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great for a large-ish sized living room. i'm a stickler for fine audio, and these surpassed my expectations.
They need to be positioned correctly so that the "Direct-Reflecting" drivers can do their thing.In our case, I have them mounted on wall-mounted TV stands that have them adjacent to the large solid-wood TV cabinet. First off, speakers and headphones, and in fact all electronics some would say, need to be broken in by many hours of use. In closing, they must be set up symmetrically so that the sound can truly bounce off the walls and ceiling. Today I played an old QUAD LP of the 1812 Overture and chose Dolby Pro Logic for it. I've been into high-end audio for 35 years now, so I've learned a thing or two. bought me a pair of BOSE 301 speakers in cherry from Crutchfield. I found two brand new conventional TV wall mount stands on eBay that seem tailor-made for the 301s. The living room has the 250 WPC separates stereo and is NOT set up symmetrically like the family room is.
Better than the 901s. A few years ago, my wonderful wife, (she truly is). After that I played a surround SACD and was even more impressed. 301s rock. LPs especially sound great.
So, the 301s just wouldn't do.However, where they are, they sound FANTASTIC. So, to truly enjoy YOUR 301s try my set up. Then you sit front and center, crank it up and try NOTto smile. It extends well beyond the physical width of the speakers location. They are just over 8" from the wall, about5" from the side of the cabinet and about 40" from the side walls. All-in-all, the sound stage the 301s put out, even in stereo, is wide and deep. Her hope was that I would stop using the very large Optimus Pro 4000 speakers I've had for years.
Itblew me away. (Note the cabinet, which almost reaches the ceiling is exactly centered on the wall).This is not the main stereo. The BOSE 301 speakers are the best they have ever made. The front tweeters are aimed exactly at the center seat to watch the TV.
Buy a set of these and you will be telling the same story to someone else. The highs were very crisp and you can hear every detail of the music that somehow gets lost in other speakers. I was so impressed that I immediately trashed my infinitys ( I actually gave them away )( I couldnt stand to listen to them anymore ). I Thought I was doing good with a set of Infinity speakers. I dont think you have to be an audiophile to know what kind of sound you like hearing. I took a chance and bought a set of these and it was amazing. I always liked Bose products from listening to them in the stores where they have sound rooms setup. After plugging these in and putting on a cd, it was like you could almost see the music coming out of the speakers.
I returned it and bought a Yamaha and the difference was beyond words. I have no intentions of replacing any of these speakers until they die and when they do I will buy the newest versions with no hesitation. After reading reviews on the series 5 speakers, I had to put in my two cents on the previous series 4 speakers that I own. First of all, these speakers sound awesome. Everything I have read about the series 5 says they are even better than the series 4. I have been using these speakers for the last 9 yrs with my home theater system and watching any action movie is an incredible experience. I bought a Pioneer receiver when I first bought these speakers and the setup sounded awful.
I can't remember which model they are. I also use the VCS10 center channel speaker and the rear speakers are the previous version of the 161's.
These have such impressive bass for an 8" subwoofer speaker that there is no reason to buy a seperate sub. Anyone who has a negative review might simply not have enough clean wattage to drive these great speakers.
I bought mine 9 yrs ago. I use the digital optical audio port as that gives the best possible sound.
Give them a try and I know you will not be disappointed. I have considered buying a subwoofer a few times and then thought, why.
I have never turned the volume on my receiver past 5 and I only have a 70 watt per channel receiver.
Center = Bose VCS-10. Amplifier = Yamaha HTR-5940 (read the manual and set it up right). The Lifestyle and Acoustimass systems are overpriced and don't do the job.
Subwoofer = Polk Audio PSW110 with the crossover set at around 90hz. This is what Bose should be selling. Sorry Bose, your subs are no good.
Bose is marketing their products wrong and I can see why so many people don't like them. or eBay). It sounds AMAZING.
Solution: Front L/R speakers = Bose 301. Surround L/R = Bose cube speakers (come with Lifestyle and Acoustimass systems, but if you call Bose tech support, you can order then separately.
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