You impress your ignorant neighbors with the Bose name

Horrible at low volume. Better at high volume.

Two years ago I was looking for a decent home theater speaker package, I looked at Bose mainly because of brand name recognition. Audiophiles that I knew stated "Bose Blows". I pretty much ignored that statement as I had never heard from any Bose product at that point. WHen I finally did, I found out they were correct. Two years later and after another listening test, my opinion still hasn't changed.

The AM10's midrange and lowend response were weak and you don't get the "umph" from a 6 speaker package with a subwoofer. Turning up the volume helped out a bit, but I want to enjoy watching a movie, not go deaf.

I ended up purchasing a fine JBL setup, which were cheaper and sounded significantly better. If you want that brand name recognition, get a Bose, but if you want to be smart, get just about anything else.

PS - The stand alone speakers like the 301's and 401' sound fine, it's just the Acoustimass packages that sound weak.

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JBL SCS120

Small Size, Crisp Sound

Lack of Bass and Midrange

The lack of a Powered sub makes these speakers a rip. I bought the AM-15, which sound 100% better.

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Bose AM-15

"look honey, they're so small. If you buy me them, you'll have something special waiting for you when we get home".
THAT my friends may very well be the only strength I can identify; spousal acceptance factor. Any other reason for buying these is inexcusable.

I don't need to get into this. Much to the dismay of bose, sound WAS sacrificed to make them this small.

This commemorates the 200th review on these "speakers". The other day as I was in Best Buy to buy some DVDs (I don't shop there for speakers, sorry), and I happened by the ubiquitous bose display. The display was based around the "lifestyle 50", so its comparable with the AM-10 seeing as how there are no discernable differences between bose systems as they climb the ladder. I noticed that they where using "hotel California" as one of the demo songs. A terrible mistake on their part seeing as how this has been my reference comparison for arrangements costing over $50000. The latest was of the Revel Ultima Salons running through a Mark Levinson No.334 amp, No. 31.5 transport, No. 32 pre-amp, and No. 360 D/A conv. I'm not saying I own this equipment, if you don't believe me, go to Audio Visions in whitehall PA. Whats my point you ask??? What I'm getting at is with THAT degree of equipment I've experienced 1st hand about how good this particular song can actually sound. And what I heard through the bose was nothing short of how FAR away from reference that it could possibly get. The drums appeared to come from the floor at points, the cymbals lacked the timber that they're SUPPOSED to have. It was utterly amusing. The poor girl running the display (she worked for bose, not best buy) was quite attractive though, so I kept my mouth shut. But thats about all for my epic adventure. If the "flagship system" performed THAT poorly, how should the lower models be expected to perform? And don't even for a second accuse me of comparing the AM-10 to the aforementioned Levinson/Revel system. I have heard $1200 definitive tech systems that put the $3700 lifestyle to shame as far as over all freq range and dynamics and is even relatively small. And like I said, lets extrapolate folks......DING! I just saw that light bulb appear over your head! Thats right little jimmy, thats means that the AM-10 SHOULD get stomped by the L-50.

I will close with this; any one know the difference between a true audiophile and the common Bose-o-phile? One of them is constantly striving to get the best they can for their money, and painstakingly auditions new equip to taylor their system to their respective needs. While the other is constantly denying themselves what their money COULD obtain for them, and rather than taking the time to audition anything else; just sits idle making excuses about how dumb EVERYONE ELSE is, while never bothering to learn anything about the science of sound and speaker construction. Can you guess which one is which? To all the main streamers or those just starting the hobby, I will give you the following advice: find a REAL dedicated audio store. Not Best Buy or Circuit city, a store without trash compactors and freezers, tell the salesman exactly what you want and tell him what your budget is. If after all that you still want bose, fine, have fun with a sub-standard system that gets outperformed buy dozens of similarly priced competitors. Your loss, not mine.

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I don't personally use anything similar to these. And I never will. My current interests encompass the likes of B&W, Revel, Conrad Johnson, Mark Levinson, Proceed, and Rotel.

Size

Poor music reproduction, poor frequency response for the price, money spent in advertising

I hate to break it to you, but there are much better speakers for half the price. For the same price you can get a great speaker that truly covers all of the frequencies without an equalizer, which most amps don't have. Most decent preamps have a tone defeat switch to get the cleanest possible signal the way it was recorded. the cheap Pioneers and Kenwoods have EQs so that unknowledgable people will think it sounds better or has more features with an EQ.

