Best Alternative to Bose Acoustimass 10

[AgentBarnes]

Hi, I currently have a Bose acoustimass 6, just the module and the 2 front direct/reflecting cubes. There was not enough base so I have a cheap pc subwoofer added, which helps, but currently the system sounds like ive got just highs and lows and no midrange. Looks like the step up acoustimass 10 isn't much better.

The goal is to get surround sound, and a fuller more powerful set up. Playing music, loud and full is just as important. From experience I wasn't all that impressed with Bose, and after reading a ton or reviews and specs, I really don't want to go that way again. BUT, the compact size of those little cubes is the one really appealing thing there, because I have an open 14x27 living room/dining room floorplan and there are no good spaces for bookshelf/floor standing speakers. I'd like the speakers to be small so I could mount all of them on the wall(save the sub obviously). My tv starts at 5.5ft high over a fireplace mantel, and the two cubes currently angle down around 7ft high. The front two Id prefer in about the same location, and the center would hang nicely just under the mantle, but most of the systems Ive checked out that have great specs and reviews have front speakers that seem too bulky to hang.

So far the Onkyo SKS-HT690 Home Theatre in a Box looked like a size alternative and even the specs seemed better. Maybe I'm just used to the overpriced Bose set ups but it seems like $300 for all that is a cheap system. I'm ok spending up to around $1200 for a quality set-up but compact yet powerful has been hard to find. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi, I currently have a Bose acoustimass 6, just the module and the 2 front direct/reflecting cubes. There was not enough base so I have a cheap pc subwoofer added, which helps, but currently the system sounds like ive got just highs and lows and no midrange. Looks like the step up acoustimass 10 isn't much better.

The goal is to get surround sound, and a fuller more powerful set up. Playing music, loud and full is just as important. From experience I wasn't all that impressed with Bose, and after reading a ton or reviews and specs, I really don't want to go that way again. BUT, the compact size of those little cubes is the one really appealing thing there, because I have an open 14x27 living room/dining room floorplan and there are no good spaces for bookshelf/floor standing speakers. I'd like the speakers to be small so I could mount all of them on the wall(save the sub obviously). My tv starts at 5.5ft high over a fireplace mantel, and the two cubes currently angle down around 7ft high. The front two Id prefer in about the same location, and the center would hang nicely just under the mantle, but most of the systems Ive checked out that have great specs and reviews have front speakers that seem too bulky to hang.

So far the Onkyo SKS-HT690 Home Theatre in a Box looked like a size alternative and even the specs seemed better. Maybe I'm just used to the overpriced Bose set ups but it seems like $300 for all that is a cheap system. I'm ok spending up to around $1200 for a quality set-up but compact yet powerful has been hard to find. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot.

You are looking for the impossible. You can not fight physics so what you want does not exist.

HTIBs are hopeless five minute wonders, or more accurately failures.

You need much bigger speakers. If that is not possible, abandon that room and set you equipment up somewhere else.

 

[AgentBarnes]

What about these satellite/sub setups for my situation? The Klipsch Quintet Speaker System looks promising?

 

[TLS Guy]

What about these satellite/sub setups for my situation? The Klipsch Quintet Speaker System looks promising?

You will have the same problem. They are far too small for that space and again you will lack lower mid/upper bass and have to drive the sub too high, so you will know where it is.

I just don't understand why speakers can not be seen.

By the way a TV over a fire place over 5' from the floor is a terrible idea, and one of the commonest and worst mistakes in home AV.

 

[TheWarrior]

By the way a TV over a fire place over 5' from the floor is a terrible idea, and one of the commonest and worst mistakes in home AV.

Not to mention... your neck!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

If op must have "invisible" speakers, inwall option is far better alternative

 

[XEagleDriver]

Hi, I currently have a Bose acoustimass 6, just the module and the 2 front direct/reflecting cubes. There was not enough base so I have a cheap pc subwoofer added, which helps, but currently the system sounds like ive got just highs and lows and no midrange. Looks like the step up acoustimass 10 isn't much better.

