Bose AM6 versus Klipsch Quintet III?

[cooldesi4ht]

I am in the process of setting my first home theater system and need help from experts. Based on my needs, I have shortlisted two 5.1 speaker system:

1) Bose Acoustimass 6 ($699)
2) Klipsch Quintet III ($499, without subwoofer)

I am extremely confused which one to buy. I know people hate Bose in this forum, but please give me your honest unbiased opinion.

Bose speakers are nice and small plus it comes with the subwoofer. I am not planning to buy quintet III with sub, as I read their range is broad enough that I may not need subwoofer with it.

I heard Klipsch and they sound nice and loud. Unfortunately I cannot compare AM6 side by side with quintet III, as no store carry them together (or display them together).

I am looking for mainly listening to music (60%) and movies (40%). I am not a big fan heavy bass or loud noise, so people say AM6 seem to be better with subtle nuances of sound.

I would love to hear from someone who has heard both and can give me honest opinion about which one would be better investment for me.

Thanks!

 

[gus6464]

I am in the process of setting my first home theater system and need help from experts. Based on my needs, I have shortlisted two 5.1 speaker system:

1) Bose Acoustimass 6 ($699)
2) Klipsch Quintet III ($499, without subwoofer)

I am extremely confused which one to buy. I know people hate Bose in this forum, but please give me your honest unbiased opinion.

Bose speakers are nice and small plus it comes with the subwoofer. I am not planning to buy quintet III with sub, as I read their range is broad enough that I may not need subwoofer with it.

I heard Klipsch and they sound nice and loud. Unfortunately I cannot compare AM6 side by side with quintet III, as no store carry them together (or display them together).

I am looking for mainly listening to music (60%) and movies (40%). I am not a big fan heavy bass or loud noise, so people say AM6 seem to be better with subtle nuances of sound.

I would love to hear from someone who has heard both and can give me honest opinion about which one would be better investment for me.

Thanks!

The AM6 does not come with a subwoofer, it is a mid-bass module. Get the Quintet III and a nice sub and you will have a lot better system. Or get a SVS SBS-01 package with a PB12-NSD for around $1000 and you will be all set.

 

[bandphan]

I am not planning to buy quintet III with sub, as I read their range is broad enough that I may not need subwoofer with it.

Thanks!

I would You will need it for HT you could ad something like this or for 250 more your options for subs expand.

As for bose, well my mom said its better to say nothing at all

 

[gus6464]

The Quintet III do not go low at all. I think Klipsch recommends crossing them over at 80Hz so that is not a broad range whatsoever. If you like the sound of the Quintet III go for it but save a couple of hundred bucks for a decent sub.

 

[Adam]

Audioholics did a quick write up on the Klipsch Quintet III here, and the impression seemed favorable.

If you have the option where you live, buy both and audition them at home side-by-side. That would give you the best idea of which one is best for you, and you could return the one that you like the least. Personally, I'd lean towards the Klipsch and likely add a sub later on when funds allowed it.

BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[mudrummer99]

Wow, this was the friendliest response to a Bose question I have ever seen on this forum. Are we getting soft all of a sudden? I've heard both and I've owned the Quintet III's and was very happy with them. It's also a lot easier to upgrade the quintet system down the road than it would be the Bose. Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[skers_54]

My parents have a similar Bose system and my $300 Polk setup kicks the s*** out of it. Its frequency response is extremely limited (there's a sticky here that spells it out). When I was shopping for speakers for my bedroom I found a store that allowed direct A/B comparisons of Bose with other speakers and I was blown away by the horrible sound their sattelites produced. I knew they were lacking, but it really exposed some tremendous shortcomings. For your price range, you can get a solid 5.1 from several other brands mentioned, including Klipsch. I know I'm kind of ranting, but I would like to help people avoid the mistakes my parents made (which includes the aweful 3-2-1 system).

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Both of those choices suck. You can do much better than either. The SVS mentioned above is a better choice, as is one of the Infinity sets.

 

[Midcow2]

Audioholics offers two better Yamaha systems for $499

I am in the process of setting my first home theater system and need help from experts. Based on my needs, I have shortlisted two 5.1 speaker system:

1) Bose Acoustimass 6 ($699)
2) Klipsch Quintet III ($499, without subwoofer)

I am extremely confused which one to buy. I know people hate Bose in this forum, but please give me your honest unbiased opinion.

Bose speakers are nice and small plus it comes with the subwoofer. I am not planning to buy quintet III with sub, as I read their range is broad enough that I may not need subwoofer with it.

I heard Klipsch and they sound nice and loud. Unfortunately I cannot compare AM6 side by side with quintet III, as no store carry them together (or display them together).

