When you first hear these systems, (Lifestyle, AM, AcousticWave) you are at first impressed with the novelty of such large sound coming from such small enclosures. Tremendous midrange without all that intrusive ring and boom that so many of the so called regular speaker companies give you. Secondly, you realize that no speaker in this price range sounds quite like it. Would Bose sell a speaker at this price if they didn't think people would pay it? I think not.
When I heard that Bose speaker systems 'suck' and 'blow', I immediately became interested. Why would so many buy a speaker that was so unpopular. I did some polling of my own and found that Bose's unpopularity is really confined to a few web sites. In reallity, Bose speakers are very renowned with people that matter. I would encourage people to reconsider their opinions about these speakers and give them another audition. Why own a speaker like Paradigm, Energy, NHT, B&W, etc., that are limited in popularity to relatively few circles. Ever listen to Paul Harvey rave on about one of those speakers? Not a mere coincidence that everyone knows about Bose. Don't let uncaring web sites like this one discourage you from one enjoying lifelike mid-bass and mid-range (from a speaker you can easily fit into a small tennament building or housing project) instead of all that thump and sizzle that the afore mentioned speakers provide. Don't get caught up in the price wars and elitist audiophilia. Alot of normal people are buying Bose, won't you? I see a "Bose room" in my future.

I have heard this system demo at a variety of shops, and I'm not impress. People could do better with something like the Energy Take 5 system with the ES-8 sub or if they want a little more bass, the ES-10 sub. The cheaper Take 5 system easily outclass the bose system in both sound and look. The Bose system get a 2 stars for sound, but with price consideration a definite one star. Anyone who's looking at the Bose AM 10 should check out the Take 5 - an excellent entry system or for those who do not room to accomodate large speakers.

WARNING! Bill is OBVIOUSLY in a position of Bose sales. He makes money in some way by trying to hype and sell Bose products. His reviews are meaningless, as they will attempt to elevate Bose to the level of actual quality products. You know he is a windbag seeing his obvious marketing statements in order to protect his livelihood.
Bose costs more than the competition
Bose is far inferior sound quality to almost everything
Bose spends more on ads than anyone.
Do not buy a speaker based upon POPULARITY. Venerial disease is popular but I wouldn't want it.
Bill- take your sales spiel elsewhere and leave this board to consumers who provide HONEST opinion, not ad campaigns.
BTW: all the products you mentioned are outsold by Bose. However, all the products are less expensive and sound MUCH better. Try the competition 1st, then Bose. Bose will let you down.

good for home theater... but don't try and run stereo sound through them... bose is recieving mine back because of it. Awsome surround sound capabilities, but god help you when you get into stereo sound.

I think the AM-10 moniker refers to it's performance:10 times as loud, but with the same fidelity as an AM radio.
I listened to a set at a showrrom. Too bad it sounded really horrible compared to th EPOS, ENERGY and Mirage systems that were with it.
Bose was enough convincing for me to purchase another brand.

People keep saying BOSE sucks and how they rob you. If you look at bose in overall performance in theater and various music, you see that the system performs pretty well. Just because its not as clean and crisp as a B&W or because it can't play one type of music doesn't mean the system sucks.

That is exactly the point. Bose can't match up to B&W, NHT, Definitive, Polk, Infinity, and others. We all know that. The reason everyone complains is that they sell for $900. Not many would complain if they were about $700-800 cheaper. True, these speakers are not really really bad performers(when compared to soup cans). It is just that, you can get something better for much much much less.

Overpriced, lousy sound.The highs buzz and sizzle, the lows [ha-ha] are mids that thump. I heard these beside a Paradigm set up, and I paid less for the paradigms, and the sound far,far better.

I must comment on one of the reviews, below (no, not the childish arguing, I'll ignore that for the moment). Other reviewer's comments behind the ">" :
>Why own a speaker like Paradigm, Energy, NHT, B&W, etc., that are limited in >popularity to relatively few circles.

