If acoustic perfection is possible...this is it!
Written: Oct 02 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Flatness: |
|
|
| Imaging: |
|
|
| Overall Sound: |
|
|
|
Pros: clear, crisp, loud, real, feature-rich, awesome remote!
Cons: price tag
The Bottom Line: If you are a true enthusiast and want something clearer, louder, and better than anything you've heard before, go Bose all the way.
|
|
|
| nbostaph's Full Review: Bose Lifestyle 25 II Speaker |
Overview
The name Bose is synonymous with acoustic perfection. Do they live up to their name? In one word: Yes! In many words...read on :)
The Lifestyle series is based off of the Accoustimass speaker system coupled with a Bose receiver/amp/CD changer. The main unit (receiver/amp/cd) is unbelievably small and looks like no amp you've ever seen. It is a small silver casing, about 2 inches high and with a footprint about the size of a video game box. It's big enough to fit 6 CDs laying above one another in the right half and the left half holds all the electronics. It has no controls on the outside, just an easy to read display screen.
The main unit is superb. Bose has their technology that has a computer system inside the unit readjust the audio equalization many times a second, to maximize the realism of the sound going out to the speakers. I'll admit that this sounds like something out of star trek and I was skeptical of it at first, but I have found that this system could almost have come right out of the 24th century.
The lower notes are played through their small subwoofer. It actually looks more like a black case, about half the size of a tower PC. It can site almost anywhere in the room and look at home. Most people don't know what it is and it almost looks like a decoration. The system comes also with 5 powercube speakers. Each of these have 2 cube shaped speakers about the size of a post-it note. You place them around the room and point each of the speakers a different direction. With the sound coming from 10 different speakers and some of the sound waves bouncing off the walls you get a true surround sound system.
Features
One of the best features of the Bose system is the units themselves. The main unit can sit almost anywhere and doesn't even look like a audio system at all. The subwoofer handles only the bass sounds and can therefore be placed most anywhere in the room...even hidden inside of something! Then there are the small speaker units. You can mount them around the room and will almost never even notice they're there...until you turn them on ;)
The main unit has a 6 CD changer, as well as a built in AM/FM radio. It also has 4 sets of inputs on the back, so you can keep your DVD player, VCR, and TV all connected at the same time. The wiring that comes with the system is long enough for any reasonably sized room and it shielded extremely well.
My favorite part is the remote control. Many remote controls will not work correctly unless you point them at the unit and are in the general area. The Bose remote will work from 30 feet away while you're standing outside (I've done this). There aren't too many buttons and everything about the system is intuitive and easy to figure out.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is excellent. Most systems that try to work without a midrange speaker are just asking for trouble. Of course, they don't have Bose's expansive technology behind them. The sound reproduction all through the audio range is clear and crisp, even at super high volumes. There is not going to be any distortion in the sound, and the frequencies cover beyond the range that the human ear can pick up.
Although the system is only a 100 Watt system, it puts out an unbelievable amount of sound. As I've mentioned in all my speaker reviews, it's not just the power, it's what the speaker can do with that power. I have a 1000 Watt system in my car, and it's a really good and very expensive system, but the Bose will match it on a volume level. It's absolutely amazing the amount of sound that they can get out of the little cube speakers. What's really amazing, is that if you put your hand near one when it's turned up you can even feel base coming from them...from a 1" cone!
One great part is the base unit. It's not truly a subwoofer. It uses a mechanical amplification system so that even though the speaker itself is relatively small and isn't playing loud, the sound waves are increased in intensity. This allows them to play notes lightly enough to maintain great clarity, but increase them to astounding volumes. The best part is that the bass notes are generally controlled so that although you fell them (a lot) you don't hear them much so they don't overpower the mid and high tones. You must hear to understand.
An important note is that our house is kind of a mess even though we moved in over a year ago. The wires are all in a lump on the floor behind the TV...which means they are touching many other wires and right next to the TV itself as well as the subwoofer. We still get no distortion or static through the system.
Reliability
We've had our Bose system for some 3+ years now and never had a single problem. That wouldn't be so surprising except that we changed rooms for it once and moved to a new house just about a year ago! If you've ever moved then you probably know how much things get jostled in a move. In addition, we haven't taken the time to get things setup right and have been constantly moving wires around. Despite our best attempts to break it ;) the system has held together wonderfully. There is no distortion or crackling the speakers and the wiring seems perfect.
Comparisons
I've owned several Audio systems, but find only one worth comparing to the Bose. I have a Sound Blaster Live in my computer and use an Altec Lansing ACS 495 system. The Altec Lansing systems use a similar technology to sort out the sounds and re-equalize the inputs many times a second. I've found that the sound quality in the 495s nearly match the Bose system, but cannot manage the realism that you will want when watching movies. However, the 495s like to shake the house...they let you feel the bass a lot more. AL gives you wires that are equally shielded as Bose, but they are relatively short and there is no way to get longer ones :(.
Conclusion
Many people are happy with the regular systems that are available on the market right now. However, if you are a true enthusiast and want something clearer, louder, and better than anything you've heard before, go Bose all the way. I strongly recommend the Lifestyle systems over just an accoustimass system. It's not worth spending that much on speakers when your receive simply won't (and it won't) make the grade.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1800
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
nbostaph
|
|
Member: Nicholas Bostaph
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 6 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.