Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Bose or Axiom?

I'm fairly new to HT and would appreciate some advice on upgrading from my current set up(a $350 Sony HTIB).

I'm looking to choose between a Bose lifestyle 48 and an Axiom Epic 60-350 7.1(with a vp150). I'm getting a farely good deal on the Bose for $2500(the MSRP is $4000). If I choose to get the Axiom, I want to feel confident that I am getting a significantly better product.

My room dimensions are 7.5x18.5x20.5(HxWxL). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Whoa, I'm almost scared to touch this one.

Drew88, without a doubt, the Axiom Epic 60 will be better than the Bose. It would be difficult believe that the Bose cubes can fill your large room adequately.

To put it bluntly, the Epic 60 will be a monumental step up from the Bose for less money.

Thank you for the reply. I forgot to mention that the Bose comes with a receiver, whereas I will would be buying the Yamaha V2600 with the Axioms. This prices the whole axiom system to over $4500. My question is: Will the Axioms perform over 2000 dollars better than the Bose system?

I really hope you're paying Canadian $, because if you're paying $2000 for that receiver, you're getting ripped off. You can get a good receiver for US$500-800, if you shop around. If you choose to go refurb, so much the better. Also, you can get the Axioms from the factory outlet and save a fair amount.

That system is so far beyond the Bose, it's not even funny. Go listen to some Paradigm Studio series speakers, and then compare those to Bose. That will give you a vaguely accurate comparision of the Axioms and the Bose. Of course, you may well choose to buy the Paradigms, but those are still more expensive. B&Ws of various type, as well as Monitor Audio Silvers are also similar to the M60s.

The Bose system has a lot of neat features in the player and electronics -- built in MP3 recording, ability to learn your listening preferences etc... -- but the speakers are really too small to fill a room that size. If your listening area is off in one corner of the room the Bose system can sound pretty good, but the Axiom system would be in a totally different league. In all seriousness an M2 based system with a decent sub would be a surprising step up from the Bose speakers.

It would probably be worth your time to try and audition a couple of good high-end home theater systems to get an idea of the kind of sound you can get from good, full sized speakers. If you don't walk out having had a "holy &%$#^!!!" moment, try somewhere else.

The Bose system is a great step up from a typical TV sound system but the speakers are designed to fit unobtrusively into a typical living room, not to deliver the "best" sound for the $$. I think you will find that the M60s will deliver as much or more clean bass than the "Acoustimass" woofers, and the EP350 goes much deeper into the bass for movies.

BTW we're not saying that only Axioms can do this -- any high end full size speaker system will do -- we just happen to like the Axioms a bit more than the competition. Actually some of us even own non-Axiom speakers but hang out here anyways

The Bose 48 is a 5.1 system if I remember correctly.

I am almost scared to respond too, but I feel I must do Drew88 the service of "saving" them before that waste their money on Bose.

Bose are about the worse speaker you can buy for the money... Actually I think that they are THE worst you can get for the money.

Check This Out
More People's Thoughts on Bose

And a quote from another audio forum

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They use 2x $5 speakers per satelite speaker, and $10 drivers in their "bass" module. Add in a couple of $20 amps and a little badge that says "BOSE" and they charge you $2000 Must be top quality... Better off going to JB/Autobahn and getting some car speakers as you would get a more full sound.

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I will say this for Bose. They have a truly amazing marketing department (really, really top notch stuff), and they make decent car audio equipment. Strangely, this expertise does not translate to home audio--although my understanding is that the high end (non-acoustimass system speakers) are actually halfway decent, if a little wimpy on the bass. I believe they cost somewhere north of $5K for a pair, though.

In fairness to Bose, a lot of people do not buy systems based on what is going to give them the best sound. Bose systems are nicely integrated, have lots of ease-of-use features, are extremely unobtrusive, and can fit into almost any living room without taking it over.

Our systems may sound *much* better, but you have to be willing to have "noticeable" speakers in the room, and there is the whole WAF thing for a stack of electronics as well. The Bose systems sound decent and are totally WAF-friendly, and honestly most people really don't care about the sound quality as much as we do.

