Bose Lifestyle Adapt IQ

[Stereobug]

Yes I am the one who was asking about the biwireable speakers. I would now like to ask you all out there if this Bose technology is good. It sounded good in the demo with Ice Age DVD. I still remember the Nuance demo I had at a store here in Manitoba, Canada and I would like to know if what Bose does is legit. Thanks everyone.

[This Guy]

No just stay away from Bose. Most of their "break through technology" is just marketing bull**** targeted at the ignorant home theatre buyer. I believe there is a wbsite that will tell you all the bad things about Bose, but I forget what it was. I'd tell you all the reasons, but that would take way too much time for you and I. If you want to get a new HT, give us a budget and room size and you could get a system 100X better then Bose for the same amount of money.

-Joey

[spacedeckman]

The whole adapt IQ concept is cool, just attached to a system that will not benefit greatly from it. The speaker system itself has some huge performance issues that the Adapt IQ system cannot begin to fix. Add to that the huge premium paid in cost and limited flexibility, and you have a system that I cannot readily recommend unless you fall into all or most of the following categories.

1) You want something simple and streamlined that is idiotproof.
2) You don't mind paying $2500 plus brackets for a system with limited performance capability.
3)You don't now, or will not in the future need video switching capability.
4)You really don't see yourself ever hooking much up to it.
5)You won't feel bad if someone tells you that you could have had something twice as good for 1/3 to 1/2 the money.
6)It says "Bose" on the front, so it has to be the best.

The Bose system does command a lot of value, but it is most recognized by those who are not "audio people" or are concerned with cost, performance, flexibility, but are looking for status amongst non-audiophiles. There are people out there that these systems are perfect for. It does not appear you are one of them....you are asking questions.

Space

[Willow]

the adaptiq is a good idea, however...being a ignorant comsumer purchased Bose and we finally got it out of the living room....not got it out of the house...just yet. we now have something much better like said previously at much less...I have come to believe it's a status symbol and nothing more....really Nothing more

[Woochifer]

Equalization can be a dangerous thing in the wrong hands! Addressing room acoustics with equalization is something that you'll see more and more as equipment designers look for new features to incorporate into processors and receivers. The adaptive EQ that Bose uses with their 901 is a fixed bandwidth/fixed frequency equalizer. Used the wrong way, it's nothing more than an elaborate tone control. And if the room problems occur outside of the fixed frequency adjustment points, then the effectiveness is diminished.

The most effective way to deal with room acoustics related issues is to use a parametric equalizer with variable bandwidth and frequency center points. Bose's literature makes absolutely no mention of how they go about implementing the adaptive EQ. Is is done in the digital or analog domain? (cheap digital parametric equalizers can add audible noise to the signal) Are the EQ filters parametric or fixed frequency/bandwidth? Yamaha and Pioneer have incorporated the same type of feature into their newer receivers, and they address these issues the right way.

Generally, the most dramatic difference that an EQ can make is in the lower frequencies, and you can already do that by adding your own parametric equalizer. (It won't do the adjustments for you, but a dedicated parametric EQ gives you much more flexibility than with an automatic setting) In general, room acoustics problems are less problematic in the higher frequencies and can be addressed with simple methods like carpeting, sound absorbing panels, furniture, speaker placement/angling, etc. You may not want an equalizer with those frequencies because the noise that some of the lesser units add to the signal is audible when you EQ the signals outside of the bass.

In concept, adaptive EQ's a very compelling feature. But, I just don't trust Bose to do it right. In the wrong hands, it's no better than a loudness switch.