Bose Lifestyle V20 Home Theater System

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Now, I know what you are thinking, "Your first impression is 'Gotta Have It'? What kind of Audioholic is that guy, anyway?" Well, to be honest, that IS the first impression of most people when they hear the name "Bose." Of course, the commercials they have on the Discovery HD channel after nearly every show tell the average Joe how small they are and how great the room filling sound is. When Joe walks into the local big box store, the Bose demo is setup nicely and always works.


Discuss "Bose Lifestyle V20 Home Theater System" here. Read the article.
 
no. 5

no. 5

Audioholic Field Marshall
No way! A semi-review of a product from Those We Don't Speak Of! On Audioholics!

I'm just disappointed there isn't a bench test. :eek:
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
No way! A semi-review of a product from Those We Don't Speak Of! On Audioholics!

I'm just disappointed there isn't a bench test. :eek:
They can't do a full review, for obvious reasons.;)
 
T

terror_beast

Audioholic Intern
While I get that this write up is very tongue-in-cheek and basically meant as an "in joke" for Audioholic's regular readers, I think it's damaging to Audioholics to write the first impression as "Gotta Have It". I get that the article goes on to basically make fun of giving that designation, but any casual reader is going to see that and think that this is actually a good system to buy! People do not read reviews. They look at scores and quick conclusions. I suppose the writer thinks that it will do no harm since people buy Bose anyway - obviously without any research what-so-ever and based purely on marketting. But adding this sort of "Gotta Have It" impression only serves to further misinform casual readers.

Audioholics sometimes takes a bit of a laid back (or at the very least, editorial) approach to writing, but I think using it as a place to literally make jokes only serves to demean the website. Audioholics' has their tagline, "Pursuing the Truth in Audio & Video" written right underneath the banner at the top of the page. It seems to me that using sarcasm, irony and outright jokes only serves to increase confusion.

I just think that the joking of certain writers ought to be edited with a little more care. I find myself losing respect for Audioholics when they start posting articles that really only serve to poke fun, and even worse, do so in a way that could easily mislead and misinform casual readers who are actually looking for real advice and could easily misinterpret the "joke" as being genuine sentiment.
 
HiDefGuru

HiDefGuru

Junior Audioholic
I say Serves them Right.

If you are considering an "Investment" into A/V, you better had do your damn research and know what you're getting into. Just like any other investment. People spend 3 hours a day watching TV, you would think they would have the brains to look before they leap into a purchase that will potentially affect 1/8th of their lives

I live by Darwin's rules... If an Idiot survives their mistake (despite the wealth of information they had access to) then they will become better investors. If not, they will hopefully cram their tail between their legs and not buy A/V equipment until they learn their lesson.

And kudos to That BestBuy manager for telling it like it is. I can't tell you how many people I've tried to educate on how great a Deftech pc600 pack, or Klipsch Quintet system sounds over ANY Bose system ANY day of the week... I was actually out on an install a few weeks back, in which the bloated windbag in the 6000 sqft mansion couldn't SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT HOW GREAT HIS BOSE WERE!

Could you imagine how many pissed off Middle-Class suburban culture execs would be demanding refunds if they just spent maybe 4-5 hurs reading these forums?


erdit: I forgot... My name is Joe. Irony?
 
Haoleb

Haoleb

Audioholic Field Marshall
I have to admit that when I saw the "gotta have it" part i thought sheesh where did they get this guy... :D
 
J

Jim Robbins

Audioholic
Well, my hope is that most people will read the article so they can see how they are being convinced that the system is good, even before they know anything about it. I think my statements in the first paragraph would lead someone to continue reading so they know the true intent.

BTW, in my former life as part-time home theater sale guy at Best Buy, I would actually refuse to sell any Bose product. The store's General Manager didn't like that, but I sold enough other stuff to make them happy. Of course, I would do my best to educate people while selling stuff and acted in the customer's best interest. That also ticked off the GM. *grin* Buy hey, I wanted people to buy stuff that looked and sounded good!

Anyway, the topic of "Bose" isn't really "Mildly interesting", or even "Pretty Cool" to me, so I went with the "Gotta Have It!" and worked backwards from there. I don't have the option to say: "Stay away", or "Piece of Junk". *laugh*

Hopefully some Bose seekers will stumble upon Audioholics as a result of this article and find out that there are a lot more options available to them.

Anyway... Later all!
 

