ccmarine

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1999.00 from ABC Warehouse

Summary:
I have listened to this system long enough. It becomes hard to focus on the movie, the bass sounds overdone, to much un-natural vibration comming out of that little box, the high end sounds compressed and very directional. stereo imagining was non existent. Instruments seemed small an incoherent of their identy. As for the mid range it too does not exsist. All you really hear is booming bass and loud shrill highs.There isn't much I can say about this system except it is way over priced, there are many similar cube type systems on the market for much less cost. If you want a system that is loaded with cheap thrills and plays loud, go for it. I will go back to my beloved Magneplanners and enjoy music and movies the way they should be.

Strengths:
Nice color selection

Weaknesses:
Cannot reproduce music accurately, lack of realistic soundstage, very poor stereo image

Similar Products Used:
None

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Price Paid:  $2000.00 from Exclusively Yours ca

Summary:
We bought ours on-line with points earned toward an Exclusively Yours account, so I'm not talking out of pocket dollars here. This was my first jump into HT, and I was at first satisfied with this product. I use it in the basement as a surround system with a Toshiba big screen. Anyway, like I said, at first I was satisfied. What ultimately led me to re-evaluate this sytem was me upgrading the system on the main floor. I picked up a Rotel RSX-1055 A/V reciever, a pair of Paradigm Studio 60's for the fronts, and Axiom M3ti's in the rear. The center is custom made that I paid $200 for. Wow! Not that's HT. I feel this is a reasonable comparison because that whole set up cost $ 2675. By the time I had the Lifestyle installed ($150) and bought 5 mounting brackets for the cubes ($140), the Bose system ran me the equivelent of $2300. Sonically, the Bose can not hold a candle to a true HT set up. If people like the all in one set up, that may be an advantage for them. Your HT system should ultimately be judged by the sound quality above all other factors. This Bose system lacks any soundstaging. There is a big hole in the sound where the midranges should be. The subwoofer is a worthless piece of plastic. The only treble and bass controler is an old fashioned dial on the sub, meaning you can't do any meaningful tome control from the remote. The "amp" is the size of a small cigar box. What does that say about the power supply? I could go on and on, but I'd just be beating a dead horse. I can not recommend this system. If you really want a quality HT system, demo a number of A/V recievers, and buy a good set of speakers. At least that will have some resale value.

Strengths:
Some may see an advantage to 'Home Theatre in a Box', but what you give up is really what you are after to begin with...quality sound.

Weaknesses:
Very poor quality sub. Amp is small and has few if any real features. Sonically, this system is a disaster. Very flat response with the midrange response a no show.

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm, Rotel, Sony, Technics, Axiom, Infinity, Sensheiser

Price Paid:  $1250.00 from Aafees

Summary:
keeping it very short. I was very happy with the original 12 system, as it was small enough for dorm rooms. It wasn't loud enough to annoy others in adjacent rooms, or my room mate. I don't have dog ears, so i can't tell which frequencies are missing, but i know that separate speakers systems are definatly where I will put my money on from now on. I no longer use my bose system, I gave it to my dad, which I setup for him. only two speakers and acustamass module. I have upgraded my music system to sepereate components. Another thing, i think the Bose system is targeted to sell towards 30 and up age group. People who want simplicity, and don't want to bother with technical component setup.

Strengths:
Small and compact enough for a small room 10x10. The speaker wire thickness seems adequte for small speakers, thicker then all other competitor all-in-one HT systems selling for 300~500 range. The acoustamass moudule is definately beter then any 300~500 dollar systems. People who live in small living areas might be happy with this unit. Bose support line is bull sh*t.

Weaknesses:
cheap plastic music system made to look like aluminum, dose not fool me. Poor cd player that skips on barely scratched cds, but same cd's play fine on other players.

Similar Products Used:
other stuff.

Price Paid:  $2000.00

Summary:
I have the first series of the lifestyle 12 bought in '96. I have listened to the latest series II and find the sound quality no different. I have always been very happy with the sound. When I have moved I always take the time to set up the system correctly. I have found the bass at times to much and typically have it turned down about 25 percent. The remote is great. However the control module with a single cd player is awful. The LED display quit working in about a year, the cd player skips easily, and radio tuners are poor. I have been in grad school and broke. Now out, I plan to buy a receiver other than a Bose to replace the center module. I just hope everything is not too integrated to make the move impossible. Sounds like something Bose might do. I have tried to buy the series II control module only to find out that Bose refuses to sell it alone. Also, it doesn't look to be improved much. My recommendation is to buy a used system and a new receiver of a different brand.

Strengths:
Great sound without taking up lots of space. Very elegant. Remote has a great range not being infrared.

Weaknesses:
Control module is junk

Similar Products Used:
Advent, Boston Acustics, Sony

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Fry's Electronics

Summary:
After reading all of the Bose bashing, I felt an overwhelming urge to write my own review. I have owned my Lifestyle 12 system for a little over a year now and I have been very pleased with it. Yes, it's simple and stylish but I have been more than pleased with the sound quality as well. The bass tube is more than ample for most rooms and, if set up correctly, the sound is unprecedented for the price. (Notice how much I paid for mine! $999! I paid less than half of retail.) Let's all keep in mind that the Lifestyle system is not meant to be compared with loudspeakers. These are tiny speakers that put out a ton of rich sound for their size but won't stack up against a $2,000 set of JBL loudspeakers if all you're really wanting to do is piss off your neighbors. I've read on numerous posts that people have loved the in-store demonstration but once they get the system home they are displeased with the sound. Hello!?! Did you ever think that maybe you haven't set up your system correctly? The reason that it sounds so good in the store is because the Bose people have set up their speakers correctly so that sound echoes off of the walls. This system does a tremendous job of seperating acoustics, bass, and vocals and if it's not set up correctly, OR if you aren't in the intended listening area, you might not be getting the most out of your system. (Do you know that they recommend that you have a Bose installer install your system primarily so that you can assure that your cube speakers are placed correctly??) Sit too close to a surround sound speaker for example, and you are going to hate the sound...have your surround speakers volume too high is going to mess up your sound just as much. I've also read a lot of reviews where people say that the system is very good in a small room environment but it isn't powerful enough to fill a large room with sound. What?! Every in-store demonstration that I've been to has been held in a gigantic room and the system very adequately filled the room with rich sound. Again, I feel that problems might be arising because people are failing to place their speakers correctly. I've got a huge open living room which has minimal walls. I had to compensate for my particular living room by placing my speakers in a different way than normal for Bose speakers. I've also noticed that some of my copied CDs as well as some store bought CDs sound awful played in my Lifestyle. I believe that this is caused by bad recording in the studio. Bose does a good job of seperating specific sounds and throwing them to all parts of the room, but if your DVD or CD isn't recorded just right, it is going to be detrimental to your sound. This may or may not be a weakness of the Bose systems depending on how you look at it. I would recommend this system to anyone who loves the stylish design of these systems. You won't be disappointed in the Bose sound if you set up your system correctly. However, I waited until I could buy one for $999 instead of the retail price of $2,500. You can buy better systems for the same money that you can buy these Bose systems for at retail. But if you can buy one of these systems for under a grand like I did, DO IT!

Strengths:
Stylish, Very rich sound, Strong- rich bass, Incredible Dolby processing

Weaknesses:
Maybe too simplistic, price, difficult to set-up properly, sound quality on some poorly produced CDs and DVDs

Similar Products Used:
JBL, Sony, Technics