Bose Wave/Yami Cinema DSP/Glass tube or: What's in your Home theater?

[Trailer Park Casanova]

My wife is a sound system fanatic, lives for quality sounding tunes.
The BFD when ordering the boat last month was her putting together the sound system with the tech.
So now:
We're re-doing the home theater and are checking out new home sound systems.
What blew us back are the Glass vaccum tube sound systems on the market.
Geeeze-us that deep sound is teriffic.
Then the Bose Wave. Anyone have takes on it? How do you like it?
Seems good and a quick way to get 'er done.
Finally we set our sites on the Yamaha Cinema DSP.
Nice, and priced right too.
What do you run and suggest?

[Tom Brown]

I suggest you learn the propper way to break in speaker and power cables.

[Jbb]

9 volt transistor...

[Tom Brown]

9 volt transistor...
Brian is running an open collector system. :cool:

[Beer-30]

My only input is on the Bose. It's fine for a college dorm room, but not a quality HT setup in your living room. Maybe a bedroom.
They use ONE DRIVER in each of those cubes to (try to) reproduce all types of music and theater. It simply can't be done. Separate types of driver reproduce certain types of sound. This is why there are usually at least two types of drivers (speakers) in each enclosure: one for highs, one for mids, and usually the sub takes care of the lows.
If you have one driver trying to do highs while it is also trying to do mids, it can't accurately do both at once.
Bose is small and compact. If that is what you need, then it is right for you. If you have room for larger components. Demo speakers and find what you like. Then demo receivers to fit your style and needs. You'll be much happier in the end.

[BlueNun]

I am a Home Theater installer by trade. We have a saying in my store which is
"No highs no lows is must be Bose" translated means it is OK at best. Bose is now made in Mexico and I do not care for any of there products or the price to boot. Paper cones and foam surrounds for over $1000?? I dont think so. DO some research on Denon they have never let me done. The Yamaha stuff sounds ok but I am notin the loop with it. As for Tv's stick with Plasma nothing has the depth,dimension,or realizm of a Plasma Period
That is my educated .02

[rlj676]

Definitely stay away from Bose.
Do some research on HT forums, etc.
I found online only companies to be the best. You don't pay for the distribution channel and all the markups associated.
I bought a SVS system online and am thrilled with it, it's worth checking out. I paid about $1100 for a full system with a sub that will blow away anything for more than my total system price.
www.svsound.com

[koolbreeze]

I am a Home Theater installer by trade. We have a saying in my store which is
"No highs no lows is must be Bose" translated means it is OK at best. Bose is now made in Mexico and I do not care for any of there products or the price to boot. Paper cones and foam surrounds for over $1000?? I dont think so. DO some research on Denon they have never let me done. The Yamaha stuff sounds ok but I am notin the loop with it. As for Tv's stick with Plasma nothing has the depth,dimension,or realizm of a Plasma Period
That is my educated .02
It was my understanding that the plasmas are on the way out and LCD's were the way to go. while i agree, the picture of a plasma is great when the gases are fresh. i was under the impression that LCD technology was being pushed and plasma were being abandoned. am i misinformed or has anyone else heard this?

[Jyruiz]

It was my understanding that the plasmas are on the way out and LCD's were the way to go. while i agree, the picture of a plasma is great when the gases are fresh. i was under the impression that LCD technology was being pushed and plasma were being abandoned. am i misinformed or has anyone else heard this?
LCD is being pushed the most because it is a lot less expensive to produce, but falls behind in picture quality compared to plasmas. Pioneer just realeased there new Plasma technology at a very affordable price, so look for them to get back in the game. Panny is also not abandoning plasmas by any means, they will be using Pioneers technology next year at the earliest. Look for plasma to rebound in sales.

[Jyruiz]

My wife is a sound system fanatic, lives for quality sounding tunes.
The BFD when ordering the boat last month was her putting together the sound system with the tech.
So now:
We're re-doing the home theater and are checking out new home sound systems.
What blew us back are the Glass vaccum tube sound systems on the market.
Geeeze-us that deep sound is teriffic.
Then the Bose Wave. Anyone have takes on it? How do you like it?
Seems good and a quick way to get 'er done.
Finally we set our sites on the Yamaha Cinema DSP.
Nice, and priced right too.
What do you run and suggest?
I have listened to the Yamaha, and while it came the closes to producing a surround sound environment compared to others who use the same technology, it still fell short compared to a traditional 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 matrixed systems.
I am not a fan of Bose.

[socalmoney]

Bose and Hight Quality HT don't go together.
Bose: Better sound through marketing.
I am a Yamaha guy. I have had a ton of different receivers and I love them.
I haven't heard the SVS line of speakers but if they are anything like their subs, I would put money down on them. Their subs are amazing. Especially for the price.

