Bose Lifestyle V30 price and reviews

I have heard many different brands of audio equipment in prices ranging from a $500 system to speakers costing $50,000 a pair. However, this is a review on the Bose V30, and the reason I have given it the lowest rating possible is because I've heard systems costing less than a third of the price that blow it away.

To begin, "Bigger Sales Through Advertising." Or in other words, Bose is an advertising company. You see their TV advertisements on all the time bragging themselves up. In their stores, they put the speakers right in front of you and are usually turned up all the way, which of course is going to make them sound good to the people with out discerning ears (no offense). Which also brings me to the question: what other brands have you heard? Again, no offense to you people that haven't gotten into the world of audio a whole lot; it's not your fault you haven't been exposed to the amount of other brands out there. Anyway, the people I hear say Bose is the best are people that have never heard any brand that's not carried at Wall Mart and Best Buy, which are all sub par to what you can get for the same money if you do some research. Yes, Bose will sound better than those sub-par brands, especially in the manner they set up their systems in the store.

Bose's speakers are greatly flawed. To understand this, you need to understand what makes a speaker. A speaker is made up "drivers," usually two, which are what vibrate to make sound. The two most common is the tweeter, which makes the high sounds, and the mid-bass, which makes the low sounds. There?s also the mid-range driver; however, these are more common in big speakers; and, a good balance between the tweeter and mid-bass creates good mid-range. Then there's the subwoofer, or just sub, that's usually separate from the main speakers and is made to play the lowest notes.

Bose's "Jewel Cube" speakers that come with the V30 are nothing but tiny mid-range drivers; therefore they can?t play the high notes because they lack a tweeter. They also lack a mid-bass; however, Bose proclaims their Acoustimas generator produces the mid-bass; this is what they say makes their speakers ?sound like big speakers.? But, the Acoustimas generator is basically a cross between a mid-bass and a subwoofer, which means it can't accurately reproduce mid-bass because it plays too low. Not only that, because of this, it also can't play as low as a sub, which means this system can't reproduce the lowest notes of the sound spectrum; notes you "feel" more than hear. So, this system can't even play the full sound spectrum. This is where the saying "No highs, no lows; must be Bose" comes from. Also, the speakers themselves are cheaply made; paper cones and thin plastic enclosures.

Now, for what I recommend. First of all, like I hinted before, don?t go to Best Buy or Circuit City. Find a place that specializes in audio and/or video only. They will most likely carry brands that you?ll find being reviewed in audio magazines, and often possessing amazing value. While there are plenty of brands like this out there, the ones I?ll use as examples are Paradigm speakers, Velodyne subwoofers, and Yamaha RX receivers (the models you can?t get at Best Buy). Anyway, people often buy Bose speakers for their small size. But, Bose's systems make a sacrifice in performance in order to get small; I was even told this by a Bose salesperson. But, I?ll tell you right now that you don?t have to sacrifice performance in order to get small. Paradigm?s Cinema series mini-speakers are some of the best on the market. The smallest one is about 7 inches tall. It is a bit bigger than the Jewel Cubes; but seriously, unless you live in a dollhouse, when would 4-inch speakers be necessary? Anyway, the Cinema?s do have a tweeter and a mid-bass; therefore can produce the full sound spectrum. Adding a Velodyne sub can produce the solid lows you don?t get from the Acousitimas generator. And, a Yamaha RX receiver, except for the lowest-end one, is capable of 7.1 surround sound, which has 2 more surrounds than the V30. In another review, a person said their V30 won?t be out of date in a year. Well, it?s not expandable to 7.1, so it looks like it has.

You?re probably wondering how much a system like this costs. Well, I heard one that consisted of 4 of the smallest Cinema speakers plus the Cinema center, a middle-end 12 in. Velodyne sub, and the lowest end Yamaha 5.1 surround sound receiver. The whole system was about $1200. And let me tell you what, it totally blows away the V30 system. There?s simply no comparison. And, for the price of the V30, you could get something AMAZING. Surround sound consisting of 7 Paradigm Cinema speakers, a high-end Yamaha 7.1 receiver, Veledyne?s 1000-watt 8 in. sub, and even a Logitech multifunction remote.

In conclusion, if you want a good sound system, STAY AWAY FROM BOSE. You?re wallet and your ears will thank you if you?ve compared the V30 to one of the systems I recommended.

Updated on Nov 1, 2008