Bose may use the same speaker enclosures as everyone else, but they do not use the same drivers which are the heart of the system. They use 20 year old technology that no one else wants.

Bose spends all of their research money on advertising and hype.

Bose does not print specifications, because they are inferior to everyone else, yet cost three times as much.

Facts are facts, you Bose lovers will have to deal with it, but I have heard all of the Acoustimass systems and they do not sound that great.

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I'm sorry but the only comparison I can make is Radio Shack

Small size and versatility.

No Bass!!!!

OK guys, as an owner, I can honestly give an unbiased opininion on the AM10's. I have them; have been dissapointed by them; spent too much money to get rid of them; but also have a solution to the "No Bass" problem.
I will dispense with all the positives the AM10's have (yes there are a few) and cut right to the quick of the problem. The AM10's have to be driven hard; very hard. My Sony DEH935 simply didn't have enough ass to drive the passive bass module (I believe it and the satellites are rated from 50-200 watts). I have always been satisfied with the automotive Bose sound systems which had plenty of bass, and as everyone knows those systems have seperate amps at each speaker. Nonetheless, adding a higher wattage amp was not an option because IMO the DEH935 is a great HT receiver. I listened to the Bose Lifestyle system with the powered bass module at a local Bose outlet and found the bass to have a great deal more presence than the AM10's (I was able to listen to both systems at the outlet, so the environment was the same). I must admit I am a bit confused because the Lifestyle 12 system is only rated at 80 watts on the bass module (Crutchfield spec sheet). Nonetheless, the bass in the Lifestyle system still wasn't what a typical HT system needs. Anyway, back to my solution. Buy a sub!!! I purchased an Acoustic Research ARS300 subwoofer, adjusted my DEH935's bass settings and voila! BASS... OK, maybe not what everyone was hoping, but it fixed my problem, and the system sounds great!
Good Luck guys!!!

I'm submitting this review to counter the poor review given by "A distrubed citizen." Either distrubed continued to buy every Bose product even after he decided they were crap or he's rating something that he doesn't really own. I'd advise him to stop posting falsified, biased reviews and to break out that dictionary he's such a fan of and learn how to spell retarded, disturbed, revelation, and addict.

Thanks
Daniel

I HAVE A SET OF am 10'S. wHEN I LISTEN TO STRAIGHT STEREO (I.E. ALL PROLOGIC STUFF TURNED OFF ON MY AMP) THE CENTRE SPEKER STILL WORKS! ANYONE ELSE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM? OR IS IT MY CROSSOVER?

Size and looks of speakers. Acoustimass module sounds as well as looks great. Sounds so much bigger than what you'd expect form satellites so small and stylish. Plays loud. And my actual favorite feature: you don't know WHERE the bass is coming from if you hide the acoustimass.

Lack of low midrange, but I had a solution...

To start off, I'm 17 and I've had this system for almost 3 years now. But mine has a slight advantage...I coupled it with a pair of 301 series bookshelfs to fill in any missing frequencies. I have to say it's the cleanest sounding system I've heard, which is not saying much because I'm only 17. But I have heard many systems in the same price range and I still think this one is the best. I'll start off with the bass from the acoustimass module: it's tight, deep, rich, responsive, very thunderous(it shakes the entire room...my sofa rumbles), and unlike many active subwoofers, you can't tell where the bass is coming from. It probably also helps that there is also added bass coming from the 301's. I listen to all kinds of music, especially new age rap and hip hop. And there's one thing you need to know about this type of music: it is very dependant on the bass and how hard it hits. I'm not as familiar with specs as an audiophile might be...so I'm not sure about the lowest Hz the acoustimass can hit, but I've heard hundreds of different subwoofers so I know good clean bass when I hear it. And let me tell you that compared to the $4000 set of 4 1000 watt 12" subwoofers my friend has in his trunk...it actually sounds better. In terms of accuracy, the acoustimass is second to none. It's the only subwoofer I've ever heard that actually stands out of the hundreds. And that's only what I have to say about the SUB! The cube speakers are some of the best looking speakers around. Simple, clean, small, stylish, classy...and you can point them in two directions to get an even better sound stage and surround effects. Ok...now to describe the sound from these jewels. When I listen to Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey...their voices sound incredibly lively. I can't emphasize enough how detailed vocals and instruments are...Vocals are warm and a wooden guitar actually sounds wooden if you can even imagine that. One thing that can be considered either a pro or a con depending on your personal music taste: the higher frequencies can tend to become overbright and overwhelming (though they still remain clear) on higher volumes, but that could be because I listen to my music on REALLY high volumes...usually at 60-80% of the volume, and I'm not used to getting this much attack from instruments in the conventional speakers. I could close my eyes and it feels like I'm sitting at a live performance just for me. And that's all that matters...to me, this is the best sounding system for its money. I can't even begin to imagine what the Lifestyle 50 package sounds like.

