A little help for my friend

[wafflebird]

I have a good friend who has just recently listened to my system (RX-V2500, Velodyne DLS-3750R, Mirage Omni CC and 4 Omnisats) and he was very impressed. He wants to revamp his system he has with a new receiver and a new powered sub for now and speakers later. The problem is he has a Bose system (cubes) and from what I know about them they are all tied into the bass module, and must run from it to work. Is this correct or can he use a new receiver and a new Sub and still make his cubes work until he can purchase new seakers? I know a good bit about the non-Bose systems but am not familiar with the Bose.

As a note guys, I do not want to start another Bose bashing thread just some help for a really good friend please.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Not sure what he is using as a receiver now, but you may get a lot of 'upgrade speakers first' responses. Which I would agree with, if it is possible.

Looking at the Bose site it looks like it may be possible to run audio into the bass module which then gets processed by the module and sent to the speakers. But, I'm not sure that your friend will see any improvement at all in the sound quality.

Without it being a Bose bash, it just boils down to the existing system having to many limitations all around for any single piece to make a huge improvement.

If I were your friend, I would save up my cash and buy everything at once. Get a new receiver and some decent speakers at the same time. Determine a buying budget and realize that certain products will go DOWN in price througout the year, especially receivers.

If he sets up a $3,000 budget, then he should have a timeline and everything else to reach his goal to buy. But, he may just want to go with a cheaper, full setup - like a Onkyo HTIB system. It's not nearly as expensive as a receiver+speakers setup and will provide better sound that what he has now.

Also, pulling his entire system now and selling it on eBay may net a few hundred dollars (or more) depending on the condition/model of the current setup.

 

[wafflebird]

He has a Sony receiver now

His set up now is a Sony receiver (a little older but still works well) It just does not have enough digital inputs / outputs to meet with his current set-up, so that is his main reason with wanting to upgrade in addition to not a lot of bass from the bass module. He has a very large room with high ceilings and the bass module simply cant create enough bass. This system was in place when he met his wife. Ultimatley he wants to move that entire set-up into his master bedroom and have an RX-V2500 or similar set-up, with some speakers as well in the living room (All the better for Xbox Live you know). Again we were just trying to figure out if we could make the Bose work with a new sub and a new receiver. Is it possible to make the Cubes work with another Sub? That way he could start the ball rolling if he wanted to.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

If the 'cubes & BM' are not connected to the AVR with the LFE/Sub Out RCA connector, then your friend can connect any powered sub to the AVR no problem.

If the 'cubes & BM are connected to the AVR w/ the AVR's "sub out" RCA connector, then your friend is S.O.L. for buying a subwoofer (The Bose BassModule is not a subwoofer, even Bose won't call it that).

Then just buy an AVR that has enough digital inputs

 

[BMXTRIX]

As said above, it really looks like you can go with any A/V receiver that meets the needs of your friend. The Bose stuff, is all going to run through one set of outputs, exactly like it currently does, but a new sub will run off the LFE output on the back of the receiver.

Maybe for some variety look at the Denon lineup or some others. Always fun to do compare/contrast stuff with your friends when they have equally good equipment, but different manufacturers.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Or you could buy a Y-splitter at radioShack and run one RCA cable to a powered subwoofer and one end to a bass-module. then you can get a real sub and keep your Bose......

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Does your friend think his existing cubes will have the volume to fill that room? I just emailed a guy who had upgraded his Bose system totally. I'll let you know when he replies. He bought a 3500 sq ft house with a massive 2 story great room and dumped the Bose completely. Now it sits gathering dust.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

His set up now is a Sony receiver (a little older but still works well) It just does not have enough digital inputs / outputs to meet with his current set-up, so that is his main reason with wanting to upgrade in addition to not a lot of bass from the bass module. He has a very large room with high ceilings and the bass module simply cant create enough bass. This system was in place when he met his wife. Ultimatley he wants to move that entire set-up into his master bedroom and have an RX-V2500 or similar set-up, with some speakers as well in the living room (All the better for Xbox Live you know). Again we were just trying to figure out if we could make the Bose work with a new sub and a new receiver. Is it possible to make the Cubes work with another Sub? That way he could start the ball rolling if he wanted to.

OK, here you go...

Ah, I ran into this same situation. From what I have learned, there are two different Bose systems: 1) The Lifestyle/Acoustamass systems, which includes speakers, sub and the dvd/tuner and 2) The stand-alone speaker systems that just includes the cube speakers and sub. If you have (1), you are screwed. Everything runs through the sub. There is an amp in the sub that powers it and the cubes, as well as an internal cross-over. There is only one wire - a power wire - that goes from the unit to the sub. All the speaker wires then come out of the sub. The worst part though, is that the configuration messes up all the impedances - just like in their car audio stuff. Your only options are to leave it alone, or replace all of it. I was able to hook my Denon up to the satellites, but they sounded terrible because the Bose sub has special features in it that tailor the sound of the cubes. A regular receiver won't do this.

However, if you have (2) which means you bought the speakers separately and did not buy the dvd/tuner, then its no different than any other sub/satellite system. The sub/satellite units are completely different for (1) and (2).

Obviously Bose does this with the (1) systems so you are stuck with what you buy. Same for car audio. You can't mix-and-match the Bose amp with aftermarket speakers or Bose speakers with an aftermarket amp.

Hope that helps!

 

[slopoke]

However, if you have (2) which means you bought the speakers separately and did not buy the dvd/tuner, then its no different than any other sub/satellite system. The sub/satellite units are completely different for (1) and (2).

I'm sure this is an oversight. The Bose sub/sat units for (2) are equivalent to a normal full range speaker system not a normal sub/sat system. The sub is passive and (kind of) deals with everything under (I believe) about 200hz. The sats deal with everything over 200hz (but not well until 250hz leaving a 50hz "hole"). Connect the Bose to your normal speaker outs and a "real" sub to the LFE out and it should work fine for (2).

 

[wafflebird]

You guys are great.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to all of the great answers guys. I was out of town Friday and all weekend so I could not get your info until today. I really thank all of you for sure.

He does not have any type of Bose receiver. He only has the speaker set up. He is running signal to the sub from his receiver. So it sounds like the best thing for him to do is just do an update for his living room and move what he has to his bedroom. Buckeyefan 1, Rock&Roll Ninja, & BMXTRIX, I Thank you guys a lot for your informative input.

As a side note you know you have got it bad & love your system when you get home after being away and the first thing you want to do (After squeezing your Honey of course) is listen to your system while watching the TV.

"My name is Billy and I am an Audioholic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Any way I will keep you guys up to speed as to what the outcome of this is as things develop. Thanks again.