bose am-5

[ismail]

bose am-5 vs klipsch quintets(fronts only) ksw-10

which are better and why?

[CECAA850]

To quote an old motorcycle saying, "If I have to explain it, you won't understand".

[CECAA850]

Apologies for last post, I couldn't help it.

[ironwoods]

You do know that we're somewhat biased here....right?

[Griffinator]

Simple physics, friend.

The Quints, coupled with their apropo subwoofer, can actually cover the entire frequency spectrum, where the Bo$e cube system cannot. It's been proven in independent frequency response tests.

If you want to hear everything that's being played back, buy the Klipsch.

If you don't care, and want to buy a name, get the Bo$e.

[skonopa]

----------------

On 1/27/2005 12:31:20 PM ismail wrote:

bose am-5 vs klipsch quintets(fronts only) ksw-10

which are better and why?

----------------

The Klipsch Quintets with KSW-10 sub! And I am not saying that just because this is a Klipsch forum.

There are several reasons why I think the Klipsch are better, and much of this is drawn from personal side-by-side listening (the local Best Buy makes it soooo easy - with the Klipsch and Bose displays right next to each other! )

I found the Klipsch Quintets to deliver a much clearer, detailed sound than the Bose. The Bose sounded like as if a wet towel was placed over the microphone the material was recored into. As much people dig on the KSW series subs around here, compared to many things, they are still a good sub. The KSW-10 did play deeper and more cleanly than that "bass module" of the Bose. And this is comparing the Quintets to the higher-end AM-15s! Just from my personal experience, those Quintets will destroy the Bose AM-5s in side-by-side sound quality comparisons! (And lets not even go there if comparing the Reference equivelent of the Quintets - the RSX-3s w/ RW-8 sub to the Bose - no comparison!)

Also, the KSW-10 did integrate much more nicely with the Quintets, whereas the Bose has a frequency gap where the bass module fell off and before the cubes can pickup, thus resulting in difficult to understand dialog in movies as well as difficult to understand lyrics from the vocalists in music. The Quintets did not seem to display this, as I found the dialog to be much easier to understand.

The only thing the Bose has going for it is that it is a nice sleek looking setup, with the small cubes and such. However, the Quintets themselves are really not much larger than the Bose dual-cubes as found on the higher-end AcousticMass systems such as the AM-15, and feature an actual mid-range driver as well as an actual tweeter coupled to a mini-horn. The Bose AM-5, although smaller, only feature a single 2-inch "full-range" driver.

And lastly, upgradability! With the Klipsch, it is very easy to upgrade parts of the system. Suppose you eventaully want to get a better subwoofer than the KSW-10, such as an RW-12, for example? Just simply swap out the old for the new. Cannot do that with the Bose (although you can augment it with an additional sub, but why?). Say you want to upgrade the front Quintets to something better, such as a pair of the new Synergy B-3 bookshelf speakers. Can do that, and then use your extra two Quintets as rear surrounds in a 7.1 configuration. If you want to upgrade the Bose, you pretty much have to get a whole new system.

I'd get the Quintets with KSW-10 sub over the Bose any day of the week!

And to add:

Check out this interesting article where somebody disected a set of the Bose AM-15s! (Yes, that is that venerable Intellexual.net article)

Also, check out the Bose FAQ, although It is somewhat dated and I don't agree with the statement putting Klipsch amongst the brands typically considered "worse" or at least "not consistently suporier" than Bose. I've compared the lowest end of the Klipsch, the ProMedia computer speakers to the highest-end Bose AM models, and the friggan ProMedia's easily bested the Bose in sound quality as well as shear loudness. Sad when a set of $250 computer speakers can out-gun a $1,500 set of Bose AM-16s

[garymd]

I used to own am-5s but traded them for a pair of Altec Santiagos. The am-5s were very WAF friendly and I used the ceiling mounts when I had them in my basement. The little bass module was horrible and the highs were pretty bad. They are OK for their size (not for their price!) but the quintets blow them away. Don't even consider them unless it's a choice between bose and divorce.

[Guest Anonymous]

bose is just horrible i have the quintets and i love them for movies they even come with teh wallmounts which if you use them you save you $60 in wall mounts! alone! and the ksw10 is probably one of the best subs for under $500

, one of the best that i have heard at least! go for klipsch!

[kenratboy]

Skip the Bose, please.

You can do so much better for the money and get far better sound.

[tommyboy]

I'm in the Air Force, and a lot of military personnel fall into the "Bose trap" Because they can get it cheaper on base. I'm about the only person I know at my base w/ a klipsch system, and everyone else has Bose. There is a definite day and night difference in sound in mine and theirs. Of course they won't admit it, because they're in love w/ bose for whatever reason. But definitely go with Klipsch over Bose any day.