Klipsch vs Bose?

[ckat609]

Hey guys... I recently upgraded to an LCD and a PS3 for blu ray movies and i'm about to get a new receiver and I was thinking about getting new speakers too. Here's my dilema... I want to get good audio without shelling out thousands of dollars. This would be my first time buying decent speakers so as you might imagine, I have no idea what makes a speaker a good spkear. I've been reading lots of reviews and I think I've narrowed it down to Klipsch and/or Bose. I have no idea if they're similar or anything but I've got my eye on the Quintet III SL and/or the Acoustimass 6. Any suggestions on which I should get and why?

[Cal Blacksmith]

Well, we do tend to have a bias here.

Most of the audio world that is above base consumer level, those of us who LIKE good sounding music and movies tend to look down on most if not all Bo$e products. They don't even have enough pride in them to publish their performance specs. The fact is that for music and movies those cute little cubes SUCK. Those are $5.00 paper cone mini speakers in those plastic cubes and they charge an arm and two legs for them.

What is your budget and we might be able to help you better espically if you are not opposed to buying used. MUCH more bang for the buck when buying used.

[tagger]

Bose choses to put their money in Marketing rather than R&D. They have done a tremendous job over the past 20 years of convincing the general ignorant public that they are the last name in audio. Truth is that their products hardly best the basement brand consumer junk. The fact that they don't publish their specs says a lot!

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Just in case you think that the responses are due to thsi being a Klipsch forum, google "Bose sucks" or some similar phrase and you will have quite a bit to read.

You should also post your budget and needs (do you have to have micro speakers or will bookshelf speakers work, etc.)

These guys tend to be reasonably priced:

http://www.sounddistributors.com/productlist.asp?crid=243&pcrid=40&cat_name=Klipsch+Home+Theater+Systems

[Youthman]

I always tell people Bose sound descent for a small speaker. Bottom line is that you will never be able to crank a pair of 3" speakers and get huge sound from them. That's simple physics. Some of the Bose systems have a passive sub meaning they do not have a dedicated amp pushing the subwoofer. Just about any sub with a dedicated amp will blow the Bose speaker away. I believe the acoustimas uses 6.5" woofer. Again, physics will tell you that one or two 6.5" woofers will not generate near the amount of bass you can acheive with a 10", 12" or 15" sub with a dedicated amp.

Again, let us know your budget, if you are ok with floorstanding, or looking for bookshelf, or even smaller like the quintets and we can help steer you in the right direction. Best wishes in your search.

[InnerTuber]

Hi CK and welcome to the forum

Obviously being a Klipsch forum ...

That said I have a variety of stuff. I like Klipsch the best for my ears. In fact I've gone away and come back. There are some technical reasons for that, but really I just like the sound. I myself don't hate Bose, I just prefer Klipsch.

I have a pair of Bose 301 speakers that sound pretty good for a small speaker. I compare those to my 1974 DCM Timewindows and a pair of Infinity bookshelf speakers. All 3 sound similar and all sound so much better than the little cube systems, especially without a subwoofer. The sub helps them all. My sister loves her Bose something cube stuff, but she finds a transistor radio about the same as any other music system. People are different. What she does like about the little cubes is she can hide them and the system is easy for her to use. Music is almost an inconvenince to her.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-z8Rl2dhOUe0/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?I=018301VLC

http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=P152BK&cat=BFS&ser=PRI&Language=ENG&Region=USA&Country=US

Something like this might work and would sound quite superior to prior alternatives - http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rb-61.aspx

If you have more space http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rf-52.aspx

I like the Heritage products that can be found used at very reasonable prices - again IMHO superior in sound to the bookshelf style products and no comparison to cube stuff - http://www.klipsch.com/products/lists/heritage.aspx.

Have fun shopping!

If you care to share the budget and space, what you really want to hook up (TV, CD, radio or whatever) and somebody will likely offer great advice or a deal on some gear they have laying around. Jump in if you like!

[wsu99999]

Heritage is definately the way to go. You don't know what that is, but if you research the Klipsch site, you will figure it out. In my opinion, you could get 5x Heresys or Forte II's or similar - but like a lot of people today, they want small and cheap. Heritage products are large, to some ugly, and to many wifes, unacceptable. If that is your case, Heritage may be a no go.

In my opinion, with a good receiver, the Quintet should be around the equilivent of Bose. Before I got into Klipsch, I had a bose setup and once I got my very first Klipsch product, I never looked back. Now, I have a heritage setup and don't think I will ever need to upgrade again (except for small modifications). They truly are the best thing out there for the money.

If you want a quick fix, the quintets will be cheap, small, and sound pretty decent. They serve a good purpose in my opinion and will sound as good if not better than Bose and will cost a LOT less. When I owned the bose, I thought they were awesome, but they truly aren't anything special as I've found out. Only thing special about them is the cost!

[jacksonbart]

Klipsch

[ckat609]

Thanks to all of you for your super fast replies!!!

Hehehe... no problem if you guys are biased... I was hoping you were,
so you could tell me what advantages Klipsch has over Bose. Being
Klipsch fans and all, you might know more of these speakers than people
who are into other brands.

Knowing you guys are into all of this, you may find a better solution for me. My audio setup will be used mostly for movies and games. My room is very small... it's about 18x2. My receiver is a Yamaha RX-V663 (what do you guys think of it?) and I have an old Sony subwoofer lying round that I could use for a couple of weeks until I decide on a new sub (need help with this too... any ideas?).

My budget is about $900 for speakers and sub... what do you guys recommend?

