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In praise of Bose cubes.

cubdog

cubdog

banging through drywall
I'm serious about this and figure this is the only forum to discuss it. I have often said one of the things I like about my Bel Canto gear is it's ability to disappear. When I listen to music the last thing I want to do is think about the equipment. Having just recently integrated new speakers, Sony SS-M7, into my system I finally have speakers that compliment the Bel Cantos. They don't do anything spectacularly well but also they have no glaring weakness. Now I just hear music and this simplicity is very rewarding. This brings me back to the Bose and why I want to praise them. Years ago, before I was seriously into audio, I was at an open house for a home sale. The house had a room that was a library, music room combination with a beautiful grand piano. There was a very realistic sounding piano piece playing that even at low volume filled the room. I couldn't figure out where the music was coming from but it was beautiful. I actually sat down and listened for a while. Anyway, I asked the agent about the music and he showed me where a couple of the Bose cubes had been mounted under the piano. I was and still am amazed at how good they sounded. It was just music nothing else and those little cubes did exactly what we all want our speakers to do, convey the music and disappear.

cubdog
 
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When I was 13 or so, my dad replaced our Realistic Mach Ones with the first acoustimass system, with the two cubes, joined at 90 degree angle, per side. The bass thing behind the couch- no speakers visible. Everybody, myself included, thought it to be a major upgrade in both sound and living space. My parents are still using that same system 25 years later, and every Christmas my mom talks about how much she loves it. They aren't the type of people who sit glued dead-center between speakers but they love music. The Bose system is perfect for them. Yes, today I hear a hole in the midrange and the bass is one-notish but the system makes music, and most importantly- it gets played. There's nothing more important in a stereo than the user wanting to play it. And my parents have music playing all day long on their Bose setup.

When that system first came out people weren't so used to small speakers. It was pretty neat to have music just in the room, without a visible source. For people who walk around and so other things while music is playing, the idea of sound reflection is a pretty good solution.
 
I remember the first time I heard a bose sub/sat setup. I was pretty young. 4th grade? I couldn't figure out where the music was coming from. It really did sound good, especially considering the sizes.
 
Well, I'm still using my AM-5 system too, just not for music. We have a nice Sony 60" HDTV that we purchased a couple of years ago. We aren't really into Home Theatre or any of that but found out right away there was no way we could use the speakers built in to that TV. I resurrected my old Denon integrated amp and the AM-5's. I could program all of it into the Logitech universal remote making it friendly for the wife to use. Not the greatest but perfectly suitable for our use.
 
JohnVF said:
When I was 13 or so, my dad replaced our Realistic Mach Ones with the first acoustimass system, with the two cubes, joined at 90 degree angle, per side. The bass thing behind the couch- no speakers visible. Everybody, myself included, thought it to be a major upgrade in both sound and living space. My parents are still using that same system 25 years later, and every Christmas my mom talks about how much she loves it. They aren't the type of people who sit glued dead-center between speakers but they love music. The Bose system is perfect for them. Yes, today I hear a hole in the midrange and the bass is one-notish but the system makes music, and most importantly- it gets played. There's nothing more important in a stereo than the user wanting to play it. And my parents have music playing all day long on their Bose setup.

When that system first came out people weren't so used to small speakers. It was pretty neat to have music just in the room, without a visible source. For people who walk around and so other things while music is playing, the idea of sound reflection is a pretty good solution.
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That gets forgotten when the Bose bashing gets going. They weren't/aren't aimed at the audiophile set. I remember selling them(almost 20 years ago!), and in a "sit and listen" way they were really fatiguing. And I owned a set of 401s at the time. But for the market they were aimed at, they were fine. I don't recall anybody ever bringing them back, and they sold well.
 
I would point out that the cubes are single drivers speakers with all the advantages and (disadvantages) of that concept. Notwithstanding the sub module, you're hearing an (almost) full range speaker. It may have worked especially well for a piano sonata.

Wait a minute! Isn't there a whole contingent over here at AK DIY involved with single driver full range speakers.:D
 
I've walked into some fancy shops and showrooms and have been instantly engulfed in music. It takes me awhile to find those little speakers and when I do, most times it's Bose.

Set-up just right, it's a completely different kind of experience. You can't see where the music is coming from and after awhile you don't care. The music just follows and surrounds you. It's like a personal soundtrack.
 
I suspect they are optimized to sound good at very low levels, since I think the target audience usually will use them for background music.

Those guys at Bose are no dummies.
 
