Discrete size, appearance, clarity, OOpmh factor, reliability, customer support

Cost?

When I first stumbled upon these forums my first response was to see what others thought of my favourite brand, ‘Bose’. I must say that I have been horrified reading the numerous comments about how apparently poor the Bose systems are. After years of listening to my parents Bose system I can confidently say that the Acoustimass systems far exceeds the performance of some of the much larger floor-standing and bookshelf speakers offered by companies such as Denon, Infinity, JBL or B&W. Since leaving for university I have put together my own system. Having spent hours going through specialist magazines, talking to dealers and ofcourse listening to various systems I now have an Onkyo Dx Receiver, 6* DVD, B&W DM602 S3s + centre speaker and a JBL sub. At the cost of approx. NZ$4,000 I am now faced with the dilemma that my parents Bose system still sounds a damn sight better. Now I’m not saying that the B&Ws are bad in anyway, in fact they’re a great speaker. They just don’t seem to be able to reproduce the high, low, and mid range frequencies with as much clarity and Oomph! as Bose. It would seem that my hearing has become accustomed to the sound of Bose speakers over the years. A well trained ear can spot a set of Bose a mile away And for me the sound experience never fails to make me smile. I am now waiting to pickup my set of Acoustimass 3s :>

compact, and don''t mess up the decor

not a patch on the smaller, cheaper Acoustic Energy Aego system. Cost of accessories.

The Bose speakers shouldn''t be compared to traditional, bookshelf speakers: they''re for a different market. Not everyone wants (or is allowed) to dominate their lounge with large speakers, so there''s a place for small, innovative speaker systems. However, when I heard this system in a proper listening room, I was disappointed. The treble is a little weak, and the midrange is very compromised. They certainly sound ''loud'' and I thought the bass was adequate: they give an impression of a big sound. But it isn''t a very accurate or rewarding sound, and listening for over 5 minutes makes you aware of the limitations. The high price is the final nail in the coffin. I then listened to the Acoustic Energy Aego system. It blew me away. Still not quite as good as conventional speakers, but the satellites are actually smaller than the Bose design, and they actually give a very realistic stereo image. The midrange is marvellous by comparison, the bass is more solid, and there are less holes in the overall performance. On top of that, they''re 40 percent cheaper. The Bose system may be a good idea on paper, but in practice they''re outclassed. On top of that, the Aegos come with free wall brackets and cables!

Similar Products Used:

AE Aego 5; Arcam amp and Castle speakers

none

everything

What is up with bose.I got these for 250.00 at a yard sale thinking i could use something in them.When I took them apart I couldn''t belive my eyes.The drivers are the cheapest drivers I have ever seen.thin stamped basket with a cheap paper cone.Thin mdf cabinet at best.If you buy this junk at retail get a life.I can''t belive bose gets away with this stuff.

Musical reproduction, size, staging, clarity and depth. Size and looks.

Not "monitor" performance ( but not meant to be anyway), location of bass box needs some experimentation for best results.

I needed a pair of speakers for my son''s room, using a Sony "mini" system which had poor quality speakers with it. I decided to get these for aesthetic and size reasons. ( they sounded Ok too for this purpose at the demo).I tried them first on the "b" speaker terminals on my main HT receiver, out of curiosity, and after getting the positioning of the bass box right they offered both good staging accuracy and depth. These are not monitor, or mini-monitors, go to Sonus Faber or high end B&W''s for that. But they are "musical" speakers, and for those with an average room, as opposed to a sound deadened bunker, they could be an option to consider. I can''t comment on their high end response, or any other part of the spectrum , as I don''t have the equipment for measuring this, but when playing through them they take the attention away from the "reproduction" aspect of the material and focus on pleasent "musical" performance.In other words particularly good for when you want to "hear" music as opposed to listening to it. Not a great fan of satellite systems, but if you want a musical speaker, and want to get away from having another "box" these are worth looking at. The price is a bit on the highish side but not uncompetitive. Best thing is to listen for yourself, and although Bose do not share showroom space with other brands, generally dealers have got more than just one display room, so you can compare with other brands next door. Agree with previous reviewer that Bose provided good technical support.Also agree these are possibly better than more complex Acoustimass models.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Tannoys, Jamo''s

Deep bass, exquisite sound quality, size.

cost and need to have bass module in corner for best sounding bass.

