Bose Lifestyle 48 replacement

C

Cyclerick

Audiophyte
We have a lifestyle 48 (hard wired) which is 15 years old and the media centre was refurbished 5 years ago and recently the Bose link to the other 4 zones is not working and the media centre would have to be refurbished again at a cost of $700. Apparently, from what I’ve read, the Accoustimass (16” model PS48, 350W max) which controls the 5 dual cube speakers, along with providing the bass is compatible with just about any AV receiver. From my limited knowledge, I was thinking of replacing the media centre which runs the entertainment system (Accoustimass for TV and Radio) with a Denon AV receiver (which one, what options) so that we can control the receiver with either our phones or iPads for streaming, music, channels etc. In addition, our 5 SA3 amps which are linked to the media centre for music or audio to the rest of the house cannot be repurposed or used with other Bose or other brands of receivers. So I was also thinking of getting a Monoprice whole audio amp to provide music to the rest of the house/zones which can be controlled with our phones. My questions are: will this work? Which Denon AV receiver should I get to replace the Bose media centre? Is this a good solution, as I’m fed up with Bose? Any help would be appreciated.
 
Bucknekked

Bucknekked

Audioholic Samurai
I will resist the overwhelming temptation to bash the Bose lifestyle system. (.................resisting................)
Can you put in place an AVR with enough zones to run something similar to what you have today?
I'm going to say yes, but, a lot more detail would need to be described to put out the details.

I can't tell from your description how many separate rooms your current system plays music in and what the layout is per room. But, AVRs today have the multiple room/zone capability so it just comes down to how far and wide do you want coverage. Monoprice also makes systems that should be able to fill the need. They are great price performers by and large.

As for the speakers themselves, hands down you can do better. If you had a drawing of some sort of what you'd like the new system to accomplish it would help a bit. But the good news is you should be able to put together a much better sounding system than what the current Bose was capable of.
 
C

Cyclerick

Audiophyte
To be honest, the Bose lifestyle system met our needs although we realize that we could upgrade the speakers in the entertainment room but why bother if we are happy with the current setup. Basically we have the entertainment room with the media centre and 4 other zones linked to the media centre for music/radio audio (speakers only) with 5 Bose amps situated in the basement below the media room and the zones were controlled with individual remotes IR linked to the media centre. Everything is hard wired. So, we could situate the new AV receiver where the media centre was and hook the accoustimass to it which would run the entertainment room. I’m assuming the easiest approach for the other rooms (speakers only) would be to locate a Monoprice receiver/amp in the basement where the 5 Bose amps were located and control those other rooms with phone aps via blue tooth with the Monoprice.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
That Bose system is absolutely not comaptiable with any other receiver.

Bose has always had a crazy proprietary system including connectors, that are not comaptible with anything.

I'm not going to resist like Bucknekked. Bose home audio equipment is absolute junk. If you know what is good for you, you will never go near it again.

The word is out now, and peopale are not tempted to pay out inflated prices for their rubbish. In the Twin Cities here, their stores have close and good riddance.

So you need to start from scratch. You will end up with something much better and be glad you did.
 
C

Cyclerick

Audiophyte
Okay, while I know there are adaptors for the Bose connectors, I have to admit the best solution is to replace the complete Bose entertainment centre. What recommendation would you have for a mid range entertainment centre to connect to our 3 year old 65” Samsung LED TV along with an OTT TV box for streaming and tower for local TV stations. We also have ceiling speakers in 4 other rooms or zones that need to carry local radio stations and music from other apps like Spotify and Sirius. Open for recommendations.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Okay, while I know there are adaptors for the Bose connectors, I have to admit the best solution is to replace the complete Bose entertainment centre. What recommendation would you have for a mid range entertainment centre to connect to our 3 year old 65” Samsung LED TV along with an OTT TV box for streaming and tower for local TV stations. We also have ceiling speakers in 4 other rooms or zones that need to carry local radio stations and music from other apps like Spotify and Sirius. Open for recommendations.
Entertainment center sounds suspicioulsy like an HTIB. That means ho thmeeater in a box. They are all to be rigorously avoided.

We need a budget.

You will need a receiver, and at least five speakers if you want a home theater experince. You will also need a powerd sub.

I assume your TV has ARC. That is audio return on one of your HDMI TV inputs. That will make streaming easier. Also putting a Chromecast on one of the receiver HDMI inputs would be really helpful.

For the other rooms I can't help you yet. I need to know how they are cofigured and what type of room volume controls they have if any.

I suspect though you will need some type of distribution power amp connected to a zone 2 on the receiver.

This is not an easy project, but needs thought and robust engineering.

So a lot more details are needed on that ceiling speaker installation. There are a lot of variations on how these are done.

This is not a go to the store and buy a system problem.

We also need a layout of the room where you TV is with pictures which would be very helpful.
 
