Bose Acoustimass 10 Replacement

[cdavidson87]

I am trying to help my father make a decision on his Bose Acoustimass 10 audio system. We have never really been happy the sound quality and I have constantly been trying to tweak settings to get better sound. We have been having very weak surround levels. The receiver is a Yamaha HTR-5860.

Lately I have been searching audio forums looking for a replacement system and have come across the Harman/Kardon HKTS 18 system. The appearance of the speakers seem comparable to that of Bose, and the reviews are generally positive. The cost is $450 + $100 for 2 more speakers making it a 7.1 system.

Would it be worth selling the Bose system and obtaining the Harman Kardon system as a replacement? Would the sound quality be an improvement over the Bose system?

The speakers will be in a small/medium sized room, approximately 20'x20'. It is important to have nice clean looking speakers (hence the Bose). We are looking for systems under $600.

Thanks for your help.

 

[markw]

That's a big room form any tiny speaker to fill. For decent sound, you're gonna have to think somewhat larger, particularly as far as subwoofers are concerned.

 

[highfigh]

I am trying to help my father make a decision on his Bose Acoustimass 10 audio system. We have never really been happy the sound quality and I have constantly been trying to tweak settings to get better sound. We have been having very weak surround levels. The receiver is a Yamaha HTR-5860.

Lately I have been searching audio forums looking for a replacement system and have come across the Harman/Kardon HKTS 18 system. The appearance of the speakers seem comparable to that of Bose, and the reviews are generally positive. The cost is $450 + $100 for 2 more speakers making it a 7.1 system.

Would it be worth selling the Bose system and obtaining the Harman Kardon system as a replacement? Would the sound quality be an improvement over the Bose system?

The speakers will be in a small/medium sized room, approximately 20'x20'. It is important to have nice clean looking speakers (hence the Bose). We are looking for systems under $600.

Thanks for your help.

Little speakers only sound good in a small space or close up. Bose cube speakers sound better as a system than they do when you try to mix & match. If you disconnect the sub, all of the mid-bass goes away and that's the most important range when it comes to full sound. The cubes will only provide some of the midrange and the treble, but they'll lack warmth. If another brand of speaker is added, they won't match the sound of the rest of the system and because of how Bose equalizes their systems, you may easily end up with too much of some frequencies and not enough of others.

If you can return what you're considering, maybe it will be worth trying but you won't know until you do.

 

[Ito]

I am trying to help my father make a decision on his Bose Acoustimass 10 audio system. We have never really been happy the sound quality and I have constantly been trying to tweak settings to get better sound. We have been having very weak surround levels. The receiver is a Yamaha HTR-5860.

Lately I have been searching audio forums looking for a replacement system and have come across the Harman/Kardon HKTS 18 system. The appearance of the speakers seem comparable to that of Bose, and the reviews are generally positive. The cost is $450 + $100 for 2 more speakers making it a 7.1 system.

Would it be worth selling the Bose system and obtaining the Harman Kardon system as a replacement? Would the sound quality be an improvement over the Bose system?

The speakers will be in a small/medium sized room, approximately 20'x20'. It is important to have nice clean looking speakers (hence the Bose). We are looking for systems under $600.

Thanks for your help.

If you spend time looking around here, you will find there is great disdain for anything bose. That said, I don't think any of us are surprised that you aren't happy with the bose sound quality. I'd be willing to bet that the H/K system would sound better than the bose, but I think that you could prolly still do better than that. I think we need a bit more information.

What kind of stuff are you going to be listening to on these speakers? Mostly movies or music or a mix of both? Do you only want to go with small on wall speakers?

Also, I would consider at first only getting a 5.1 speakers, not too much material at the moment is 7.1 (or at least not too much of the stuff I watch) and you would probably be better off buying a 5.1 system and then buying the extra 2 speakers later down the road.

 

[jinjuku]

The speakers will be in a small/medium sized room, approximately 20'x20'. It is important to have nice clean looking speakers (hence the Bose). We are looking for systems under $600.

Thanks for your help.

Assuming that with a 20'X20' room you have vaulted ceilings you are talking a room volume of ~4800 cubic feet.

That is an immense amount of space to pressurize.

I will just say this out right. If all you have is $600 for speakers and electronics don't bother wasting it. Save. Either do it right or don't do it at all.

There is nothing worse than blowing $600 and doing it poorly.

Is there an aversion to spending more than $600?

 

[cdavidson87]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

The room is in the basement so it does not have vaulted ceilings. The primary purpose of the system is for watching movies. I don't think they have ever used the system for listening to music.

