I am a very knowledgable consumer who loves Home Theater sytems. I also review speakers (mostly home theater in a box systems) for united audio canters here in chicago. The Bose Acoustimass is an ok system for people who like that brashy high stuff. The highs ring a little to high and the lows are ok at low volumes. They are not that good on Movie soundtracks if you have a large listening room. But if you have a small living room or live in an apartment, this might be a good choice but not MY first. They are rather expensive for their mediocre performance but some people like the panache of the Bose name. I think if are really looking for a system that performs exceptionally well for less money, you should definately consider Energy's Take 5, or one of Cambridges MovieWorks packages, or visit your closest electronics boutique. The will definately have a few more cheaper alternatives to the Bose AM5 system for those of you looking for quality sound and not hype. Also fellas, lets not be to harsh on the systems and be more objective.

I think most of the reviews on this sight are definitely overly negative. This system is not as good as a lot of others for music, no doubt. These speakers weren't meant to be. They were meant to provide a balance between music and home theater surround sound. They are actually quite good for what they are, maybe a little overpriced, but not greatly. They sound really good for big sound movies. They don't sound terrible for music, they they don't sound great, but definitely better than a $150 AIWA system. Also, I know the newer Acoustmass 10 cubes have a bit more weight, and a little better sound.
Stop being so emotional and have an open mind.

The problem here is one of two things:1. People expecting too much from Bose cubes. No they will not sound as good as Boston Acoustics, or Paradigm, or Legacy, or Definitive, etc. For their size however they do sound pretty good. Its not fair to compare them with full size tower speakers.
2. Jealosy....Just because you cannot afford Bose speakers does not mean you have to be bitter; and take out this bitterness by insulting them. If you spent less time complaining and more time working, maybe you would own Bose speakers!
-Sam

I have not heard the Boston Acoustics Micro 90. However I have to confess that I am a happy owner of an AM10 Mk 1 with 2 bass drivers (Mk 2 has 3 bass driversI have the system hooked up to a Yamaha 5.1 ready A/V receiver and a Panasonic AC-3 equipped DVD player. The forward cubes sit in a library wall unit, the rear speakers are on elegant Bose speaker stands and the Bass unit is under a small table firing into a corner. The sound from the system playing Crimson tide and Terminator 2 is energetic, exciting and enjoyable. Human speach is very clear through the center channnel. Even a DVD like LA Confidential with a good musical score is very enjoyable. The songs in a DVD like Top gun are a little disappointing because you know how they should sound but don't. It is true when you play a music CD, the sound quality is not much better than a $300 AIWA system. The system is expensive (I paid $1099 for mine two years ago!)
but my wife is happy with the room not taken over by speakers, and we are all happy watching DVD's. To listen to music, we have a completely separate system with Musical Fidelity A2 and Thiel CS 2's in a different room. Unless you are an Opera buff, the system is OK

Product review is obviously on AM10. Please excuse typos as it is late.Little background. For a living I sell Audio Products. And yes Im in the
"position" of selling Bose products. What joy. No I didnt actually
purchase an AM10. I have a "nice" system already, composing of a Denon
pre-amp and a B&K power amp. I simply auditioned the AM10 at work.
Basically I can say what everyone else has to say about it. Mainly the
lack of low-end and fizzled highs. Now, of course that will vary depending
on the AMP that is powering it. I used a moderatly priced Onkyo receiver.
Im not going to repeat every one... but I do have some info that most
people may be interested in. Information that you wont find on any bose
box or literature.

1. Home Theater = Sound Stage(ing)
Basically this is there version of Surround Sound. Which is incompatible
with Surround Sound (orig. 3 ch. ver.), Pro-Logic, THX, DTS, Dolby Digital...
I assume you see what Im saying. They use a pro-priatary system. No
where on Bose boxes will you find any of those terms. Except for, maybe,
Surround Sound (In its generic term). And do to "Sound Stage", the Bose
system(s) are not 5.1 channel compatible. So for you folks interested
in DVD with 5.1 aka 6 channel surround, your SOL. Here is the reason why.
In all of the AM systems and Lifestyle sysytems, the crossovers are in
the subwoofers. (Will call it a subwoofer, which is yet to be proven)
The section that controls the Rear cubes is Mono. Thats right.. Dolby
Digital requires a Stereo rear. Why do they do this? I really dont know.

2. Some of the Bose products come with this handy dandy little booklet
sharing with you all sorts of products from Bose. Also the story behind
Amars' search for perfect sound. Funny, It states that he was a student
at M.I.T... they seem to have run out of space to include he holds a
PH D in Marketing.

3. Specs. Bose seems to have a problem with stating these little facts.
And in all seriousness, this can cause serious problems with your equipment.
I wont mention brands, but if you are considering something like the Am10
you may want to think really hard. I know in one case where, during a
1 week period, I exchanged a receiver 4 times. It was powering the AM10.
I switched to an Onkyo and haven't had a single problem. It you have high
quality components, you shouldn't have a problem. I hope.

