Scooby96

Anyone got one and recommend it?

I want a Lifestyle 50 and integrate in into the lights and heating in the house.

Seen this on ebay but it looks far too cheap as I was quoted c£2500 at best

TelBoy

Also, if this isn't thread hijacking, the single box wave jobby they always advertise with no price (why is that?).

I know it's not "real" hi-fi, but is it adequate for a small room for background music?

Scooby96

If you have to ask the price you cant afford it type mentality?

TB - dont go for that get an acoustimass 'system' instead. Theres a good Bose factory outlet place in Ashford which have the lesser Bose systems at good prices (30-50% cheaper)

ProperCharlie

i have heard both the clock radio style bose thing and the slightly bigger one. they are kind of ok, but not worth the money IMO. if you picked one up for cheap it might be ok. the tivoli stuff is supposed to be good and it looks better.

ScoobyJawa

Went into the Bose store in York and had a listen to their Lifestyle system in the their cinema style demo area.

It is fecking superb - if you have the cash you simply MUST buy it!

Luke

There is no way on earth any Bose product is "Out of this world" Some might like the "Bling Bling" but for far less money you can get a much better picture and sound.

Bose is for people hoping to turn their mates on. (Maybe a bit gay also)

Scooby96

Luke, any view on the price on ebay?

Luke

Wouldnt buy anything i couldnt test etc first. If you want a much better system all in one box.. try the TEAC's and DENON stuff. will walk over the Bose and might be region 1 and 2.

Mufasa

If it's got no highs and it's got no lows then it must be Bose!

NotoriousREV

I have a Bose Lifestyle 5 which I bought about 4 years ago. It's an excellent system which for the money I paid at the time I couldn't find anything that sounded remotely as good to my ears.

Good bits:

radio remote control, none of this poverty spec infra-red crap, I can skip tracks, adjust volume etc. while I'm in the bath upstairs.

The whole system can be hidden away (hardly useful for impressing friends )

Sound quality is good

Bad bits:

A bit "dull" after a while, doesn't sound very "dynamic"

White remote gets grubby

Audiphiles decry it at every opportunity.

Personally, I like the sound but in the "less than £1000" category 4 years ago, there was nothing tranistor based that came anywhere near the quality.

ProperCharlie

REV, unfortunately you have totally missed the point of being an audiophile. Why do you think we don't like Bose? Well it's for exactly the reasons you mention:

*it doesn't take up three quarters of the living room
*you can change track without having to have a degree in mechanical engineering
*you don't have to modify your house or dig holes in the garden for it to work properly
*they aren't made in a shed in someone's back garden in cambridgeshire

pah - what a load of cr*p.

[Edited by ProperCharlie - 12/9/2003 5:55:45 PM]

tonybooth

I also have the Lifestyle 5 - thanks to a tax rebate last year

It is superb and very loud, as my neighbours will testify

TONY

Monkeh

My dad has the bose 321 system for £1000 i would expect a lot better sound quality.

It has a seperate bass box, which has a loud electrical hum I would have a seperates system over it any day..

Taff107

I've had a Bose Lifestyle 12 for quite a few years now. It is without doubt, one of the best systems available and I cannot recommend it highly enough. When you listen to your music that you have heard a thousand times for the first time on a correctly set-up Bose, it sounds totally different. I think you have to be a real serious audiophile to want a better sound. Oh......and did I mention the volume......

Luke

Not in a million years is a bose lifestyle going to real hifi. The crossover of the sub and speakers is about as bad as it can get!!! Its all tinny treble and bass that distorts. A denon dm30 with kef UniQ's will walk over it for far less. Add a active sub if you want more bass...

Bose . nakamichi B&O etc do not make hifi they make designer sound systems... very very big difference.

ProperCharlie

beg to differ re:nakamichi - don't know what they are up to now but they certainly did make proper gear at one point.

i presumed Taff was just joking.

paulr

Most hi-fi buffs diss Bose but whenever i've heard them they sound pretty good for the size.
A bit overpriced if anything though.

civictyper

Nakamichi used to make the best tape decks in the world (allegedly).

I'd never buy a Bose system as they do not make good engineering sense (single PSU, cramped electronics etc) but my mate has an acoustimass speaker package and it sounds pretty good.

It all depends on what you want IMO. People that buy B&O/Bose/lifestyle systems generally don't want to buy bulky, crude looking black boxes and I think they sound good enough to kick Kenwood stack systems into the weeds. A nice compromise, albeit expensive. Love the B&O phone though.

scoob_babe

the little acoustimass thing is great for basckground stuff in a smaller room - my mum has hers in the kitchen as she didn't want wires trailing in through the dining room or the hall to rig up speakers from the proper stereo in the lounge.

Luke

Nakamichi is very budget stuff in the states... Some of the car stuff is ok...but still riding on its old reputation.

TelBoy

True, Luke, Nakamichi went through a serious re-branding about five years ago when they realised that sales of expensive tape decks were falling through the floor, so they could either plod on with that, or change direction. Quite why they chose to focus on the novelty end of the market though is still a mystery to me, i have to admit.

But their old stuff is still outstanding. A night in with the Dragon is superb if you have the time and inclination. I guess most people just want "instant" music these days, so limited-appeal hardware such as this just doesn't sell any longer, more's the pity.

Luke

I have a pair of nakamici crossover (Active ) for the car. I always get offered good money for them!!. The current head units are good for the money. The amp and speakers bit poor.

the nalamichi lifestyle stuff is been dumped onto little shops at cheap prices.. I believe curry's sell it!!!!!


Each to there own.

My sony walkman was modded to have a uprated ofboard power supply..What a difference that made!!

Funkii Munkii

Love my Dragon

TelBoy

And they do still make high-end stuff, just not for the UK...

C h a z

Don't understand why people still buy Bose. I used to fit the systems, done dozens of them. The thing is you can now get much better systems for far less money. If you want discreet speakers go for in wall or in ceiling, far less obtrusive. Site the amps and source components away in a cupboard and control them using an RF touchscreen (prontos do this now). If you want multi room audio buy a multi room system and bolt in on the end. Something that is expandable to more and more rooms unlike bose which is very limited in this respect.

civictyper

It's probably because a lot of people know of Bose/B&O but have no knowledge of Linn etc. People are very much driven by brands these days and will not buy what they don't know in fear of being uncool or whatever.

Some people I work with are like that. They swear blind that Kenwood make the best hi-fi in the world and when I mention Naim or Ruark etc they just say "ehh, never heard of them so they must be crap". Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

iain atkins

I've got some old Bose speakers, and they sound awsome . A very dynamic sound.

Funny thing is, the only Bose bit about them are the cabinets LOL. During one of my 'moments' i pulled out the bose speakers and replaced them all with Infinity's just to see what it sounded like, i've never looked back .

With a few tweaks to the internals of the cabinets, and the port lengths they now sound great . Hmmmmm those Emit tweeters sound fantastic :drool:



Iain

[Edited by iain atkins - 12/10/2003 10:21:36 AM]

C h a z

I'm listening to a Linn V-clip system in the office at the mo, now that does sound good-well it should for £90k!