Upgrade from 5.1 to 7.1

[salman121]

I have an existing 5.1 channel, "BOSE Acoustimass 15 Home Theatre System". It has 5 Direct/Reflecting cube speakers (UB-20) and a bass module (Sub woofer). All speaker wires go to the sub-woofer and then from sub-woofer, all wires go to the receiver.

I would like to upgrade this system to a 7.1 channel. To my understanding, there are two options that I can follow:

1) Just buy 2 new BOSE UB-20 Direct/Reflecting cube speakers or BOSE 161 speakers and hook them directly to the receiver (as my sub-woofer has only place for 5 speakers). What are the pros and cons for doing this?

2) Buy "BOSE Acoustimass 5 Series III Speaker System" which comes with a base module and 2 UB-20 Direct/Reflecting cube speakers which I can connect as Left back and right back speakers to make it 7.1 channel. This way, I will have two base modules. Is that recommended or not recommended?

I will highly appreciate any recommendations/suggestion.
Thank you,

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

Ack. You're going to get a lot of flak here for owning a Bose product, so be warned!

Most recommendations coming from here are going to say, if you've got the cash, replace the whole system with something else. Then, sell your Bose set on EBay and get some return on that.

Ah, I just noticed you have the AM15, which is a pretty expensive set. You could get quite a bit for it, and put the funds from that into something new.

If you want to keep small speakers, then I can't really tell you what to get, because I haven't heard all that many. I've only heard select Polk Audio and Infinity sets, and they sound great, but there might be something better out there for the price. The Polk RM series is a decent series for a good price. Take a look here: <a href=http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Polk-Home-Theater-Speaker-System-RM6900-/sem/rpsm/oid/108691/catOid/-12950/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do>Polk Audio RM6900</a> and a good Infinity system here: <a href=http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Infinity-Home-Theater-Speaker-System-TSS-750-/sem/rpsm/oid/76470/catOid/-12950/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do>Infinity TSS750</a> Like I said, a system like this would be beneficial if you want to stick with smaller speakers. Also, both sets offer individual speakers so you can add a 6th and 7th channel.

If size isn't as much of an issue, get 3 pairs of bookshelf speakers (not Bose), a decent center channel, and a sub. Same deal as above, I only really have experience in Polk Audio and Infinity. For Polk, I'd look at the RTi series (like the ones in my signature), and Infinity, the Beta series. They are both reasonably priced speaker series' and they have good sound for what they are.

What receiver do you have all this plugged into?

~Chuck

 

[Sheep]

If you don't want ot buy a whole new system, get either 161 or greater (perferably greater) speakers or the 2.1 system.

if you are willing to chagne everything, and sell off your Bose stuff, loot at speaker systems and component speakers and subwoofers in your price range.

Couple brands to consider

-Energy
-Axiom
-PSB
-Aperion
-Klipsch
-Infinity
-Ascends acoustics
-Hsu
-SVS
-BIC
-Paradigm
-Mordaunt Short

To name a few.

SheepStar

 

[sploo]

Hi salman,

Something to consider: are you wanting to go to 7.1 because 'you want 7.1' or because you're looking to get better sound?

If you're looking to improve your sound with movies and/or surround music, then I'd strongly suggest you try some 5.1 systems at the same price as your Bose gear - you may be pleasantly surprised.

It's not that Bose is bad, but they're generally very pricey for what you get. A recent (reasonably blind) test by a UK TV program compared their Wave Radio (about 450GBP) against two cheaper systems. I don't place too much stock on their comment of using a room "with near perfect acoustics", but the procedure seemed reasonable. It didn't fare well - in fact one reviewer placed it behind a 130GBP mini system.

http://gadgetshow.five.tv/jsp/5gsmain.jsp?lnk=401&featureid=34&pageid=55&show=s4e2&section=Classic Gadgets

A neighbour of mine has some of their gear. Again, it's OK, but a similarly priced system from another manufacturer would be much better.

 

[salman121]

Thank you guys for the great tips. My main concern for getting the BOSE system was the size. I do admit that the quality is good as well. I would love to try new speakers but I just moved into a new house and trying to save some money and by selling BOSE on ebay probably won't get me much.

I run this BOSE system on a Pioneer receiver (don't recall the model #). Thanks for all the brand names. Whck top three brands would you pick? I didn't really need the 7.1 sytem. this is one of those things that I wanted to especially when I am getting the wiring done.

I have one more question: I am runnign the wires now and I heard that you should not run the wires close to the electric/tv/telephone cables as they can interfere. Is that true or a myth? I am using Monster 14 Gauge THX certified cable.

Thank you,

 

[JaceTheAce]

Salman,

You'd be quite surprised with how much Bose systems go for on eBay. Due to the fact that Bose has instilled a great amount of marketing brainwash into the general public that Bose is "good sound", they will almost always go for higher than market value on eBay. When people want a Bose system and they are bidding on it, along with continually being outbid for the same reasons, they will forget that the Bose system they're bidding on is worth much less than the ongoing bid. This is a great advantage to the sellers... and unfortunately a ripoff for the buyers because they are just not informed.

I can almost guarantee that if you sell your Bose system on eBay, the money you get back will buy you a far better system than your Bose Acoustitrash (I'm sorry to pick on Bose, but my parents bought a 5.1 system from them a few years ago and it's just a shame that they spent that much money).