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Many

Very cute looking

Hard to start a fire with.

A friend of mine bought these speakers and raved about their performance. Now, he knew I was no fan of Bose after my auditioning fiasco of a pair of Bose 901 VI (please see my review in the appropriate 901 Series VI forum).

So I drove to his house to have a listen, I went with an open mind. He played several different types of music and I listened patiently and intently. After several minutes I asked if I could make some adjustments to the room, thus improving the sound of the speakers. He said “Hogwash! I spent hours setting these things up, they are perfect!”.


Eventually I persuaded him. I asked him to take a seat in the chair and then asked him to close his eyes. All I needed to do was obtain a couple of items from the kitchen and the adjustments would be made. As I returned to the living room he was already on the edge of the seat with anticipation.

I started to play some music and suddenly leapt from his chair exclaiming: “My God, they sound fantastic, what did you doooooo..................”
His face turned pale as he opened his eyes to see me sitting in the middle of the room banging on some pots and pans with a metal spoon.

Needless to say, we held a backyard torch ceremony for his dearly departed Bose Acoustimass 10 speakers.

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Fire wood

Clarity, Compact Size, User friendly set-up, Good Looking Style, Good Home Theater, and So - So Stereo Music.

As mentioned before, limited bass response, very limited mid range response

I have had the AM 10 set up for about four years now. I bought them in college, at a bose outlet. I'll be honest I thought they sounded O.K. at the outlet, but the name made them sound better at that time. The second reason I bought them is they extend a poor college guy credit to buy them. Four years later they are still with me and still perform quite well. They have even suprise me at times!

Are they going to give you the sound of a good pair of Floor Standing speakers, no. But they will keep up to most bookshelf set ups in their price range. I have heard bookshelf home theater set-ups (w/ sub) that will blow bose away in stereo(I've even owned one phase technology), and 50% of the time they will sound better in home theater. If you are looking for audiophile sound don't buy these speakers. You buy them because they are small, stylish (admit it they look good:), produce wonderful sound for their size, and fit into any room. I've had bookshelf set ups that could not fit in rooms that the bose fit in and made the room sound great despite a room's sound pitfalls (due to the ability to rotate and angle the cubes). Anyone who has lived in a dorm room, or an apartment in NYC, can appreciate the sound you get from these speakers and you don't have to give up any space. I had to give up my lovely PC-2 setup (w/ sub) in college, because I just couldn't fit them in a college dorm room :( They sounded great, but bose came very close in sound clarity (not bass)and fit in the room. So they stayed. I moved the whole set up to and from college every break for two years in a small carry on luggage bag. How many HT setups can boast that claim! They are so easy to setup my ex-girlfriend set them up after reading the manual once. And she was about at bright at a 25 watt bulb with a dimmer switch! (Hence the EX-girlfriend;) I still have them as a small HT set up in a second bedroom in my apartment. They have been replaced by a Definitive Technology BP2006 HT setup as my main listening. Can they come close to the BP's sound, not by a long shot (but I payed $2500 for this setup 2.5x what I payed for bose!). Even in the second bedroom I have the speakers mounted on the ceiling and sub module hidden behind a potted plant. I still get amazed at the sound you get and how well hidden they are.

Conclusion, can you find a better bookshelf setup for $1000? Yes, if it can fit in your room and still look good then buy it. Can you find one that will fit into ANY room make it sound good, disappear into the decor, and be easy to setup? No. Only Bose can claim that.

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Various Mini systems (Aiwa, Sony, and JVC), Phase Technology PC - 2, B&W 600 series, Definitive Technology BP2006, and Phase Technology 11.5