Bose isn't necessarily bad - you might like the sound (I don't). They're just way overpriced. Return what you can and start doing some listening. Visit stores like Tweeters or a local audio store. For what you paid for the Bose you should be able to afford something really decent.
Also, for this don't shop at a box store like Best Buy. You can't do any listening in a cavern like that. You need to be in a dedicated demo room that is something close to the size of your room.
Bose is what it is. So is Paradigm and many other brands mentioned here. Great names, for sure, but not the greatest speakers.
I am not being critical, here, just trying to point out what these speakers are. They are moderate quality speakers that use mid-fi drivers and are designed for the consumer market. Most popular brands fall into this category. These are marketing companies, not high-performance audio manufacturers.
Unfortunately, truly great speakers selling at retail are astronomically priced.
The solution can be found in DIY designs. You can build them or have them built for you. There are designs available that will equal the best you can buy at retail - regardless of cost. And the cost is about 1/2 of comparable performance at retail.
Which means you will get twice the speaker for your money with DIY designs.
There are a number of threads in the Do-It-Yourself section dealing with DIY designs.
Forget all the other components and concentrate on the speakers. They are the weakest link by such a wide margin that other component quality becomes irrelevant. Great speakers coupled with moderately priced source equipment (payers, recievers, etc.) will far outperform great source equipment with mid-fi retail speakers.
And DIY designs put great speakers within your grasp.
A forum community dedicated to home theater owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about home audio/video, TVs, projectors, screens, receivers, speakers, projects, DIY’s, product reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!