Drew88, we're not trying to scare you away but in all seriousness the Bose and Axiom systems, particularly an M60-based system, are aimed at two totally different kinds of customers. If you had the two set up side by side in the same room you would laugh at the difference when switching back and forth. I kid you not.

Again, it's not just Axioms here. Axioms just happen to be perhaps the "best sound quality for the dollar" leader, while Bose is really the king of the "lifestyle" systems.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have grown increasingly skeptical of Bose over the last few weeks of research, but my only comparison has been my own $350 dollar Sony HTIB, therefore I've failed to see what was all this hype on why Bose sucks.

Keeping in mind that I am a newcomer to sound and still farely ignorant to the subtleties of a great speaker, will I be able to sense an instantaneous upgrade in the "WOW" effect of these speakers in comparison to the Bose? Will friends and family, who are even more ignorant than I am, feel the same? I'm sorry to bug you all with such superficial questions, and thank you in advance! **Note...I am not utilizing the entire room, therefore the dimensions I have given are a bit misleading. Would the M60 set up be overkill in such a "closed in" configuration? My couch is only 9 feet from my TV.

Welcome!

Been there. Done That.

It was a huge shock to the spouse when the Axiom M60s arrived. "They aren't going in the living room, are they?"

"Just wait", I said. She was amazed by the sound of the Axiom system. All smiles after some music and movies.

The two systems just don't compare!

Hi Drew and welcome.

Bose is not even in the same league as Axiom, or most other speaker mfg's for that matter. Axiom is audiophile grade, and Bose, at least the Bose of today, is basically an over priced product where your paying for a name. There was a time back in the 60's-70's where Bose made an OK product, but no more.

Think about it, do you really think small cube speakers can give you as good as performance/sound stage as full range audiophile speakers? Is a Chevette as good as a Corvette.

Honestly, your basically comparing apples to oranges. I hope you don't waste your money. Just my 2 cents. Also, if you spend some time on other forums, like AVSforum, you won't get much positive feedback for Bose either. Sorry.

I laughed when I saw the title.

I laughed even more when I figured out someone was being serious.

It's nothing personal, but to any audiophile it is such an OBVIOUS decision.

What I got for 2 grand will BLOW whatever Bose has to offer OUT OF THE WATER.

For 2 grand with Axiom, you will get a system that is better than ANY theater you have been to (besides IMAX). 2 Grand with Bose, and you can say you have a surround sound system in your living room. That's it though.

Brother, let me introduce you to the light: Axiom.

Good luck!

Drew, you may also want to consider one of Axiom's bookshelf speakers. The m2's, m3's, or the great m22's would run circles around Bose, and you WILL get that WOW effect compared to what your used to. Throw a sub in with some 2's, 3's, or 22's, and you would have a killer system. I would also consider getting either the Qs4's or Qs8's for the left/right surrounds, I don't think you'll find anything better for surround effects. You definately can get an awesome receiver between $500-$900 or so that will easily drive any of the Axiom speakers.

Where do you live, you might want to see if one of us can give you an audition?

Talk to you later.

I live in Queens, NY. I would love to hear if someone has a set up similar to the one I'm getting. I'm particularly interested in hearing what the EP350 has to offer, I am considering purchasing an EP500 if it does not satisfy me. Thank you all very much, I was already leaning on the Axioms, but now I am quite set on them.

Well, if you check the audition thread, http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showfla...e=0&fpart=1
there are a few people in NY, ditcin is the only one that has posted recently. Not sure if there is any surrounding areas close to you in other states?

Just send someone a PM and say your interested in a listen. I will tell you this much, my HT room is almost 900 sq. ft., I used to have a 350 and it did fine, however, the 500 is in a whole other league. It may blow your walls down.

Any Axiom speaker will sound vastly superior to the Bose Lifestyle systems, even to those who have absolutely no idea what the hell the word ‘soundstage’ means.

