1Inventor

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.75 of 5, 12.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from CC

Summary:
As an audio engineer and an avid speaker builder, they are definitely mass market, consumer speakers. The drivers on the satellites are roughly 25 cents worth, and the woofer, around $5.00. And you're paying how much? Most of that cost is advertising expenses.

This is not bashing by any means but fact.
You can't have quality with inferior parts. The knowledge of the parts cost should infuriate any level headed, sane consumer.

You can't put a Yugo engine into a Corvette body and expect it to perform. S&*t in, S*&t Out.

Bose will not perform frequency plots or divulge other information besides power handling because it would make an informed/knowledgeable customers that their drivers can only go as high as 10 khz (shy of another 10 khz) and only as low as 40 hz. It would also show frequency anomalies that would deter costumers. Instead of educating their consumers, they program them to think ( in this case, not consider specifications ). Specifications are not the entire picture but they tend to represent good engineering.
I would not buy a car just because it looked good, not know what engine is in it and what its capabilities are, to justify its price.

Most consumers have never listened to a good system, and would not know any better. " Better Sales through Advertising." So most would buy what the masses(as ill informed) would buy.

If you truly want to know what sounds good, try listening to speakers from companies like Pradigm, Magnepan, PSB, Thiel and the likes...not necessarily to buy, but to have an idea as to what good is. then go back to your bose units and see how you've overpayed for them.

Better yet, due to your extreme loyalty to Bose, call to confirm how much the drivers cost, if they will even divulge that info.

They are average speakers that will amaze or satisfy or amaze the average joe.

25 cents each for the satellite speakers, $5.00 per woofer = $12.00 + particle board with laminate, wires and connectors, $18 manufacturing cost being sold for over $380? WOW!

Seriously folks - either you are so brainwahed by Bose, are you are just too cheap to buy a real system.

Strengths:
" Better Sales Through Advertising"

Weaknesses:
" No highs, No Lows, must be Bose."

Similar Products Used:
I don't buy cheaply manufactured gear.

Luis Ramos

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.29 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $600.00 from FNAC

Summary:
I have these speakers for about 10 years and they still work as they should.
We must understand one very important thing. To analize this product we have to go for what we expect from it.
Getting 2 floorstanding speakers is diferent from getting 2 satelites and a sub.
BOSE knows what to do with sound!
With this you can get reactions that you don't get with something else.
I have them being drived by a wonderful Nakamish RE-10
and have them compared with my other speaker set JBL E80
On the AC5 the high tones are crystal and defined and the sub is strong enough.
The sound spreads perfectly but you need to choose a very good place for the sub or else you'll have too much, too less or a very pronouced place where it's comming. For me, that's the funny part. You can mold your sound. Even turning the satelites for a diferent space distribution.
In other hand, everytime that I turn the system on, I need to ear it loud cause that's what it was made for. At low volume u loose too much base and in general you don't have good mediums (lowd or qt low volumes)
Maybe not the best for Norah Jones and voice dedicated songs.
With my JBL E80 the sound is more compact, the puch has more attack and the mediums are much better, but I miss the space factor on this ones.

Acoustimass is great! You just need to know what you want from it.
I'm taking the JBs as my maestro for music cause they can accept be-wiring and let the accoustimass being driven by an YAMAHA for a complete home cinema set.
That was my choice and I'm very happy with it.

Strengths:
Space factor, construction

Weaknesses:
mediums.
Be carefull with the sub. At very high volumes you can hear the net inside shaking. Not good. But to ear that you need to abuse from it.

Similar Products Used:
JBL E80. Same sound philosofy but better for music.

View Comments (2)

Would you like to Comment?
Join audioReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

nish01

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.86 of 5, 21.00 votes

Price Paid:  $450.00 from the bose store

Summary:
The bose am 5 series 3 are exceptional speakers considering their size and value.They are quite different from conventional sub/sat combinations.The sound reproduction of the cubes is accurate and the module (as bose calls it )produces low frequiencies flawlessly.But the module is placement sensitive and so you have to be very carefull while placing it as the overall sound depends largely on the module placement.Another problem is that the low frequency drops at about 40 hz and it could have easily been at 30hz.The highs are well balanced and you never feel that irritation while playing it at high volumes.Midrange sound is quite stong but still falls short at times.
I think that the module is placement sensitive because it lanches the sound on a vibrating air coloumn.If placed rightly then it can put many so called subwoofers to bed.

