Since the advent of DVD back in 1997/1998 people have been redefining what their Home Theater experience can be like, and now with Plasma TV sets and other 40+ inch viewing stations it would seem that people can have a realistic theater-like experience within their homes, especially with a 5.1 surround sound system. Unfortunately the name 'Bose' is the first thing that the average consumer thinks about when they start thinking in 5.1 terms. The name Bose has been around for years, long before the days of multi-channel, back when a "stereo" or "hifi" system was king. Which by the way, for some purists, it's still the king and I have to agree to some degree when it comes to music playback, but for movies it's a different story and deserves to be in a seperate discussion.
Let me be crystal clear though about one thing, Bose does have a place for some people. Bose systems are for the type of consumer who doesn't really want to think for themself or to some extent really get involved with their home theater, rather they just want something that is convenient, compact, and delivers decent quality, but more than anything the name will 'impress' their friends too! Wow, what a deal! Although they are overpaying for quality that is subpar in reality.
However, for those who are hobbyist and believe that their home theater system is something that can be tinkered with and upgraded upon, or modified, then alternative routes do exist. Not only that, but going an alternative direction enables the consumer to have options down the road, whereas with Bose you are locked into their system and are unable to modify or upgrade down the line. For example, if you get the all-in-one Bose system you are unable to really utilize other equipment into the mix.
The better route to take (and again this is for those who are not looking for something compact and easy-to-use) would be to buy a receiver, which is the brains of the operation. Pioneer makes really good ones and can be picked up for about $200-$300 depending on which model and the amount of features that the consumer wants. After that, it's really a matter of preference, but the next step comes the actual speakers, which there are tons of companies out there, the one I really love is PSB speakers, which are made in Canada and a decent 5.1 system from them will cost about $1000. Thus far you have spent about $1500 and will need to add some cables as well, which should be budgetted around $200 in total. Then you will need a player if you do not already have one, which again there are tons of companies and with Blu-ray now available it might not be a bad idea to either pickup a Playstation 3, which gives you a DVD/Blu-ray player PLUS gaming capabilities. Otherwise just get a DVD player and my recommended brands would be Pioneer, Toshiba, Samsung, or JVC. Of course these ideas are all middle of the road and if you are looking for a high-end system then I would recommend Pioneer Elite or Denon products.
The reason people buy Bose is because the market is oversaturated with Bose products and people believe that there are NO other options available, when actually quite the opposite is, it just requires some testing and research, but that takes time and time is valuable these days.
Now here is a real system:
This is the Gryphon System, which you are looking at about half a million dollars in equipment. The Gryphon speakers without the amps and other equipment range around $250,000. This is one of the best systems you could ever dream about. Now this is a real system and those teeny tiny Bose cubes would crush under the dB pressure from these!
No comments:
Post a Comment