Bose® Acoustimass® 16 Series II home entertainment speaker system - Black
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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours (as of 10:59 PM CT - detail)
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- Five cube speaker arrays
- One horizontal center channel speaker
- Designed to work with your 6.1-channel components
- Powered Acoustimass® module
Product Description
Standard surround sound provides five channels for surround effects. But with 6.1-channel surround sound, the Acoustimass® 16 Series II speaker system increases the impact of home theater listening with a rear center speaker for even greater drama and realism.
This heightened experience in music and motion picture listening is the result of a powered Acoustimass module. This innovative module uses proprietary Bose technology to bring depth to the rumble of a passing train, or the resonance of a baritone's voice. The module can be hidden nearly anywhere in the room. You enjoy rich, colorful sound that appears to come only from the small speaker arrays.
Imagine your favorite movie in Bose 6.1-channel surround sound. Footsteps click on the sidewalk behind you. A flute plays to your left. Voices, front and center. The new horizontal center channel speaker array keeps dialogue focused on the screen and visually complements flat-panel TVs. The Direct/Reflecting® cube speaker arrays envelop you with surround sound effects. Just 6 inches tall, these arrays deliver high and midrange frequencies so you enjoy crisp, clear reproduction of movies and music.
And even though you're enveloped by 6.1-channel surround sound, your room isn't overwhelmed with equipment. The small speakers can attach to your walls or sit stylishly on an end table with our accessory speaker mounting options.
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
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Summary:
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Bose Acoustimass
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Comment:
I've known about the sound quality of Bose Acoustimass systems for years but do to children and marriages just couldn't afford the luxury. Now happily divorced and the children grown I have finally acquired a Bose system. It's everything I always knew it would be, great sound. Calling the sound realistic doesn't go far enough. Watching Blu-Ray concerts in 1080p along with hearing them in full 5.1 or 6.1 full DTS digital sound is better than being there live.
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Summary:
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Unbaised opinion
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Comment:
I consider myself an average audiophile. I have used a lot of equipment over the last 10 years and have spent countless hours reading reviews here and on other forums. This review is of the Acoustimass 16 (AM16) series II.
I'm using the AM16 as "surround speakers." With that, I'm only using 4 of the satellites and the "bass" module. I have Polk Monitor 60 fronts and a Polk CS2 center that I will not replace with these speakers. I have and love a (MFW) 15" sub made by a company I don't like. I highly recommend you get a "true subwoofer" if you are going to spend this kind of money on surround speakers.
I call them surround speakers because they are *not* full range speakers that can accurately produce the entire frequency range. The Polk Monitor 60 speakers are full range speakers that you should consider if you want a relatively small footprint in a good speaker. Yes, they are 1,000 times bigger than the Bose cubes, and there's a reason for the size (and it isn't to take up space).
So now that you know how I use them, here's what I think of the sound quality.
Bass modulator- this thing is a great "mid bass module." Plenty of mid-bass slam for music and to round out the sound from your real sub. The AM16 modulator has 3 5.25" drivers, the AM10 has 2. This was the reason I purchased the AM16 for a few hundred more than the AM10.
If you don't have a dedicated sub and are considering these speakers as your only speakers, take a look at the Polk RM705 on Amazon. Onko and Sony also make speaker sets for under $400 that more than compete with the sound quality of this system.
So when should you buy this package? For me, I bought it because I wanted wall mountable, swiveling, speakers that would serve the purpose of presence and surround speakers and get more displacement on the bass.
This is a lot to pay for a seemingly small benefit, but my wife did want something that looks nice. As you probably already know, the AM16 probably has the highest wife acceptance factor (WAF) around. My budget for speakers was such that the cost of these was not a deciding factor. The polk RM705 was another option for sure, but the mounting was not what I was looking for.
You'll read a lot of reviews of people essentially defending their purchases because they spend a good amount of hard earned money on these things and don't want to feel dumb. This is especially true for this company's products. My review is an attempt at an unbiased opinion, I hope this help you.
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Summary:
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Inferior Quality
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Comment:
As a general rule, most serious audio publications won't review Bose products for two reasons, one: they don't want to get sued by Bose if Bose doesn't approve their review, and two: Bose won't be likely to approve most reviews. You see, Bose is more of a marketing company than an audio company. They put a lot of money into both their marketing departments and their legal departments. They have created and propagated a myth that Bose products possess magical properties. That's really their brand identity; Bose has magical sound, their is nothing better, come on, drink the Kool Aid and repeat the mantra.