1) highs, lows and no mids . . . welcome to the world of Bose . . . LOL

The goal is to get surround sound, and a fuller more powerful set up. Playing music, loud and full is just as important. From experience I wasn't all that impressed with Bose, and after reading a ton or reviews and specs, I really don't want to go that way again. BUT, the compact size of those little cubes is the one really appealing thing there, because I have an open 14x27 living room/dining room floorplan and there are no good spaces for bookshelf/floor standing speakers. I'd like the speakers to be small so I could mount all of them on the wall(save the sub obviously). My tv starts at 5.5ft high over a fireplace mantel, and the two cubes currently angle down around 7ft high. The front two Id prefer in about the same location, and the center would hang nicely just under the mantle, but most of the systems Ive checked out that have great specs and reviews have front speakers that seem too bulky to hang.

1) Teeny tiny speakers will not adequately fill a 14x27 room
2) You can easily mount much larger speakers on the wall; as an example I have PSB Image B5s on the wall and they are 7"x12"x10”, and weigh 11lbs each. I purchased wall mounts capable of >20lbs to provide a safety margin for the installation. Easy peesy!

So far the Onkyo SKS-HT690 Home Theatre in a Box looked like a size alternative and even the specs seemed better. Maybe I'm just used to the overpriced Bose set ups but it seems like $300 for all that is a cheap system. I'm ok spending up to around $1200 for a quality set-up but compact yet powerful has been hard to find. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot.

1) Skip the HTIB step, you will just replace it sooner rather than later (made that error myself); just like entering a cold pool, don't slowly ease in a bit at a time, jump right in, it is a lot less painful (costly) in the long run!
2) With a $1200 budget:
a. Spend about ~$300 at A4L for a capable AVR;
b. Spend ~$500 on a solid pair of L/R bookshelves/on-walls/inwalls to mount on/in the wall
c. Spend ~$400 for an adequate sub.
- If you can increase your budget a bit, buy a better sub (~$500 opens up the field a lot)
d. Add surround speakers down the road when your budget allows; they do not need to be nearly as capable as the front L/Rs.
e. Do not recommend getting a center speaker due to the over-the-fireplace TV location, in these cases a "phantom center" (PC) is probably best (and your budget does not support it).
If you need an expalantion on the PC concept, just ask.
3) The idea of "compact yet powerful" is an oxymoron, pick one or the other. The only way to stretch the physics to sort-of-combine compact and powerful is to spend a lot of money, which would blow your budget to smithereens.

You are asking the right questions and on the right track to find a good solution to your situation.

Cheers,
XEagle Driver

 

[zieglj01]

Much better deal than Bose and I will prefer/take them over Klipsch - and HTD
makes overall nice sounding speakers.
They have real good customer service. HTD Versa speakers >
http://www.htd.com/Products/Versa-Cabinet-Speakers/Versa-SB1

 

[-Jim-]

Gents,

I too went down the Bose road ages ago. The "Cubes" were so cute my wife bought me an expensive (at the time they were $1200) 5.1 setup for Christmas one year, which happened to be the same year my brother got a $800 15 inch Klipsch Sub. (I had recently sold a pair of large JBLs to another of my brothers so we were used to Big Speakers. My wife hated them.) We were now looking to replace a pair of Altec Santanas as we had just moved into a new Dolby Digital Receiver and wanted the full HT experience and they were too big for her decorating tastes. (This was quite a while ago.)

Needless to say they sounded thin when compared to the Altecs. And the Bose Sub just wasn't there. So I borowed my brothers new Klipsch Sub for a week and after wrestling it into the system, the Bass was great in comparison to the Bose, but the system was still lacking. Even my wife (who's not into sound but loved the little Cubes) had to admit the Bose system had to go back to the store.

I too would recommend AgentBarnes scrap the idea of Bose if he wants decent sound. But there are a lot of folks who simply want Cute Speakers. That's how companies like Bose make lots of $$.

 

[Ato_Dee]

Monoprice premium 5.1

 

[KenM10759]

LOL...I always thought the best upgrade from a Bose Acoustimass system was...pretty much anything with a bigger than a shoebox speaker and a powered sub with real connections. The Monoprice premium 5.1 would barely qualify but still sound better.

In fact, I think we could find some tests proving that two soup cans with a string between them sounds better.

Just kidding. It's not all bad. One's own level of acceptance is everything. The problem lies in that if you have a weaker system and go to a friend's home who has even a moderate upgrade, you then get a sense of what may be missing back home.

 

[Ato_Dee]

Lol very true...