Bose Lifestyle 12 - head unit dead - HELP

[harks98]

I have a Bose Lifestlye 12 system and thhe Head unit is damaged due to a drink spill.
Bose have quoted a ridiculous price to replace the unit. Is it possible to hook up a other eqipment (CD, TUNER and DVD player) into the ACUSTAMAS so I don't have the expense of purchasing a new head unit?

[Resident Loser]

...a Bose-basher, this is an instance when my only real complaint with them comes to the fore.

It's basically a closed-end system...you must use it as designed. Now, while I'm not 100% on this(but I'll take an educated guess, based on a viewing the PDFs @the Bose site) the head-unit sends what is probably a matrixed signal to the Acoustimas unit, which contains a decoder(I'd guess)the amplifiers and the terminals for the speaker modules. In addition, a system control cable is also used. Without some sort of "handshake" between them, I'm thinkin' neither one will work properly on their own.

Again, I could be wrong on this, but after what is admittedly a cursory investigation, it's my initial reaction...if I come up with anything else, I'll keep you apprised.

You may be forced to go for the bucks or just scrap the whole thing and start from scratch...

jimHJJ(...sorry 'bout that...)

[topspeed]

Bose Lifestyle systems are proprietary so break out that wallet.

Otherwise, that's a nice doorstop you got there.

[vr6ofpain]

consider yourself lucky. now go spend some money on real equipment, so that actually sounds as good as the money you shelled out for it!

[markw]

I have a Bose Lifestlye 12 system and thhe Head unit is damaged due to a drink spill.
Bose have quoted a ridiculous price to replace the unit. Is it possible to hook up a other eqipment (CD, TUNER and DVD player) into the ACUSTAMAS so I don't have the expense of purchasing a new head unit?

Bose parts and procucts don't mate well with other makes and models. I'm not even sure they will interface cleanly with other miodels in the Bose line itself.

YOu mifght wantto takwe their quote to fix it and add a few bucks and start looking at what's out there. Aside from styling and brand recognition by the oblivious, you won't have to spend too much to equal (or better) it's performance.

[N. Abstentia]

Sell the rest of the system on Ebay and use the money to upgrade..it won't be hard to do. You can probably get an entire new system far better than the Bose for less than just the new head unit.

And to answer your question, the Bose unit is the ONLY thing you can use. You cannot use a regular amp.

[Worf101]

sorry to tell you that "you're screwed". Bose is prpprietary. Bose unitt or nothing else. Take all the suggestions mentioned above and go get some real gear.

Da Worfster

[Resident Loser]

...Let me apologize for some of the responses that have been given...no reasons for the inferred insults AND certainly no reason to kick somebody when they're down...

Bose IS real gear and if it fits within your budget, works in your decor and IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH IT, kindly ignore them.

Unfortunately, as I stated earlier, you really have no options other than to go for the replacement or starting from scratch...maybe even with some new Bose HT...just be more careful with your drink!

jimHJJ(...BTW, you may wanna' duck...)

[Woochifer]

As others have said, you're screwed. The amplifiers on the Lifestyle units are inside of the bass module and connected using a proprietary cable, so you can't reuse the speakers and just buy a different receiver, unless you buy a $100 cable adaptor harness from Bose. The Lifestyle receiver functions strictly as a preamp/control unit, and cannot be connected with any other speakers (including Bose's own retail Acoustimass speakers, because those are designed to be connected to a regular receiver).

Because of this closed loop proprietary design and their comparatively high prices, the Bose Lifestyle systems are IMO the biggest ripoffs in audiodom this side of Bang & Olufsen and high end cables. Your situation is yet another unfortunate illustration of how Bose creates an ill-conceived design that only works in their favor and against the consumer.

Depending on how much Bose was asking for a replacement head unit, you might want to explore what kind of a system you can buy from a different manufacturer for that same amount of money. Yamaha, Denon, and Sony all make decor-friendly integrated receivers that not only cost less than the Bose Lifestyle systems, but they have far better connectivity, more power, more current digital format support, more upgrade options, and industry standard speaker connections, so you're not stuck with the same speakers forever. You might even bite the bullet and buy one of the cable harnesses from Bose, so you can go with other receiver options and reuse those speakers in the meantime, while keeping the option open for eventally upgrading to other speakers if you choose.

[Garrardman]

Because of this closed loop proprietary design and their comparatively high prices, the Bose Lifestyle systems are IMO the biggest ripoffs in audiodom this side of Bang & Olufsen and high end cables.

Oh, do stop with the Bose/Bang & Olufsen comparisons. They are poles apart in their design ethos, design ability and quality of manufacture.

If you buy B&O, you get something well designed and good-sounding but poor value for money.

If you buy Bose, you get something equally poor value for money, but poorly designed and bad sounding too.

[jrflanne]

You could try to find a used one on Ebay or something like that.