With the money you get from the eBay sale, I'd highly recommend listening to Energy speakers. Energy is known for putting out a great line of inexpensive speakers that compare to speakers costing 2-3 times as much. But just listen to several speakers before you decide.

Don't forget to consider every speaker brand you test out at a home audio store... and don't go to Best Buy or Circuit City...or any other huge franchise retail electronics store. You won't find good speakers there. Look in your phone book for a high-end audio store. You'll be surprised that you can get an affordable home theater system there.

Consider the following brands:

Energy (I'm partial to Energy because I own an Energy system)
Paradigm
NHT
Axiom
Definitive Technology
PSB
B&W
etc...

Energy and Paradigm have a satellite/subwoofer combo that are not much larger than Bose systems if you are concerned about size.

 

[agarwalro]

I believe the Bose system is not capable of going 7.1, you can get 6.1 at best. Might want to confirm that before you go out and buy two new speakers.

 

[Johnd]

I have one more question: I am runnign the wires now and I heard that you should not run the wires close to the electric/tv/telephone cables as they can interfere. Is that true or a myth? I am using Monster 14 Gauge THX certified cable.

Thank you,

salman: since noone has responded to this question of yours, I'll take a crack (without taking any well deserved shots at Bose). You essentially have two problems: 1) Yes, Yes, Yes, running "electric/tv/telephone cables" parallel, in tandem, or even proximate to speaker wire will cause an abundance of EMI (electromagnetic interference); and, 2) your "Monster" selection of speaker wire (again,without taking any well deserved shots at Monster) is a code and a fire safety issue. Only in-wall rated wiring can, and should be run in-wall. Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[salman121]

Thank you JaceTheAce. You guys have convinced me to check into other system and I will look into E-bay about how mych these systems are going for.

The wire I am uisng is Monster CL3 certified wire (14 gauge, THX) so it should be within the building code.

Thank for all the input everybody.

 

[salman121]

Now, does it matter if I buy just cheap radio shack RCA adapters or they should be high end adapters. I checked at monster.com and they are between $10-$15 a piece, yikes!! Any suggestions on that. Which ones should I buy and where can I buy them?

Also, do both cables have to be equal length like

Front Left cable length = Front Right cable length

Surround Left & Surround Right = equal length cable

Back Left & Back Right = equal length cable

The acble I am uisng says that maximum of 60 feet length for surround speakers.

or it does not matter. If it does, how much of a difference in length is not noticeable in hearing music/movies?

Thank you,

 

[Johnd]

You have'nt stated the type of system you're talking about...I assume it is not the Bose system you already have, because you said that is already connected. It is all relative. It would be foolish to spend hundreds of dollars on cabling and interconnects on a $1,000.00 system, just as it would be foolish to spend only hundreds of dollars on cabling a $25,000.00 system. On a $1k or $2k system, you'll be fine going to Radio Shack or a hardware store and spending $8-$12 per set of interconnects. The length of the wire (pairing) does not matter unless you have very long runs (+50 feet). Monster Cable does not have the best cable, wire, interconnects, connections at the best price. A rough rule of thumb is your cabling should cost 10-15 % of your system cost (assuming yo're not paying full retail). Hope this helps.

 

[ironlung]

Bang for the buck

May I suggest replacing the front three speakers in your setup and perhaps a sub. Then use 4 of the bose cubes for surrounds until a complete upgrade can be made. It will probably give the greatest improvement in sound.

For the speaker cable length I think it's negligible. Just use what you need. For it to matter I think the lenght difference need to be 100's if not 1000's of feet. I'm sure one of the EE types will correct me.

 

[salman121]

Thank you guys.

I have 5 BOSE direct/reflecting cubes and one BOSE base module. Receiver is of Pioneer brand. Not sure about the model at the moment.

 

[jaxvon]

Now, does it matter if I buy just cheap radio shack RCA adapters or they should be high end adapters. I checked at monster.com and they are between $10-$15 a piece, yikes!! Any suggestions on that. Which ones should I buy and where can I buy them?

Also, do both cables have to be equal length like

Front Left cable length = Front Right cable length

Surround Left & Surround Right = equal length cable

Back Left & Back Right = equal length cable

The acble I am uisng says that maximum of 60 feet length for surround speakers.

or it does not matter. If it does, how much of a difference in length is not noticeable in hearing music/movies?

Thank you,

The lengths need not be equal. Signal travels so fast down speaker cables that you'd need miles to hear a difference. Also, since it's high quality 14ga cable, you don't have to worry about resistance either, so any run, even the long ones (over 60ft) will be fine. Over 100ft and I'd rather have 12ga, but you're still fine. Consider that most of the wiring in your house, in fact all of the wiring going to your normal 15-amp outlets, is 14ga and you can see why going bigger isn't really necessary.

As for eBay pricing, check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FOUR-BOSE-DBL-CUBE-SERIES-II-SPEAKERS-GREAT-COND_W0QQitemZ5864815750QQcategoryZ64616QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That's just for 4 cubes, not including the 5th one for surround OR the "bass module" that you need to run them. You can imagine what a whole system can get.

There have already been many great manufacturers listed, any of which would impress you greatly. Axiom is one company that you could deal with, as they offer free shipping to your house and a 30-day trial period. If you don't like their speakers, you can send them back and only pay the return shipping. Any of Axiom's offerings will sound much better than the bose system and give you the sonic impact that will make movies come alive. The same goes for any of the other manufacturers listed.