Out in left field, a 400 sq ft field

[Lunar1]

The Place, our condo has approx 400 sq feet living space shaped like a rectangle w/9 ft drop down ceiling panels (an old extended stay hotel room converted to a condo). Concrete ceiling/floor. Walls, unknown composition under the sheetrock.

Premise, I want to be space-saving/modern and have high quality. In ohter words, I'm not going to skimp on budget to sacrifice quality, but my last name isn't Rockefeller either.

Assumptions, Shopping around the $1299 Bose 321 system looks attractive because you only have 2 speakers & a sub (fewer wires running all over the place) along with a compact base station that integrates a fair number of functions. (dvd/am-fm/receiver I/O's).

Questions & Comments,

1) I've been searching this site, and get the impression that BOSE isn't high on a lot of people's lists (for reasons i've not yet grasped); so is there a suitable 2 speaker & integrated all-in-one receiver solution that i'm overlooking?

2) I'm really against having wires exposed, and since this is a condo and not a traditional home, I'm not comfortable opening the walls up to hide the wires. Which alternatively leads me to question, Is there a quality wireless speaker product out there?

3) to recap, space is at a premium, we're going for the minimalist approach. (currently have a 2 yr old $500+ boat anchor of a sony receiver, advent tower speakers, and a good sized polk subwoofer that is all getting gifted to some lucky friend/relative with enough space to enjoy it) I'm going from 1400 sq ft to 400 ft!

Any suggestions / advice is welcomed !

Cheers,
Rolf

 

[Leprkon]

Assumptions, Shopping around the $1299 Bose 321 system looks attractive because you only have 2 speakers & a sub (fewer wires running all over the place) along with a compact base station that integrates a fair number of functions. (dvd/am-fm/receiver I/O's).

Questions & Comments,

1) I've been searching this site, and get the impression that BOSE isn't high on a lot of people's lists (for reasons i've not yet understood yet); so is there a suitable 2 speaker & integrated all-in-one receiver solution that i'm overlooking?

Rolf

wireless speakers are not much of a solution at this time, since you have to get power to them somehow....

How good is Bose's quality ?? all you gotta do is check the specs, right ?? compare them to other manufacturers and make a scientific decision...

Let's look at a typical advertiser's page for the Bose system

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-OcjojyQfcB3/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=37700&id=features_and_specs&i=018321GSG2

Can we do Dolby ProLogic- no, Dolby Digital-no, THX, DTS, NEO, um well we don't seem to get those either.... You do get an S-video input (ooooh) and there are um, well no component inputs (you can play DVD but no X-box for jou) but HEY... we do know that it comes in GRAY !!!

they don't seem to have any real audio specifications published...no speaker sensitivity, no frequency range, no power rating on the subwoofer, no actual DATA to be found. Now I wonder why that is, Batman ??? not like maybe they don't want you to compare them to the competition ??


you want an all-in-one toy, then get serious about it

http://www.nadelectronics.com/av_receivers/L70_closerlook.htm.

throw in a good set of Axiom Audio, Paradigm, or even Infinity bookshelves with a 6 1/2 main driver and a decent center and you'll blow that cube system away and still be able to pick up 10 new DVD's for the same price.

you want high-tech ? try this puppy for size.. it's a little pricey, but talk about saving space....

http://www.audioholics.com/ces/CESspeakers/YamahaYSP-1digitalsoundprojector.php

there are MUCH better options than Bose for similar money... take your time and make a well-informed decision.

 

[starfish]

Assumptions, Shopping around the $1299 Bose 321 system looks attractive because you only have 2 speakers & a sub (fewer wires running all over the place) along with a compact base station that integrates a fair number of functions. (dvd/am-fm/receiver I/O's).

Questions & Comments,

1) I've been searching this site, and get the impression that BOSE isn't high on a lot of people's lists (for reasons i've not yet grasped); so is there a suitable 2 speaker & integrated all-in-one receiver solution that i'm overlooking?

2) I'm really against having wires exposed, and since this is a condo and not a traditional home, I'm not comfortable opening the walls up to hide the wires. Which alternatively leads me to question, Is there a quality wireless speaker product out there?

3) to recap, space is at a premium, we're going for the minimalist approach. (currently have a 2 yr old $500+ boat anchor of a sony receiver, advent tower speakers, and a good sized polk subwoofer that is all getting gifted to some lucky friend/relative with enough space to enjoy it) I'm going from 1400 sq ft to 400 ft!

Any suggestions / advice is welcomed !