To be truthful I rarely sit prone in the sweet spot and listen to music. I'm usually doing something else. Either checking things out online or or doing other more active things. Music is the soundtrack of my life and I can't live without it but I don't need to sit with rapt attention to "get it". I'm a multi tasker, just how I'm built.
 
I agree with what's been said so far for the most part.

I remember going to a Bose outlet store with my two brother in laws. They had a demo room set up with a big projection tv and the full 5.1 HT set-up. The lights were really dim so we could just make out 5 large black speakers and a sub. When the demo concluded we were all astonished. Really astonished. Then the Bose employees running the demo lifted the large black speakers off of the tiny Bose cubes. The large black speakers were really just cloth cover frames with the little cubes mounted on stands underneath. In a dark room everyone assumed the sound was coming from the the large speakers and in a way that is where the sound was coming. It really was quite the demo. Incredible really. There definitely is something to psycho acoustics. We still talk about it to this day.
 
Art K. said:
To be truthful I rarely sit prone in the sweet spot and listen to music. I'm usually doing something else. Either checking things out online or or doing other more active things. Music is the soundtrack of my life and I can't live without it but I don't need to sit with rapt attention to "get it". I'm a multi tasker, just how I'm built.
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I agree. There are definitely times where I'll sit and listen but like you I'm normally doing lots of other things in lots of other rooms.
 
I admit my living room system are Bose Accoustimass V powered by a vintage Sony Vfet amp at 30 wpc. I've also powered them with a Marantz 1070. They DO require a lot of tone control equalization but sound nicer at low to moderate levels with classical and jazz than many AK'ers would have people believe. They fall down at high volumes or hard rock. IMHO.

I paid $150 for them, would never pay list, but for what I paid they do the job.

I've heard the powered Accoustimass stereo speakers and they really don't sound as nice, again IMHO. YMMV.
 
I still have the single cube AM-3 series I bought at Best Buy in 2000 or so. And they were under $200 dollars at the time. Maybe I will set them up again.
 
Art K. said:
To be truthful I rarely sit prone in the sweet spot and listen to music. I'm usually doing something else. Either checking things out online or or doing other more active things. Music is the soundtrack of my life and I can't live without it but I don't need to sit with rapt attention to "get it". I'm a multi tasker, just how I'm built.
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Ditto. :yes:
 
My Bose Acoutismass 5 II are upstairs now for the kids and TV and Xbox.....When I first got them it was all about the WAF in our small house, living room. And the entire system disappeared in the room..The bass unit was always a conversation pc after I showed guests the small dual cube swivel single drive speakers...."that's where all the bass is coming from?"

I really liked the sound a lot....but the cube speakers began to loose fullness and were very fatiguing to listen to, shrill does not begin to describe them.

My EQ really helped them as the years went on....
 
Although I've never owned a Bose product, I know plenty of people who do. While it's something I personally wouldn't buy for myself, it's a valid product for certain people who love music while not wanting an audio system dominating their room.
 
I am interested to know if any of you have heard the differences in the acoustimass series... Years back I remember hooking up a SU-V4X up to a new acoustimass 5 system and it delivered awesome results, chris rea Daytona sounded really good.

Then back in 2007 I picked up the acoustimass 7 series 2, and it certainly didn't have the impact the 1st series am5 had. In all fairness I didn't try them on the same amp. They ran off a JVC RX-816V receiver... Since sold the AM7 system...

Now in my bedroom I have setup a system and am wanting to pickup a set of 1st series AM5 speakers...

The bass cabinets are vastly different from 1st to 2nd series... Wonder if anyone has heard the different sets in a comparo?
 
Y'know, this thread has been really valuable.
My daughter fits into the never-sits-in-the-sweet-spot camp, as does her mother. They've asked time and again for a good stereo that is small... and they almost always listen at background volumes. In myopic way, I kept trying to give them "good" systems- which they just didn't want. I think what they wanted were bose cubes. (which I've never heard, never even given a chance.)

Thanks
 
SVI raised the issue of different versions having different sound quality. They sure do.

I have the original, unpowered, Accoustmass 5 in daily use in my living rooms system, as described above. If you can buy them cheap at a thrift or garage sale, they will make for a nice, invisible background music system.

I also tested in my house a latter version with the amplifier built in. They sounded shrill and harsh in comparison to my original versions powered by a smooth Vfet amplifier.

They aren't the best, but with judicious use of tone controls or EQ, the originals can sound pleasant for background or "mood" music.

High volumes or hard rock are a different story - they quickly do show their shortcomings.
 
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