In the past AVS has been THE place for answers to all my technical questions! Here are two I cannot find an answer to:

(1)
I have a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV - I have all my equipment hooked up to it either via HDMI or Component.

I then run a Optical Cable From my TV to my older Kenwood Receiver - thus audio from all sources runs through the TV then to the receiver - no switching needed on the Receiver needs to be done between inputs.

My question - is this the best setup for optimal audio performance or should I connect each piece up to the receiver by itself?

(2)
I recently purchased a Bose Acoustimass 10 Speaker system. All the speakers connect into the Subwoofer then from the Subwoofer a cable with what looks like a serial connection runs with regular speaker outlets on the other side that connect to the Receiver. I do plan on purchasing a new receiver in the near future as I have learned that my older Kenwood isn't true DTS (whatever that means - I'm still learning about all this!)

Is this the best way to run the system? Why do they all connect to the Bose Subwoofer instead of directly to the Receiver? - it was SUCH a pain to run the extra large plugs through the floor and over.

Thank you to everyone who contributes and lends their expertise to this forum. It is quite invaluable.

1) Some TVs will not relay a digital audio signal and some will. If you have a source device (cable box, DVD player that has an digital audio out (optical or coax) the most certain thing is to connect that to receiver. If your TV does pass digital audio then you can get by with just the digital out from the TV to the receiver.

If you have a DVD player connected to the TV via component then you must have a digital (or 5 channel analog) connection directly to the receiver.

Some DVD players have 5 channel analog audio outputs. If your receiver has 5 channel inputs you can use them in place of the digital connection. However all sound processing is done in the player and that may or may not be better than your receiver.

Two channel (L/R) audio connections do not carry Dolby Digital or Dolby 5.1.

2)The sub has an on board amp that powers everything. Many would say that it is simply not worth the hassle to to try and break it up. The surrounds are really quite poor, and the sub is much more a mid-woofer. Leave it alone and look for something better.

DTS is a surround format similar to Dolby. Some say better than Dolby; some say not. However all commercial movie DVDs and all broadcast surround is Dolby (DD, DD 5.1 and lately a few movies in DD EX, 6.1). There are DVDs that have both DTS and Dolby but not as many as have just Dolby. Don't change your receiver just to get DTS ( I say that even though I usually use the DTS option if a DVD has it.)

The Dolby Labs site (http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html) has a good explanation of all of the Dolby modes.

Is this the best way to run the system? Why do they all connect to the Bose Subwoofer instead of directly to the Receiver? - it was SUCH a pain to run the extra large plugs through the floor and over.
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Because Bose loves to go against all conventional audio wisdom and make things difficult. In short though, the cubes need to be hooked up through the Bass Module (it's not a sub by any stretch of the imagination). The entire crossover network is in the Bass module, and if you tried to connect the cubes direct to the amp, they would blow.

I would really suggest going to the speaker forum and search on Bose, you probably won't like what you see.

Thanks for the info, yes, I'm learning bose is kinda a pain in the ass with this stuff. I purchased the Acoustimass 10 system for $999 but I had a 12% off coupon @ Bestbuy. I like how the Bose cubes are small - do you guys have any recommendations for better speakers that are still small like that? And I'm able to hook directly up to my receiver?

Thanks again!

I have Bose am 7's for the front and am 5's in the rear ( two sets of Bose ) that means two sub boxes. I also have a powered sud. It's awesome my opinion.

I purchased the Acoustimass 10 system for $999 but I had a 12% off coupon @ Bestbuy.
I had a 10% (12% w/ Reward Zone) coupon, but don't those exclude Bose and KEF?

Thanks for the info, yes, I'm learning bose is kinda a pain in the ass with this stuff. I purchased the Acoustimass 10 system for $999 but I had a 12% off coupon @ Bestbuy. I like how the Bose cubes are small - do you guys have any recommendations for better speakers that are still small like that? And I'm able to hook directly up to my receiver?

Thanks again!

Pretty much any small satellite system will be superior. There are many out there, from Paradigm, etc.
The SVS system is $999 and is another such example. Should absolutely obliterate the Bose system in all respects, most importantly for critical listening.

Mirage Omnisat and HSU Ventriloquist are 2 highly regarded satelllite setups.

