Upgrading speaker cable for Bose Lifestyle V20 theater system?

[DJNBig]

Hey all,

Not sure if this is the appropriate area to post this questions but here goes.

My wife and I got a Bose Lifestyle v20 home theater system for Christmas and i'm wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade the speaker cabling for it.

One of the main reasons to consider doing this (aside from a possible increase in performance) is I'm not planning to run the speaker cabling inside the walls, i'm going to leave it exposed running along the sides of the theater room etc. So having a real decent cable would improve the appearance of exposed cabling significantly in my eyes compared to the cheapish looking stock wiring running on the ground.

Can anyone offer some input/advice/experience regarding this? Possibly recommending some cabling as well. Budget wise i'm not too worried about spending a decent amount of money on high performance wiring so don't hesitate to recommend something top quality.

Thanks,

Jer

 

[bandphan]

Hey all,

Not sure if this is the appropriate area to post this questions but here goes.

My wife and I got a Bose Lifestyle v20 home theater system for Christmas and i'm wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade the speaker cabling for it.

One of the main reasons to consider doing this (aside from a possible increase in performance) is I'm not planning to run the speaker cabling inside the walls, i'm going to leave it exposed running along the sides of the theater room etc. So having a real decent cable would improve the appearance of exposed cabling significantly in my eyes compared to the cheapish looking stock wiring running on the ground.

Can anyone offer some input/advice/experience regarding this? Possibly recommending some cabling as well. Budget wise i'm not too worried about spending a decent amount of money on high performance wiring so don't hesitate to recommend something top quality.

Thanks,

Jer

Nope not at all

 

[Gior]

For quick speaker cable information, check this site out.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

Unfortunately, unless the Bose accept banana plugs or spades I don't think you'll manage to fit the the 10 or 12 gauge cable into their terminals.

I had a quick look at the Bose manual too. Looks like Bose are using some sort of plug and play connection with their speaker wire. Unless you are going to be able to reterminate that yourself with the new cable, I think you'll find you won't be able to connect any new speaker cable you get anyway.

So it looks like it's going to be more trouble than anything else for you to do this and I highly doubt you will actually hear any difference for your troubles. You might think you do and the new look may please you, but a truly discernible difference in sound will be doubtful.

 

[dapack69]

Did you buy it or receive the system as a gift?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Hey DJNBig,
Welcome to Forums. FYI: Bose is a curse word around here, next after is expensive cables...
I'm amazed you almost struck both bad taste notes in same post...

What dapack69 hints at is for both you and your wife to return both these systems and get some real audio components

 

[markw]

Is it just cable or are there plugs on the ends? You might be able to replace bare cable but if there are ends on it you may run into problems.

 

[Knucklehead90]

Buying better cables for a Bose is like putting Mickey Thompson racing slicks on a Yugo.

Anyone else remember Cal Worthington hawking the Yugo?

 

[Adam]

Bose-bashing aside, there has been some good advice here.

Will it improve performance? Doubtful.

Can you get some cables that look better to you? Definitely.

Splicing cable into custom connectors isn't difficult, and we'll be happy to talk you through it if it comes down to that.

 

[AVRat]

Please, Please, Please, if you want a much better HT experience return the Bose system. For the money, we can recommend setups that are far superior to the Bose performance.

Secondly, you can purchase good quality speaker cabling at Monoprice.com

 

[Starmax]

Mentioning the words "Bose" and "Expensive Cables" on this site is like throwing chum into a tank of hungry hammerheads.

 

[Adam]

Mentioning the words "Bose" and "Expensive Cables" on this site is like throwing chum into a tank of hungry hammerheads.

We're not all like that, although clearly some of us are.

 

[Shock]

I don't think we should be so quick to throw around our hatred for bose as soon as someone posts anything about them. Sure BOSE make inferior products, but I think some of us are going about it the wrong way.

This is this gentlemens first post on our forums, and he's asking a pretty simple question, for anyone who regulars this forum, to answer. I don't know about anyone else, but if I was asking a question for the first time on a forum it's pretty much a feeler. Would I like to contribute to this forum, or are these people just typical I-net forum goers? Fortunately for this forum there are a very high amount of smart and knowledgable people. However I don't think we present ourselves in that manner when someone mentions forum "curse" words.

