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for some reasons, the floor and the walls were still shaking for music too. The movie sound effect is still cool. The first Onkyo automatic setup was great for the movies the floor and the walls were shaking. So, the pair 161 are now the back surround speakers. Now, it is a lot better for music. But, for the similar price range Bose is hard to be beaten. It was more like a really annoying subwoofer effect from the next room.
I don't have to worry about what cabel should I use or how much do I have to pay more. I decided to buy it because it always make me smile our of my poker face at Bose showroom (not because of the funny sale guy).I decided to adopt a set of AM6. The 161 alone sounds very OK for music. It also produces some midrange sound, which could mess up Onkyo automatic speakers calibration.
One more good thing that I like about the AM6 is, speaker cables are included. Then, I placed my order for the AM6 and also brought home a pair of an inexpensive Bose 161. I could make my neighbors dance with this set. The bass wasn't like a strong punch.
However, a month later when I was playing around with the Onkyo remote control, I found that the Onkyo set volume level of subwoofer to -3. Anyway, my receiver is Onkyo TX-SR605S. But please note that, the center speaker of AM6 is identical with the satellite speakers. I think, that's OK. I was a bit disappointed.
Of course, I heard some decent speakers that sound better than Bose, but they usually cost at least $3,000 each. And my audio sort is the Mac mini optically connected to the Onkyo receiver. I manually changed it to +3. I spent six months going around to listen to many others speakers (included Polk and Klipsch).
It does sound like what I heard in Bose showroom. That is a little too much for me. I think, the reason that make Onkyo receiver set the volume level very low for Bose speakers, because Bose bass module is not exactly a subwoofer.
It seems like the first step to be an audiophile is to criticize Bose. With the AM6, I got a 7.1 system. I got lost on that path a little bit.
However, the 161 alone is no good for movies.45 days later, I got the AM6. People at the store told me that I may have to wait for 45 days. But, I can't live without some nice music for 45 days.
So, it could be better of a system that has a real center speaker.
The Bass is lame and the treble on the center channel drowns out the rest of the action if anyone is talking in the foreground. They are good but not $899 good. I'm running a Pioneer vsx2016 which is an awesome product. I'm no Audiophile as it were but I know quality when I hear it. I'm sad to say don't believe the hype. Anyway I plan to stay within this price range but take my business elsewhere, any suggestions. I purchased the Acoustimass 6 (gen IV) on my belief and word on the street that Bose is the best. They are going to go back next week.
And, since all 5 speakers are cabled through the bass module, you're really stuck finding a good place to hide it in your room. My new speakers set me back about $350, leaving money left over for speaker wire and stands. All running from the same Pioneer VSX-D711 AV receiver as the Bose. When watching a Dolby Digital or DTS movie, I can now actually notice the low frequency effects, and even feel them. Which one do you think will do a better job of reproducing the full frequency of sound needed to enjoy a movie. Turns out, this was due to the fact that crappy little cube speakers aren't able to effectively produce sound in that low to mid frequency range, where most dialog lives. My budget Athena.5 speakers have a 1" tweeter and a 4" driver.
with the Bose, you get muddled farting from the bass module (and, I suspect the cross over on the bass module is set pretty high in an attempt to compensate for the Bose Cubes' misserable low to mid range response, so you know where the sound is coming from, sort of distracting).The overall sound stage is now much better with the new speakers, too. So, you have to use their wiring which really reduces the options for running wiring for the back surrounds. most important: when watching a movie, we can now actually hear the dialog. The Bose cubes were too easily localized, and didn't fill in the room very well. Now that I've learned that I can get significantly better sound for 1/2 the cost (and I'm sure there are scores of other options), I'd hate to see someone else get suckered in by the hype. Well, they do look nice, but. Sorry to ramble a bit, but I was a chump when I fell for the Bose marketing hype/BS.
Not completely flat, but really nice for the price and signficantly better than what the Bose AM6 can do with its single 2.5" driver per speaker. I was able to sucker some chump into paying $400 for my Bose AM6 speakers, which I turned around into a set of Athena.5 speakers and a 10" Velodyne sub. The small size is nice, but having speaker wire hanging out in plain site pretty much sucks.Speaking of sucking, let's adress the major shortcoming of almost ALL Bose products, they just don't sound good. But. Now, compare that to the single 2.5" driver found in the Bose cube "center channel". With the Bose AM6, it seemed like the music sound track and other ambiant sounds were constantly overwhelming the dialog.
So, what does all this mean. Take a look at all the traditional center channel speakers everyone else sells, they usually feature a single tweeter and two or more mid-range drivers of decent size (4" to 6" depending on cost).
I ditched my AM6 speakers through eBay and bought some good speakers instead. The Velodyne sub can hit 30Hz and really fill in the low end, while the bass module (I refuse to call that Bose thingy a sub) doesn't get any where near that.
Anyone who likes Bose must only have their clock radio as a point of reference. This combo does a pretty good job of covering down to around 80Hz where the sub fills in.
So, why am I so harsh on the Bose AM6 speakers. they use proprietary speaker wires with speacial plugs.
So, go back to Amazon's speaker section and try something else; Athena is a great brand;) and I'm sure there are lots of other choices.
thanx for a great system.my living room now sounds like a full theatre.it's hard to believe so much sound comes out of speakers so small I got a great b-day present.thanx
I spent $200.00 less on a set of Dahlquist 5.1A and feel like they sound like $1000.00 speakers. I think the fella spent like $750.00 on it from a local outlet mall. Don't get me wrong, music sounded good. What a waste of well earned retirement money. I'm running them with a Marantz SR6200 DTS receiver and they perform flawlessly.
The lack of mid-bass was a huge downfall with these speakers. The lower end frequencies were o.k. But, trying to watch a movie was like riding in a car with huge subs and tweeters in the front door pillars. In my opinion they look a whole lot better mounted too. They have an even frequency response all the way across.
What I felt was missing was the solid mids and voice presence. I heard this set at my Grandfather's friend's house. and the highs were sufficient. I would totally recommend anyone that's considering a BOOOSE system to reconsider and shop around. He had a higher end Marantz receiver firing these puppies, and let me tell you the receiver was being shamefully wasted on these speakers.
GET YOUR MONEY'S WORTH, DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE.
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