[HOOTER SLED-]

I have listened to the Yamaha, and while it came the closes to producing a surround sound environment compared to others who use the same technology, it still fell short compared to a traditional 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 matrixed systems.
I am not a fan of Bose.
I like my Yamahas. Nice n loud at my place. :devil: Actually my Klipsch sub makes it hit. :)

[Jyruiz]

I like my Yamahas. Nice n loud at my place. :devil: Actually my Klipsch sub makes it hit. :)
I am not knocking Yamaha at all, they make a lot of fine products and are underrated. I was talking about there Air Surround system.

[socalmoney]

Finally we set our sites on the Yamaha Cinema DSP.
Nice, and priced right too.
If your speaking of the Yamaha YSP1000 or equivalent, I would only suggest this type of set up in a bedroom. I have this in my master and love it. It satisfies my need for some surround and keep the wife happy with having seperates running to all corners of the room. I don't recommend it for a main theater.
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/soundprojectors.html?CTID=5001100
Looks like they have released several new models. This is what I have. I have noticed that the prices are falling on the older models.
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=554549&CTID=5001100

[Jyruiz]

Bose and Hight Quality HT don't go together.
Bose: Better sound through marketing.
I am a Yamaha guy. I have had a ton of different receivers and I love them.
I haven't heard the SVS line of speakers but if they are anything like their subs, I would put money down on them. Their subs are amazing. Especially for the price.
I have not heard there new speaker line either, but I have had there subs for a long time now and gone thru several models, and will be going to there new 13" Ultra as well. There subs are killers for the money.

[Sleek-Jet]

Size matters... Altec (http://www.alteclansing.com/legacy/specs.asp)
I've got a pair of these in the living room... they are the size of a small fridge, but good god they sound nice. I can hear stuff on the movies I had no idea was there (like the tinking of glasses and what not in the back ground). Not true surround, but they pump out so much sound that you don't need the rear channels.
Go big or go home... :D

[Beer-30]

I have heard some good Yamaha receivers. For the money, I have found Harman Kardon and Denon to be far superior. I have a HK AVR-525 and it has all I could want. Rock solid and 65 pounds!
I coupled that with Paradigm in-walls. Listening to several brands, I had it narrowed down to Paradigm and Klipsch. Paradigm was a slightly better deal and was in stock. If they were not available, I would highly suggest paying extra for the Klipsch - whether inwall or freestanding.

[Beer-30]

Oh, and most all of the HTIBs (Home Theater In a Box) are good for a bedroom, but not large living rooms.

[Jyruiz]

I have heard some good Yamaha receivers. For the money, I have found Harman Kardon and Denon to be far superior. I have a HK AVR-525 and it has all I could want. Rock solid and 65 pounds!
I coupled that with Paradigm in-walls. Listening to several brands, I had it narrowed down to Paradigm and Klipsch. Paradigm was a slightly better deal and was in stock. If they were not available, I would highly suggest paying extra for the Klipsch - whether inwall or freestanding.
Klipsch's are good speakers, but I recommend anybody getting them to try to listen to them for a while first, 30-40 minutes. The horn tweeters are very bright and can cause ear fatuige after a while. Paradign I like as well, not only because I have some in the bedroom, but you might want to take a listen to the Polk series with the Vifa tweeter, great sounding speakers.

[rivercrazy]

I agree on the Harman and Denon receivers.
I have Harman AVR 7000. Its a powerhouse, reliable, and full of features (for its age anyway)

[Angry Inch]

I use a Harmon\Kardon reciever, with JBL speakers and a Sharp projector. All of the peices are roughly 10 years old and still look/sound good to me....
I know none of my ish is audiophile quality; however, it is all top end comsumer level, and it's paid off.
My next move will be to a DLP projector.
:)

[Jyruiz]

I use a Harmon\Kardon reciever, with JBL speakers and a Sharp projector. All of the peices are roughly 10 years old and still look/sound good to me....
I know none of my ish is audiophile quality; however, it is all top end comsumer level, and it's paid off.
My next move will be to a DLP projector.
:)
Get a 3 chip DLP projector, then you will be set for another 10 years.:D

[Flyinbowtie]

As far as speakers go, Klipsch is my personal favorite, Ross.
As has been pointed out, they can sound bright due to the horn design, but I love them. You both need to listen them and others, and pay attention to the room size, shape, number of windows & doors, which all will impact the sound you hear.
I have Klipsch in all four corners, the center, and the sub.
When I can weasel my way around Cindy and into activating the THX portion of my reciever, I'll be havin' a couple more.:D
The H/K and Denon stuff out there today is an incredible bang for the buck.
I have a 3 year old top-of-the-line Kenwood Sovereign VR reciever, couldn't pass up the deal, but I was looking at an H/K.
I like the fact that it detects the audio input signal and automatically switches between about 6 different options, then optimizes the output based on my presets. It works well with dummies, and I are one. It does more shinit than I'll ever figure out. One thing, get lots of Optical input/outputs, for HD/BluRay DVD and HDCD and HDMI for the H.D TV
Go and listen to lots of stuff, together. Consider the room you're putting it in, and listen some more. Take music you like, and a DVD you've heard/watched on a good system. Spend some time.
Then, choose what you like and ignore everybody else as you enjoy it.

