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 They have been replaced by a Definitive Technology BP2006 HT setup as my main listening.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.

Similar Products Used:

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

Size, Sound, Electrical Setup

Sub-bass, took days and research to setup in my 'environment.'

I'm a musician that has played in orchestras, jazz bands, quartets, quintets, blah, blah, blah, for over 20 years. I mention this only because I know what real instruments sound like. These are the most realistic speakers I have ever heard, BUT, you've got to take the time to set them up correctly! Bose says you can place the sub anywhere. Don't believe it! You can get outstanding low mids and bass with the AM. I've got it set up against the wall, but not in a corner and not facing the listening area. The AM sub IS directional due to its high bandpass, so be careful with that. The music that now envelops my room is absolutely georgeous! As for HT, I did add my old powered KLH sub for below 50hz, but I cut it out when listening to music...

Speakers are the most important link in your audio system, but if you think placement, amplifiers, audio sources, and recording technology doesn't make any difference, you're wrong. Take time, do research, and listen carefully. You may find that dispite the bad rep, Bose knows what they're doing.

Its style has no equal.

Frequency response not so stellar. (But most buyers know this and are willing to buy it, nonetheless.)

Bose AM system is just very unique in several ways: The adjustable cube array, the fact that the satellite has only a full range cone without mid range woofer, the simple and elongated design of the bass enclosure, etc. I chose the AM system knowing that there are countless speakers, of all price range, that sound better. Bose AM does not take up much, if any, space, and I just plain feel good everytime I look at the cube arrays. Insofar as you have to not only listen but also live with your audio equipment, the AM system was for me. This kind of thing is subjective, but, since Bose grosses hundreds of millions a year, I guess I'm not alone on this one.

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None, really. One review, e.g., mentioned Energy Take5, which is ....hem ... UGLY.

Quick setup, design. Price?

FreQ response, low mids and no bas

Seems to be a lot of hard words about the Bose systems here. :-) IMHO these speakers arent that bad. They are easy to use ( read "setup") and has lot of advantages. BUT, ( thers always a "but" included when talking about Bose Acoustimas,, :-) ) there is many systems that sounds better then Bose out there, but none of theme has the ability to "disapeare" like the Acoustimas. All in all, if You want something that sounds well,not great , and want the illusion of music coming from all around You, chose Bose Acoustimas, if You like true to nature sound, chose something else.
BTW, I´ve had this system for a brief period of time, a friend of mine (reatailer ) wanted me to make a review of them and an opinion about to whom He might sell them. IMO this system is perfect for You´re average "Father-in-law" who wants a nice, fancy "easy to use" installation that doesn´t make his wife furius!For the rest of us ( who has to live with comment like " those big black things, where do You think,,,,,,,!!!!!! :-) ), NO! Place Your cash somewhere ells.

PS, I have the greatest respect for Bose and their products, given the size of the system, and price, what other system sounds better?? I´m truly impressed.

( Value rating does NOT include size, just pure, hard cash. :-) )

Similar Products Used:

Sonys new "Easy to Use Home Theater systems" and Panasonic.

Good looks

Terrible music reproduction, weak center speaker on HT mode throws off the balance. The little bass in existence sounds awful on higher volumes.

I picked this system up from Circuit City for $900 because it was a clean and pretty design. I hooked it up to a H/K AVR 500 and tossed a Jean Michel Jarre CD in the DVD. I couldn't believe my ears - Jarre's music never sounded so bad, even in my car stereo. No midrange whatsoever, no separation, bass was horrendous. So I figured - OK it's an HT speaker system - and this time I tossed the Titanic DVD in. Bass was still horrible but it did sound better as an HT system. However, the cube was so inadequate as a center speaker, I had to crank it up just to hear the low voice dialogs in the movie which messed up the balance with the other speakers.
The system was promptly returned and I am picking up some Wharfedale deals from Ubid.com

I would think twice buying these speakers for $300 but at $900, fuggedaboutit.

Loud sound for such small size. They don't invade a small room with their size. Clear, crisp sound.

At low volumes, all ranges seem to clump into one.

I have been looking at the reviews here and noticed that none of the people have mentioned that they have Series II of these speakers. The only thing I can see that was changed between the original model AM10 and Series II is that the bass has been improved. With a sound meter, I can easily meet the requirements at reference level and not hear any sort of distortion in the bass whatsoever. I will say, as many other people have said, that I cannot hear the surrounds too well at lower volumes. To resolve this issue, I just turn it up a little. I have the speakers hooked up to the Sony STR-DE845, (brand new) receiver, and I'm happy with them. The room is fairly small and I have spent the time required for proper placement.

small size

non-existent mids and poor bass produce hollow, shallow, tinny sound

This system, years ago, was probably decent. In todays digital home theater world, however, Bose products just do not measure up to the competition. I bought this system only because my wife insisted. After listening for a while, she was just as anxious as I to return it. One would also expect more than paper cones and particle board for $1000. I had it hooked to a Sony STR-DB830. My friends Sharp bookshelf mini-system had a fuller sound. If you are considering this unit or any other Bose product, my advise is: DON'T!

small size

Non-existent mids and poor bass. Very hollow, shallow, tinny sound.