[InnerTuber]

I have two Yamas and they are fine for me. I use one for a TV for games and tele with two small speakers.

If you can fit two of these http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/cornwall-iii.aspx they are around for about $400-1,000 per pair depending on this and thats. Might not need a sub here unless you really want deep lows. I usually turn mine off.

Smaller and a bit less expensive are http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/heresy-iii.aspx when used.

Theres a sub forum here - just say I want to spend this much - any suggestions? and sombody will chime in I bet.

Otherwise, just look around the speakers on the main page. You can see price and size info. Many things come up for sale used in the garage sale or your local Craigs list. As mentioned you'll get a lot more value from used.

I'd invest in two good speakers rather than two speakers and a sub if that makes sense. Maybe go for two good ones and use what you have on the bottom.

[ckat609]

In my case, size does matter since my room is small... still no wife to nag about speaker size though... I was aiming for a smaller 5.1 to 7.1 setup.

[Coytee]

In fact I've gone away and come back

Some folks we just can't get rid of [6]

I'm not too familar with Bose as I discovered KLipsch way back in 1978 (18 years old) and bought a pair of LaScalas the next year when I was 19 to take to college with me (still own them too).

Advantages of Klipsch over Bose? Given the Bose I have heard over the years.... in my book, Klipsch has better sound better dynamics, better pricing BUT, they do not have as nice of a marketing plan so bose wins that one.

All IMHO of course

I'd suggest you find someone who has some Klipsch or find a store and listen to yourself. I went to BB's one day and found their Bose display.... I decided to listen to the "HT" system they have setup however, I then walked about 15' away from the display. I knew I'd not be in the focus spot of the sound however, the reality is at home I'd not be standing that close anyway.

Try that once & see if you hear what I (didn't) hear!

[]

[Coytee]

still no wife to nag

get em now while you can then! [A]

I was aiming for a smaller 5.1

I'd say start looking at some Heresy's & see what you think about their size/sound.

I personally detest large ugly speakers.....[A]

[ckat609]

I did try the Quintet SL at a store and loved the sound... that's the main reason I started asking about Klipsch. To be completely honest, this was the first time I heard about Klipsch [:$] I also listened to Bose at a friends house and they were pretty good.

[Cal Blacksmith]

I just bought a 663 last week. If I didn't like it, I would have bought something else..... for what that is worth.

If you can go used, that $900 will buy you A LOT of speaker! You could go with 5 Heresy speakers (H1 or H2). They are going for about $300-400 a pair in good shape used if you are willing to wait for a good deal on Craigs list, the local news paper or a local sale on Ebay. The speakers are "small" for the heratage series but are indeed much bigger than the "cubes" you were looking at but the sound is ......in a different universe than the "cubes". You would need to add a sub though and that will blow the budget but if you can take your time, good deals do happen on those also.

You might be able to pickup a Synergy setup for about half of your budget. I just bought an older 5.1 (SF2 front towers, SC1 center, SS1 surounds and KSW12 sub) setup with outdated electronics (cept for the DVD player), cables, power filters and all for $500 from Craigs list, to be used in my TV room. The series I have is not well thought of around here but they still will blow away 99% of the HT systems that "normal" people have in their homes. This series is much smaller (except for the front towers) than a heritage setup and might fit into your room better. Look at the products pages on the Klipsch site for more detail about the speakers I have mentioned.

[wsu99999]

You said your room size is 18x2? That can't be right.

If you don't have a wife, and your room is 18x20 OR 18x12, I would recomend picking up some used Heresy's or Forte II's. Even if you just got a pair of those, in my opinion it would be better than an entire quintet setup. You could pick up a used pair on Criagslist in your area for something around 400 bucks. Try em, give it a week, and if you aren't impressed, resell em. They will NOT loose any value as long as they are in good shape. Typically a range on Heresy's on my local CL is 200-450 and for the Forte IIs typically 350-550. If I were you I would give it a shot.

I will leave you with this... When I first joined this forum, I was asking the same questions as you. Everyone told me go heritage or go home. I went with a reference set. Liked em, but then I heard a pair of LaScalas. Needless to say, If I would have just listened to the forum members, I would have found my current setup a lot sooner than I did and saved a bit of money.

The bottom line is you have nothing to loose because they will retain their value if purchased used.

[J.4knee]

The Quintet SL III system you are looking at needs a dedicated sub to function properly. One system you might consider if your budget can accommodate it is the XL 12 system.I have listened to a number of Bose systems from their PA stuff to the system in my truck.

Bose do not sound "bad" but their limits are easily revealed. Any small system will find its limits if pushed. Klipsch' horn loaded systems require far less power to drive them to acceptable performance levels and produce notably lower distortion.

Now Coytee is for sure a big fan of those cutesy artsy fartsy little cubes and such. He'd never allow a big ole horn loaded plug ugly's in his domicile. Some of us are even considering renaming WAF to CAF or RAF after him. [] []

[Cal Blacksmith]

UH, jacksonbart, shouldn't your caption be Bose ???

Caught ya!

[InnerTuber]

I have to agree, buy some big sxx'd Heritage speakers before you have a wife. Then they just come along with you when the day comes. Whine If you love me you'll love my speakers.

Get KHorns. Honey, we need a nice big room with perfect corners.Thwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. O, forgot the budget.

Crank it up

[ckat609]

Hahaha... you're right... I might as well play the old "if you love me, you'll love my speakers" card! I'll give'em a shot. I haven't tried those out yet but I'll got to the store again to see what all the fuzz is about.

I can't thank you enought for your help you guys... really!