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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$578.00
from BestBuy, Denver, CO Summary:
I tried to figure got my criteria:
1.Budget:Between 300 to 1000 Dollars
Premium sound quality:-
a.Dolby DTS, Dolby ProLogic II is must
b.Crystal Clear Sound
3.Good expandability options so that my system do not get out of date very soon
4.Portability
5.Preferably separate DVD player and receiver.
I nominated:
1.BOSE 321 ($889 at Bose store)
2.BOSE 321 GS ($1199 at Bose store)
3.Sony HT6600DP ($548 at best buy)
4.Panasonic SC-HT425D (around $450 at circuit city)
I also considered BOSE Lifestyle 18 ($ 1799) though it went beyond my budget.
Now let me explain I made my selection. If you go to the store and try to decide on a model it is very difficult. The store environment won’t let you judge the system properly. Best option is to bring the systems to your home any try them for a month and decide to keep which you like most and return the rest within 30 days satisfaction guarantee. I did that with Bose 321 and Sony HT6600DP.
Well, Panasonic did not qualify to me as the sound is not that crystal clear. I think that is because they use plastic speaker boxes. Moreover you do not have many controls on that. Bose 321 GS is better than ordinary 321. Though Bose engineers told that 321 GS has no audible difference than 321 only the speaker size is different, I found that 321 GS produce more bass and cleared sound than ordinary 321. I checked that in Bose Store.
Now I had to purchase Bose 321 and Sony HT6600DP for judging them.
1.Well Bose 321 system has 2 speakers and an Acoustic Mass while Sony HT 6600DP has 5 speakers and a subwoofer. - But Bose claims that 321 system will produce real surround with two speakers.
2.Bose do not publish their wattage anywhere, Sony HT 6600DP has 700 Watts.
3.Bose has a really compact media centre DVD and receiver combined. Sony has separate receiver and DVD
4.Bose does not play Vices. Sony Does and Sony also support SACD.
5.Bose has limited input and output, but that generally sufficient for what you need. Sony has numerous input outputs - both analog, digital (coaxial, s video, component, optical, RCA etc).
6.Bose do not mention that they support Dolby Digital but the decode Dolby digital. Sony has trademarked mentioned for Dolby digital, Dolby Surround, Dolby DTS and Dolby ProLogic II.
7.Bose has VideoStage 5 technology with which it can split mono recording into surround sound. Sony don’t claim that but with the manual controls you can really force a mono recording to be distributed in 5 speakers - though it is not true Dolby decoding.
8.Bose Support Dual Voltage, Sony does not
9.Bose system is very easy to setup, Sony is a bit complicated. - I think they should upgrade their manual.
10.Bose - state of art packaging and easy to carry. Sony very bulky and bad packaging.
Well these are the point that I noted initially. Now I played the two systems and compared. This is what I found:
1.For Instrumentals and Music Bose produce more crystal clear and mature sound. Definitely Bose beat Sony when only instrumentals and music is considered. One good way to test that is to hear a vocal song (with no music in it) in the systems. That helps to judge the clarity better. For Sony the sound is good but not like Bose. If I give 100 to Bose Sony is 60 in this
2.For Surround Effect and Movies Sony is much better. Bose really cannot replace the 5 speakers with 2. The physical presence of speakers gives a more realistic surround sound. But Bose 321 gives some surround effect of Dolby DTS.
3.Sony LCD display shows what decoding receiver is doing, which speakers are working, and I bet the sub woofer is real good. It produces a gr8 bass. Bose Acoustic Mass is more soothing but do not produce an impact like that of Sony.
4.Though Sony is bulky what my primary aim was to look for good sound. Bose is better in music but not in Surround Effect. - This you can verify by playing the demo DVD that Bose gives in the two systems separately. Sony is definitely better.
5.Bose doesnot play VCD - this is a great drawback.
6.I need to carry this system to India. Though Bose gives dual Voltage in 321 (but not in 321 GS yet) but they donot have many service centres in India.
Lastly to conclude Bose 321 did not produced better crystal clear sound than Sony HT6600DP but that is not worth 350 dollars (price difference between the two). Moreover I already mentioned that Sony is better in Movies that have surround effect. Sony is bulky but if one component goes wrong the other is unaffected.
But I emphasize that if you have money or can extend more please go for Bose Lifestyle systems which has 5 speakems which has 5 speakers and they definitely beat any other Home Theater system.
Well just for your interest please have a look at Bang And Oulufsen. - They are the king with their full home theater system costs 55,000 dollars! Blown out??? See their demo if you can.
-Aurobindo Strengths:
True Dolby Decoding technology, Good surround decoding technology, numerous input output options, good value for money Weaknesses:
Bulky, need more sleek look, need more cable mainly video cable, need digital cables like s video, or optical cable. Similar Products Used:
1. BOSE 321 ($889 at Bose store)
2. BOSE 321 GS ($1199 at Bose store)
3. Panasonic SC-HT425D (around $450 at circuit city)
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