This gentleman is most likely not educated in the ways of BOSE, and we should take the time to explain to him why BOSE aren't up to snuff instead of going right into the jokes.

I'm not singling out this thread in particular, I have read quite a few posts lately that involve BOSE or other such topics people like to rip into. I just felt this was a good thread to post my opinion on. Some of you might think I'm over reacting a little bit, but I'd hate to lose a future audioholic to something so minor.

I recently had to explain to one of my best friends that those BOSE speakers his mother got him for christmas are pretty bad, and then helped him pick out a receiver and set of speakers he would be much happier with. It was really hard for me to actually tell him that those speakers were garbage because I had known him for so long, and he seemed really excited to finally get some new stuff for his new house.

 

[Adam]

I don't think that you're overreacting at all, Shock. Thank you for that. I've said similar things in the past, but it gets tiresome responding to the same bashing.

 

[Shock]

To the OP here is an excellent link detailing some common problems with BOSE speakers:

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

If you have the option to return them, you would definitely be happier with independant components rather than an all-in-one type system.

If you don't have the option in returning them, some simple splicing and some new cable would provide a more pleasing look to the cables. Also if you have carpet, tucking the cabling between the baseboard and the carpet is a very effective way of hiding any unsightly cable. That requires nothing more than some patience and a butter knife.

There are a lot of misconceptions about speaker cable making a difference in audio quality. The only thing you need to look for in speaker cable is making sure you have the correct AWG for your distances.

 

[Halon451]

Take it easy on the poor fella guys, Bose is not a bad product at all...

P.S. Adam, love the new pic of your pooch in your sig!

 

[RayoVac]

To the OP here is an excellent link detailing some common problems with BOSE speakers:

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

If you have the option to return them, you would definitely be happier with independant components rather than an all-in-one type system.

If you don't have the option in returning them, some simple splicing and some new cable would provide a more pleasing look to the cables. Also if you have carpet, tucking the cabling between the baseboard and the carpet is a very effective way of hiding any unsightly cable. That requires nothing more than some patience and a butter knife.

There are a lot of misconceptions about speaker cable making a difference in audio quality. The only thing you need to look for in speaker cable is making sure you have the correct AWG for your distances.

Although it is much more fun to "Bose Bash"... this comment really addresses the OP's question. It is well thought out and friendly!!! Kudos!

 

[BMXTRIX]

Take it easy on the poor fella guys, Bose is not a bad product at all...

Well, I would say that line is not accurate, but just because someone got taken in by Bose marketing and the cute little speakers doesn't mean they should get slammed - it's an opportunity for them to learn something about A/V.

My biggest issues with Bose don't really sit around their actual quality, but that they don't have a good upgrade path and that they ignore A/V standards of design completely in favor of their proprietary design - while significantly over charging for their product.

I would agree strongly that if this was a gift or a personal purchase, that if the opportunity exists to return the setup, that the money could be far, FAR better spent on some other gear and that as a group, we know this is the case, so we should help steer people towards making a more informed decision if at all possible. Or at least find out if it is possible.

If not, then while wires could be spliced in, the net effect with Bose is that it isn't going to improve upon their product.

I sincerely hope that the OP is able to return the Bose system and really does want to get a lot more quality and value for their money - likely putting money back in their pocket or giving them the opportunity to upgrade to something that will give them better sound and ease of use for years to come.

 

[adwilk]

Dang it shock, I had an excellent post til I read your reply... true true...

 

[Halon451]

^ Missed sarcasm BMX..hence the little smiley at the end of my statement

 

[Adam]

I don't believe that everyone who buys Bose is a naive victim of marketing. Some people are, but others actually like their stuff. Some people don't want to spend hours and hours researching, auditioning, and comparing.

Do I think that someone could get a better performing system for the same price? Yes. I bet that is true for a lot of us, though, and not just in our A/V systems. Sometimes we just buy what we want, and what we want is often driven to some extent by marketing.