Q&A: I Have A Bose Acoustimass 10 System, What Receiver Should I Buy?

[admin]

Today a reader wants to know what A/V receiver to use with his Bose Acoustimass 10 system. We review the system's rated impedance and power handling to get an idea of how much amplification the system needs. From there, we discuss whether or not it's worthwhile to spend more than the bare minimum given the compromises imposed by the compact system.

Read: Q&A: I Have A Bose Acoustimass 10 System, What Receiver Should I Buy? to find out our recommendations.

What would you do if you had the Bose system in your home theater?

 

[markw]

So, it's pretty much what we've all been saying all along.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Kudos to Steve on how he accurately and very politely defined Bose speakers.


TL;DR -they are obiviusly crud

 

[rojo]

Edit: I was being silly earlier and originally suggested an Emotiva pre-amp with Dirac Live. Using Dirac to correct a bunch of Bose dipoles gave me some amusement, like putting a humidifier and a dehumidifier into the same room to battle it out Steven Wright style.

But it appears the Bose system uses high level inputs into the bass module for its satellites, but not as a passthrough? The satellites connect to the bass module via RCA. How... odd.

Anyway, to answer the question posed by the article, just get a refurb Denon from Accessories4less. Doesn't really matter which. Get whichever one has the features you like.

On the other hand, we wouldn’t suggest buying a high end AVR for the sake of additional power or qualitative advantages unless you actually plan on replacing your Bose speaker system with something of higher quality.

It should be noted that "higher quality" does not necessarily mean more expensive, or even as expensive. There are better speakers to be had costing less than the Bose.

 

[zieglj01]

It should be noted that "higher quality" does not necessarily mean more expensive, or even as expensive. There are better speakers to be had costing less than the Bose.

Higher quality can be had for less - and there are better options than Bose.

However, some cube speakers can be quite expensive - and even have 10 inch drivers!

However, more expensive and bigger drivers - may turn some back to Bose.

Zu Audio Cube speakers for $499 each. However, not a fan of the measurements or the
poor bass response -3 db at 310 hz. The Bose cubes did maybe a little better in the bass
response. However, the Zu Audio will have good high sensitivity and more highs.

Now who wants to recommend a receiver - or even ask for a recommendation?

Zu Audio Cube Speaker System | Sound & Vision

 

[rnatalli]

Orbs or Mirage Nanosats were always my recommended alternatives. They obviously aren't as good as larger speakers, but for small speakers they do a far better job than Bose cubes. The Kef T series are nice too as they're incredibly flat and easy to make disappear in a room.

 

[beakergeek]

I would sell it on ebay and get some better speakers. Bose systems are the most over priced low quality speakers on the market. Good sound rarely comes from a cube speaker.