I am looking for mainly listening to music (60%) and movies (40%). I am not a big fan heavy bass or loud noise, so people say AM6 seem to be better with subtle nuances of sound.

I would love to hear from someone who has heard both and can give me honest opinion about which one would be better investment for me.

Thanks!

Audioholics offers two better Yamaha systems for $499
http://store.audioholics.com/section/80/1/home_theater_in_a_box

 

[jamie2112]

I am in agreement with Joe on this one. You can do much better than either of those 2 choices.The bose stuff sounds like a cheap computer setup and I would really look svs as they are leaps and bounds ahead of Bose or the Klipsh

 

[jcPanny]

Speakers for music

I wouldn't recommend either satelite speaker system, especially for music playback. Consider starting with a quality pair of bookshelf speakers and a sub for a nice 2.1 system and adding the center in surrounds when budget allows. AV123, Aperion and some other manufacturers are including real wood veneer on their entry level speakers. At local AV dealers, look for Paradigm, Klipsch Reference, Energy, PSB, etc.

If asthetics are the highest priority, investigate the Orb speakers, or on-wall or inwall models. The RBH on-wall speakers should look nice flanking your flat panel display and are $100 each.
http://www.orbaudio.com/
http://store.audioholics.com/search?xSearch=emp+on-wall&x=0&y=0

 

[wire]

I wouldn't recommend either satelite speaker system, especially for music playback. Consider starting with a quality pair of bookshelf speakers and a sub for a nice 2.1 system and adding the center in surrounds when budget allows. AV123, Aperion and some other manufacturers are including real wood veneer on their entry level speakers. At local AV dealers, look for Paradigm, Klipsch Reference, Energy, PSB, etc.

If asthetics are the highest priority, investigate the Orb speakers, or on-wall or inwall models. The RBH on-wall speakers should look nice flanking your flat panel display and are $100 each.
http://www.orbaudio.com/
http://store.audioholics.com/search?xSearch=emp+on-wall&x=0&y=0

I agree
I like the advice on Music playback .

 

[no. 5]

I am in the process of setting my first home theater system and need help from experts. Based on my needs, I have shortlisted two 5.1 speaker system:

1) Bose Acoustimass 6 ($699)
2) Klipsch Quintet III ($499, without subwoofer)

I am extremely confused which one to buy. I know people hate Bose in this forum, but please give me your honest unbiased opinion.

Bose speakers are nice and small plus it comes with the subwoofer. I am not planning to buy quintet III with sub, as I read their range is broad enough that I may not need subwoofer with it.

I heard Klipsch and they sound nice and loud. Unfortunately I cannot compare AM6 side by side with quintet III, as no store carry them together (or display them together).

I am looking for mainly listening to music (60%) and movies (40%). I am not a big fan heavy bass or loud noise, so people say AM6 seem to be better with subtle nuances of sound.

I would love to hear from someone who has heard both and can give me honest opinion about which one would be better investment for me.

Thanks!

Both of those systems are lacking; both have satellite speakers that are too small to have good low frequency extension or power handling, that means (for one) that midrange will be audibly inferior to something more capable, and that's important because midrange frequencies make up the bulk of what we hear, also, the Klipsch's center channel may cause intelligibility issues for anyone sitting off to the side, and the Bose speakers will have dispersion problems above about 6 - 7kHz.

If you want 5.1, five of these and one or two of these subs will produce much better sound quality (note that I did not say "or two" to imply that louder bass is better, but because having several subwoofers properly placed will deliver much better quality of bass).

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I wouldn't recommend either satelite speaker system, especially for music playback. Consider starting with a quality pair of bookshelf speakers and a sub for a nice 2.1 system and adding the center in surrounds when budget allows. AV123, Aperion and some other manufacturers are including real wood veneer on their entry level speakers. At local AV dealers, look for Paradigm, Klipsch Reference, Energy, PSB, etc.

I totally agree, except for the Klipsch Reference part. I would never recommend anything by Klipsch (they sound harsh and excessively bright.)

 

[bandphan]

I totally agree, except for the Klipsch Reference part. I would never recommend anything by Klipsch (they sound harsh and excessively bright.)

We know Joe, you dont like klipsch..enough already Some people like what you dont. To the OP do not take to much stock in this one

 

[marsilians]

I used to own Athena speakers when in college and they are surprisingly one of the best-bang-for-the-buck deals. Usually the packaged deal comes with a sub.

Some other options to consider beyond the Hose and Quintet.

Used gear at audiogon.
B stock speakers from AV-123, Ascend, Axiom, ...

Given your options and listening pleasures, i would always go for a sub.