save my dad from buying Bose!

[dr_blurb]

Hello,

My dad got _very_ close to buying a "Bose Lifestyle 18" system,
I just managed to talk him out of it.
Note: here in Europe they cost 2500 euros (more than $2900 !!!)

This weekend we'll be going shopping together, so my question is:
what system offers the same options (amp + radio + DVD + 6 speakers)
(wireless?) for less money with better sound quality?

Say a system that costs about $1000-1200 in the US.

many thanks,

Patrick

[paul_pci]

Hello,

My dad got _very_ close to buying a "Bose Lifestyle 18" system,
I just managed to talk him out of it.
Note: here in Europe they cost 2500 euros (more than $2900 !!!)

This weekend we'll be going shopping together, so my question is:
what system offers the same options (amp + radio + DVD + 6 speakers)
(wireless?) for less money with better sound quality?

Say a system that costs about $1000-1200 in the US.

many thanks,

Patrick

First you must demystify the Bose siren song. Ask him if he'd drop thousands of dollars/euros on a car whose manufacturer offered no tech specs. One would hope that your father would be suspicious of that circumstance and look elsewhere regardless of how much cache that "car" accrued through clever marketing. Next, your only all at once solutioin may be some form of a home theater in a box. Here in the states, some companies make them in that price range which, by implication, would sound better than ones in the $300 range. I've seen some Onkyo and Yamaha HTIB in your range. The idea here may not be finding the best sound for your father, but, as you suggest, keep him from getting ripped off.

[AVMASTER]

first you have to ask your father what attracted him to the Bose system, i.e. size, design, WAF, easy of use???? Maybe sound quality is secondary to the aforementioned list. If he was about to buy the Bose system then maybe price is not a factor and all the things i listed mean more to him.
ask your father:
does speaker size matter
can he live with separate boxes or would he prefer a all in one unit
does design matter
ease of use should be a key factor for everyone but ask him if setup and operation can be a little more "involved"
does second zone mean anything to him
does RF control mean anything to him
does auto-calibration mean anything to him

[dr_blurb]

thanks for the replies!

can he live with separate boxes or would he prefer a all in one unit
does design matter
ease of use should be a key factor for everyone but ask him if setup and operation can be a little more "involved"
does second zone mean anything to him
does RF control mean anything to him
does auto-calibration mean anything to him

he prefers one unit (so receiver + DVD player, but this is not crucial, b/c they already have a DVD player)

I'll probably set up the whole thing anyway, so ease of setup if no issue :-)

ease of operation is important

what does "second zone" mean?

don't think he cares about the RF control or the auto calibration.

Patrick

[AVMASTER]

based upon the supplied info:
Onkyo LSV955
$1000.00 USD

[jamison162]

I'll second any Onkyo HTIB (except the old LS-V500C, had problems with DVD player). I would recommend to stay away from Receiver/DVD combo units.

Take a look at these:

http://www.onkyousa.com/prod_class.cfm?class=Systems

Also their online store ha very good deals:

http://www.shoponkyo.com/

[jamison162]

If I were you (your dad), I would seriously be considering this Denon System. Awesome specs.

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=2&c=56

[Lensman]

Hello,

My dad got _very_ close to buying a "Bose Lifestyle 18" system,
I just managed to talk him out of it...

I wrote something up this weekend in response to another person considering a Bose speaker system. Perhaps some of it could prove useful in your discussion with your father:

newby needs help

[dr_blurb]

If I were you (your dad), I would seriously be considering this Denon System. Awesome specs.

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=2&c=56

Looks good. Maybe I'll get him to buy a Denon, a while
ago when his amplifier was broken he borrowed mine
(a ~ 14 year old Denon PMA560) and he really liked it :-)

Patrick

[evil__betty]

Jamo A305PDD - just need a reciever: a Harman/Kardon AVR235 or Onkyo TXSR602 - ANYTHING but Bose!

[stuartlittle]

The HT Express from www.orbaudio.com or the Mod1 Home Theater System plus the Onkyo 602 receiver. Head and shoulders above Bose.

[dr_blurb]

Ok, thanks for all your suggestions,
I'll post again on Monday to let you
know what happened

Patrick

[dr_blurb]

alright, we went to several audio stores (2 "high end" ones
and one "regular" electronics store) and listened to some stuff,
for example:

Denon AVR1705 with Mirage speakers (unfortunately the sales rep
could only demo it with two small speakers and a subwoofer (!))

Harman Kardon 330 with Infinity "primus" set

We weren't really happy with either, and we're now looking at first
focusing on getting good stereo, and then later maybe adding
center speaker, rear speakers, and subwoofer.

In one of the stores they had the NAD L70, which looked very nice,
but the sales rep said they were too expensive for what they
provide. Some online reviews seem to say it has good sound.

And, I can't search for the NAD L70 in these forums, because I get
this error message that the minimum length of a search term has
to be 4 characters!

anyone has any experience with the L70 they'd like to share?

thanks,

Patrick

[bcass]

I'll second any Onkyo HTIB (except the old LS-V500C, had problems with DVD player). I would recommend to stay away from Receiver/DVD combo units.

Take a look at these:

http://www.onkyousa.com/prod_class.cfm?class=Systems

Also their online store ha very good deals:

http://www.shoponkyo.com/

I'll third that vote for Onkyo. I just bought a factory reconditioned HT-S770 system from the shoponkyo.com web site last year and I am really happy with it. I just wanted something that would be easy to set up and effective for watching occasional movies. I'm sure you could spend lots more and get a much better system, but for $399 refurbished, you can't beat it!

Bryan