This system, years ago, was probably decent. In todays digital home theater world, however, Bose products just do not measure up to the competition. I bought this system only because my wife insisted. After listening for a while, she was just as anxious as I to return it. One would also expect more than paper cones and particle board for $1000. I had it hooked to a Sony STR-DB830. My friends Sharp bookshelf mini-system had a fuller sound. If you are considering this unit or any other Bose product, my advise is: DON'T!

Ted, with all due respects, you ARE right. If you work on commission, of course you would rather keep a customer, than send him away angry if you tell him that Bose is a terrible speaker. Remember, though, as a professional, part of your job also is to just make sure that the customer is getting the best for their money, but by all means, if Bose is what they like, then Bose is what the want. In addition, believe it or not, although my current audio retail job will NEVER be my lively hood, and even though I do NOT work on commission, it is still against the policy of my company, to disparage product. It is simply bad business and unprofessional from a "big corporation standpoint." That leads to the reason I posted the below review: No matter what type or rapport you build with customers, it is still difficult for them to believe some things you tell them if they are the typical consumer. That is because of stereotype that we all take on as being product specialists/ salesman. There have been times when I have repeatedly explained something important to a customer, but they have failed to believe me. A fellow consumer then hears what I was trying to relate, and they then proceed in telling my customer that I WAS INDEED CORRECT. So in summary: the job sometimes DOES interfer with the utter truth or the acceptance thereof by the customer. Therefore inorder to give everyone my honest opinion of a product(consumer to consumer) and also to invoke my first amendment rights with out fear of job loss, I use this forum .(Although not as much as I would like to.) Inorder to get the point across, it is at times necessary to present facts in a perspective closer to that of an editorial. This is to hopefully get a few people who may have been considering a certain product to atleast make mental note of a few major things, and then maybe go research them more on their own. These posts may be interpreted as everyone likes, but people should be able to see on their own what the majority honestly believes. Everyone who makes an investment likes to think they got the most of their money, even myself; we shouldn't let that skew the truth, though.

One final note: Most recording contain the acoustical presences and qualities of the room they were recorded which includes reflections off walls. Since Dr. Bose employs direct reflecting speakers, do you really want to hear a reflection of a reflection?
-Just some Food for thought--

Thank you for your consideration of these ideas, none of which I have added to or conjectured myself. They were all pre-existant; but they just needed reiterated.

I will give the Bose a rating of three stars just to nullify the rating value of this post since I already posted but wished to clarify for the gentleman from Australia. That still does not change my views of this speaker product line by Bose. (Avoid at all costs--one star for quality.) If you're going to check anything by Bose, check out the 201's: an average consumer speaker at a more accurate price point, probably Bose's best speaker because it has less drivers and radical implementations which means less overall distortion although you still get a limited range. Good luck on finding an officail product spec, though, since Bose doesn't like us to shop by frequency response.

BOSE MARKETING AND BRAINWASHING

HEHEH

Another brief Bose dissertation on AM serires speakers. (Compared to the AM5's or 6's, this is an even bigger rip off: 5x2 cubes of crap plus a thud module...ALL FOR ROUGHLY $1000!. aka: the dreaded AM10)
A long,long time ago (approximately 1968), Dr. AMAR Bose went "tripping" into an audio store for speakers when he had a startling revelation. "Wow...all these big speakers sound so good, but cost so much! What if I invent a speaker using the world's cheapest, crappiest parts, but do some research in the field of psychoacoustics (the study of human hearing trickery) to fool the vast majority of the ignorant, American-Pie public into thinking they're hearing something that sounds good!?!" Then AMAR thought a little bit more... "Yes, Yes I will do some very limited research on this stuff, and then run off to radio shack and buy some cheap drivers, yes, yes." He then tripped back out of the audio salon, and had another revelation: After putting his speakers into nifty little cardboard boxes with veneer on them for designer imposter styling, and if he could fool all the rich wannabies into thinking they had a good piece of...speaker, he could then charge absorbitant amounts for it also. Over the years, AMAR did very well in marketing his noise emitting apparati, and if anyone ever tried to bring out the truth, he would stomp on them with more clever marketing such as: We do not release the frequency responses of our speakers, because good sound is in the eye of the beholder(with his head in a washermachine) or BOSE: Better sound through (1 year of) research (and thirty years of brainwashing akin to that of 1984). Anyway, you get the idea. I am trying to reiterate some of these important points due to the rash of recent posts on this site so more consumers do not fall for the trap that has been reset by BOSE'S evil associates who post on this site.

