Sweatin' to the Oldies - BOSE Style.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:48:30 -0500, Walt
wrote:

I've never really liked the sound of horn-loaded speakers. Too much
like a victrola or a megaphone. Klipsch arguably made (makes?) the best
sounding horn loaded speakers, but it's still a horn. OTOH, the
increased efficiency of a horn means that they could really kick out a
lot of volume with an undersized amp.

We are on the same page here. I have one friend who absolutely swears
by Klipsch, but he has just one working ear. He lost the other to a
childhood illness, and I suspect that makes his hearing entirely
different than mine.

The increased efficiency must make them harder to blow as well?

In college I hung out with a guy who interned at Klipsch for a summer
as an engineer, but I was always too drunk to pick his mind
effectively and being as how he was an engineer, he wasn't very good
at talking anyway. I do remember him claiming that putting together a
good speaker involved a lot of trial and error, trying to get it
right. Of course that was well over a decade ago now, I am sure
computer modeling has eliminated much of the guesswork.

nate

Jay Pique wrote:

So then, do you think it's possible to obtain a comparable (or better)
system at say, half the price?

Probably. Bose is kinda like Vail. Many uninformed people think it's
"the best", mostly because other uninformed people have told them so.
Plus there's the relentless marketing.

The truth is that there's better stuff out there for less money.
There's also cheaper stuff that's not as good. But many people buy Bose
(or go to Vail) and are perfectly happy.

My advice would be to shop around a bit more and see what you find.
Good luck.

P.S. Make sure whatever you get matches you truck.


--
//-Walt
//
// There is no Völkl Conspiracy

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:48:30 -0500, Walt
wrote:

Sorry, I didn't realize that you had insomnia. Anyway, take a look at:
http://www.epinions.com/content_4143423620

Sweet Dreams!

I'm reading it now, and it is fascinating actually. I've always
wondered what the story behind the story with Bose was. Is unfolding
about the way I suspected it would.

Thanks for the link.

nate

Jay Pique wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 12:17:44 GMT, Jon C wrote:


Jay Pique wrote:

The research is done, and the results are in. The "Bose® Lifestyle®
38 DVD home theater system with uMusic™" is the home theater system
for me. Sure, the price isn't "low", but for $2999, you absolutely
can't beat the ease of use - and the sound quality is the best made
today, from what I've heard.

JP
**************
Audiophile.

I'll save you the "laugh at you" bit, but here's a tip: Bose, in
general, makes super overpriced ****. $3000 can get you much higher
sound quality from better manufacturers.


Any recommendations? I'd like a surround sound system (THX, the whole
deal) with DVD/CD and maybe even a hard drive to store all of the
digital media. Maybe I just get a laptop and some speakers and hook
it to the tv?

Too much out there to choose from.

JP

Go to the local higher-end A/V store (not the big box store that has a
TV wall) and start laying down the questions.

Jay Pique wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 12:17:44 GMT, Jon C wrote:


Jay Pique wrote:

The research is done, and the results are in. The "Bose® Lifestyle®
38 DVD home theater system with uMusic™" is the home theater system
for me. Sure, the price isn't "low", but for $2999, you absolutely
can't beat the ease of use - and the sound quality is the best made
today, from what I've heard.

JP
**************
Audiophile.

I'll save you the "laugh at you" bit, but here's a tip: Bose, in
general, makes super overpriced ****. $3000 can get you much higher
sound quality from better manufacturers.


Any recommendations? I'd like a surround sound system (THX, the whole
deal) with DVD/CD and maybe even a hard drive to store all of the
digital media. Maybe I just get a laptop and some speakers and hook
it to the tv?

Too much out there to choose from.

JP

Oh, in the price range you're looking at, you might want to look at
Polk, B&W, and NHT for speakers; Onkyo and Denon for receivers; and
almost anything for a DVD player.

THX doesn't necessarily mean anything, BTW.

uglymoney wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:19:16 -0500, Jay Pique
wrote:


On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 12:21:50 +0100, Suzieflame
wrote:


On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 23:04:17 -0500, Jay Pique
wrote:


and the sound quality is the best made
today, from what I've heard.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So then, do you think it's possible to obtain a comparable (or better)
system at say, half the price?



Depends. Do you have the cabinetry completed to house the equipment
and what kind of wood did you/will you be using?

Dr. Plasma has that Bose unit for $1998. I'd have to check some stats
to see if anything in the grand range can match it. Walt might have
some figures.

Most importantly, have you begun the selection process for your
new tv? I'm sold on the big new lcd's. In particular the Sharp
lc-45gd6u 45 inch hdtv lcd tv. That is one sweet ride.

nate


I'm a big fan of the LCD projection TV's. Great value.

"Jay Pique" wrote in message
...
Any recommendations? I'd like a surround sound system (THX, the whole
deal) with DVD/CD and maybe even a hard drive to store all of the
digital media. Maybe I just get a laptop and some speakers and hook
it to the tv?

Too much out there to choose from.

JP

As far as a PVR goes, check out myth tv http://www.mythtv.org/. Google
around for some howtos on building your own system. You can even get a
couple of HDTV tuner cards and build your own HDTV PVR. Something that's
just becoming available on the market.

For audio, I tend to go with professional audio gear. Companies like Mackie
come to mind. I figure if it's good enough for musicians to record with
then it's fine for playback. Right now, I use PA speakers for listening.
They sound good and they have the advantage of being able to take a lot of
abuse. I can throw them in the back of the car and take them to parties and
not have to worry about them. I also play guitar through them and never
have to worry about blowing them up. Of course it may be harder to put
together a consumer system with studio components but in the long run, I
think you would experience fewer problems.

Of course my listening these days consists mainly in the car or listing to
FLAC files of live performances on my computer with a semi-loud fan. Bottom
line is that everybody hears things differently and room design and speaker
placement are going to affect audio quality more than the difference between
high end speakers. Until I can afford to spend some $50K+ to build that
addition for the perfect home theater I just don't worry about it that much.
My suggestion is to take a look at the music you like to listen to and see
what kind of equipment they use in the studio. Then take a look at what
those companies offer.

My 2 cents, of course YMWV.
snoig

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 22:36:20 GMT, Jon C wrote:

Oh, in the price range you're looking at, you might want to look at
Polk, B&W, and NHT for speakers; Onkyo and Denon for receivers; and
almost anything for a DVD player.

You got any idea what happened to Boston Acoustics? They're still in
business, but seem to have disappeared from all my local retailers
(although they're still cracking the plaster in my living room)....

bw

bdubya wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 22:36:20 GMT, Jon C wrote:


Oh, in the price range you're looking at, you might want to look at
Polk, B&W, and NHT for speakers; Onkyo and Denon for receivers; and
almost anything for a DVD player.


You got any idea what happened to Boston Acoustics? They're still in
business, but seem to have disappeared from all my local retailers
(although they're still cracking the plaster in my living room)....

bw

They're still out there, making pretty decent stuff.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:09:37 -0600, bdubya
wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 22:36:20 GMT, Jon C wrote:

Oh, in the price range you're looking at, you might want to look at
Polk, B&W, and NHT for speakers; Onkyo and Denon for receivers; and
almost anything for a DVD player.

You got any idea what happened to Boston Acoustics? They're still in
business, but seem to have disappeared from all my local retailers
(although they're still cracking the plaster in my living room)....


It is hard to find dealers that sell them, but they are still in
business. I blew a speaker last summer while hosting a deck party
and getting a little carried away when ripple came on. They promptly
returned my e-mails and got a new speaker cone off to me.

http://www.bostonacoustics.com/

nate