probably aren't the best fo you - and if you have the space, I would definitely consider something more traditional.
Otherwise, I have an AM 6 in my living room, pu in place after a side by side comparo with my old Advent Maestro's.. Which I thought were fabulous until i heard the Bose.

small in size,tweeter not enhanced

bass module

I honestly have these speakers and can say truthfully they sound great.For such a small speaker they put out tremendous sound,from crystal clear vocals,to perfect highs. The highs are not enhanced by having a metal tweeter,but are natural sounding.The only draw back is the bass module,but I have a powered sub so no matter.I really can't figure out how they get all that sound from a 2.5 inch driver.I have tried alot of supposed to be better speakers but can't find any that compares to the bose,especially for their small size.Great for movies and music,not just one or the other.

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many of the top brands

Small size

Price, poor bass response

After in-store demos on several entry to mid-level home theater speaker systems, I purchased the Bose AM6. I ran the system for 10 days using a Sony DB940 AV receiver. primarily with movies through DirecTV and videotape. The initial attractiveness of the compact speaker size wore off quickly when it became apparent that bass response from the passive sub-woofer was almost non-existent. Placement of the subwoofer did not significantly improve the sound. The five satellite speakers lacked depth. Music reproduction was tinny. The proprietary cabling setup limits your flexibility for speaker placement and cable runs. This system is terribly overpriced for what you get in return. I purchased a JBL NSP-1 system with a JBL PSW-12 subwoofer and compared it side-by-side with the Bose system using identical video/audio sources. What a difference! Excellent bass, depth and true voice reproduction. The Bose AM-6 is overated. The only advantage? It's suited for tight living quarters where big sound is not desirable. In the same price range you can enjoy much better sound and a realistic home theater experience with the JBL NSP-1 package.

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JBL NSP-1

If most of you want small speakers for a hometheater there are several options, like CSW which comes in both black or white, RS Optimus PRO-X(44/55/88)AV which comes in both black or white (cost about $39.99-79.99/each which leaves a $150-350 for a sub), Mirage AVS, NHT Nextwave, and Energy Take 5 all of which can usually bought cheaper when on sale or on the net, sound much better for both music and HT, and can be used with a power sub which means less chance for sub localization and true 5.1 theater (watch Desperado, Blade, and T2 for a dramatic comparison for performance). Deep male voices have their resonances and female voices have their sweetness maintained (and not as bright as the bose). The BOSE AM-6 sats use a full range hybrid "stereo targetting tweeter" which is the same technology that was used in the car speakers of old (really, take a very good look) which is abandoned by all home and auto speaker manufacturer except for the low-end OEM replacements (do you really want a home theater by Jensen car audio? If you notice they actually use multiple drivers in their home speaker setups for a greater sound reproduction take a look at these "full range" car speaker's frequency range and see what little they cover) and a bandpass subwoofer (if you notice most 1st generation subs used these types and were abandoned for ported/sealed/servo as these are more accurate and clean) with a very small 5.25" driver which produce "resonance bass" (the frequency that resonates wood and particle boards not the clean sounds like you hear from real gunshots, thunder, tornadoes, motorcycles, cars, and explosions that most of us have heard in real life where you feel the air vibrate not hear the walls shake). I really don't understand why someone would buy a sub/sat system for $499-699 that has a high crossover from sub to sats (thus "localizing" the sub, if someone with a deep voice on the right side of a screen speaks, you will hear the sound come from both the sat and where the sub is located which would be really bad if the sub is on the left side of the room as you would perceive the sound from the center instead of the accurate right side), poor bass response (5-1/2" driver can't move too much air accurately, play the CD DJ Magic Mikes "Feel the Bass" which uses low multi-tone bass which this system can't do very well or accurate, or on Desperado's opening fight scene which has the most accurate shotgun blasts that I have ever heard in a movie), colored midrange, harsh trebles, and poor dynamics. I think everyone deserves better for the price and there are other products. I think the main question you should ask before you buy this system is "Do I deserve better?". I don't know about you, but I know I do and I did do something about it, I bought something else and I tell others that there is something else. If you buy a BOSE product don't buy the AM-Series speakers they are just plain awful for the price and you could save some money by upgrading your can audio and moving it's older system into your house to enjoy them