Bose lifestyle 48

Bose is OK for home theatre although it IS wildly overpriced for the quality. For 2 channel music it would be a huge mistake. You would have to do some research, but a good used integrated amp and a pair of full range speakers purchased on Audiogon would be vastly better.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

"FWIW quite a few "audiophile" speakers are actually a lot worse than Bose"

LOL! I think you're right Shadorne.

I have been listening to so called Audiophile speakers lately, and most, are not that great,except for some dirt cheap Wharfedale 8.1's I picked up from a New York co, for $148.00 shipped to Seattle wa, wonderfull little guys. Shockingly good!

I run them with an inexpensive Polk sub in a tv room coming off a two channel integrated amp (recapped E-202)
and it is impressive to sound to say the least. Way better and way cheaper and way cooler than the $4000.00 buck Bose set. I like two channel for movies and I think many others do too.

If you must have the Bose, try to get it used. Or check out other brands of the same type thing. 4 grand for the Bose is really out there.

Best luck!

Bose excel at making good sound in attractive packages for very low cost. They also make some excellent sound reinforcement gear for clubs and stages. Although they are not at all respected in an "audiophile" sense, their success indicates that many people enjoy the somewhat warm and colored sound. It also shows that a highly uneven frequency response can still sound pleasant. FWIW quite a few "audiophile" speakers are actually a lot worse than Bose.

if its a 'we' thing, and you both like the sound, buy it. most audiophiles on these pages will recommend anything over bose, but that would be an 'i' thing, and if you're auditioning music systems together, you still have the chance to make music part of your 'we' thing.