Surround sound system

[Teri C.]

Does anyone own a HTIB (Home Theatre in a Box)? I am looking to downsize all my equipment in my living room so the all in one (FM, CD, DVD player and smaller speakers) systems are appealing to me. I want a good system but I don't want alot of components and wires everywhere. I tried the Bose 3-2-1 system, all in one with 2 speakers, and the sound for the CD and radio was good but not good with TV and DVD. I could barely tell the difference with it on or off. When playing DVD's the sound only came out of the 2 speakers and not the TV. Didn't sound as good as the TV by itself. The Bose system was $1000. It think I can find something better for that price.



Any suggestions?

 

[Jim B]

Teri,

Im surprised you didnt like the 3-2-1, everybody i have ever talked to that has one loves it. I got one for my cousin last year and he thinks its the coolest thing going. I wonder if there was something wrong with the setup or the unit itself. Did you try calling Bose tech support? If you still have it i would try working with them, im sure they can get you fixed up in no time.



I have listened to lots of the htib systems and if you are thinking of getting one of the that sony, jbl, toshiba or panasonic sell dont waste the money they really dont sound all that good imho. The bass is lacking and they sound tinny overall. As you may or may not know i work for Bose and im on the listening panel that evaluates our own products as well as the ones of our competition, so i have listened to lots of stuff. I have listened to them all extensively and even taken some home to try and was never impressed to say the least. My setup with Bose 301's and no subwoofer blew away the ones i tried. If i was in your situation and and could afford it id get a Bose lifstyle system. The lifestyle will give you the small components you are looking for but a much fuller and cleaner sound then the 3-2-1 can give you. Yes it does cost more but its worth it imho.



Let me know if there is anything i can do to help.

 

[Scott Shenton]

I know it sounds crazy, but all I can tell you is NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE NEED FOR POWER. The more juice you have, the better it will sound at a normal volume.



Think of amps like a reel. A small baitcaster will be able to fight a 20# striper, but it will have to work harder to do it. But if you had more reel, it would handle the fish much better, with less stress.



Well when it comes to amps, the hormonic distortion (what makes speakers sound bad and unbalanced when cranked), is mostly found on the top 30% of what the amp can handle. So, a 200 watt amp sounds better at 10% than a 20 watt amp at 100%. (In fact, a speaker can handle much more power than it's rated for, without disorting, as long as the signal from the amp is clean) Also, the bass frequencies require much more power to acheive a comfortable volume than higher frequencies. That's why guitar amps usualy max out at 100 watts, but bass amps can be found at 500+ watts.



Unfortionalty, power is everything. (well, almost everything). Manufacturers are still trying to convice us that they can "pack great sound into a small light box", but until they can alter the physics of sound, it's just not going to happen. A 50lb sub will ALWAYS sound more full than a 5lb sub.



That's why real hard core stereo geeks still have their 150lb JBLs in there mom's basement.... ;-)



Here are a couple of suggestions.



1) don't put too much money into the sides and rear. Put your efforts into the center channel instead. A lot of people put too much emphasis on the sides and end up with a un-natural sounding system. (phasing problems) Remember for surrond to sound good, it needs to be convicing. And unless you have a 20' screen, your brain is looking (and listening) the the focal point (center channel). Use the sides and real for fill only.



2) Buy a self powered sub. That way you can get enough power (without having to loose power on long cable runs), and you won't waste power from the main amp.



On whatever you buy, read the specs carefuly. Pay particular attention to the impedance of the signal (they boast "more power" by quoting a lower impeadence) and the signal to noise ratio.





Now just get a TiVo for the fishing shows and you are rolling!!!!

 

[Teri C.]

Jim, I didn't know you worked for Bose. Guess I came to the right place. That's why I post stuff here because I figure there is always someone out there who will know.



Anyway, I thought I set it up wrong too with the TV and DVD. I watched the setup video several times and double checked everything. It's not really that hard to hook up but maybe I did something wrong. Should the sound come out of the TV while playing DVD's or just out of the 2 little speakers? While watching plain TV sound comes out of the speakers but very faint. It's pretty much overwhelmed by the sound coming out of the TV (55" Mitsubishi). I think the Lifestyle system is like $3000. I can't really justify that in my brain. Maybe I will go back and look again. I have Klipse (sp?) speakers from my dad but they are HUGE. I have 2 very good receivers (Sony and Yamaha) but I was trying to get rid of having a receiver, CD player, Dvd player and VCR all on top of the TV. Would I be better off just buying some Bose speakers for the receiver I already have? I did read some reviews on CDNET about the 3-2-1 system and they rated it pretty low (a 5 out of 10 if I remember right).

 

[Teri C.]

