Bose 650 or present Home theatre

[Harry Gudino]

Recently I bought Polk ES60, 30, FXI A6, HT12 woofer and connected to my old Denon 2300. Wanted to upgrade AV recover to Denon 2700. Now after experiencing demo of Bose lifestyle 650 I thought I should shift to Bose 650 as it is compact.
Whether it is right choice. My room size is 15ft by 20 ft.
Pl suggest

 

[Amarendra]

Recently I bought Polk ES60, 30, FXI A6, HT12 woofer and connected to my old Denon 2300. Wanted to upgrade AV recover to Denon 2700. Now after experiencing demo of Bose lifestyle 650 I thought I should shift to Bose 650 as it is compact.
Whether it is right choice. My room size is 15ft by 20 ft.
Pl suggest

Bose is limited to just Dolby True HD and DTS (it doesnt mention DTS HD MA). The AVR will give you more flexibility such as changing speakers which Bose wont do. You will also miss on Dolby Atmos if you pick up Bose.

 

[Harry Gudino]

Thanks Amarendra.

 

[Subbu68]

No.........

I still regret going Bose way in early 2000s. Can't forget the $1k or so they took for a system that was crap compared to the Onkyo midi system I had. No home trials so got trapped.

 

[edjamesx]

Recently I bought Polk ES60, 30, FXI A6, HT12 woofer and connected to my old Denon 2300. Wanted to upgrade AV recover to Denon 2700. Now after experiencing demo of Bose lifestyle 650 I thought I should shift to Bose 650 as it is compact.
Whether it is right choice. My room size is 15ft by 20 ft.
Pl suggest

Personally I felt Bose lifestyle 650 is very expensive and they are not VFM. I had owned Bose speakers in the past , though i did own their Lifesyle systems, i bought their Bose 5.1 speaker package and hooked up with Onkyo AVR. They are sounded good though i felt they are lacking in low end (lacking on BASS). But they are almost invisible and very nice to keep it along the TV unit. Bose speakers do perform well only in Small rooms -still compromise on low end.

If you have space issue and leaning towards bose - then consider only getting their speaker package and get your own AVR, and add powered sub (10 inch) to fill the low end gap. (you can re-use your HT12 woofer too). By this you can save huge money. Do not go with their life style systems which are 3 times more costlier than their speaker package.

Drawback of bose lifestyle Amps -- You cannot upgrade your speakers in the future ,very expensive than other high-end AVRs in the market.
Advantage of having your own AVR - You can upgrade your speakers anytime in the future , less cost than bose's.

 

[sunshine_vsk]

Recently I bought Polk ES60, 30, FXI A6, HT12 woofer and connected to my old Denon 2300. Wanted to upgrade AV recover to Denon 2700. Now after experiencing demo of Bose lifestyle 650 I thought I should shift to Bose 650 as it is compact.
Whether it is right choice. My room size is 15ft by 20 ft.
Pl suggest

I guess the room you demoed Bose 650 is less than 10by10feet, so dont expect the same experience in your 15x20 ft room.. in reality your current polk package might perform better compared to bose 650.. If you were very impressed by the low frequencies in Bose then consider upgrading your current sub to better brands and you will enjoy the difference...

 

[Subbu68]

Bose lack the low end as well as there is a gap between the bass module and the twidlers as they call the cubes. Some measurements say it is a gap like 100Hz - 180Hz being drop off at bass module and twidlers pick up at 250 or 280Hz. There is a test by someone on YT.

When I got the Bose home at the first CD I thought I lost my money. Then reassured that it must the time to get accustomed to the sound. Later after a couple of years when I got my Yamaha amp and Jamo speakers, I found Bose really lacked everywhere.

 

[mail2sumanth]

Even my suggestion is to stay away from Bose.. we were left with no options in the past. But that is not the case now.

 

[sunand777]

All are bashing bose( especially this forum) here is most recommendable brand is marantz ) then how can bose world famous in sound than these home theatre brands in common people,please dont come up with marketing reason, im not bose fan but bose have huge number of customers…why???

 

[efernand1]

Recently I bought Polk ES60, 30, FXI A6, HT12 woofer and connected to my old Denon 2300. Wanted to upgrade AV recover to Denon 2700. Now after experiencing demo of Bose lifestyle 650 I thought I should shift to Bose 650 as it is compact.
Whether it is right choice. My room size is 15ft by 20 ft.
Pl suggest

Hello,

While everyone has provided their views and recommendations. Bottom line you need to trust your ears, manage your expectations within the set budget and size of system you want. You are the end user and so what works well for you may not work well for me. We are all different and have set expectations for a system to perform and deliver!

If you feel the sound and features of the Bose 650 works well for you, you can go ahead. It is true it is overpriced but yes, if you are open to pre-owned, many are available over OLX etc. Audition content you are very familiar with so that you can instantly know if Bose 650 is better than what you already have or not!

All we can say as fellow members, trust your ears and check if the system meets your expectations and featured performance then go ahead and take the plunge....yes read a lot of reviews, see you tube videos...measure pros and cons....again you are the end user so convince yourself for the system and the investment you are making....I take months to do research and decide before making major purchases!

All the best!

