Looks awesome Great highs and mids

Flat compared with other speakers Seems to squeeze out sound Low quality parts, more importantly, they do not sound like low quality parts

After listening to “Harry Potter” with these set of speakers in the theatre toom of Future Shop (A Canadian mainstream electronic retailer a-la Best-Buy), I decided to purchase them (1600$CDN). I was really impressed by their sheer size and strength. Later did I realize that I did not take into consideration the following: -My room size was larger compared to the listening area -One should listen to music(ality) in order to determine the quality of speakers. Good music sound will generate good theatre sound. It has good mids and highs. However, the bass is lacking in “oomph” and “punch”. The speakers are great for looks, and average for hearing. However, if you are picky about your audio tastes, you can spend the same amount of money for a higher quality set of speakers. Obviously, there is a trade off between looks and audio quality. Although they are not made of quality parts (spring coil attachments for cables, not magnetically shielded, cardboard), here is a word of advice: LET YOUR EARS TO THE HEARING. It does sound ok. I then went to a specialized audio shop: I wanted to compare Bose with another brand. I could not find any non-mainstream specialty audio shops which carried the Bose Brand. After listening to Paradigms, Energy, Mirage, and JBL, I decided to “purchase” (or 30-day trial) a set of speakers from Boston Acoustics (see specs below) due to price and personal taste. It does not mean that B.A. are better than the other speakers, it just suits my preferences. Having the opportunity to have two sets of speakers at home (Bose and Boston) and comparing them with the same receiver (Yamaha RX-V730) and settings, I was surprised to find out that, the Bose sounded flat and lacking in all ranges (including high and lows, especially bass) for MANY different types of media (DVDs: Lord of the Rings, Fast and Furious, Jurassic Park… CDs: Classical, Doors, U2, eminem, britney, limp bizkit). The new set of speakers has more dynamic range compared with the Bose, which is definitely easier to hear with the naked ear: you do not need a lab to compare Bose speakers with another set of speakers of the same price range. It also sounds like the Bose is desperately trying to squeeze out sound through those small-sized box. This also explains the fact that listening to Bose after several hours, it seems the Bose is “squeaking” and making me fati

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Receiver: Yamaha RXV730 Center: BA VR910 (Boston Acoustics) L/R: BA VR940 Surround: BA CR65 Sub: BA PV600 Use for DVD (Toshiba 5-Disc Progressive), Satellite (Bell E-vu), Xbox.

Bose is similar to Windows CE in PDA market. A lot of people bash Windows CE product and champion Plam Devices. They said that CE is crap, not stable, etc. So I bought a Palm Vx, but was very disappointed.. After 1 month I sell palm and then buy a Cassiopeia. I am a proud and happy owner of Cassiopeia (which is running on Win CE). Going back to Bose, people who bash Bose are those from other speaker manufacturers, or those who never tried Bose. I've heard Bose in show room and I was really amased by its sound, very pleasing, and can listen to it very long. I've listened to other systems, such as Polk, Sony, JVC, JBL home theater system, with the same room setting, but none of them can match the quality of sound coming out of Bose AM 15. My friends own MK and my other friend own M&K, they sound very good, very high tweeter and very low bass. But you need to sit in the right position in the room to be able to appreciate the sound. Another thing is that it causes ear fatigue, unlike Bose.

I guess the plastic enclosures are strong.

I'd be repeating myself if typed any comments in here.

First of all let me say I have no axe to grind with Bose, some of my best friends use Bose. That doesn't make them bad or good, it just makes them there. I want to know however, a few answers to some very basic questions regarding these. 1. Why does Bose not publish their specs? 2. Why are they not THX certified? 3. Why are they charging 1400.00 for 100.00 worth of hardware? 4. Why is it when I see them at some retail outlets they are stacked up in boxes like cases of Pepsi at COSTCO (which is about what they're worth). 5. Why don't I EVER see them in ANY independent high end HiFi outlet (that right there should tell you something). For those dozen of you who "love" this system you really need to ask yourself only one question and that is, Is it likely that the rest of the 200+ audio reviewers that have posted comments on this board are somewhat or totally deaf?, I don't think so. Do you think that maybe the majority of the audio reviewers that posted comments here are correct in their oppinions? More than likely. If I was in this majority I would seriously re-think my position regarding these AM15's. But seriously the AM15's as in most of the Bose line in designed to be very pleasant and HOT (audibly) when you first sit down and take a listen either to music or movies. BUT once you have established that comfort zone you will quickly realize some interesting things beginning to happen, your comfort zone will be soon violated by the stress and fatigue of the audio spectrum (if that's what you want to call it). This is caused by the design and size of the speaker, it phisycally cannot reproduce high frequency above the 10,000hz range and it has difficulty reproducing frequency below 500hz (it is against the laws of physics), this goes back to my earlier question why Bose does not publish their specs (because if you knew the specs you wouldn't buy them, or at least you shouldn't buy them). The fatigue is caused by Bose intentionally making the speaker system HOT to ge the listener to say, "WOW these sound good", even when comparing them to others, which rerely happens in the same session. The bottom line is that these drivers induce ear fatigue after some listening at relatively low SPL after an extended period of time, so I guess if you don't care what you hear or you like headaches these are for you.

