Bose lifestyle 48

You'll get a huge anti-Bose bias on this site.

Try this for what will probably be a broader range of opinion:

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/home-video/home-theater-packages/bose/lifestyle-48/PRD_323572_4281crx.aspx

I personally would steer clear of Bose in the price range for this particular product, but the company does offer a unique bundling of features and styling in their products that will appeal to many, so it can be an easy pick if that is what you are looking for.

Miel1, I have what many would regard as a high-end 2-ch stereo. This did not
preclude me from buying two bose systems, Lifestyle 38 and a 1-2-3 for each
of my large flatscreens (in other rooms than the stereo though). I think that the
quality and package offered is, as mentioned somewhere above, very attractive
for the budget. However, if you intend only to do 2-channel music (and not for
tv/film or multiroom capability) then you should explore other options, and
certainly if you can heck used gear, for $6k or close you can surely get a better
sounding setup. The pb could be to a/b Bose vs other systems as they have their
own dedicated stores... so it just depends on how serious you want to get into
the audiophile hobby ... good luck!

The biggest gripe I have with Bose is the price. For $4k and a bit of auditioning you could probably do a bit better or at least as good for less. Much of the price for Bose goes toward marketing. Don't believe people that tell you it is crap, it is not. I still think 901's do midrange better than most speakers at ANY cost.

A cheaper alternative would be Mirage Omnistat matched to a decent Marantz, Denon or Pioneer electronics. For subs I would look at Veleodyne, SVS and Martin Logan.

At $4k your options open up quite a bit.

Out here in Europe the Lifestyle 48 retails for EUR 5000 or USD 7000 !!!

I would look for a second hand Resolution Audio set and a pair of highly sensitive speakers (96db+) or DIY a single baffle like a SoloVox. Very musical, yet modern and versatile.

About a decade ago I bought the Bose Acoustimass-10 at $1,200 which happened to be my first introduction to "high-end" speakers. The biggest mistake of my life. About 8 months down the road I auditioned the B&W CDM series speakers with Arcam amplification and from that instant I knew the Bose was rubbish. Sold the Bose AM-10 at $350 about 3 years later. Like other folks, I would suggest opening up your options a bit. There will be better systems around for similar(or half) the price although the Lifestyle systems are a bit better having gone through several iterations throughout these years.

p/s: The AM-10 sounded good upon first listening impression.