I had a 10% (12% w/ Reward Zone) coupon, but don't those exclude Bose and KEF?

No, it didn't exclude the Bose on this coupon.

I have taken the Bose system back, because I've learned that Bose really do suck.

I purchased the Klipsch Quintet III, Klipsch Sub 10 & Yamaha Receiver all for $899 (would have been $1200 but it was a special bundle) Haven't hooked it all up yet, but can't wait!

I'm trying to find good speaker wire and the place I usually go (Monoprice.com) is out of the CL-3 12 AWG - is CL-3 rating really neccessary?
Thanks!

David

I recently purchased the Bose Acoustimass 16 system (6.1) and am now worried. I also purchased an Onkyo 606 receiver to complete the system and am now curious if my system will be output HD quality audio. I'm no audiophile by any means, and even admit I know NOTHING about speakers.... I just want to make sure these speakers will actually perform at 6.1 quality and put out DTS HD MA or Dolby True HD..... Could someone help me out? Hopefully my post makes sense. Thanks

It's not so much the cubes getting damaged, it's your amp or receiver that will be damaged. The cubes are only about 2 Ohms and will toast your amp or at the least trip it's protection circuitry.

It's not so much the cubes getting damaged, it's your amp or receiver that will be damaged. The cubes are only about 2 Ohms and will toast your amp or at the least trip it's protection circuitry.

Was your reply for me, or in reference to the OP?

I recently purchased the Bose Acoustimass 16 system (6.1) and am now worried. I also purchased an Onkyo 606 receiver to complete the system and am now curious if my system will be output HD quality audio. I'm no audiophile by any means, and even admit I know NOTHING about speakers.... I just want to make sure these speakers will actually perform at 6.1 quality and put out DTS HD MA or Dolby True HD..... Could someone help me out? Hopefully my post makes sense. Thanks

Hi NDKBluRay,

Been away from AVS for a long while, wish I had caught your question in July.

To get the full benefits of these formats, one needs a decent player, a decent receiver or separates, a decent set of speakers. Unfortunately, Bose is not a good candidate for these "high definition" sounds.

Other brands in similar price range can do significantly better. Popular names like Polk, Paradigm, JBL and Infinity come to mind. There are many others. Stereophile magazine is a decent plane to get a list of speakers that may be of interest. I am NOT a subscriber of that magazine but have used it as a resource.

If there is a way to replace the Bose with one of the above or some other better performing speaker systems, it is worth the effort and you will not be sorry.

GOod luck!

I recently purchased the Bose Acoustimass 16 system (6.1) and am now worried. I also purchased an Onkyo 606 receiver to complete the system and am now curious if my system will be output HD quality audio. I'm no audiophile by any means, and even admit I know NOTHING about speakers.... I just want to make sure these speakers will actually perform at 6.1 quality and put out DTS HD MA or Dolby True HD..... Could someone help me out? Hopefully my post makes sense. Thanks

They will put out what the receiver can decode. IF your receiver can decode DTS MA and Dolby TrueHD then that is what you will get. Call Bose to see if the receiver is compatible.

The reason I post in the Bose areas is because I too used to read all these comments about how bad Bose are. What I ended up realizing is that Bose are pretty much as good as small satellites are going to get. If you want to get larger speakers you'll do better sound wise. If you need the satellite form factor, Bose are fine and probably better than most.

In the past AVS has been THE place for answers to all my technical questions! Here are two I cannot find an answer to:

(1)
I have a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV - I have all my equipment hooked up to it either via HDMI or Component.

I then run a Optical Cable From my TV to my older Kenwood Receiver - thus audio from all sources runs through the TV then to the receiver - no switching needed on the Receiver needs to be done between inputs.

My question - is this the best setup for optimal audio performance or should I connect each piece up to the receiver by itself?

(2)
I recently purchased a Bose Acoustimass 10 Speaker system. All the speakers connect into the Subwoofer then from the Subwoofer a cable with what looks like a serial connection runs with regular speaker outlets on the other side that connect to the Receiver. I do plan on purchasing a new receiver in the near future as I have learned that my older Kenwood isn't true DTS (whatever that means - I'm still learning about all this!)

Is this the best way to run the system? Why do they all connect to the Bose Subwoofer instead of directly to the Receiver? - it was SUCH a pain to run the extra large plugs through the floor and over.