There are thousands of zombie like people walking around thinking that Bose must be good because they heard it somewhere. Where did they hear that? Certainly not from professional reviews; people who buy Bose don't read serious and professional reviews. A common user review of any given Bose product goes like this: "I'm no audiophile, but these sound awesome to me". So what's wrong with this type of mentality? First of all, it implies that a so-called audiophile is a snob. Second of all, it's an opinion created without the benefit of any qualification. I mean, if you were in the market for a new car for example, and you were the type of person who did research first, you might read expert reviews. I'm not talking about reviews from people who bough the car or rented it for the weekend, but of journalists who do this sort of thing for a living. You might read Road and Track, or Motor Trend, or even Consumer Reports. Now suppose that you are reading an article in any of these publications about a new car from Brand X. Would you take the publication seriously if the reviewer wrote the following: "I'm no expert, and I certainly don't know anything about cars, and I'm not familiar with many different brands of cars, but I can tell you this; this car that I just drove is the best in the world."
So Bose is very innovative and brilliant in their marketing. They create ads that seem to indicate that their product uses some special secret technology and that magic happens when you use them. I'm not exaggerating. That's is basically what one of their television ads says, 'this product uses Bose technology' and you hear a testimonial from a couple in their fifties or sixties that when they turn their Bose product on and hear the music they just start dancing and that it's magic. I don't know if they are actors or not. I don't know who they are. They don't look like actors to me, but they also don't seem to be anyone I would go to for advise on purchasing audio equipment. And really, what is Bose technology anyway? Any manufacture of any product could use their brand name and the word technology and it sounds like it is something unique. This is all very subversive and effective. I don't blame Bose for using these kind of tactics. After all, they have been working for a long time. It seems that Bose is preying on the ignorant, and quite possibly those with early stages of hearing loss.
But it is another matter to bully people around. And that's what Bose does anytime anybody says something negative about their products.
I have a question for you Bose faithful out there; did you audition any products from Jamo? How about Bowers and Wilkins? Did you take the time to go to an authorized Martin Logan dealer? Why did you purchase a Bose product after listening to something from Linn, or Magnapan, or nOrh, or Legacy Audio? Is it because you have never heard of these brands? I'm not just dropping names here, I'm making a point. Anybody with properly working ears and an unlimited budget would choose any of these brands or one-hundred other brands that your or I have never heard if over Bose simply because Bose is not all that it pretends to be. Really, their are many brands much more in reach for the rest of us that are of better build and sound quality than Bose; brands like Klipsch, or Polk, or a half dozen others, (it's true that there are many more high-end exotic brands than middle of the road brands like Klipsch or Bose). Whether I like the way Bose speakers sound or not is completely beside the fact that Bose uses really, really inexpensive materials. I'm not making this up. It is a fact. Have you ever noticed that Bose never publishes specifications on frequency response? It is true that specs aren't everything, but they are something. Why do you suppose Bose omits this? They claim that the sound of their products speak for themselves, but remember, this is their marketing department talking. The fact is that Bose speakers cover much less of the range of sound that humans are capable of hearing than other brands do. It is simply impossible for most Bose speakers to recreate very high and very low frequency sounds. Not even their subwoofers can reproduce very low frequencies.
So, I'm not endorsing any of the brands I mentioned, but I am encouraging you to really educate yourself if you are serious about buying a good sounding speaker system. Don't believe everything you read, certainly don't believe everything you hear. Don't but something you only heard in a big box store. The acoustics at Target or Sam's Club are nothing like the acoustics in your home. Do some research, go to smaller audio stores and bring your favorite CD's; this is very important because you will know what they should sound like, so you already have a standard to compare other systems to. Just like a car, don't buy the first one you see. Test drive it, and many others before buying anything. And ask yourself, "do I really want to support a company that bullies magazines around simply because they fear bad press?"
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Summary:
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Awesome speakers
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Comment:
This speaker set up is awesome. KEEP IN MIND that this does not have a sub like the other setups that other manufacters sell. The large unit shown in the picture is what is called a Modulator. It gives you low end for the other 6 speakers. Almost like a sub, but not the samething at all. Pair this up a JBL 12" powered sub with this setup and you are at the IMAX!! Trust me add a sub and your done. I have my setup powered by an Onkyo THX Ultra 2 certifed reciever and a 12"JBL powered sub in a 20x16 room and shakes the walls!
CANT GO WRONG!
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Summary:
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My first home theater
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Comment:
Bose is my first home theater system. I never wanted a super jazzy system which can blow the roof top, I always wanted to have a decent home theater system to watch and enjoy movies from my childhood days and growing up always wanted BOSE. Till now everything I listen to on BOSE has been fantastic and excellent. It did live up to my expectations and I have fallen in love with it.
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