Kitsum

Junior Audioholic
Give it up. Bose and Monster will overrun the market to the point where is no choice. Audio will face the Dark Ages. We are a minority under extinction.
 
C

cmusic

Junior Audioholic
Earlier tonight my uncle told me his wife gave him a new surround sound system for Christmas. "It's a Bose and only needs two speakers for a whole surround sound system! Can you come over sometime and hook it up for me?" he said to me. My heart sank at that moment and I did not give any reply. I really feel sorry for him.
 
R

rnatalli

Audioholic Ninja
Give it up. Bose and Monster will overrun the market to the point where is no choice. Audio will face the Dark Ages. We are a minority under extinction.
Let them... As the number of fools increase, the gain to those enlightened also increases. I do not see extinction, I see opportunity for personal gain.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
It is a disservice to consumers when reputable sites, such as this, don't work to dispell the myths of companies such as Bose with honest and serious reviews.

A hard bottom line seems to be that the Bose products aren't 'bad', they just are a very poor value for your dollar. So, making jokes about the product is only going to draw more attention to them, but the question will remain "Why is it bad?" and those who are purchasing Bose, will continue to be (mostly) idiots with no clue of what they are actually missing (who needs anything below 40hz anyway?)

I would like to see a few more serious online and print articles that seriously review Bose products and deliver reality back to the consumer who may be shopping for them, and just stopping by for a quick, but serious look at what Bose offers.

Similarly, would like to see complete systems under $500 or $700 or so. Including HTIB systems, so people on a serious budget can get an idea of what is seriously worth considering at that low price point.
 
F

fmw

Audioholic Ninja
It is a disservice to consumers when reputable sites, such as this, don't work to dispell the myths of companies such as Bose with honest and serious reviews.

A hard bottom line seems to be that the Bose products aren't 'bad', they just are a very poor value for your dollar. So, making jokes about the product is only going to draw more attention to them, but the question will remain "Why is it bad?" and those who are purchasing Bose, will continue to be (mostly) idiots with no clue of what they are actually missing (who needs anything below 40hz anyway?)

I would like to see a few more serious online and print articles that seriously review Bose products and deliver reality back to the consumer who may be shopping for them, and just stopping by for a quick, but serious look at what Bose offers.

Similarly, would like to see complete systems under $500 or $700 or so. Including HTIB systems, so people on a serious budget can get an idea of what is seriously worth considering at that low price point.
Are you kidding? Bose has a reputation for sueing people who do negative reviews of their products. You'd have to be nuts to do it.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Are you kidding? Bose has a reputation for sueing people who do negative reviews of their products. You'd have to be nuts to do it.
I think they only ever had one lawsuit, and I believe that they didn't win it. I'm not sure if they wouldn't first try a cease and desist order, but I'm not sure on what legal grounds they would even attempt to have any lawsuit.

But, I sure would be willing to host any serious review by any serious website if they wanted that type of information out there for people to look at. I've also seen a serious review of the Bose system that highlights the shortcomings that it has.... It's been up for several years, let me see if I can find it....

The first hit I got was a bit different, but covers some not so nice reviews, from some decent publications...
http://www.firstadopter.com/fa/archives/001749.html

The second link from the above link is the one that has been up for years that anyone considering Bose should seriously look at:
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
A hard bottom line seems to be that the Bose products aren't 'bad', they just are a very poor value for your dollar. So, making jokes about the product is only going to draw more attention to them, but the question will remain "Why is it bad?" and those who are purchasing Bose, will continue to be (mostly) idiots with no clue of what they are actually missing (who needs anything below 80hz anyway?)
I think I fixed that for you. Seriously do they have any real output below 80Hz?
 
HiDefGuru

HiDefGuru

Junior Audioholic
BTW, in my former life as part-time home theater sale guy at Best Buy, I would actually refuse to sell any Bose product. The store's General Manager didn't like that, but I sold enough other stuff to make them happy. Of course, I would do my best to educate people while selling stuff and acted in the customer's best interest. That also ticked off the GM. *grin* Buy hey, I wanted people to buy stuff that looked and sounded good!
Amen man. I'm attempting to put my Big Box retailer behind me due much to the politics of Big Box sales and policies. I just wanna win a few big poker tournaments before I go JUST so I can abus... oops... I mean "Take Full Advantage of" My discounts and Vendor Perk programs.
 
