Easy to install and setup

Poor bass, poor center channel

These always impress given their small size. And
that small size really makes it easy to place them
into a room. Very high SAF (spouse acceptance factor).

They do a reasonable job on some movies. And do well
for background music.

However they are seriously flawed in their design
when it comes down to serious music reproduction and
truly accurate movie soundtrack reproduction.

The bass module is very lacking in deep bass, it
rolls off in the mid-40s. Thus there is almost no
deep bass for movie soundtracks. Also the center
channel cub cannot handle deep voices or several
other sounds, so those get moved to the bass
module and you can hear the voices move from the
center of your TV over to the bass module. Very
disorienting.

This trait is even worse when listening to music.
Instruments move around your room when they are
supposed to be stationary. And the lower midrange
material lacks punch. Highs sound forced and strained,
instead of the more open, transparent sound that
one gets from most higher quality speakers.

Recommended only for the non-critical listener
who wants better sound than their clock radio
and TV put out and want a system that doesn't
require moving any furniture around to accommodate.

David

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Paradigm, PSB, NHT, B&W

I own it. It´s the best piece of audio equipment I have heard (it´s also the first one I have owned). My buddy Agustin kept telling me how bad this equipment is but he is jealous that he overpaid for an Onkyo 939 Receiver. Tight bass, superb mids characterize this equipment

None.

It´s just the best for the money.

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Sanyo cassette recorder, Packard bell receiver.

Excellent sound for their size

Weak midrange

Those that criticize this system for lacking bass are in my opinion suffering from either poor room acoustics or improper location of the subwoofer. I had the opportunity to hear these speakers in three different Bose stores before purchasing, and they consistently had excellent highs and bass. What was lacking was a full midrange sound -- not surprising for such a small system. I eventually chose to buy the system anyway, primarily because I got a great deal via the Bose 901 exchange program (see my review on the Bose 901 Series IV speakers). My conclusion was that in terms of value, the Lifestyle 25II system was a very good deal notwithstanding the midrange problem. The speakers still sounded very good, particularly for movies. The midrange issue is more noticeable on music alone.

I had my system installed by professional installers recommended by my local Bose store. They apparently only install Bose systems, or are at least picky about what kind of product they install, and supposedly wouldn't even install a system unless the customer was referred to them by Bose. The installation price was reasonable for what they did, although it was not cheap. However, the installer, knowing Bose very well, discussed with me various issues about the placement of the subwoofer and the importance of that in bass sound for these systems. Anyway, once the installation was completed, the system sounded great. The bass is incredible. There is no way there is anything wrong with the bass in this system. It is in fact the most impressive thing about the system, particularly given the small size of the speakers. So for those who complain about the bass, I can only assume they have acoustics or installation problems as the explanation.

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Bose AM5, 901 Series IV

BASS big time ..

everything is good but bass ... i hate this system now ..

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any other system