The reason I specified the $600 price point is because they are not willing to invest much more into the system; most of the cash would come from selling the Bose if they decided to replace the system. They already have the Yamaha receiver.

The way the room is layed out, the back speakers would really need to be some kind of wall mounted speakers. The front speakers could be larger.

Ito, thanks for your input on the 7.1 setup. I was under the assumption that blu-rays played back in 7.1. Guess we can save some money there...

My real question is whether it would be worth selling the Bose system and attempting to replace it without investing too much extra into the system. Feel free to recommend systems besides the Harman/Kardon also.

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[captiankirk28]

Yes it would be worth getting rid of the bose stuff, just my 2 cents (the faster the beter) You will easly be able to find way better for the same price, just stay on here and ask lots of questions!

 

[WmAx]

Seriously.... Get 3 pairs of Behringer B2030P 2 way monitors : LINK : ($150 per pair) + 2 of the Dayton 12" powered subwoofers :LINK : ($80 each on sale)

These monitors are vastly superior to any Bose speaker, and I mean this in a provable/objective manner. In fact, this 2 way speaker is superior to any other retail produce anywhere near it's price, to my knowledge, based on provable/objective critieria. The subs offer the best value for the $$ possible. You need two of them for 2 reasons: (1) Louder SPL and lower distortion on music or movie peaks like explosions, etc. (2) Using one on each side of the room allow for far better integration - the 2 way speakers will act like 3 ways with no seem in between for music playback. BTW, you can make the sub sound 'tighter' for music, if so desired, by simply adding in a common cheap $3 polyester filled bed pillow in each cabinet. An easy and reversible cheap modification that will really increase the bass sound quality for music.

All you need now is a decent home theater receiver with a decent built in active crossover. Set all speakers to SMALL and set xover to 80-100Hz and you will be good to do. Since you will have two subs, one on each side of room, 100Hz is a better choice for crossover point selection.

No how, no way, are you going to get anywhere near the performance for the dollars spent buying new equipment if you choose any other 2 way speakers.

If the speakers are too large or ugly, you can substitute them with Infinity Primus P152 2 ways. These may cost a bit more - but are smaller and offer great performance for the $$. They don't have the superb wide dispersion, extension, smooth treble or dynamic range of the Behringer units, but they are smaller and look better. You need to use 100-120Hz crosover point using these speakers if you want to have ability to do considerable dynamics in movies. With the dual subs - 120 Hz is not a problem. Just keep each sub within 3-4 feet near each main Left and Right speaker.

-Chris

I am trying to help my father make a decision on his Bose Acoustimass 10 audio system. We have never really been happy the sound quality and I have constantly been trying to tweak settings to get better sound. We have been having very weak surround levels. The receiver is a Yamaha HTR-5860.

Lately I have been searching audio forums looking for a replacement system and have come across the Harman/Kardon HKTS 18 system. The appearance of the speakers seem comparable to that of Bose, and the reviews are generally positive. The cost is $450 + $100 for 2 more speakers making it a 7.1 system.

Would it be worth selling the Bose system and obtaining the Harman Kardon system as a replacement? Would the sound quality be an improvement over the Bose system?

The speakers will be in a small/medium sized room, approximately 20'x20'. It is important to have nice clean looking speakers (hence the Bose). We are looking for systems under $600.

Thanks for your help.

 

[riker1384]

2 of the Dayton 12" powered subwoofers

I've heard people recommend these. Is there any solid data on these, to see how they compare to common consumer brands? Have you performed measurements? I think I looked at some point and none of the Dayton woofers looked the same as the driver in those. (You linked to the 10", BTW)

 

[WmAx]

I've heard people recommend these. Is there any solid data on these, to see how they compare to common consumer brands? Have you performed measurements? I think I looked at some point and none of the Dayton woofers looked the same as the driver in those. (You linked to the 10", BTW)

Sorry, I actually meant to say the 10" model. The 10 is on nearly half price sale. And 2 of these will give better performance than a single 12. Even if you wanted 2 x 12 - instead get 4 of the 10s for the same price; performance will still be better.

No in depth measurements exist of which I'm aware. This is simply a nearly unanimously recommended product at this minimum price point. Note that out of over 90 buyers, only 3 or 4 report less than stellar results for the money spent in the user reviews on the product page.

The cabinet and amp alone are worth far more than the sum price. BTW, if the sound is not 'tight' enough for music for your preference(s), it is a simple and effective matter to place a $3 bed pillow in each cabinet. Yes, I just said that. It will dampen the response, causing a smooth gradual roll off, reducing any resonant/peaky response. Ensure that the pillow does not touch the internal port opening or the back of the amplifier internally.

-Chris