At the price range, of $899 or $999, depending on if it is the AM10 or
AM10II, you can certainly purchase more... umm.. a better system. The AM
systems are a great idea that fall short in terms of:

Sound Quality (smack,smack.. fizzle,fizzle)

Construction.. (those cubes just about fall apart. If you drop one,
prepare to get out the super glue)

Compatability (as stated about Surround Sound)

Speaking of construction. Why do all of their speakers use Paper Drivers?
Paper equals Dry Rot. In the average home with-in 1 year the tweeters
will become brittle.

And on another note... For anyone who is looking at purchasing Bose
speakers in general, If Bose is the "Best", answer this question..

"Why dont other speaker companies make speakers with the same design
techniques?"

here is a hint. i really dont think it has to do with patents. :O)

I heard products coupled witha $499 10" sub from B&W, and also Paradigm. Both subs were INCREDIBLY deeper and more powerful than Bose. Also, the end system satellites were REAL speakers not just paper cone whizzer cubes. The best part: the REAL system was much less expensive than Bose!!!

Unbielevable costs for unbielevably low quality. I heard this expensive system in a Best Buy and it was horrible. The little subwoofer was nothing compared to a $500 Cerwin Vega sub which was also powered. The Bose didn't even come close to another huge 15 in. sub I saw in another store. This sub was 1000 watts Program power, 4 ohms, and pushing deep 20 Hz frequencies to ear popping levels and that was only about 1/4 of a way up. My ears were a few feet from it. It was under $400. I could easily place my ears direrctly up to the sound port of the Bose with it maxed out. Being 8 ohms makes this piece of junk even worse. The cubes are even more of a joke than the woofer. These cone tweeters are much to small for good midrange. These crap paper cone tweeters can't even go to 20 kHz. This concludes that the Bose AM10 and any other Bose Acoustimass has no bass, no midrange, annoying upper mid, and no treble. A pair of Cerwin Vega RE-38s(5-400watts, 3-way) are much better for about the same cost. I have a cheap pair of 50 watt rated Kenwoods that are about the same quality and go about as loud as the AM10. At least their cone tweeter goes to 20 kHz and 8 in. woofer to 50 without distortion.

I have been living with an older Acoustmass 10 system for two weeks now paired with an Onkyo 555 receiver (70 watts/channel DD) and Proscan DVD player, and it sounds great with most types of music (especially jazz) and DVD movies (with some drawbacks). If you audition these speakers in a store and they "sound like junk", someone's yanking your chain. I noticed that sales guys intentionally or ignorantly demo speakers unfairly (different bass settings, one set in large open area (typically where Bose systems are setup) and others in a closed acoustically enhanced room. This isn't the highest quality system you can get for the money, but it is a very good sounding system with more installation flexibility than most, and it compares favorably with other systems in the price range and size limitations. I listened to several (although not the Energy Take 5) and preferred the Bose and Polk 5400 speakers. The Polks sounded better with movies (bigger center channel, more mid range), but the Bose sounded better with music and did pretty well on the HT side as well + the ability to redirect the Bose satellites provided better sound coverage for my room size. The Bose lack deep bass, but the bass module can produce outstanding crisp bass when placed properly in a room and paired with a decent receiver/amp and despite listening at high volume with movie sound effects, I've never heard the Bose bass module emit the "bottoming out" sound that most affordable subs emit (the Velodyne being an exception in this area). The Polks (and most true sub woofer systems) had deeper bass, but few were necessarily better. The Bose system would be enhanced with an additional sub to pick up LFE and generate the low bass that is missing. Some music sounds harsh on the Bose system depending on the room acoustics. My listening room had a tendency to make some speakers sound muffled, but the Bose do very well there.
Honest criticism: the Bose do not sound much better with Dolby Digital than they do with Dolby Surround and the rear surround speakers need a boost of about +3db (easy to do with an Onkyo) to get good effects from them. One of the ealier reviews mentioned that the rear channels are not stereo, and this would explain why the DD enhancements are not realized, though the sound is very good. The lack of good separation on the rear channel speakers has prompted me to track down and listen to the Energy Take 5 system while I'm still in my 30 day retun period with the Bose, but I have yet to find an Energy dealer. It's the best 700.00 sub/sat system I've heard with Dolby Surround, but I suspect the others may provide better rear channel separation with Dolby Digital, but it wasn't noticable until playing both types of movies on the same system.

Don't forget to factor in nearly 200 feet of speaker wire for other systems when you consider the price for the Bose (which includes decent quality speaker cable and connectors)

More details on my previous review. Some of the information in this forum is misleading as it pertains to Lifestyle systems and not AM10. I tried the system on a few more movies that provided more sound effects to the rear surrounds and they are clearly separate channels, not mono as suggested in a previous review here. Placement of the rear surrounds is critical to getting good effects in your listening room, and I'ved had to make some adjustments (which are easier with Bose than most satellites since you can twist the surrounds). The Acoustimass module provides a crossover for the rear speakers, but does not manipulate the sound sent there by your receiver. If the receiver and source material have good separation, the rear surrounds will have it as well. Don't believe everything you read. Give this system a listen and spend some time with it with different source material.

OUCH !!!