 "For The Size/Money You Can't Beat This System" | 2009-11-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3K6IQK2RYT74J |
I recently bought the Bose Lifestyle V28 System but actually at a Bose Outlet store. I paid $1299 refurbished but ended up having some issues with setup (one of the wire prongs had been broken in shipping). I called Bose to explain the situation and they were not only helpful but bent over backwards to try and make it a pleasurable experience. I've had problems with other electronic manufacturers in the past who were not nearly as understanding. To make up for this Bose shipped me a BRAND NEW SYSTEM overnight, along with a pair of the new QC 15 headphones (valued at $299). Now to the product itself. Although I understand how to hookup audio/video, I am certainly not an expert and the Bose system was extremely easy. The only downfall was they do not have many high quality jacks (1 optical in, no HDMI) for the product. In any case I figured out a few workarounds and had it up and running after a quick trip to Best Buy. That evening I decided to watch Slumdog Millionare(great flick) which was not exactly an action movie but had some scenes which would demonstrate the system's capability in my house (since it almost always sounds better in the store). I am not an audiophile, however I do appreciate great video and sound when watching movies, sports, etc. and am fairly knowledgeable about the subject. The sound was incredible, especially considering the streamlined look of this small system. As usual Bose delivered. When helicopters flew by you thought your hat would fly off, when dogs barked I couldn't tell if it was my labrador or the movie, when gunshots flew I almost wanted to duck. The bass was loud and crisp but not overdone like other systems (i.e. Klipsch, Sony, JBL) and the mid-tones/high tones were amazingly realistic. I would absolutely recommend the Bose Lifestyle V28 to my friends, family, or however else would ask. Like any other purchase there is always a superior product if you spent more money and the true audiophiles who drop 10K on a system may tell you different but for the 1.3-2K this system delivered my expectations and more.
Pros: Great Customer Service, Easy Setup, Tight Bass, Incredible High/Midtones, Small and Streamlined Look.
Cons: Few High End Jacks, Not The Quality of an "Audiophile" System, No Media Server |
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| "An elegant home theater system" | 2009-01-09 |
| - Reviewed By ptcruzer |
I bought this system a few years ago and have never regretted my purchase. The first time saw and heard it was in a crowded electronics store, out in the middle of the floor, terrible acoustics and lots of noise all around. They had the unit sitting on a display with two arching arms going back over where I stood in front of it and maybe 9 or 10 feet behind me. The sound was amazing, even in that environment.
My problem with our family room is that with lots of windows and doors, no drapes and with the length of the room it's an acoustic nightmare. This system seemed like a solution. I brought it home and the hook-up was easy. There were lots of spots in back of the unit for all of our other devices that we wanted to run through it. I followed the diagrams in the manual and didn't run into any problems. There were several alternative ways to hook up things like an old tape player and VCR. Last year we added a Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player and play the HD movies using that but run the sound through the Bose. I even added a cable connector to connect my iPod so I could listen to my playlists in surround sound.
I like the speakers because they're small and unobtrusive and the sound is crisp and clear. It's amazing the sound that you get from these little speakers when watching a movie with a lot of action and different sounds. More than once I heard a dog barking or a phone ringing in a movie and thought it was coming from my home instead of the movie. And there is nothing like listening to a classical CD or selection from my iPod in surround sound. It's like sitting in a symphony hall with the music all around you.
The remote is easy to use and you can control all your other devices from it as well. The unit itself is elegant and looks great in the cabinet. Bose automatically sends firmware upgrade CD's from time to time if you register the product. We've never had a problem, have thoroughly enjoyed it and I can highly recommend it. |
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 "Frustrated" | 2008-12-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3NVL5YOT0IITH |
| I bought this item not along ago. Today I went to the Bose website to register my product when I put in the serial number it comes up Bose lifestyle 18 and when I bought the product on Amazon it was the lifestyle 28 series III dvd home entertaiment. I can't believe that amazon will put an item from one of the sellers and the they will send something else. Of course now it's to late or try to get a refund they only give 30 days. My advice to anyone that is going to spend a lot of money on the system verify first if the company is legitimate. |
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 "Simple. Elegant. Period." | 2008-08-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3U166WJM38E4K |
Listen - I know deciding on a system is a difficult thing to to do. I speak from experience as I've owned high end equipment and now this Bose Series III. Everyone who states that the sound quality is not brilliant is absolutely correct. I knew that going into the purchase. If you are one that is difficult to please when it comes to audio quality, stay away. If, like me, you know what excellent sounds like but are ok w/ pretty good and you want a system that is a snap to install, a snap to operate, a snap to expand, looks great and takes up very little room....this is your baby.
