Home Theatre System

Hi, am moving into my own place and decided to get the Bose V30 Lifestyle home theatre system. However, am now concerned about all the poor reviews on the net. Don't want to make a mistake especially in view of the price $33,800 includes a panasonic blue-ray dvd player. Anyone have the system and care to share their views. Am also open to any other recommendations...Thanks

Mmm - Bose always struck me as being style over substance, but that view was based on the limited number of reviews I'd come across and those that I did were typically average. Does it come with inlaid Swarovski crystals? If so, that might be deemed a warning sign.


I did a fair bit of research and ended up with the KEF 3005.2 surround sound speakers (which I think look pretty stylish!) and an Onkyo SR876 home theatre amp (HDMI slots 4in 2out, which was rare in cheaper models). We use the Sony PSP for our blueray, which seems pretty good. All scored very highly in the What Home Cinema type magazines and we've been very happy with them. Cost for the 3 components probably a bit under 30K.


Downside with doing lots of research is that the wretched magazines cost so much.

Agreed with Dive Bum. Bose looks fantastic but most true audiophiles (audiosnobs) will not be caught dead with a Bose system. Also the price is just vicious. I don't mind paying for quality, but you can get at least as good sound for a fraction.


Get a "real" AV receiver from Pioneer or Onkyo or some other good name. I would look for the following two features as a must have if shopping today´, for future proofing if nothing else.

- Upconvert analog TV input to HDMI. Ensure HDMI does not only pass-through but includes combines video and audio

- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio

- 3 or more HDMI inputs.

- On screen display.

- Network media streaming.

- 7.1 sound

- Basic Dolby and DTS surround decoding

You can get that for under 5k. Then you have to pay for speakers of course. But I still think you'll get away with much much less than 33k.


I suggest you go to a specialist store with good staff. Micheal Wong (the guy typically sitting in the middle of the store) at AV Life in Times Square is good. Very knowledgeable and tries to find what you need, not what he can push.


"Downside with doing lots of research is that the wretched magazines cost so much."


Quite, but there's a surprising amount online. This is pretty decent http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-sound-buying-guide/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

Thanks guys. I'll go have a chat with Michael.

BTW there are deals to be had in the Classifieds on this site if you are patient. You won't get the latest features, but a 3-5 year old receiver for half the price of a new one or less is not to be sneered at. The sound quality is often just as good as the modern one, but you won't get newer features like HDMI upconvert and Dolby TrueHD.


I bought a Denon from 2003 and a set of KEF 5.1 speakers. I'll get a new one with all the bells and whistles some day but for now it is an great learning tool (yes, it also outputs sound). I can try out all the abstract concepts and get a visceral understanding as opposed to just theory.