[socalmoney]

There are some good in-wall speakers out there but I don't recommend them for your main set up. Remember, your speakers need to be at ear level. Also putting speakers in the ceiling is a joke for movies.

[socalmoney]

I read this site a lot when contemplating a purchase.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/main.html

[beaverretriever]

Denon AVR-5805CI is probably the best reciever on the market for the money (at least that is what my buddy just told me). It better be for over 7k:eek:
He says there are recievers that are much more expensive but probably not as good.
BTW, his home system had to be over 100k. :eek:
My theatre in a box has been working good for 2 yrs now. Heck I won it in a work contest, so you can't beat that.

[Jyruiz]

Denon AVR-5805CI is probably the best reciever on the market for the money (at least that is what my buddy just told me). It better be for over 7k:eek:
He says there are recievers that are much more expensive but probably not as good.
BTW, his home system had to be over 100k. :eek:
My theatre in a box has been working good for 2 yrs now. Heck I won it in a work contest, so you can't beat that.
That thing is a monster and have yet to meet anybody with one that has used it to its full potential, too many bells and whistles if you ask me. For that price, I would go with seperates.

[BoatPI]

Check out Yamaha DSP, THX certified systems. I have their amp, and Polk speakers, 7.1,

[Pussywhippled]

I have some ok stuff for my tunes...
Denon, B&W, Velodyne...

[Tom Brown]

It's interesting to read so many people bash Bose.
There are some things Bose does better than anyone else. The single driver approach has tremendous advantages in a couple of areas. How many production loudspeakers are phase coherent at their crossover point? I would think close to zero, although there are some pretty decent speakers these days. Also, in the area of efficiency versus sound quality, Bose is unrivaled.
I don't run Bose equipment myself, nor do my tastes lean in that direction, but I have developed quite a bit of respect for their gear over the years. Also, I had a Bose Cannon 20 years ago. Even now, that product is basically unrivaled.
I've looked at the Wave and think it a great product. Wave's iPod integration didn't suit my needs like ExtremeMac's Luna so I went with the Luna (a somewhat similar product.... Luna is like a mini-Wave but with a way, way better user interface).
The more I look at audio gear, the more really terrific products I have encountered. You could build a truly world class system with an assortment of different products tailored to an assortment of different tastes.
I can certainly understand how some people enjoy the distortion added by a tube amp. It brings a warmth and texture to music over the clinical accuracy of the transistor.

[Tom Brown]

Oh yeah... what's in my theater.
Denon receiver (but I also have a mid 70s Sansui amp and a mid 70s Kenwood amp and they both sound at least as good as the Denon for 2 channel, non-remote control work)
Home made speakers (mostly Dennis Murphy designs but a couple of my own, as well).
For source, I run a MythTV PVR system. It's the coolest piece of kit in my theater.

[socalmoney]

Oh yeah... what's in my theater.
Denon receiver (but I also have a mid 70s Sansui amp and a mid 70s Kenwood amp and they both sound at least as good as the Denon for 2 channel, non-remote control work)
Home made speakers (mostly Dennis Murphy designs but a couple of my own, as well).
For source, I run a MythTV PVR system. It's the coolest piece of kit in my theater.
MythTV is sweet. Bose still sucks. It was over when they introduced the Accoustimass systems. I am sure the Wave system makes for a nice alarm clock but they don't cut it when it comes to high end home theater.

[socalmoney]

Also let me add that seeing Tom Brown mention MythTV leads me to believe that not only is he funny but technically savvy. Did you build that box yourself Tom.

[Riverdog1]

Poineer Plasma--low contrast ratio like under 1000:1 will allow it to last longer--not a gaming TV but definitely very good quality picture. I paired it with an Integra (Onkyo) processor and Atlantic Technology Surround speakers--good for music and movies and very good quality sound. This set-up was spendy though.

[Beer-30]

There are some good in-wall speakers out there but I don't recommend them for your main set up. Remember, your speakers need to be at ear level. Also putting speakers in the ceiling is a joke for movies.
I agree. In a perfect world, in-walls are not the way to go. In-ceiling even worse.
BUT, we do not live in a perfect world and the wife said I could do whatever on HT - as long as there were no towers. So, the happy-medium was real good in-walls for lefts and rights / fronts and rears. The center is on top of the entertainment center. They do a real good job and I am picky on my sounds.
It all depends on budget, wife situation, room situation, and what your ears like and don't like.

[Sleek-Jet]

Also let me add that seeing Tom Brown mention MythTV leads me to believe that not only is he funny but technically savvy. Did you build that box yourself Tom.
Never mind Brown... he's quite mad you know... and Canadian...
:D