Does Bose make wireless rear speakers? Some systems I looked at had those and that is the only way I would have rear speakers.

 

[Rick Hale]

Hey Teri.

The way your system sounds is a personal preforance. I must have tried 30 diferent speakers before I found what I liked. The Bose system is wounderful for some but I did not like the sound..(sound to bright).. I hate to say this but go out and test drive as meny systems as you can.. -- Take a DVD and CD with you to use to test with..

You may find the "all-in-one" does not sound as good (to you) as a piece together System.. Most places will help you put together a sytem that sounds good to you..Some will even come out and help you install it..

Another thing is -- your room and how loud do you crank it?? Something I have found -- sounds great at the store -- then at home -- sound completely different..



Check out the Denon brand..



Wish I lived closer-- would love to help you spend $$$ LOL.



I built from scratch my 1st stereo amp in 1963..Tubes rule..



Good Luck--HaleDamage..........Rick

 

[Staci Matheis]

OK, Jim..... I gotta ask..... What do you think of my OLD 501's? If you were me, in a small apartment with a vaulted ceiling, what would you do differently? As you probably know, I listen to almost strictly classical - with a heavy emphasis on Beethoven!





(Da##! I wish I had your job!!)

 

[Jim B]

Teri, It sounds liek you most likley had it hooked up fine. the way the system is designed when playing a dvd the sound will only come from the home theatre speakers not the tv. having sound come from the tv will alter the home theatre effects like center channel sound and front to back, left to right etc unless the system uses the tv as a dedicated center channel. Most home theatres are setup this way. As far as the sound when watching tv did you use uutputs on the tv into the 3-2-1? If you did id bet the output volume on the tv was set too low. I run mine off the cable box and mute the tv whenever i use the my theatre system. the 3-2-1 certanly isnt for everybody for sure. Its a pretty basic system with lost of comprimises built into its design and some people love it (like my cousin who wanted the simplest thing he could get for his apartment) and some people dont. I doubt id ever get one myself, i also wouldnt buy the old generation wave radio either( and you know the buzz surrounding that radio was).



I think there is a Bose store in Nashville in the opry mills mall. Go there and check out the lifestyle 28 system its about 2200 bucks. Its a really nice unit. There are some things i really like about it. The ADAPTiQ equalizer is really nice, It will match the system up to the room pretty good. Its a real benefit if you have an odd shaped room or one with tall ceilings. Mt sister has the 28 and it really sounds nice in her living room that has no wall on one side and a 20' high ceiling. Her old system was an accoustamass 10 and it didnt sound too good in that room because if the accoustics. Granted it could have been fixed with an eq but she wanted something simple to use. I also like the rf remote that will work from almost anywhere. You can also expand it to other rooms or even outside. On the wireless speakers, thats something we dont do. I know it has been looked at a ton by the engineers but its soemthing that time after time gets shot down. Mainly because they cant find enough bandwith over the wireless signal to get the sound where it needs to be. Sure they could do it but comprmising the sound isnt something they are willing to do. What i would do for the rear is put the wires in some plastic self stick wire channel that you can get at home depot and run it along a baseboard to the back and put the speakers on stands. Ill send you my number in an email. Give me a call if you want.



Me! one thing i would do it put the speakers on the floor. Id bet if you did the bass would sound tighter. I have never actually listened to that generation 501's, there sure are big . I really have a lot of fun working here. I do my IT stuff and the lsitening panedl stuff is extra that i dont get paid for. What they did was got a bunch of people on a panel. Some are engineers and the rest are regular people like you and me. Its a good mix because the engineers really know the techinical side and the regular people like me just want to hear what it sounds like.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Jim -



I put the speakers up higher on purpose..... One of the greatest enjoyments to me in listening to music is the visualization of all the instruments as they are being played. Every single time I listen to a piece, I hear something different!



If I put the speakers on the floor, yes, I do get more bass. But then I have to look down my chin at the musicians! LOL!! Those old 501's are wonderful for their imaging!



me!

 

[Dan Sullivan]

I love my Onkyo system!

 

[Rick Hale]

Me-- lay on the floor ;>))



Rick

 

[Staci Matheis]

Rick -



I practically am already! That's the ONLY way to listen to music!



My couch is on the right, just out of the picture. I lean wa-a-ay back with my feet up on the coffee table..... Close my eyes..... And all of a sudden I'm all alone in this huge concert hall..... Well..... me and some of the finest composers, musicians and conductors in the world!







Of course..... We are ocassionally joined by the likes of Buddy Holly, the Stones, Beatles, Meatloaf, Harry Belafonte, the Cheiftains..... Louie Von B thinks The Who's rock opera "Tommy" is the bomb!! He has admitted to wishing that he had written the overture!