Thank you to everyone who contributes and lends their expertise to this forum. It is quite invaluable.

Because the Bose Acoustimass does the switching. Since the cubses are really small the Acoustimass takes the place of a woofer and switches at a much higher frequency than a typical sub woofer. In fact the Acoustimass is not a sub woofer at all and you'd be well served to get a sub woofer as well.

That is an advantage of the Bose, that you have the Acoustimass and you can add a sub woofer. As a result the overall output from the Bose will be much richer sounding than any other satellite system that I have heard. Most have the traditional 5.1 where the actual speakers cannot go deep and the sub woofer is too deep. So, while each speaker may be superior to the Bose, the overall sound is worse.

That is my complete unbiased opinion :)

If you go this way and add a true subwoofer, you will still have a large gap in the middle frequencies where the bose satellites drop off and the "Bass Module" picks up (I believe the hole is between 200hz and 280hz, not a good place to fail to reproduce frequencies). Not only that, but now you've got this bass module that really is comprised of mid woofers that is masquerading as a subwoofer, but is not truly omnidirectional like an actual sub. As a result, you have signals that were meant to be directional by the sound engineer that are now quasi-omnidirectional, ruining the entire mix and the whole point in having 5.1 surround. It's your call, but I figure that the sound engineer knows more about mixing than I do, so I'll try to reproduce it the way he intended.

Bose only sounds acceptable when hooked to that crappy silver wedge that does all the EQing and sound processing that make the very low quality transducers hooked to it sound like more than what they really are. Hook those cubes to a real receiver and you will hear what they really sound like. You can spend almost half the money and get something that sounds way better. If your sound blows, it must be Bose.

I have a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV - I have all my equipment hooked up to it either via HDMI or Component.

I then run a Optical Cable From my TV to my older Kenwood Receiver - thus audio from all sources runs through the TV then to the receiver - no switching needed on the Receiver needs to be done between inputs.

Surprised no one commented on this part yet.
I don't know about that model, but most TV's that pass optical out ONLY PASS STEREO. To actually have DTS or any other true surround sound you would want your components sending audio directly to the receiver.

First time so hang in there with me and am very ignorant on home audio. I have an older (6-8 years) Bose Lifestyle DVD system 5.1 I think. I have been using a different DVD player for a few years now but still running all of my sound through the DVD/Receiver. I am buying a new TV (Panasonic Viera 58) and would like to run one HDMI from the TV to the new receiver and everything else to the receiver. I was hoping to produce better sound and clean up the wires while getting rid of the useless Bose DVD player. But I wasn't sure if the Bose speakers/sub is compatible with other receivers. Or if a better receiver would even have any effect on my speakers since they all run into the sub and then into the DVD/receiver. Not even sure what kind of cable it is running from the Sub to the DVD/receiver. I'm sure someone will tell me I should just replace all the Bose but I don't have the money and the Bose wires were all pre-wired so I'm not even sure I could pull them out to replace them with regular speaker wire. If the speakers are compatible anyone have any receivers I should look at? Thanks you very much.

Bose speakers + real receiver = GIANT TURD

There should be no confusion. You say you don't have the money and yet you're buying a new expensive TV. Priorities my friend. You'll suffer everyday until you get rid of that junk, there is no way around it. Bose has very high resale value. I'm sure you can find some sucker to buy it off you because there are tons of them out there.

Well I have the money for one or the other I guess. But since the TV is old and the speakers still sound good to me, I want the new TV. Plus like I said I have a wire issue since I have Bose wires pre-wired in my house and those aren't compatible with other speakers. Right? Could you give me a little more detail. What does giant turd mean as far as audio. No difference? Worse? A little better?

LOL. Don't take that last post too seriously. Some of that post is true, but I was just havin' fun with Bose. The cube speakers you'll probably notice that they sound worse with a real receiver. With a Bose cube and "bass box" setup, you're most likely best to hook all the cubes to the bass box and hook the bass box to the receiver with no crossovers turned on. One of the massive problems with the cubes is they sound like garbage when they're not EQ'd by a Bose module. They are also very inefficient so they suck a lot of power with not a whole lot of sound in return. When hooked to a real receiver you will hear what those speakers really sound like which would be bad. I can certainly understand your want to replace an old TV with a new and probably much bigger one right? Since I go by the name of Mr. Audio you can guess what I would do in your situation. I would buy a nice 50 inch instead of a 58 inch, sell the Bose and get something really worth while. My screen is 34 inches and it does need to be bigger like no smaller than a 42 inch. However sound is what makes the movie magic happen. I think people who buy a 65 inch Mitzu and watch movies and sporting events with TV speakers should be slapped.