 

[Subbu68]

Hello,

While everyone has provided their views and recommendations. Bottom line you need to trust your ears, manage your expectations within the set budget and size of system you want. You are the end user and so what works well for you may not work well for me. We are all different and have set expectations for a system to perform and deliver!

If you feel the sound and features of the Bose 650 works well for you, you can go ahead. It is true it is overpriced but yes, if you are open to pre-owned, many are available over OLX etc. Audition content you are very familiar with so that you can instantly know if Bose 650 is better than what you already have or not!

All we can say as fellow members, trust your ears and check if the system meets your expectations and featured performance then go ahead and take the plunge....yes read a lot of reviews, see you tube videos...measure pros and cons....again you are the end user so convince yourself for the system and the investment you are making....I take months to do research and decide before making major purchases!

All the best!

I recommended not to go for Bose because I own one alongside owned Onkyo, Yamaha and now my DIY valve amp and ACA amp. Yes. Bose is convenient to use but for the same money or less, you get so much better systems. Even my desktop Harman Kardon Nova sounds far better.

 

[jayantadak]

All are bashing bose( especially this forum) here is most recommendable brand is marantz ) then how can bose world famous in sound than these home theatre brands in common people,please dont come up with marketing reason, im not bose fan but bose have huge number of customers…why???

In short Apple iphones is what Bose is to speakers. Hefty price tag in ratio to what we get.

 

[Barun7]

All are bashing bose( especially this forum) here is most recommendable brand is marantz ) then how can bose world famous in sound than these home theatre brands in common people,please dont come up with marketing reason, im not bose fan but bose have huge number of customers…why???

It's not about bashing I guess. Every product has its pluses and minuses - Bose has their own. Their speakers are tiny and is good for smaller rooms. They lack in highs and lows - but they have some very good products in their range. They are way way overpriced as per their offerings. However, their biggest plus point is their marketing. Go and ask 10 random moderately knowledgeable person which brand they know by hi-fi audio systems above 1 lacs, chances are at least 5/6 of them will refer to BOSE, maybe 1 person is aware of Yamaha. And brands like KEF, REL, Dali, Denon, Marantz etc? Probably none!
I own a very moderate setup which has cost me around 3 lacs but whenever someone asks about my setup, I get a hard time just to explain about the brands. After 2-3 minutes, both sides give up!
I remember even 20 years back Bose had a couple of dedicated showrooms in Kolkata. Now they probably have 5/6. All of those were very popular and prominent places with lacs of people passing by them. Those people have the name BOSE imprinted in them when they think of upgrading their system from a Sony/Phillips. They buy BOSE. And no offense to any owners - I have seen some BOSE owners use the brand name as a status of their affordability. Because both thevperaon speaking and the person hearing have not heard other brands frequently discussed here!
Not to start a war but just my observations. Everyone has their own preferences and I respect that.

 

[sandeepmohan]

Recently I bought Polk ES60, 30, FXI A6, HT12 woofer and connected to my old Denon 2300. Wanted to upgrade AV recover to Denon 2700.
Pl suggest

What does the Denon 2700 do better than the 2300 to warrant an upgrade?
To switch to a Bose set up is entirely up to you. If space is a not a luxury, then I guess, a Bose is the only alternative as a compact system. I guess its the bulk of the speakers thats the concern. What you can do is continue with an AV Receiver and use Bose compact speakers. It won't match the sound of your Polk but you will have something that gives you Surround sound without carrying the bulk.

Bose speakers are generally low impedance so make sure the receiver can drive them before you head down this road.

 

[Subbu68]

. Go and ask 10 random moderately knowledgeable person which brand they know by hi-fi audio systems above 1 lacs, chances are at least 5/6 of them will refer to BOSE, maybe 1 person is aware of Yamaha. And brands like KEF, REL, Dali, Denon, Marantz etc? Probably none!
. Those people have the name BOSE imprinted in them when they think of upgrading their system from a Sony/Phillips. They buy BOSE. And no offense to any owners - I have seen some BOSE owners use the brand name as a status of their affordability. Because both thevperaon speaking and the person hearing have not heard other brands frequently discussed here!

May I suggest a slight correction "moderately knowledgeable person" could be "a naïve, novice in hifi or an average consumer" not someone who know hifi.

The rest applies to these folks.

And the bold text is the best and probably correct observation. As someone said like owning a iPhone.

The hype they created is phenomenal. Even I knew Bose when I was 12 or 13 yrs old from my friend with whom I used to build amps and other electronics projects. His uncle had left a Bose in his house for some time. From then it was in my head Bose was the best and drowned my wife's hard earned INR 48k equivalent in 2003 on a Bose!!!! Learnt it in a hard way.

In UAE Bose have folded up their flagship stores and moved to sell in hypermarkets and to some electronics stores selling laptops and TVs. I read the same about Bose in US and EU. Now their website does not list any of their old stereo speakers.

Stereo Systems & Home Audio Speakers | Bose

With Bose stereo systems and home audio speakers, you can bring out the best your music has to offer. Choose from a variety of indoor, outdoor and speciality speakers.

www.bose.ae

 

[mbhangui]

If one thing bose has done right is the study of psychoacoustics. They understand what EQ of the sound most people prefer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DSP/comments/m74trr