Limited in popularity? No, I think not. Anyone who has done any research at all is undoubtedly aware of the brands mentioned above, and for good reason. For the price, they are hard to beat (keeping in mind that all the above have expensive offerings, too). I've personally owned Paradigm towers (9seMKIII, or somesuch), NHT 1.3's (which I still own), and have done extensive listening to several offerings from B&W and several other brands likely included in your "etc.".

Of course, popularity has bloody little to do with good sound. While I can pick apart all the aforementioned speakers in one area or another, compared to any bose Acoustimass system I've ever heard, they are far, FAR superior - not to mention LESS expensive (speaking of the lower end models). The only category Bose wins in is space consumption... those tiny cubes are easily mounted on the wall, and the bass module can be hid away in the corner (though that brings up another problem with this speaker system, that being integration - the little cubes don't play much below 250Hz or so, making the bass module easy to localize in most rooms).

>Ever listen to Paul Harvey rave on about one of those speakers?

He probably hasn't heard any of them.

>Not a mere coincidence that everyone knows about Bose.

Not at all, they spend more on marketing than anyone else in the industry.
Not to mention they are sold in every 5&dime store that sells electronics.
Manufacturers of quality speakers usually only allow a more knowledgeable dealer to sell their products, and for good reason (Best Buys and Circuit City salesmen, in general, aren't very educated in audio/video).

>Don't let uncaring web sites like this one discourage you from one enjoying >lifelike mid-bass and mid-range (from a speaker you can easily fit into a >small tennament building or housing project) instead of all that thump and >sizzle that the afore mentioned speakers provide.

Yes, Bose does have midbass, no doubt. I think if you were to do a spectrum analysis on the speaker's output, you'd find that it has more midbass than anything else. Of course this output varies wildly depending upon where you place the bass module, too, so this is not a blanket statement, but one based on corner placement.

In an uncritical listening environment (like outside on the deck or in a room where there is no place to put speakers on the floor), Bose are just fine. They do have a purpose, they just aren't audiophile-grade speakers by any stretch of the imagination. They are cheaply made, lightweight, lack clarity in the midrange, lack "air" in the treble (they sound hashy to me), and simply don't produce a believable musical image. They are congested and lack cohesion between bass module and cubes.

If these speakers were sold at a much lower price, I'd say that they would be worth picking up for a second room where you want music but have no room for speakers. But at what they charge for these things, I can't recommend them for much of anything. For just the price of an AM-7 system, I can buy three NHT SuperOnes and have a bit of money left over to go towards a subwoofer. And there is simply no comparison, from an audiophile perspective, between these speakers. The NHT's, while not perfect by any stretch, image well, have a much better midrange clarity, more defined bass (though less of it without a sub), and a more detailed treble. I can say the same thing for the Paradigm and entry level B&W speakers I've listened to (sorry, I've never heard the Energy speakers). For that matter, if you want small sub/satt system for a good price, check out Boston Acoustics Micro 90's and companion sub (forget the moniker, sorry). They cost less than the Bose and beat the Bose in every category of reproduction that I can think of.

I did hear a Bose system that did well in a dormatory room, though. There was no room for floor-based speakers, so they mounted the cubes on the wall. In this case, I'd say they made a reasonable choice (of course, their options were limited greatly by the room).

If you like Bose speakers, more power to you. The whole idea is to enjoy your listening. If Bose tickles your fancy, then buy them and enjoy! But don't knock other speakers based upon a percieved lack of popularity... especially when said speakers are superior in a critical listening environment.

For convenience in placement, Bose gets 5 stars. There isn't much out ther that is as flexible as the Acoustimass system.

For sound quality, Bose gets 2 stars.

For price/performance, Bose gets a 1 (only because zero is not an option). There are simply too many less expensive speakers out there that do a better job at reproducing music to justify the price of the Acoustimass systems.

The only people that buy BOSE are the ones that don't know much about home audio. BOSE is one of the best known brands of audio components, but this is hardly a good enough reason to buy them. Before you waste your money buying these speakers go around listening to "real" brands like Klipsh. If your buying these from Best Buy take a look at Eosone's. They're 10 times better. With bose you get SUPER weak bass, no midrange, and end up with a lot of very high frequencies which usually comes from tweeters. My advice for all of you, look around different store and test out many speakers. Amen