Demos are just that - Demos. I was present for the first ever AM-5 demo and was blown away. Put the exact same system in a real-world livingroom however - and it sounded like ***. As with all their cube/sat systems - there is a massive hole in the upper-midbass region of the sound spectrum. A 2.5in driver simply cannot re-create down to 120Hz, which is where the subwoofer rolls off. If they would have taken my suggestion almost 20 years ago and used one of their "legendary" 4.5in drivers from the 901 in combination with the 2.5in driver - then it would have had much fuller sound, but I digress.

For the money - there is MUCH better audio to be had.

See my post on the previous page regarding what I think sucks or doesn't about Bose.

 

then what in your mind is the best.

 

Ya, Bose, pretty much sucks. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone other than old people. They like it simple, and can't hear well, so they buy Bose.

I like Sony's TVs and Playstations. Anything else, no.

I tried to help out, but the free shipping on our website is about the same as a discount I would get. Maybe not, but kinda close.

I recommended the Yamaha RX-V661BL, which was on sale for $449, but no longer is, and is back to $499. Or the HTR-6060, with optimizing microphone. The RX-V1700 is on sale for $760, $440 off. 3 zones on it. And the RX-V459BL is on sale from $169 from $350, but no HDMI. I may get me one on pay day. (cough, vanns.com, cough)

 

The best? IMHO - Martin Logan. You are talking several grand a cabinet though... which up until about 8 years ago I would have never bought into. Then I had the chance to listen to some Martin Logan Ascent series running off a Krell amp - and I heard the voice of God.

But - I am not shopping for The Best - just Really Good Most of my pro gear was JBL, so I have been partial to them for a number of years, and pretty much swear by them in the car. But at home - they are a bit lacking when compared to speakers that cost 25-40% more, so that is what I am gunning for right now I have had some Klipsch ProMedia 2.1's for a number of years - and they are hands-down the best sounding "computer speakers" you will ever hear. A year ago I was auditioning new subs to replace my aging JBL and it came down to a Velodyne and a Klipsch - and I took the Klipsch as they were both sonically close, but the Klipsch was a few hundred cheaper. I also got to check out the RF-35's and decided then that they would be my next main cabinets... so - it is time to buy

Ben - the V661BL is on my short list at the moment, which I will be refining over the coming couple of days - so far - so is an HK and a Denon

 

damn this **** is complicated

 

Everyone is an expert in something...obviously this is not my area. For the best sound quality I recommend an MP3 player with some good earphones for like 300 bucks. I just keep it simple

 

zzrick> Heh - come on over after I get this system and take a listen.

Ok - here is the short list - refined.

Yammi RX-V661 $442 (conflicting info on if it has up-conversion or not)
Pioneer VSX1016-TXVK $500
Onky TSXR-605 (upconversion) $440
Harman Kardon AVR-247 (upconversion) $442

So... now the question is - which? And why?

 

any of those would be great. I would be leaning towards the yami or the HK though.

 

wow, all I can say is that I am all ears on the experts here.

 

exceptfor the Bose comment