C

Cyclerick

Audiophyte
Budget $4000 based on using the existing ceiling symphony speakers in screened porch 2 of (621TR), kitchen/living room 1 each of (621SSTR) and (621TR), master bedroom/master bath 1 each of (621TR) and (621SSTR) and basement 2 of (621TR) which are wired to the basement Bose amps on the wall just below the wall the TV is on. These speakers were controlled by Bose remotes via IR and wired to the Bose 48 media centre above.
The entertainment room (see pics) contains the Bose 48 with all speakers wired to the Bose Accoustimass on the floor and then the Accoustimass is
D0B53877-E23D-472F-9CBC-11516FB3524E.jpeg
10FE6748-D5C8-4664-A0DA-DFD208EE63EB.jpeg
wired to the Bose media centre in the cabinet below the rear speakers. I have included 2 pics of the rear of the TV as I assume one of these connections is the Audio return.
 

Attachments

Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Budget $4000 based on using the existing ceiling symphony speakers in screened porch 2 of (621TR), kitchen/living room 1 each of (621SSTR) and (621TR), master bedroom/master bath 1 each of (621TR) and (621SSTR) and basement 2 of (621TR) which are wired to the basement Bose amps on the wall just below the wall the TV is on. These speakers were controlled by Bose remotes via IR and wired to the Bose 48 media centre above.
The entertainment room (see pics) contains the Bose 48 with all speakers wired to the Bose Accoustimass on the floor and then the Accoustimass is View attachment 34222View attachment 34223wired to the Bose media centre in the cabinet below the rear speakers. I have included 2 pics of the rear of the TV as I assume one of these connections is the Audio return.
TLS can be a bit blunt, but he's very knowledgeable and a big help to folks around here. If we can get this done on your budget I anticipate a real eye opening experience for you when you hear it for the first time.

Is there any way you'd consider small, free standing bookshelf speaker or monitors on stands? Perhaps in wall speakers?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I think it will be really tough to do what you want on a $4000.00 budget.

The biggest problem is those ceiling speakers.

The cheapest way of doing this is to get a distribution amp, say from Russound and put impedance matching volume controls in each room. So you would connect the receiver zone 2 to the ditriution amp and buy one big enough to have enough amps to supply each room. You would be able to control the volume in each room manually, but not remotely.

If you want remote control in each zone, then probably the Sonos Port is your best bet.

In this case you would need a Sonos port connected to an amp for each room. You would connect the ports to the zone out on your receiver, and each port to the room amp. This is going to bust your budget mightily.

At this time I should point out that wired speaker systems are out of fashion.

My feeling is that it would be simpler and cheaper to ditch your wired ceiling speaker syteem. These house audio systems are now going wireless. So you should take a close look at Amazon Alexa and the Sonos sytem espeically.

One of my sons has the Sonos Connect system which the Sonos Port has replaced. He also has wireless Sonos in some rooms. My impression is that the wireless works far better then the wired. I have no experience with the Port, but Sonos claim improvement.

Your TV does not have HDMI ARC return which complicates issues. So you will have to use the optical SPDIF out connection to the receiver to hear streaming apps from your TV. This will work about as well as the 2K TVs ARC return.

The newer 4K TVs have much improved ARC return. It is much more full proof and supports loss less audio. Basically it is how this should have worked from the beginning. It is now excellent, and actually probably one of the best reasons to upgrade to a 4K TV.

The TV room is actually going to be the easier problem to engineer.

So you need to know how large you can tolerate the speakers and sub. With speakers it is very much the bigger the better to a certain point. If aesthetics are a big issue, you should consider in wall speakers. Here is a link to a DIY in wall speaker system I built and installed in one of the rooms of our new home.

I would start looking at receivers from Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, and Sony to see what you think miight be suitable for you.

I have the feeling you may not be experienced, just a hunch though. This system, because of the associated in ceiling speakers and your desire for remote control, it might be wise to engage a dealer, or installer who is also an integrator.

Things are very different now, from the time you installed that Bose system.
 
C

Cyclerick

Audiophyte
The budget is flexible and I’m looking for something mid-range. I’d rather have wall mounted speakers if possible to keep the clutter to a minimum especially with the dogs and the existing clutter on the rear cabinet. The TV wall is an exterior wall so definitely no in wall speakers there. The rear wall is to an adjacent bedroom which is sound insulated so .....no to in wall speakers.
 
C

Cyclerick

Audiophyte
I’m going to take your advice and hire an Audio Specialist to come in and plan/install. Thanks for your advice.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I’m going to take your advice and hire an Audio Specialist to come in and plan/install. Thanks for your advice.
I think if you are uncetain on how to proceed that is the wisest course of action. It takes a smart person to realize when they need to ask for assistance. You have taken the best course to avoid wasting money. Just make sure you get a lot of references on anyone you consider hiring. There are a lot of "cowboys" out there. If they are CEDIA certified that will give significant reassurance.
 
Bucknekked

Bucknekked

Audioholic Samurai
I’m going to take your advice and hire an Audio Specialist to come in and plan/install. Thanks for your advice.
Take a look at the systems listed in @TLS Guy guys signature block. Take a look at some of his older posts where you can see some of his prior systems. This is someone that has a tremendous investment in both what he knows and what he has put together. Taking advice from him is a solid approach. Lots of guys who give advice would be embarrassed to show you their personal listening systems. Just think of him as your stern uncle.
 
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