It's your call man. You gotta get what makes you happy. I don't think a real receiver is what you're looking for. You don't have to spend a lot of money to replace Bose speakers by the way. Heck, the Sony speakers at Best Buy would blow Bose away. Now if you need the size of Bose, that might be tough to do cheaply. Paradigm Cinema series speakers are pretty small and do sound good. They aren't as cheap as Sony. You can buy a cheap subwoofer below 200 bucks that will easily outperform the Bose bass box.

Definition of Giant turd: See Bose.

As opposed to Bose condecending opinions about quality and price.

Yes you can connect the existing AMx speakers to a different receiver. But as indicated, you need keep the cubes connected to the bass module to operate properly for x-over and EQ.

You can get "adapter cables" for Bose AMx speakers to conventional audio receivers. If your budget doesn't allow you get new speakers at this time, call Bose and inquire about the price and part number for the right interface cable.

And by all means... don't get a "smaller" TV just to appease the "Bose bashing lemmings". ;) .......... with little TV's. :)

So what your saying is the base module is the real receiver and the DVD player is just a crappy DVD player that controls everything. I just can’t seem to justify spending money on replacing something that sounds good to me (speakers). Maybe I’m missing out or my hearing is shot. I don’t know, but I do know I hate the Bose DVD player and the fact that it lacks connections. Here is another problem with replacing my Bose speakers. My setup is down stairs and I have the Bose rear speaker wires pre-wired in my ceiling. I can’t just go out and buy a new set of speaker and attach those in the same spot, right? Isn’t the Bose speaker wire a completely different wire than what is used by all the others? Remember I am retarded when it comes to this stuff, but I really appreciate all your input guys.

A) speaker wire is speaker wire.
B) The Lifestyle (main unit/DVD player) IS the receiver.

Again... all you need to do is change the type of interface cable that goes between the bass module and new receiver. Nothing else has to change. Call Bose... in my experience, they have been very helpful.

A. "Speaker wire is speaker wire"

Question on that. The wires that are coming from my ceiling have little plugs on the end that plug directly into the cube. And I thought that the Bose wire were some weird gauge of wire. How would you connect different speakers using the existing wire? Cut the plugs off? This is kind getting off what I'm trying to do though. Since I really don't want to change the speakers right now but at least it is good info for the future.

Ok so say I call Bose and get the right "adapter cables" to go from the Sub and into the new receiver. What am I really getting, will a new receiver change anything for the better with the speakers (not that I'm unhappy) as far as watts per channel and all the different DTS or Dolby or whatever. Or am I just getting the benefit of the inputs I want. If it’s just gaining inputs than does it not matter what the quality of the receiver. If I am gaining sound quality also what am looking for in a receiver? Thanks again.

And by all means... don't get a "smaller" TV just to appease the "Bose bashing lemmings". ;) .......... with little TV's. :)

As opposed to the Bose buying lemmings, LOL.

sherid00,
Figure out exactly what you want to do to meet you budgetary needs. If you want to use the existing speakers... call Bose and get the appropriate cable to interconnect to your new receiver. That simple.

Bruins29...
The Bose crap is very old. Move on. The OP posed a question about utilizing the existing speakers with a new receiver. Help or refrain from following the leader. It doesn't make anyone "more informed" or move up the credibility ladder. ;)

My point is why call anyone a lemming. Its not like he was personally attacked. He got good advice from anyone whether you agree with it or not. Not all advice here has to be directly solicited.

Indirectly has is/was.

Good advice is to provide assistance and suggestions based on the OP's requests and budgetary constraints.

Advice/suggestions/recommendations can be offered without the "traditional" Bose bashing rhetoric.

As soon as Bose is mentioned in a thread, the cockroaches crawl out.