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JBL Advent Sunfire

Size, marketing, being able to tell others about how great your little speakers sounds.

Reality.

I usually don't write reviews for these types of products, but something happened last week and I just had to write. This really foxy girl named Suzy lives...oh wait this is about Bose speaker. Sorry. Just wanted to point out that most of these positive reviews and slams pretty much sound like people writing in to "Penthouse". Total BS. The bose backers must be selling the stuff, or they own it and don't want people dumping on their stuff. The bashers probably have never owned the stuff, and are so focused on bashing it because the Bose boards are the most contentious. On the positive side, these are the best reviews to read by far. Pure entertainment. With that said, I have recently (today) gone through the process of picking out a pair of less than 1000$ main speakers for music/home theater use. I listened to some Bose stuff, and wow...no amount of marketing would make me want to own those at any price. Just awful. But, I have plenty of room in my house and don't care if I have to give up a little floor space for quality sound. End result, I bought a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 40's. Really nice, 700$. Not even close. To me, Bose owners either have huge space constraints, or they are totally uneducated on what good quality stereo should sound like. But that is just my opinion

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I suppose that stuff by radio shack would be similar.

Incredible crisp sound with some tweaking of location and direction of cubes. Well hidden and won't clutter your room. Brings out the best in a good receiver.

Overpriced, but you can find them under $850 with the right sleuthing. At that price, a terrific buy. I only gave it a 2 Value Rating because if you pay full retail, you're bound to be p***ed. The result? Great sound but a bad review.

I've read every review here and I've noticed something odd. First, the majority of positive reviews are from people who actually have these speakers in their homes. Second, the majority of negative reviews are from people who either simply hate BOSE prices or only listened to the speakers in a store. For their size and purpose, these speakers are amazing. Not only are they much more attractive (if you even notice them) than floor-based models, but aside from looks alone, they produce crisp, clear sound without distortion. Granted, if you jack the volume all the way up and fiddle with the settings in search of distortion, you'll find it, but try listening to these speakers the way you will REALLY listen to them. Top notch. Now, as for the negative reviews...I've noticed the same negative review posted several times. Who does this help? This panel is for REVIEWS, not opinions by non-owners. A review should be placed by someone who actually owns (or has owned) these speakers...not someone with a personal vendetta. You'll see what I mean. If you're only going to listen to these speakers in a store before writing your scathing review, here are some tips. First, make sure the receiver is set to levels you would have in your setting. You have no idea how many children fancy cool knobs and how many audio freaks sample and tweak these testing rooms. When we first sampled the AM-15's, the sound was terrible. I thought it was the speaker's problem until I noticed that someone had the treble set way too low and the bass jacked way too high. They were obviously looking for something, but their fiddling skewed my listening. Second, make sure that you try different media types...CD's and DVD's. They had Pearl Harbor playing where I was, and bad acting and love scenes aren't what I want surround sound for. In popped the Matrix and then Twister, and the results were stunning. Third, pay less attention to biased reviews and salespeople, and more attention to your ears. I have these hooked to a Denon AVR-3801 and after some minor tweaking of treble and location of the bass unit, the results have been stunning. Yes, their base price is high, but be diligent in your search and you'll find the bargain. For those about to bash me and my review, remember that I haven't been in your house either...so go easy.

Small size, good looks

High price, only marginal sound for the money, lots of hype!