I say this with complete confidence because I was exactly where you are a couple years ago. I wasn’t about to spring for so much as a thousand bucks for a sound system. I thought they were all over priced. So I bought a little HTIB system from Costco for about $400. Then the receiver went tits up on me so I bought a new receiver. Quite an overkill for the little speakers, but I got a HK 7200 for a steal. The speakers sounded much, much better…..till I smoked them. Then I was wandering through Sams Club one day and low and behold, they had the Bose cubes and bass module on sale for about $600!! Acoustmas 10’s I think (twin drivers that swivel). Wow! What a difference they made over the little piece of crap speakers I smoked. Those little suckers really put out an amazing amount of sound for being sooooo small. But the bass was lacking big time so I bought an Outlaw sub and ran the speakers directly to the HK. Holy crap!! Another huge jump in sound…….

Then I bought some M80’s for a two channel system and another sub. I was again floored at how great they sounded compared the other system. No comparison between the M80’s and the cubes. The cubes were pathetic in comparison. Out of curiosity’s sake, I hefted the M80’s upstairs and tried them as mains in the HT system just to see how much difference there could be between them and the cubes for movies. I was done by this point……I picked up the phone and ordered more Axioms to fill out a 7.1 system and another set of speakers for the two channel system.

I figure I wasted about $1000 being stubborn and believing all the Bose propaganda. There really is no comparison to any of the little farts on the market to a real speaker and a good sub. The little squirts may have their place, but it isn’t in HT where the user wants that “wow” factor when watching movies or listening to tunes.

When you get a good system, you’ll find that the remote is one of the first things you look for whenever you plan on being in the same room as your system for a while. When I’m home, music is always playing. I even find times when I do nothing but listen to a song which is something I’ve not ever done before. I’m not known for sitting still very long.

drew88 Welcome, I'm also a former Bose owner, when I had them I thought they were great, and as John pointed out they do a good job of blending unobtrusively into the room and sound pretty good if you haven't listened to anything that would be considered audiophile quality.
Once I got my Axioms it was literally like I was hearing some of my music for the first time. Since then I've virtually re-listened and re-watched all my cd's and movies. Most important was I got the Wow factor after my wife heard them
The 60's should be fine for your room, I'm using 80's and my couch is about 9 feet from my tv also.

Like mdrew and HomeDad, I also went from Bose to Axiom. The Bose looks great but lacks bass punch. Still, it gave me years of agreeable sound.

The Axiom system sounds better in many ways. I'm still calibrating, as the room is a BIIIIGGGG factor in the sound. Regardless, the Axioms have provided "WOW" moments, especially in movies. They have better clarity and can be played much louder. I think at times I was expecting more "WOW", but I am impressed with the overall clean nature of the sound. Plus, it's hard for the Axioms to grab the Wow Factor (TM) from the visuals of my new HT. Imagine, if you will, going from a 32" CRT to an 88" HiDef screen.

But I agree with everyone - unless your need for aesthetics demands little cubes, go for the Axioms. And the EP500. It'll knock you around, but you'll like it and ask for more.

I just set up my Axiom speakers last week. I replaced a Bose Lifestyle 12 system that I had for 11 years. I can't put into words the difference between the two. I have had a huge grin on my face all weekend while listening to my old cd's and watching music dvd's that I had listened to and watched many times before but know it's like I am hearing and seeing them for the first time. There is simply no comparison. By the way.... I know where you can get a cheap Bose system right now!

Even a HTIB system from Sony was better than the Bose. My daughter had my old Bose system and recently changed to a Sony HTIB. She is soooooo pleased with the change. I wish she had the dough for an Axiom system.

Bose learned a lot from the Chinese following the Korean war.

...about brainwashing.

Now the Chinese are learning from Bose.

I you do decide on the Bose here's a good setup guide.

LJ

LOL!

Drew, since I spend some time nearly every day listening to a Bose audio system(it came as standard equipment on my MX-5), I have to agree with Ken that in the realm of automobiles Bose's degree of suckiness is substantially lower. However, in home use you can get better sound for similar money and substantially better sound for the money with the Axiom system that you're considering.