Remember: 1. Attenuators only hide the true nature of music. They bring out a few of the frequencies the human ear likes at first, but extended listening causes fatigue but more importantly, a realization that the original recording is skewed by the EVIL BOSE SCIENTISTS!!!!(This is much like those who hide their short comings until they are married and it is too late!) Speaking of hiding, anyone who has sat through an "unveil" at one of those fancy BOSE outlets, has been thesubject of an evil brainwashing technique employed by the Bose MINIONS. Go read a first semester college marketing book and you'll see what I'm talking about.
2. Thanks to mother nature, the law of physics states that 2.5 inch drivers cannot reproduce bass---try turning up that cheap boombox in your gargae to full volume and see what you get. Bose does not work miracles--not even with the thud module--it only has one or two 5.25 inch "bass drivers" similar to an old Aiwa minisystem that convulses on low notes in my basement.

3. Anything over 90 hz is pretty directional--so why does Bose let their thud module reproduce sounds up to 210 hz??? Uh-oh--you're getting it now---yes--to make up for those bass deficiencies that were in your boom box in your garage. What does that mean to you??? Well, everytime someone talks on screen, you will be looking at that cute, little thud module on the floor instead of your screen instead or a center channel speaker depending on what AM system you own. A note to the person who still actually thinks the thud module is some sort of sub woofer even after the above explanation: its passive and doesn't even have the range a real subwoofer should. Real subwoofers compliment the sound of your speakers. Bose cubes of crap do the opposite; they compliment your thud module. Get it?
4. Bose says paper has the most natural reproduction of any material. Wrong--Bose uses paper because it is the cheapest and keeps their margins HIGHER THAN ANY AUDIO COMPANY in the universe.

5. Bose Speakers are indistructible!!!--heheh. Well, if that is so, why do the foam surrounds rot in five years, and why does Bose warn us not to plug those fabulous little furninture cubes into the receiver without running a crossover through the thud box???!!! I don't even think Dr. Evil would buy BOSE.

In my humble opinion, I have listened to many speakers for many hours: so many that I can pick out every little flaw, and coloration with ease. Please also consider my musical background--I have played sax most of my life, and I am the discerning type who will shake their head everytime they hear a mistake played at a live concert. With this in mind, through my friends at the audio stores and my own employment, discounts have made money no object when purchasing speakers, so I don't have to own these things to review them. I have listened to these things more than most people who own them including at my girl friend's house whose mother is proud of her Bose Systems. I had the displeasure of watching a movie on these things, and it was then that I made my final decision: That i felt sorry that my girlfriend's mother ever wasteed the money on BOSE. I will never tell her that, though. She is too proud of her "investment" and would probably kick me out of the house and banish me from seeing her daughter FOREVER. (Sound like a familiar situation with all those jaded reviewers and their five stars?) Well, thank you for your time...

WARNING: AVOID THESE AND ALL BOSE SPEAKERS LIKE THE BLACK DEATH--IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING THEM FOR TEIR SMALL SIZE, PLEASE LOOK AT SOME OTHER MORE REPUTABLE BRANDS SUCH AS BOSTON ACOUSTICS, OR ENERGY. IF YOU ARE STUCK IN A MAJOR RETAIL STORE (BB) AND ARE JUST GOING TO BUY BOSE BECAUSE YOU THINK THEY SOUND GOOD, LOOK AT A LARGER SPEAKER. IF YOU ARE IN THAT PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED RETAIL STORE, LOOK AT THE JBL'S. SO MANY PEOPLE WALK STRAIGHT TO BOSE. WHEN I ASK THEM WHY THEY CHOSE BOSE, THEIR IGNORANT FACES GLOW RED, AND THEY TELL ME THAT I HAVE INSULTED THEIR BETTER JUDGMENT. WHAT GREAT BRAINWASHING; AMAR DEFINITELY READ ORWELL'S MASTERPIECE, 1984!!!

FINAL WARNING: IF YOU ALREADY HAPPEN TO OWN SOME, WELL OF COURSE YOU ARE PUKING IN DISGUST, BUT IF YOU ARE STILL READING,THOUGH , THE THUD BOX WILL LOOK HANDSOME AS A BIRD HOUSE FOR FLUFFY THE LOVE BIRD TO DO HIS THING IN.

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THANKS TO MY CIRCLE OF FRIENDS AND MYSELF IN THE RETAIL BUSINESS, I'VE HEARD EVERYTHING FROM MASS MARKET TO AUDIOPHILE