CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

whats6x7 · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 5924

I have a Bose Lifestyle Model 20 sound system that I bought back in 1997 to go with my 27" TV and DVD player. I use it upstairs in my living room. The cube speakers are white and match the decor. Problem is, the kids LOVE the theatre set-up downstairs and want to watch movies down there. The wife and I end up watching R and PG-13 movies upstairs while the kids watch Disney movies downstairs. Now the wife wants a bigger TV.

I'll probably buy a 65" DLP from Best Buy (atleast the lamps are replaceable) but that presents a problem. The TV and stand will both be black. The cube speakers are white. Do I have to use Bose cubes with that system? Can I just buy some black non-bose speakers and hook them up?

Alright, give me sh*t about the Bose. I still think it sounds great for an invisible system.

jask · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 10187 Location: kamloops BC

they are only Bose...so whats the big deal ?grab a can of Krylon matte black and add some value Thumbs Up

whats6x7 · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 5924

Well, I sort of thought of that. I was going to build a small black speaker enclosure and then set them in it.

Z-Photo · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:02 pm Post subject:

Do they actually work?

I always though that BOSE was like AMPRO - a fictional product.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:12 pm Post subject:

As a former seller of the stuff, the subwoofer crossover are eq'ed for the cubes. HOWEVER.... since they are hardly a flat frequency response, you can substitute damn near any speaker you want as far as I'm concerned. There's a lot of offshore Bose clone cubes, I think www.partsexpress.com sells some of those. Otherwise check the net.

A local speaker guy sourced out a bunch, and had a sub/satellite system that sounded a lot better than the Bose, but of course they were no name, and no one wanted to buy them.

whats6x7 · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 5924

Thanks Curt. That was the info I was looking for. I just wanted to make sure they hadn't done something proprietary so that only Bose speakers would work (Yes, they do work Z-Photo) with Bose subs.

Z-Photo · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:09 pm Post subject:

The violated bose speakers might report you to BOSE corp

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

Z-Photo · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:15 pm Post subject:

Thats right - they are the speaker of choice for the hearing impared*

*aka deaf

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:40 pm Post subject:

Supposedly Bose is the #1 speaker company in the world???

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:27 pm Post subject:

The old 901's were kinda neat.

I 2nd the idea. Grab a roll of tape and a can of paint.

whats6x7 · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 5924

Hey AR, I'd do it if I could figure out a way to replace the white fabric speaker grill.

No to hijack my own thread but I'm looking at replacing that with a system that had a built in up-sampling DVD player with HDMI output. Sony has one for $398 at Wallyworld. Does anyone have any experience with those? My kids have a TON of standard DVDs and I'm not going to invest in BluRay or HD-DVD until they are cheap.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:18 pm Post subject:

You can get fabric dye meant for cars in a spray can. I don't know how it would do if it hit the speaker under the cloth. Maybe if you sprayed at an angle it could work.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

I wouldn't try to spray paint or even fabric dye onto grille cloth. You're likely to totally hose the audio transparency of the cloth.

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:36 pm Post subject:

He was talking about a HTiB setup - home theater in a box - DVD player, receiver, speakers, sub - all for $400. Personally, from what I've seen, unless you spend a serious chunk of change, those little systems are really underpowered. Dare I say, I don't think a little system like that would even sound as good as the Bose system. Plus, since it's all stuck together, when something breaks, then you have a broken system instead of a broken component you can replace or upgrade.

Either sell the Bose system and get something different or paint the Bose cabinets, dye (or re-cloth) the grille cloth, and set up your new TV. Pickup a cheap upscaling DVD player for $50-100, or a used or new HD-DVD player for $150-250.

SC

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:45 pm Post subject:

Hey are there any screws in the cases so you can take them apart?

whats6x7 · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 5924

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm not really wanting to stick with the Bose now. If I can use standard speakers with the Bose sub then I'm sure I can use the 2 Bose cubes I have mounted on the back wall with any other system. I just bought this . . .

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNT4065F-1080p-LCD-HDTV/dp/B000OE02G4/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-2201837-1193428?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1187822572&sr=8-2

with a 5 year warranty to replace my 27" CRT TV. The advantage to the HTiB setup is that it is "prettier". This is for the living room upstairs. I already have 2 complete Home Theater setups downstairs (1 LCD and 1 CRT) and my wife doesn't want our living room to look like a guys bedroom. I don't need any real power, just a good sound at a moderate volume level. When I want to shake the house I'll go downstairs.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

Replacing those crappy cubes with better speakers could only be a step in the RIGHT direction.

Pick up the current edition of Stereophile. There's a review in there for a set of SMALL bookshelf speakers that sells for 199 a pair
and the review basically states that these are INCREDIBLE speakers, playing well outside their price range, and that by rights,
any audiophile should want to get a pair.

CJ

d50q · Joined: 22 Nov 2007 Posts: 118 Location: ma usa

mtx makes a nice cube its 8 ohm 4 inch fullrange they claim 200 watts peak 90 db per 1 watt
you can get them black or white
i dont recall the model number but if you search and cant find them let me know and i will get off my duff and look
i use them for rear surrounds they blend in pretty well with my bic main speakers