i have never heard any of the older bose considering i am only 19 but i do have to give bose a little credit... they have some of the best demos on their theater setups, ex lifestyle 28 and v20....whatever they have done on those demos makes them sound a lot better than they are...people come in to work everyday and tell me how much they love bose until i take them to show them the difference...when i go show the acousitmass series(which are the same speakers as the v20 and lifestyle) on a regular movie they usually arent as excited...then i crank up the klipsch on the same movie and receiver and they are in shock at the difference...its such a good feeling for someone to realize all the hype isnt what its cracked up to be