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entryhifi
07-01-2006, 08:50 AM
I purchased a condo at the beach and it came with the Bose system including a sub and four double cube speakers. There is no center. I am not a Bose fan, but don't want to rip out everything. The speakers are small and the room is very small also so it works. Additionally, for those of you who bash Bose, I have not heard another system that sounds a good as Bose and have the same footprint. Not saying it sounds anything like or near as good as my system at home.

Anyway, I would rather put another manuf center speaker instead of putting another cheap douple cube in. What would you recommend to use? Restrictions: It will go into the ent center above the TV and I have 9 inches high and plenty wide & deep. Plan to buy used, budget is around $125.

Thanks,
Craig

Grandpaw
07-01-2006, 09:45 AM
I would think if you plan on keeping the Bose speakers that the best thing to do would be to get a Bose center channel. They are a little more than your budget but if you get something that doesn't match you may end up purchasing again to get the sound right and you will end up spending more money yet! Jeff

paul_pci
07-01-2006, 10:11 AM
Bose center speaker: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-V9V0wJZ5l7B/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=12100&I=018VCS10

A different brand will most likely introduce significantly different tonal characteristics (read into that whatever you want), and thus prove a detriment to the setup rather than an addition.

Grandpaw: How's the rebuilding of your system going?

Grandpaw
07-01-2006, 03:24 PM
Paul, thanks for asking. We are still moving things back into the house from the remodel after Katrina. My stereo closet is finished and I am ready to start building in my equipment. I have two six pannel doors on the back side that gives me access to all the wirering and equipment from a different room. Hope to start building everything in to make it flush with the wall. Should look nice when I get it done. I will post a picture when I am finished. Below is a picture before I start building all my equipment into it. Jeff

When I get done it will look built in and you won't have any idea from the front that the doors are on the back side unless you go into the next room.

paul_pci
07-01-2006, 04:58 PM
Looks nice. Maybe it's the german in me, but that would drive me nuts that the tv is off center of the closet doors. Good luck to you and I hope you survive the next hurricaine season and the next …

Grandpaw
07-01-2006, 06:42 PM
Right now I just have the TV rolled in the closet and using a equipment shelf temporarily so I can have something to put my equipment on. I don't know how it will end up but one thing for sure it will all be built in covering up the entire opening of the closet. There won't be any rack system only built in shelves, Jeff

Just add a little info, this is in my den. When I built this house this closet or alcove was built to contain all my stereo equipment and TV except for the speakers which will remain on the floor like they are. It has always had my stereo equipment in it for the last 30 years since I had the house built. There is a sub-woofer out of the picture far to the left and another set of speakers like you see in the picture on the other side of the room for the rear channels.

likeitloud
07-01-2006, 09:22 PM
Get the bose center, there systems are all built to "match", and changing mains,
surrounds or the center will definitly unbalance the "footprint".

thekid
07-02-2006, 04:10 AM
I would second the opinions for the Bose center for tonal matching purposes only and because it sounds like based on your post you are looking for a small footprint and that is probably the best feature of the VCS-10 relative to other center channels out there. From an aesthetic point it will also match the other speakers in your set-up.

Having said that as the owner of an all Bose set up, their center channel is not up to par with their other stand alone speakers IMO. The speaker seems to need the right receiver to power it or you will have to boost the db's. With my old Panasonic and a previous reciever I had to boost it 4-6dbs to clearly hear dialogue when listening to movies. With my Pioneer reciever that issue disappeared and it actually does a very good job with both dialogue and music. While I generally do not agree with the popular opinion that the Bose stand alone speakers are over priced (if purchased at the oft repeated sale prices) the VCS-10 IMO at around $179 is about $80 too high. I got mine a few years back on sale but it has been some time since I have seen this unit drop down. I would recommend trying to pick one up used or a second option you might try is getting a pair of Bose 161's if you have a 6.1 set-up. The 161's new are in your price range and have a similar design (in fact Bose sells the VCS-10 and the 161's in a package-for more than if bought each unit separately!!) you might be able to use a 161 for your center front/rear set up.

Good Luck in your rebuilding efforts and I hope you don't have any more hurricanes show up on your doorstep!

shokhead
07-02-2006, 06:34 AM
I purchased a condo at the beach and it came with the Bose system including a sub and four double cube speakers. There is no center. I am not a Bose fan, but don't want to rip out everything. The speakers are small and the room is very small also so it works. Additionally, for those of you who bash Bose, I have not heard another system that sounds a good as Bose and have the same footprint. Not saying it sounds anything like or near as good as my system at home.