This product as far as i can see is a great bose product. It has the cost factor but that can be minmized by buying them on ebay or yahoo auctions.

Clear sound, great highs. Invisible.

Need to place bass module in a corner for best bass.
Expensive.

They have a very musical quality to the sound. Once the bass module is placed in a corner, they can surprise you with the output for thier size. Works really well in a smaller room. Definitly hi-fi.

THE MIDS AND THE SIZE OF THE CUBES

THE BOSE AM-3'S ARE BLOODY BRILIANT THEY PRODUCE A GOOD SOUND. AT FIRST I WAS CONCERN ABOUT THE LOW AMOUNT OF BASS SO ONE DAY I DECIDED TO SPEND TIME WITH THE SUB WOOFER IN POSTIONING THE SUB WOOFER IN A BETTER LOCATION AND NOW IT WORKS A HOLE LOT BETTER. THE BASS HAS MORE DEPTH ESPECIALY WHEN WATCHING TERMINATER 2.

POSITION SPEAKERS PLAYS A BIG PART IN SOUND IMAGING,SO ONCE YOU HAVE TRIED EVERY THING POSSIBLE TO GET IT TO SOUND GOOD AND YOU HAVE NO LUCK,THEN GO AND GET YOUR MONEY BACK, JUST DONT GIVE UP TO EASY.

WITH MY AM 3'S THE HI-FI STORE CAN KEEP MY MONEY I'M EXTREAMLY HAPPY.

Similar Products Used:

JAMO SATERLITES AND SUB WOOFER

Small Size

Small Sound, Price, Cheap Materials

The only good thing about these speakers is the small size, that's about it. The speakers have uneven tonal balance and weak bass. It also has a cheap fit and finish. The Cambridge Soundworks and Acoustic Energy Aego series are much better buys that have got much better sound quality.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Soundworks, Acoustic Energy Aego

I do not recommend the AM3 to a serious audio enthusiast. Nor for the general listener. The reason is that the sound quality does not outweigh other factors, namely price. Let me state up front that I do not own the AM3. I auditioned them at a store upon looking for a stereo under $1000. If that discounts the review, so be it, but I hardly see why that should, since it is quite conceivable to review a speaker without having bought it. When you go to a friend's house and listen to their speakers, you can write a review of them. You don't have to steal his speakers and install them in your house to make a judgment. I think that's fair.

Back to the AM3. I expected better sound quality for a unit such as this. I had seen numerous Bose ads in magazines and newspapers and read them. They seemed like a good company. I had read about their innovations. But upon listenting to their products, I found them to be lackluster compared to their competitors. The reason apparently stems from the lack of bass with the Bose speaker.

Further observations by others seems to confirm by initial encounter. The bass on the AM3 just isn't very impressive, even with the subwoofer. But without the sub, you can forget about any sort of bass, because there isn't any to speak of. Overall the sound seemed harsh and distorted, and it sounded like something was missing. I listened to the same CD (Bernard Herrman's Vertigo score as recorded by Joel McNeely) on five separate units and the Bose AM3 was the weakest of the lot for this price range.

That may sit well with the casual listener, but it shouldn't, since better speakers are out there for cheaper prices.

I again plead with prospective buyers to listen to other speakers before they purchase these.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch Quintet. NHT Super Zero. Energy Take 5. Et al.

highs,small,vocals

none

I have actually bought all of the above speakers, but find the little am-3s to out perform all of the others.It is the model 1v. I just don't know where these anti bose people get off by saying they have no highs.I have a denon 2800 and find myself turning down the treble.They have the best vocals of any speaker I have owned. I sold my jbl's to a pawn shop for 65 dollars.I use the am 3's for my main speakers and couldn't be happier.I do have a powered sub though,although they still sound great when I don't use the sub.These little speakers are even better than the am 5's which I returned,go figure.

Similar Products Used:

jbl n-24's, klipsch,infinity bose am5