F

fmw

Audioholic Ninja
I think they only ever had one lawsuit, and I believe that they didn't win it. I'm not sure if they wouldn't first try a cease and desist order, but I'm not sure on what legal grounds they would even attempt to have any lawsuit.

But, I sure would be willing to host any serious review by any serious website if they wanted that type of information out there for people to look at. I've also seen a serious review of the Bose system that highlights the shortcomings that it has.... It's been up for several years, let me see if I can find it....

The first hit I got was a bit different, but covers some not so nice reviews, from some decent publications...
http://www.firstadopter.com/fa/archives/001749.html

The second link from the above link is the one that has been up for years that anyone considering Bose should seriously look at:
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
Legal grounds aren't required for a lawsuit. All you need is a checkbook and a lawyer. I was sued this year for money I had already paid and could prove it. I settled out of court (at my lawyer's suggestion,) however, because the cost to defend myself in court would have been 3 or 4 times that amount. I would have won the suit and been out a lot more money.

At any rate, I think reality is that Bose is incredibly successful marketing what they market. If the product didn't satisfy those who buy it, it would fail in the marketplace. So, while they may not sell great value or great sound, people continue to buy what they sell and continue to be satisfied with it.

If you think about it objectively, what they sell is brilliant. It is something that works and makes sound from tiny, inocuous boxes that don't have much effect on people's decor. Take the Wave radio, as an example. The commercials start by showing a compact stereo system and then they compare the size and simplicity of the radio to that system (not the sound, by the way.) What they are selling is "small and less noticeable." For people who aren't that concerned about sound quality (most people) that is an appealing characteristic. I've heard a Wave radio and it sounds better than most other table radios. It sounds every bit as good as the speakers in my fairly large TV set. There you go.

Haven't you ever chosen something to buy just because of the brand name on it?
 
T

tonyk86

Audiophyte
I work for Circuit City and I really hate Bose. I hate it when a customer come in thinking bose is the greatest out there. Like that best buy manager, I try to talk people into KEF speakers, bostons, or even the polks that are way less. I'm trying to save people money and people think I'm crazy thinking bose is not great. Bose is all about marketing. This past weekend I sold Polk audio surround system a person. He was looking into the Bose Accoustimass 10. He wanted to know the differences in quality between the polk and the am10's. I demoed both and let him decide for himself. He immediately chose the Polk's because the high and low frequencies are better plus the sub woofer is much much better. Keep in mind, the AM10's are $1000 while the Polk system is $500 on sale. With that I convince him to go with a denon system and the total amounted around $800. Still $200 less than the AM10's. :) When I sell a bose system, I personally feel something went wrong in my life.
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
I work for Circuit City and I really hate Bose. I hate it when a customer come in thinking bose is the greatest out there. Like that best buy manager, I try to talk people into KEF speakers, bostons, or even the polks that are way less. I'm trying to save people money and people think I'm crazy thinking bose is not great. Bose is all about marketing. This past weekend I sold Polk audio surround system a person. He was looking into the Bose Accoustimass 10. He wanted to know the differences in quality between the polk and the am10's. I demoed both and let him decide for himself. He immediately chose the Polk's because the high and low frequencies are better plus the sub woofer is much much better. Keep in mind, the AM10's are $1000 while the Polk system is $500 on sale. With that I convince him to go with a denon system and the total amounted around $800. Still $200 less than the AM10's. :) When I sell a bose system, I personally feel something went wrong in my life.
And ya gotta love the mass merchants!! Look at sound advice here in fl it got TWEETERIZED and now sucks, mass merchants are profit driven purely as is bose(profit is not a dirty word, but pride comes into play)and are constantly asking manufacturers for private label, exclusive CHEAP products with what use to to be well resepected names.
 
M

Michigan

Audiophyte
Gotta Have It...hear it all the time

Jim Robbins was right on the money,...anywhere I go and people hear Bose,...and..gotta have it...they don't care about specs,..sound or the weird setup...and how else can you talk about Bose,...its a joke...you can't talk serious about this gimmick....by of course Dr Bose...you could get an Onkyo 800 or 5100 for about 400.00 dollars...ten times better than any Bose....leaves alot of money to add a second subwoofer and get some real bass and still have alot of money leftover....but for Bose lovers.....and the Neanderthals cooked their Bose,..and were amazed at the snap and crackle of the fake wood...and then they discovered expensive firewood....tune in next on the Discovery Channel when they discover real speakers...and they still buy Bose,...so to this day they remain Neanderthals...and evolution for them is hopeless....
 
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