Anyway, I would rather put another manuf center speaker instead of putting another cheap douple cube in. What would you recommend to use? Restrictions: It will go into the ent center above the TV and I have 9 inches high and plenty wide & deep. Plan to buy used, budget is around $125.

Thanks,
Craig

Bose center as the rest was there. Wont price you out to the street.

swwdts
07-02-2006, 08:11 AM
Buy a Bose center sp. P.S. If there is a fire how will you get out?? the doorway is blocked.

shokhead
07-02-2006, 08:29 AM
A/V first,then women and children,come on.

entryhifi
07-02-2006, 03:08 PM
Does the 161's sound better than their double cube model? Sure is cheaper.

Grandpaw
07-02-2006, 05:44 PM
Just a reminder that if you don't get a speaker that says center channel be sure it is shielded or it will mess up your TV, Jeff

thekid
07-02-2006, 06:41 PM
The 161's are magnetically shielded so you could place them on or near your TV.

Not sure if you would say they are better sounding than the double cubes but it is easy enough to test these as they are fairly common. Try your local Best Buy or Circuit City they usually have a pair of 161's hooked up that you can demo.

EdwardGein
07-03-2006, 05:15 PM
Someone gave me this advice on the board a few months ago & they were totally right, you're center speaker should be the exact same speaker as your other speakers. In my case, I have a 5.1 Orb Mod 1 system, 5 exactly the same satellite speakers & a sub. I like my sound for CDs, DVDs & TV, so I had no problem. Out of curiosity, I switched my center speaker to an Orb Mod 2 speaker, which is just 2 Orb Mod 1 speakers combined & wired together. When I did this, I totally did not like the sound as it no longer sounded natural but sounded like a forced sound. I went back to the Orb Mod 1 Center speaker, sold the Mod 2 speaker on Ebay for a slight loss & should have left well enough alone.

thekid
07-03-2006, 05:48 PM
Ed

Sorry it did not work out for you. Not sure exactly what you mean that the center speaker should be the "exact same speaker as your other speakers". The center speaker should be from the same manufacturer because the tonal charecteristics will blend in best with the sats. The Bose VCS-10 will work with the cubes he has but I don't think he should consider getting another cube and use that as his center channel if that is what you are inferring by "exact same speaker". The 161's may or may not work depending on the characteristics of the cubes. I would go with the VCS-10 if he can get in his price range and only go with the 161's if he demo's them with the cubes.

EdwardGein
07-03-2006, 09:34 PM
I meant that the center speaker should be the speaker specifically meant as the center speaker by the maker of the home theater speaker system- in my case there are 5 satellite speakers which are identical & interchangeable - 2 for the front, 1 to be used fotr the center & 2 for the back. Some people still use a different center speaker put out by Orb consisting of 2 Orb Mod 1 speakers, called the Mod 2. For my tastes, I prefer all the speakers to be Mod 1, as a Mod 2 center speaker to me audio wise sounds forced & sterile/artifical to me. If a company specifically includes a different center speaker from the rest of the 5 speaker set, of course go with that but if they make it an option, I'd go with the same speakers.,

Grandpaw
07-04-2006, 06:42 AM
Buy a Bose center sp. P.S. If there is a fire how will you get out?? the doorway is blocked.


I guess your are talking about my picture so here is a wider view that will give you the answer, Jeff

paul_pci
07-04-2006, 10:40 AM
That's a tough room. I hope you find a sale on oriental rugs or something. Are bear rugs still popular?

Grandpaw
07-04-2006, 11:01 AM
Rug is already ordered and is supposed to be here by the 14th. It is not oriental but it is that style with magnolias on it, Jeff

jlcct
07-04-2006, 09:18 PM
Jeff, I love the built in look. Maybe while doing the building you could mount the receiver and such horizontaly above the t.v. You probably already thought of that but just in case. I thought it would give you the opportunity to keep the t.v. in the center and it would still look classy. I rent but someday I would love to build my own house and do the same thing with the doors behind the system. A closet behind the system with a door entering from the side would be pretty cool too. Well....nice setup.

Jeff / jlcct

Grandpaw
07-05-2006, 08:08 AM
[QUOTE=jlcct]Jeff, I love the built in look. Maybe while doing the building you could mount the receiver and such horizontaly above the t.v. You probably already thought of that but just in case. I thought it would give you the opportunity to keep the t.v. in the center and it would still look classy.

The layout I have planned on doing is below