2. home-theater
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Going into the dark side.....please help

Lots of change in life and thinking about completely blow out my seperates and switch to Bose 321.

I have a 3 weeks old baby girl and have to start to plan baby proof my living room area. I have a complete full setup in my basement theater with Maggie1.6, Meridian 561 and Proceed amp and HSU VTF 3. I will keep those and use them to get my fix of hifi or mid-fi actually.

T current living room is mainly for casual TV/DVD viewing and mostly background music. I have Acurus ACT3, Green Mountain Europa, HSU VTF-2 and Classe 150 there. Nothing fancy but decent sounding. Wife complains about the look, difficulty to operate and many wires around when baby gets a bit older.

So it seems the only way out for me is to get rid of them and get an Bose 321 or somehting like that, 2.1 not 5.1, fairly modern looking, stremlined, and easy to operat, ie build in DVD. I know I have to take a big set back in terms of sound quality. But I want to ask for some help here to see if there is any alternative to the Bo$e. I normally would have researched myself but with a new born, bewteen work and diaper change and feeding, that's a complete luxury I can't afford.

I have read someone mentioned Denon S301 (discountiued) is decent and I saw Kef KIT-100 the other day in the sotre which probably is better than the Bose. The system maily be used for background music, classical/Jazz probably 90% of time and 10% for DVD view. Anyone want to chip in. Thanks for reading my long post. Regards.

rich
ddl24
elevick
2,638 posts
 
Music Hall Trio and Arcam Solo are awesome. All in one units with great sound and quality. These are cd only systems. You will still need a dvd player. You could go to the Arcam Solo Movie if you want dvd built in.
Both units have sub out. The arcam is almost double the price of the music hall but does have more features and power.
My issue with kids was pushing in the dust caps on my drivers. Speakers on stands don't work either. Small floorstanders with strong grills will pay off.

A cheaper solution are Rotel or NAD all in one receivers. Not as good as the 2 above but cheaper and more "junk". Big ugly complicated boxes though. The WAF on the MH and Arcam are very good!

Remember this: I spent hundreds of hours listening to classical with my kids when they couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. Now they love it! Run that by your wife...
imin2u
392 posts
 
I never understand these posts. I have two children but I never changed anything about my systems. I always let them grow up with the gear around at their level. My wife and I were always with them anyway.

Do you plan to leave the children alone in the room? You'll have bigger problems then the hi-fi.

Anyway, I was right. They're 16 and 18 now and have never damaged anything. Additionally, both know how to clean and cue and album properly. Plus they know how to trace the input and turn the volume knobs down when nothing sounds.

To bad my wife still gets fustrated and calls us to turn on the tv.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
uru975
684 posts
 
Along with the above adice, if you do not leave the kid alone with your equipment, keep an eye on her, she will most likely grow up knowing how to act around good stereo equipment, great pre-training for her future boy friend :).
Also, after my son was born we never changed the volume level in our house, it was what he knew and he adjusted.
All kids are different but they all sooner or later adjust to the situations they are in, good, bad, and indifferent.
Good luck and much happiness.
tarsando
578 posts
 
Imin2u I do believe your experience is unusual. Kids unwatched even for a couple minutes (when they are young) can do quite a bit. Their curiosity gets the better of them. Lucky you!!!
ddl24 OP
9 posts
 
the reasons to change the system is not enitrely just for the baby. Wife constantly complains about the looks of the system and 'complexity' of operating them.

I plan to have Music (mostly classical) on most of the time while my baby is growing. If wife doesnt' like to operate the current system cuz she thinks it's hard then I have to find alternatives which is one of those all in one system. So this way, she will be happier and acutally use it, looks nicer and the system pose less danger to the baby.

If I have to take a step back in sound quality to achieve the above, I would; Plus, I still have my full sized system downstairs.

I acutally just purchase a KEF KIT 100 so will soon list my Acurus ACT III, Classe CA 150 and Green Mountain Europa for sale on the audiogon. Thanks again for your input.

Rich

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