Strengths:
Accurate and balanced sound reproduction.Rotating cubes look cool.The module when placed right produces heart throbbing bass.User guide usefull for quick setup and module placemant.Good value for money and worth the purchase.Can play very loud despite their nimble size.

Weaknesses:
Once again be carefull while placing the module and play around a few times till you find an appropriate location.Automatic protection circuit is quite useless as the speakers can still get damaged.The net placed in the module vibrates and this becomes audible at high volumes ruining the non localizable effect of the accoustimass technology.

Similar Products Used:
B&W sub/sat systems,polk audio,jbl,infinity,jamo and paradigm.

themblues

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.62 of 5, 13.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Macys

Summary:
I have reviewed these speakers before, but I seems that AR has some Major probs with getting the reviews into the new format (which I will like a LOT better once they get all the reviews back in order.)

This is for the series II sub only. As I said in my earlier review, the sats are great looking, but not that great sounding. They do have the flexability to go wide or narrow and they aren't that bad. I bought the sub only and paired it up with some 101's I already had. Major improvement! The 4 1/2" drivers in the 101's made the system shine. I recently upgraded to the following config:

Klipsch SB-3 8" bookshelf fronts (which used to be the rears) run by a Sony STR-DE945 110wpc. I don't care what you say, clean as hell.

The Bose sub run off of a Sony STR-D2020 135wpc, and eq +12 bass from the LFE outs on the 945. I was actually surprised at how little bass signal there was coming out of the LFE (the 2020 has a 20 band spectrum analizer. I have to crank it almost all the way for the Bose to shine. But it does! It obviously won't go as low as a 10 or 12", but the dual-chamber tuning is done so well that the sub WAY outshines the klipsch with their 8" woofers in the same location. It coughs a little when aproaching about 35hz, but I expect that. A great test disc for bass is the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack #3 - Reload by Rob Zombie There is a bass run down about 40 seconds in that goes clear down to 20hz. If it's going to, this will strain your sub, and you can tell exactly where it's geting down to.

Anyway with this setup I am getting the best sound yet out of my system. The Klipsch compliment the Bose sub perfectly.

I have seen Bose bashers say crap like "they are made of particle board, not MDF. " That is complete BS I can rap on the side of this thing and is is just as solid as any MDF speaker out there. There is no vibration in the cabinet at all even at full volume.

At $800, these were expensive, not worth it in my opinion, so that's why I got my sub for $400. $500? Now you could get $500 speakers that are as good as the AM-5, but I doubt if they would be that much better, especially if you traded up the sats just a bit. (the sats sell for a lot on Ebay)

As for any Lifestyle system, that is a joke at the price. $1500 and up would get you a hell of a nice system, a lot better than Bose ever could. But it is a pretty nifty package. At $2800 or so for the top one forget it! For the extra money it simply adds the capabilities of an Ipod and "upgrades" the cubes.

The average person would be certainly satisfied with the sound coming out of these and an audiophile never will. But the average person doesn't spend $5000-$50,000 on his sytem either.

Strengths:
Bass down to about 35 hz

Weaknesses:
Satalites could be improved. Placement is critical! Wish they made a bigger version of this with larger woofers so it could go lower.

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch SB-3, Bose 4.2, bose 2.2, bose 101, Wharfedale.

action

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.97 of 5, 29.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Bose tells their dealers not to set these systems up to do a A/B compare. I have a broad knowlege of spwakers and I can say Bose speakers are junk. The drivers are cheap. There are mant systems out that put these to shame.

Strengths:
none

Weaknesses:
Overprices overrated cheap drivers

Similar Products Used:
Many