Cheers,
Rolf

Take a look at the KEF KIT100 Instant Theatre system. I've seen and heard both and liked this one much better than the Bose system. Home Theater magazine had a nice review in their November 2004 issue.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/loudspeakers/1104kef/

 

[jaxvon]

Well, if you want to get an idea of Bose quality, check out this link. It isn't alone, though. Audioholics did a speaker shootout awhile ago and found that of all the speakers they tested, Bose were at the bottom for quality, even compared to speakers far below their price point. They even use paper tweeters!

What exactly are you looking for? Something that's small and Bose Cubish, or perhaps a bookshelf-sized speaker? Axiom, Paradigm, PSB, Athena, and even Polk have systems that could fit your need without being huge space hogs.

About hiding the wiring...

If you have speaker stands or have your speakers on shelves, then it's easy to hide the wiring. A room diagram might help us to get a sense of what you're working with. Nothing fancy, just a basic sketch.

 

[Leprkon]

just thought I'd post directly from the Bose website, so you can see that Crutchfield isn't holding infomration back... it simply is not publicly available...

http://www.bose.com/controller;jsessionid=CRvVhZnw3CGYV29DCDrFRp8v2HQvpC22LCxWv8J0ZhQ02WwmRmGb!699745672!-1131770138?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=321gs_dvd_index&pageName=/home_entertainment/theater/systems/dvd/index.jsp

There's not a single piece of real information about the system you're looking at anywhere on that website. Anywhere. There's a ton of marketing and buzzwords, but not a single piece of useable information.

It's time to ask yourself why.

 

[BMXTRIX]

People here, and at almost any decent A/V site will be happy to explain why Bose is more of a rip off, then quality product for your dollar. It doesn't suck, but you can get a lot more, for a LOT less.

Anyway, a good idea may be to really look at your wiring options. You can go stereo, or better yet, look at alternative ways to hide your wires. In wall is one way, but they have baseboards, chair rail, and crown moulding all of which is designed to hold wires inside of them. That way, you not only hide the wires, but you add value to the room. A good wire tech will also be able to run wires through a lot of tough places with almost no damage. It may or may not be possible in your setup, but you may want a qualified wire person to look at your situation before deciding against it. Having a 5.1 wire run inside the walls can add some value to the home, even if it is just a condo.

First I would fully explore your wiring options before giving up on quality 5.1 (or 6.1/7.1) surround. Bose will never give you any level of quality that you are looking for.

I would also keep in mind that a decent set of 5 speakers typically costs several thousand dollars. If you are under $1,500.00 for receiver & speakers, then you really are still looking at the entry level range. Nothing wrong with that, but there are definite limitations in quality at your price point. Not such limitations ever that you should resort to Bose though.

Bose is for the Rockefellers that have money to throw away on overpriced, under quality equipment.

 

[Beegowl]

Amazing. Bose posts online the owner's manual for the 3-2-1 system. The technical specs include the weight of each component, the maximum ambient air temperature (!?) (now that's an important audio specification), and some other description of the inputs and outputs. No frequency response range, no audio specs, period. Weird.

I've had two autos with Bose systems. The sound isn't bad, but the initial cost was high, the components were not durable, the system is proprietary so any components to be replaced are expensive and must be purchased from Bose. In my opinion, and in a cost to quality ratio, Bose comes up short.

 

[Lunar1]

Hey and thanks folks! Following up with you...

Leprkon, thanks for confirming my wireless suspicions.

The L70 Nade all-in-one you refferred to retails at 599 here; looks great, but doesn't have progressive scan, their 999 model does tho. Getting progressive scan doesn't seem worth the extra 400 bucks, do I even need progressive scan?

The Yamaha YSP-1 looks interesting, but my limitation is size, the wall unit furniture at the condo gives a TV space of 36" width & 31" height. Given the dimensions of the YSP-1, I lack the space to put it near the TV. Closest alternative would be on top of the wall unit (7 feet off ground and 2 feet below the ceiling).


Starfish, the KEF KIT 100 has me the most intrigued right now. Heading into a local dealer to give it a once over. Same price as the Yamaha YSP-1 (1499 retail). Woulnd't want to go much higher than that for a system.


Jaxvon & BMXTRIX, haven't completely ruled out the wiring scenario to a traditional 5 speaker arrangement, if I'm still stuck in LIMBO on this, i'll put a room diagram together and solicit ideas. I have a little time to think, as we close on the place March 4.


Beegowl and all, thanks for the skinny on the BOSE sentiments, I catch the drift now. At present still leaning toward the minimalist; open to any ideas!


Cheers, Rolf