Bose Lifestyle 650 vs Other Options

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sameerdua

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Hi Guys -

I have been looking for an ideal home theatre / music system for some time, and i stumbled across this forum. Realised there are quite a few experts here. So just wanted to take your guidance on what would be the some good options for home theatre / sound system.

1. Need to set it up living room, with possibly some satellite speakers in other rooms or balcony
2. Need it for both movies and music (would like to leverage Bluetooth, and my record player)
3. Budget - I've checked out Bose 650, which costs close to 4L, ideally if i wouldn't want to cross 2.5 - 3 L

Any guidance would be highly appreciated

Sameer
 
Room dimensions?
Living room or dedicated room?
What ratio of movies and music?
Would you be comfortable with bookshelf speakers or do you want satellites only?
 
Hi Sameer. I had auditioned the Bose lifestyle 650 too and in my opinion it's the best home Theater solution that Bose have made in a long time. The Omnijewel tech is quite impressive. Also the subwoofer is really good. But...the 4lac price tag in my opinion gives you a thought whether you could have other options too. I'm in a dilemma to go for the lifestyle 650 too. Here's some points I observed

The lifestyle 650 has the main usp of being ultra small and delivers big sound.

You pay for the brand.

In 4lacs you could have a very decent full range 5.1 speaker system with full range towers,Avr etc.

My current system is an all Paradigm system with a Boston BT1100 sub with a 12" driver which blows the Bose sub into the water. The depth of my sub cannot be matched by the Bose one. Again I enjoy that kind of bass and it's personal preference.

So bottom line is I would really explore some options before splurging on the Bose which is also a fantastic system. In the us the Bose sells for half the price as here.

Make an informed decision.

We are also here to help you.

Cheers

Sunny


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi Sameer,

Agree with Sunster, within 2-3 lacs you can get a very good system, again it all depends on personal preferences and how much you are willing to spend on features, performance delivered by a system.

If you like the small cube form....Morel has spheres, Telome Audio has the jewel cubes which are good too....etc...there are many brands...

Since you are based in Bengaluru, there are many dealers, audition many systems as you can and never reveal your actual budget...say you need a system within 2 - 2.5 lacs..see what they suggest / recommned....audition these before finalising
 
Thanks guys.
@naturelover - I'm still contemplating whether to put it in living or a dedicated room. The problem is, the room is 12 X 14 ft, which might be little smaller, whereas living is 12 X 19 ft. In terms of split, itll be 60% music and 40% movies, and satellites preferred

@sunny - did explore some options, tried KEF T205 / 305 with Denon 7.1 receiver. Sounded great, but honestly speaking independent evaluation (since BOSE are only sold at dedicated dealers) is little tough. If i go back listening to 650, the sound is slightly more clearer

then somebody also suggested Jamo!

Still not sure if splurging 4L on Bose is worth it or not!

May be still transitioning away from Bose :)
 
Hi

BIC America also makes mini satellite bookshelf speakers which are quite loud and good enough....Avenue Sound is the dealer and supplier in India...(DV32 series).

You could also look at other brands like Taga, Bostons who are known for Satellite speakers
 
Hi Sameer,

If you are really inclined toward Bose then go for the Lifestyle product such as 650 because Bose Speakers works great with their AMP. Bose Satellite Speaker package with Subwoofer i.e Bose Acoustimas Speaker package with any AV receiver does not sound great. I have personally audition Bose Acoustimas+Yamaha 675(Demo provided by Bose Showroom in Forum Mall, BLR). I felt like someone has hooked up an entry level AV Receiver with some low end satellite speaker. And following are my observations:

1) As of now none of the Bose Lifestyle model supports DOLBY ATMOS or DTS-X and none of their model has 7.1 configuration.
2) The Subwoofer of Older version of Lifestyle as well as Acuostimas model was good, where it used to come with 3 x 6" drivers. In 2015 Bose ditched one Subwoofer driver from all of their Subwoofer model including Acoustimas Subwoofer as well as from Lifestyle model. Because of that the sound was ok for movies but not so impressive for Movies.
3) The Bose Acoustimas Speaker package will cost you somewhere around 90k. Even Onkyo 7.1 THX Speaker package including 12 inch subwoofer will cost you 70k which is anyday better than Bose Acoustimas Speaker package.

Also as suggested by many Forum members there are many good award winning speakers available in market such as Dali, Wharfedale, Q-Acoustics whose detailing level is far superior than Bose.

Again choice is yours. Do audition and then decide.

Thanks,
Sujit
 
Hi Sameer,

I had auditioned a bose system ( don't know the model, but cost was 1 L ), and it sounded good to me. But, that was years ago, and I cant really compare it with anything I have now.

But 4L is an extremely good budget. If you spend some time in auditioning, it will be money well spent.