I have this system in my living room w/ a pair of speakers on each of 2 patios and in my master bath, each w/ a separate remote (the patios share one remote). I can run 2 sources at a time - easily. No muss, no fuss. No wires and no massive speakers taking up the corners of my living room. Hit FM before I hop in the shower and listen to tejano (it's a recent fad for me) while my wife watches TV in the living room - good to go. I know you can have this set up w/ a more complicated system to do the same but this was much easier...and my wife can operate it without a problem (she's very intelligent BTW but hates wasting her time w/ this stuff).
I was after good sound quality, outstanding design/construction/customer service and ease of use. It beats the pants off my previous system which sounded much better as I enjoy using it so much more - it is as non-obtrusive a system as you can get.
In the end, ask yourself what you are really looking for. 3 stars for sound quality and 5 stars for everything else - and I am impossible to please. Enjoy. |
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| "The Donigans" | 2008-07-28 |
| - Reviewed By mdonigan |
| All I can say is, "Thank you Amazon," for offering such a great product at such a great savings. My husband and I researched the net and stores thoroughly before purchasing this equipment. What we found was that we could save several hundred dollars by going through amazon.com. We love our new system simply because it is everything that we were promised that it was and more. |
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| "home theater taken to the next level, expensive, but you get what you paid for" | 2008-06-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANK8UP8RP6410 |
I spend at least 3 months doing some research on which home theater system was the best for me. well after trying some brands that, according to the whole internet, are quite superior to Bose, and some super cheap configurations that according to some reviewers (from other sites), where better than Bose, I ended up coming back to my choice number one from the very beginning....BOSE lifestyle systems...
My friends have "yamaha", "sony", "klipch", and all the additions you can put on those HT's, but I was no satisfied. maybe it was their configuration, but the sound starts breaking after a couple of minutes after playing in higher volumes, DVD's whete OK in the sony, ang good in the yamaha, but blue ray disc soundtrack was horrible in both of them...
tryed a magnolia 1000 dollars worth from BB, andit was good, but not what I was looking for.
then decided to put some more money in my investment and ended up buying my Bose lifestyle system 28 series. I am totally satisfied. the Bass is not cheesy neither booming, is perfect. tremble was adjusted in a little lower setting, and the ADAPT IQ did the rest...since I have the bose VS-2, the DVD resolution is excellent, and sound is powerful, crisp, NORMAL (not timpanic membrane breakingly abnormal), CD playback is excellent. Playing games is a pleasure, with sorround sound, Dolby digital via optical cable...I also have a logitech squeezebox duet connected to it, and works astonishingly, with the coaxial cable connection...
well I do not know if thiis HT system was made for me, but fullfils all my entretainment demands, in one single package, easy to install and configure, and no matter how you try to hide the it (for nobody to judge just by the brand), every guest I have had, have made comments about the sound (it doesn't matter what we are doing in front of the TV), somebody notices a difference for good.
An advise is: NEVER READ REVIEWS from the interner about this brand, because the ones so called (I did not have enough money, so I decided to write a bad review instead), are WRONG. It is a grear HT and if you have the money available, get one of those, and you will forget about all those difficult to use configurations and systems that work partially.
note:
the good: great sound better that everithing else around, easy to use and set up, excellent support service, and does what it whas meant to do.
the bad: pricey, bose shuld invent "WIRELESS SPEAKERS" (all 5 of them) because cables aren't easy to hide.
all in all, bose is a matter of afordability, but if you can afford it, GET IT |
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