Using part of Bose Acoustimass 16 system

Sheesh. Can of worms here.

Based purely on sonic fidelity. You can spend MUCH less than what you paid for the Bose system and get MUCH MORE sonic performance (higher quality and refinement). If you replace your sub and the front 3, an ENORMOUS improvement will be realized. You'll be able to tell IMMEDIATELY. I promise. If your AVR can set a crossover high enough (like between 200 and 250Hz), I'd imagine that you could get away with using the Bose jewel-cube surrounds without damaging them. However, they will sound anemic and thin compared to your front three. My uncle has this setup and his sounded like it was playing through a pillow. I don't mean to bash your system, but places like Axiom audio, The Audio Insider, and Elemental Designs (for a sub) among MANY others could easily best your current system performance. If you upgraded to Swan Diva 6.1/6.2 towers for front L/R and a Swan Diva center, for example, you might not even need a sub; there will be that much more bass (and it will be of a higher quality) than your current 'bass module' puts-out. A modest sub like an eD A2-300 or Hsu Research STF-1/STF-2 would be a gigantic improvement over your current rig, both in volume and fidelity. Either your wife wins and you get stuck with inferior sound for your dollar, or you win and you can get some beautiful (I'm talking glossy real wood veneer, friend) speakers and superior sound. The shame of it is, nice speakers aren't ugly...but it is very difficult to get some wives to realize this. I consider myself a lucky man in this regard. One of you is going to lose. My uncle was in the same situation, and he lost. :/

DT makes great equipment as well. I'm glad you did some legwork. I'm confident you'll find a solution that will cost less and sound as good, or cost the same and sound much better. W/ DT you can't go wrong...there are many quality brands that will offer good aesthetics and great performance at reasonable prices. Make sure and do your homework and get what sounds good to you. Good luck in your search.

Maybe a picture or a few of the area you are trying to work with?

I can personally tell you my experience with using the Acoustimass cubes with an onkyo receiver....terrible! Had decent mids but no highs and no good lows even when I rigged their 'sub' to work as per their instructions.

I will say, you can get away with using the 2 cubes for rear surrounds but they will most likely be drowned out by the superior front speakers....and don't use the bose 'sub'. Get a cheap BIC 10" or something comparable.

What's the budget for the upgrades? Are you against wall mounting the fronts (sounds like the rears are wall mounted, but maybe I read wrong)?