I called Bose and they told me I was screwed with the Lifestyle system. The guy told me the Lifestyle is not compatible with other receivers but the Acoustimass is. He told me my only option is if I have a series II I could buy a VS-2 video enhancer for 299.00. I’m at work until tomorrow morning so I have to go home and check to see if mine is even a series II. I defiantly didn’t want to sink another $300 into a 7 year old system.

As soon as Bose is mentioned in a thread, the cockroaches crawl out.

I don't see where I bashed Bose. What I said was fact along with my colorful description of how they sound when hooked to a real receiver.

Bose makes a product with a purpose. People who are not audio enthusiasts normally don't like the way speakers look and care more about how their place looks rather than how it sounds. They don't know and don't wanna know a whole bunch of technical jargon about placement and calibration. They also don't wanna abide by rules like not being place speakers behind objects so the speakers can't be seen. They also don't like big, bulky, ugly, complicated receivers that they don't even know how to turn on.

Bose is for those people. It's cool to them how all that sound comes from something so small. It's not about quality, it's about quantity. It's also how easy it is to calibrate. It's so easy, people don't even know that it's calibrating itself when they sit down with the "headphones" on and listen to a bunch of funny sounds. They also like the way the "wedge" module looks and like that it is not hard to operate.

Bose speakers do have their place with their module and their non-enthusiastic listeners. However don't venture out from the Bose bubble seeking something more because you'll find out the hard way just as the OP has that you'll have to start over from scratch since Bose speakers with a Bose module really is as good as it gets. Try hooking them up like real speakers just to find out you can't because of all their proprietary BS. If you actually get them hooked to a real receiver they will sound like the hollow sounding cheap cabinet, single paper cone driver pieces of junk they really are. If you buy Bose, you better be happy with what you've got because there is no such thing as upgrading a Bose system.

serid00,
I have no idea why the Bose person directed you to a VS-2 if you are not going to use the Lifestyle receiver.

If you take at look at the AM10 manual on page 9 and 10. All you need is the "system input cable" to interconnect the new receiver to your existing AM10 module.
http://products.bose.com/pdf/customer_service/owners/og_am6_10.pdf

Ratman that is the whole problem I have a Lifestyle 35 system and not the Acoustimass. The Bose rep said I wouldn't have a problem with Acoustimass but once you go Lifestyle there is no going back. So I can buy the VS-2 to get myseft 2 HDMI inputs if I want to drop $300. This sucks balls.

Yeah... I just looked at the Lifestyle manual. Looks like you're SOL.

Oh well. IMO, I think it's time to try to sell your entire Lifestyle system and start from scratch.

Expensive lesson. ;)

What sucks even more is I called Bose this morning and found out I have series 1 which means I can't even buy a VS-2 if I wanted to. So now my two problems are the pre-wiring that I have and selling the Bose. Where is the best place to sell the Bose? As far as the wires go they are tacked in the ceiling and I live in a two story so no pulling them out. They are the ones with the little plugs in the end that connect into the back of the speakers, if I cut the plugs off is it just regular speaker wire inside?

Yes... they are just speaker wires.

Sell your system on Ebay or Craigslist.

The reason I post in the Bose areas is because I too used to read all these comments about how bad Bose are. What I ended up realizing is that Bose are pretty much as good as small satellites are going to get. If you want to get larger speakers you'll do better sound wise. If you need the satellite form factor, Bose are fine and probably better than most.

Yeah, I mean, who needs tweeters?

IMHO Bose Cubes + Acoustimass is junk. Also, IMHO Bose 201, 301, and 901 sound quite nice. Klipsch Quintet III with the Sub10 is nice but a bit shrill and hollow at times. I've had many brands and styles over the years and I've got to say the small speakers with a sub aren't a solution for anything but a small room or maybe a computer setup. Even a decent sub may be strained to add the proper fullness. But heck, if you like it, that's all that matters, isn't it?

Without joining the Bose bashing, which is always fun btw...

The People's Choice from Orb Audio is a fantastic sounding system, better than any Bose system I've ever heard. Right in line with what the Bose system cost.

Axiom Audio is also coming out with new satellite speakers. I'll bet they will sound very good as well. Price hasn't been announced yet.

The Klipsch Quintet system that was mentioned are decent. A friend of mine has them. I'll take those over any Bose as well.

ok, I can't help it... I'll take any Radio Shack specials over Bose.