jinky janky

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
2.65 of 5, 23.00 votes

Price Paid:  $399.00 from pacific hi fi AUSTRA

Summary:
To the bose bashers"how stupid are you to buy such a crappy speaker?Didn't you try it?"
To every body else with half a brain.If you want a great speaker for the center channel that does a great job of reproducing the voice and to be able to hear it clearly,then this speaker is for you.
Since when does a center speaker need to produce bass?Thats why i have a sub and a couple of Jmlabs at the front.The center has one job to do --reproduce dialouge clearly no matter what volume .This speaker does it brilliantly straight out of the box.
The problem with big center channels is that they are boomy.They tend to over whelm the higher mid frequencies make the voice sound muddy.
I had a jm lab center with a hefty $1000 price tag but found when i was watching movies the voice just wasn't clear all the time.I had to constantly adjust the EQ.The movie Zodiac was the last straw.Every body seemed to mumble.So when i went to the tv speaker it was clear.So i wanted a speaker that was like my 127 cm pioneer plasma but could handle the power of my denon avc-a1se .Welcome the bose .
Since then i've never had to rewind to see what they were saying.The price doesn't reflect how good this baby does as a center for movies.
Try it .My dealer said if i didn't like it i could bring it back.No way!I hocked my other center on Ebay and won't be changing this for a while.
It seems like its a sin to be a bose user and a audiophile.Go waste your hard earned money on some elitist product,I'm sticking to the basics.Buy the way this is the only bose product I own.My jm labs do a great job as fronts and backs but maybe I'll check them out next time i decide to upgrade.
Go out and have a listen for your self don't let the negatives put you off a great center speaker ...You'll be surprised

Strengths:
Realistic clear dialouge ,as if they are in the room,Very sleek looking.

Weaknesses:
lack of bass

Similar Products Used:
Wharfdale,klipsh,JMLab

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daddysdvds

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $149.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
Well you either hate them or love the. I purchased this speaker because I needed a new center channel. This was right in my price range at the time. I already own a pair of bose 701 series 2 floor standing speakers and I use a bose jewel cube for my rear center. Bose has always struck me as a sexy speaker because of their size and ability to blend into the walls. But I am moving on. The 701's I will keep for now but the center has to go. It lacks the range needed to truly reproduce the full vocal range and dynamics that a center should. I use to have a Klipsch sc-1 and I cant for the life of me figure out why I got rid of it. I bought another klipsch center cause the bose center is a joke. For those that are saying that this speaker just needs more power and a little tweaking for it to come alive are on crack. The efficiency of the bose is low enough that you do need to drive it hard to get it to speak up but it sounds muffled. And I have a Yamaha Reference 9.1 receiver. Hopefully some sucker on ebay will buy mine.

Strengths:
Looks. Midrange

Weaknesses:
No Highs or Lows (down to 80 or 90Hz). POWER HUNGRY! Needs at least 150w

Price Paid:  $199.00 from B&H Photo

Summary:
After reading many reviews for this center channel (most of which were negative) I still decided to go with this center. Bose has a sound that my ears like. I am fully aware of their ridiculous prices, cheap materials, and extreme marketing.

I was replacing an 8 yr old Accoustic Research center which still sounds great. I also bought the Bose 301's for front left and right which were replacing a pair of JBL S-26's which also still sound great. These are all hooked to a cheap RCA receiver going through an Audio Source EQ.

After taking them out of their boxes, I thought they looked very nice, almost classy. To me, they sounded great. Not really any better than what I already had but I was not as disappointed as most. I could hear dialog just fine from the VCS-10 so for those who claim they can hear little or nothing, I think they are exxagerating or just need a new receiver. The 301's have great bass and pretty good high's. I did place them on their side with the front tweeter facing up towards the top. That made a HUGE difference in sound and clarity. I feel they are very good speakers but definately not worth what I paid. For a total of $527, I could have bought much better but like I said, I do like the sound Bose puts out.

Strengths:
Very nice looking.
Pretty good sound

Weaknesses:
Made in Mexico!!! Come on Bose, you already WAY over charge, then use cheap slave labor???

WAY overpriced.

Cheap materials.
Spring clips?? Come on Bose, you should be ashamed..

Similar Products Used:
JBL N-38

JonBeGood2U

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $199.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I have owned the Bose VCS10 Center Channel for the past 3 years and have learned to live with it's sonic peculiarities and enjoy it's more positive aspects. I am one who finds the VCS10 actually better for listenning to music than movie dialogue. I had 2 generations Bose 301's as front speakers (Series V) and surrounds (Series IV) respectively and was interested in maintain the "natural sound" characteristics for which Bose is well known. I must say that the VCS10 is lacking in lower range bass but not to a point of exceptional distraction. I do like the lack of piercing highs which the 2.5" drivers shy away from producing.
I also approve of the VCS10's styling and low profile on top on my CRT television set. Much to my delight, hardly anyone even notices its presence on top on my 27 year old 19" RCA television sent hence avoiding an overwhelming consumer electronic aesthetic to my living room area. Overall, the Bose VCS10 rates 3 on a scale of 5.

Strengths:
Low profile
Aesthetically pleasing
No piercing high notes
Does not draw undue attention to itself

Weaknesses:
Power Hungery Drivers
Often Muffled Dialog in Home Theater Mode
Hard to balance with rest of home theater speakers
Could use more bass!!!
Mid bass sounds "punchy" and at times and distorted when used for home theater music passages, eg. Titanic 1997 Irish Music by Galiec Storm in DTS 6.1

Similar Products Used:
None to date

mconn

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.86 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $150.00 from best buy

Summary:
I have Bose 201 with a Velodyne Sub as the maine and Bose 161 as Sat. with a 7.1 Onkyo Rec. Was using an old Radio Shack Centr because it was rated well by CU. Bought the Bose and have been mildly disappointed. I decided to run it through an 8" powered sub, set to large, to give me a little more mid base control. I am pleased with the sound, but disapointed that I had to add a sub. to get there. I wonder why a company like Bose would off just one Center channel, obviously calibrated to thier AM systems. Looks good and fits anywhere.

Strengths:
Good upper mids...little high end, looks good and fits anywhere. very good dispersion with no sweet spot.

Weaknesses:
Mid base, high end lacking. Make another option....two 4' star drivers and two angled cone tweeters would do the trick.

Similar Products Used:
RS. Boston Acoustic, AR, Velodyne, MCM components

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