Just some facts to consider about Bose: I feel that anyone can spend their hard earned money anyway they like. But if you're surfing this website you are probably looking for a little guidance on some products. I have listened to the Bose AM15 and many other similar systems and have these reservations about Bose: Why are they so expensive and price protected? - it is not because of the build quality. Why is no Bose speaker THX certified. Any speaker can be if it meets certain rigid quality standards. Why are Bose speakers always displayed by themselves? How can a 2 1/2" driver produce frequencies from 150 hz all the way to 20,000 hz ( it can't) Why is the markup on a Bose system so high? (it is said that dealer cost on a $1299.99 AM15 is only $462)! Do yourself a favor if you are thinking about the Bose system. Go and listen to them, but do not buy them right away. Then go to at least two other stereo stores, and tell the salesman that you would like to hear some speakers, but not any Bose, you don't have to tell him why. Suggested spearkers would be Klispch, Energy, Polk, Mirage, B&W, all are within the price range (most under) of the AM15. I feel that if you listen to several different spearkers at different times and places, you won't end up buying the Bose. Remember, choose for yourself, try not to believe any hype that other people might tell you, especially if they are salesmen!

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Energy, Polk, M&K.

Looks and easy set up.

Too expensive for the sound you get upgradibility

I would like to add my grain of salt to this whole hate-love relationship bose seems to bring to people. I own bose lifestyle 15 for 4 years. I truly enjoyed this system, until recently! When was time to upgrade to dolby digital, I could not do it without buying a new receiver and sub. That is fault #1 of bose: no upgradibility! I started reading everithing about receivers , then sub, then speakers and I discover a whole new world out there. I read things like frequncy range, micro dynamics,dynamic impact, imaging, soundstage, boomy bass, clear vocals ad nauseam!Well you get the picture. It all seemed pretentious but the doubt has been implanted in me. I rearranged my speakerS, did all the adjustments i read about and voila! I too had the wide soundstage and I fell in love again with my speakers. Whoof! I came close to believe all these anti-bose guys. But I still did not have dolby digital or dts sound so I still had to invest in a new av receiver and sub. So I bought denon avr 3802 and sunfire true sub mark lV. Wow! what an improvement that did. A better sub definitely improved the whole system. Now The doubt was back about my bose system. What if I bought 2 new speakers, how much better would it sound? well guess what? I bought 2 floorstanding speakers and a new center channel (axiom m80 and vp150). Ouch!! the difference was extraordinary. Now I am real upset because i need new surround speakers, and I went for it and bought 2 new surround. And I am sorry to say but it made Bose sound very basic.I understand now all these professional reviewers when they speak of soundstage, clarity, deep thight base, bone crushing impact!! I now heard things on my cd''s that were not there before!!? The conclusion to this is if you have a bose system, don''t start comparing or you''ll be doomed like I was.I ended up paying more than the original bose by a $1000. but now I have audiophile sound and UPGRADIBILITY. That''s what started the whole thing afterall!!

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denon avr 3802 toshiba sd 5109 dvd player axiom audio epic 80 home theatre

none

Sound totally sucks.

total waste. Totally sucks. BOSE was my dream system since I cn remember. Everytime I audition the sounds from the store, I assure myself that the price is justified. Well, after bringing them home, they totally suck. I could have bought a better system for half the price.

None.

Sound totally sucks.

Totally sucks. BOSE was my dream system since I cn remember. Everytime I audition the sounds from the store, I assure myself that the price is justified. Well, after bringing them home, they totally suck. I could have bought a better system for half the price.

A neat and tidy solution to multi-channel sound.Great Bass bin.For those who like a dynamic sound

You couldn''t call them reference. But what is??

I am a professional Sound engineer who spends all his time in and out of many top recording and tv studios.I''ve heard just about every speaker out there and therefore feel justified to comment. The Am15''s are to put it simply excellent.They''re designed to be discreet within your home and work really well in todays Home cinema setups.The Bose bashers on these sites seem to have no idea of what they''re talking about.Sound is such a personal thing and i would always recommend a personal listening audition.When other reviewers bang on about technical figures i''d point out that every day in every studio mixes are often travelling down patch cords that cost about £2.00.Kinda puts things into perspective.If you like the look and your happy with your listening test then go buy and enjoy.Don''t be put off by so called audiophiles and their endless figures.Trust your ears not the numbers. Just for reference most studios in the uk are now using active genelecs.

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Honestly pretty much everything