I also started my adventure into home theather looking to buy Bose. I was also sucked into the hype.

Little voice inside said ... better find some audiophile web sites and see what people who know think.

Next thing I knew I bought M60s.

I'm a happy camper.

Funny stuff, Mark.

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I'm easily amused as you can tell...I think I need to go to be now!

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Mary, one of my favorite sayings is "'easily amused' is a virtue".

I'm guessing you were going to "bed" rather than to "be". Although the first time I hurriedly scanned your post and the associated content, it did make me wonder whether perhaps you laughed so hard, well, nevermind.

I was a little surprised that the "placement recommendations" were actually in the listening room and above water. I should think that "Installation Tips for Cubed Speakers" should somehow include a hammer.

I happened to see SNL's Darryl Hammond this weekend. He was playing Al Gore from Year 2000 Election campaign.

The quote he said was "LOCKBOX".

I say "PUT THE BOSE SYSTEM IN A LOCKBOX AND THROW IT IN THE ATLANTIC" and rock the world.

I get to jump in on this one. I moved from Bose to Axiom - I also have a Yamie. You cannot compare - its like moving from a am radio to a fm radio. I hear things on movies that I did not know where there - my only regret is that I have a yamie and cant move to the M80 without some more money. Axiom is the best sound that i auditioned - and I think I went through most of the better ones. I would never go back.

Something about seeing 'Bose or Axiom' every time I come to this forum cracks me up.

Reminds me whenever my bro and sister in-law visited from Virginia recently. Upon seeing the 80s, QSs, VP150 and the 600 in the new room the sister in-law actually told me that I *could* have bought a Bose system like they have and that it probably sounds better than these big speakers taking up too much room, "The Bose is absolutely awesome" I just smiled and agreed. My brother in-law had a serious "STFU woman" look on his face. Too funny.

I’m not all that happy with the Bose in my truck either. They do sound better than the typical vehicle sound system, but they are not on par with a custom installed sound system. The comparison is similar to this thread’s comparison. I thought the Infinity system in my last Dodge sounded much better.

Every new vehicle I get, I pull out the factory sound system and install a new one. Not a big deal, about two days work and a couple grand. But this stinking Bose system in my Denali became too friggin complicated for me to do without getting some professional help. They’ve gone so far as to tie the damn door chimes into the system along with On-star and the PassLock Security system!!! The damn “sub woofer” is nothing more than a paper cone 6” driver that’s stuffed into the console with its own cheesy amp. And I can’t even swap out the speakers for some good aftermarket speakers because this $#^##^$ Bose system has its very own impedance that is not compatible to ANY aftermarket speaker.

…………I’m really starting to dislike Bose.

Hey just purchased a Yukon XL and found the same. Had an older Suburban (2002) and was able to swap the sytem out. Did you find anyones sysem that is compatable with the door chimes etc. I love the truck, hate the sterio system and the marriage of gm and Bose.

Sounds to me like Bose car audio learned a lot from Microsoft.

Same thing happened to me with my Suburban, the cd player went out so I replaced the unit, now I lost my radio and cd controls on my steering wheel as well as the rear seating radio controls. Now I've resigned myself to eventually putting in another unit, probably have to get a GM model to get everything working again.

Glad to read that I am not the only big suv owner.

2000 Suburban. Any mods you all have made that you want to share.

(Not trying to hijack)

Someone say mods?

Not sure how much you can get out of the 2000 model (I'm asuming you have the 5.3 LS1 based engine), but if you're looking for a good, low buck with big bang performance mod.....just get a tune. Depending on who burns the PCM for you, you can get huge gains and power and gas milage too. Don't waste your money on cat backs or air intakes or just about any of the other bolt on crap out there. That is unless you want to pop on a turbo or super charger.

I have a complaint with the 12 mpg on a good day - same motor as the 2002, 30% reduction in milage. Would also like to put some M60 in the puppy, but would settle for less.