If using it in the 11x 14 ft dedicated room, go for satellites + sub. But if you are using the 11x19 ft room, go for book shelf speakers atleast as FL,Fr & center. Since you also seem to be keen on music, you can add an external stereo amp to your AVR pre-outs. This will take the musicality to a different level, well beyond BOSE territory.

Being in Bangalore, there is absolutely no excuse, to not audition enough gear:ohyeah:
 
newlash09 said:
Hi Sameer,

I had auditioned a bose system ( don't know the model, but cost was 1 L ), and it sounded good to me. But, that was years ago, and I cant really compare it with anything I have now.

But 4L is an extremely good budget. If you spend some time in auditioning, it will be money well spent.

If using it in the 11x 14 ft dedicated room, go for satellites + sub. But if you are using the 11x19 ft room, go for book shelf speakers atleast as FL,Fr & center. Since you also seem to be keen on music, you can add an external stereo amp to your AVR pre-outs. This will take the musicality to a different level, well beyond BOSE territory.

Being in Bangalore, there is absolutely no excuse, to not audition enough gear:ohyeah:
Click to expand...

Could you please share what you liked about Bose other than the BASS impact ?

I once went to the Bose store in Phoenix mall and the guy was playing Hotel California on the Bose 7.1 channel. Damn, i felt like as if the sound was piercing my ear canals. I was not able to bear the sound more than 2/3 mins. Is it only me ? or i am having some issues in my ears now :(
 
I'm shocked..
Please stop this guy from buying bose.
U have such a good budget.u can get a very good system for that price.
Bose hires highly trained sales man , the trick u, their words make their speakers sound good.
I can talk for hours on this.I want to keep it short.
Don't buy bose. DON'T!
genelec 8040b, genelec 7060b, Cambridge audio cxn, Pioneer bdp-180, Sony vpl-hw40es
Click to expand...
 
Whatever claims on technology Bose might make, they can't beat the simple laws of physics and audio engineering.
Sound waves are produced by the air displaced by the speaker drivers. Bose is notorious for using very small paper cone drivers encased in plastic boxes. Another good way of guessing a speakers performance is its weight. Light and flimsy speakers have a thin body enclosure with a weak magnet. Not sure how can they produce "big" sound...beats me. All of Bose products are not bad, say for example if you get the Wave IV, that's the best sounding table clock you will find. But we seldom buy table clocks for that purpose, do we? Their 301 bookshelf speakers aren't bad either. Also, in Bose's defense (and I am not for or against any brand) , quality is often a matter of perception. So if you want to have the Bose brand (which they have built by spending millions on marketing) in your living room, go for it by all means. :)
But if you are serious on performance and considering spending that much money, better go for Klipsch speakers and a Velodyne or SVS subwoofer (if you can get them in / around where you live). You wont be disappointed. Also, do not forget to get a good AV receiver (check the per channel power rating, not the total claimed output).

Happy listening.
 
Hi AVI777

Welcome to HFV.....

As you may have already possibly read the above threads...every brand has their own technology and USP for marketing their products....

If you have been to a Bose store, you would have auditioned and heard the 650....it is not a bad system....my neighbour has it and so does my relative in Goa....it is a simple system aimed for a certain section of population to use without major clutter of complex connections and setup....

With that same budget, you can buy real mid to high end speakers and AVRs which are available today.....lot of dealers with different pricing....auditioning is key...trust your ears and check out the systems which meet your connectivity and performance requirements within your budget....then take a call....

I use the Bose 301s series III and hooked them up to a Marantz and it works very well.....stand alone Bose speakers can work well if they are connected and paired properly with the right amp or AVR.....IMHO the Bose speakers which you get over the last 5 to 7 years is not that great and punchy ...the model i use is well over 18 years old and can kick some serious punch.....
 
I am creating a new home theater system in my new home. I have a "game room" that is approximately 18' deep by 12' wide. The ceilings are 10' high. The issue I have is that the room does not have 4 walls as it opens up in the rear to a stairway.

I bought the Bose 650, but thinking I could find better systems for the money. I already have an Onkyo 676 Receiver and thinking I could simply invest the $4k in better speakers. I prefer to have less obtrusive in wall speakers and NOT larger towers and was sold on the clean Bose look.

The Bose system is wireless, but I have to hire an electrician to run power to them anyway so i'm thinking I should just get better speaker and have the electrician run wires..

My other concern is that he Bose speakers is they won't be adequate for the size of the room.

Got other questions related to the projector and screen..

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
In my opinion you may need to crank up the volume to 100% to cover the room area......which can mean jarring sound...again depends on the quality of sources being used.

You would have been better off with Polks (RTiA series) or BIC America speakers with the budget you had....look at Bookshelf speakers if not floor standing and a 12 inch sub....
 
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