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The lifestyle Bose Lifestyle 30 Theater System I have reviewed the Bose lifestyle 30 and i have found it by far one of the most amazing systems i have ever herd....

Bose LifeStyle 50 Theater System Product Technical DetailsTechnical Details:lifestyle50bk Key FeaturesIncluded Compo...

It’s summer, and I have so much time on my hands when I’m not doing Kaplan! So, I decided to go downtown and also to some malls. I have already reviewed the Bose Lifestyle 25, and I have finally decided to check out their flagship system. The Bose Lifestyle 50. Well, now considering that “Bose is by far the best”, the Bose Lifestyle 50 should easily be able to defeat a system that I have designed that’s in the $3,500 price range. Obviously Bose is way superior to brands like Marantz. I completely regret buying my Marantz SR-14EX, I should’ve instead bought a Bose Lifestyle 50 instead of my flagship home theater system. As you know, that was complete sarcasm. Anyway, after trying out the Bose Lifestyle 50, here’s what I found:

Price:

Speakers? Same as the cheapest Lifestyle system. DTS? No. THX Certified? No. 6.1? No. 7.1? No. Anything new? Just the control deck, and a passive subwoofer. As you can see, the Bose Lifestyle 50 packs virtually nothing. It’s the same old system with just a new control deck, or maybe something new… They have that thing where you can get quasi-surround sound. Well, you can save a lot of money and buy a new Onkyo reciever that packs Dolby Pro Logic II, or wait for some more expensive models from brands like Marantz, NAD, or Denon. It looks like Bose has gone insane again, just like they always were. The Bose Lifestyle 50 9s completely overpriced. Some say that these are the best speakers in the world. Ok, have you ever listened to the B%26W Nautilus series, or any hifi Canton speakers? Well, I decided to build a system in the $3,500 price range using components that I had easy access to through stores or that relatives already own. Here’s what I came up with.

Marantz SR-19EX reciever. PRICE: $1,600

Marantz CC-4000OSE CD Player PRICE: $279

Yamaha DV-S5350 DVD Player PRICE: $250

Acoustic Research AR-11BLK Main Speakers PRICE: $399

Acoustic Research AR-PH-252C Center PRICE: $259

INFINITY ENTRAONEBK Rear-Speakers PRICE: $299

Velodyne CT-120 12″ Powered Subwoofer PRICE: $499

GRAND TOTAL: $3,585

This set-up costs just a bit more than the Bose Lifestyle 50. But it is clearly without any doubt superior. Bose uses the Direct Reflecting ‘jewel cube’ speakers that contain a single 2.5″ paper driver. Each of these speakers that I have mentioned from brands such as Canton, PSB, M%26K, etc…, they use different materials for their drivers. Some use composite metals, some use polyproleine, and there are many others. Many speaker makers use polyproleine in even the cheapest spekaers in the sub-$100 range. Polyproleine is significantly superior than paper, the sound is transmitted much more smoothly. I already think that polyproleine is too much to ask for from Bose. If they were to use polyproleine in their speakers, and in the Bose Lifestyle 50 system. Then the price will probably be jacked to $10,000+. Only the greatest speaker makers of all time such as KLH, Pioneer, and Sony can afford to use polyproleine. Hence the sarcasm, you can find polyproleine in the cheapest speakers. If you look at Paradigm which makes excellent speakers, they tend to use composite metals that transmit sound very naturally. Well, it looks like if you want tiny speakers, then maybe you should try other brands. You can always try the Paradigm Atoms which are moreover inexpensive. I didn’t recommend them because I was comparing them to much larger speakers, but they are by far superior to Bose. You can also try some models from Mirage, they make awesome speakers, and I’ve seen some tiny bookshelf speakers that they have. They aren’t much larger than a single jewel cube from Bose, but their sound is clearly superior. You can even try Cambridge Soundworks! You can save thousands of dollars by buying a ‘micro-system’ from another brand, or you can buy a clearly superior system for ~$3,500.

Looks and Styling:

I think the ‘jewel cubes’ are ugly, and it’s good that Bose makes these speakers so people could hide them. So when someone is at your house, hears the music, and asks what brand they are; you can tell them: “Uh… It’s Mirage!” Then your friends will tell you, “You’re lying! I’ve never heard Mirage sound so bad!!!” Well, that’s the truth. The CD player is also ugly. I prefer the sleek looks of real A/V recievers. The remote control/control deck looks cool, but isn’t worth the extra thousands. I can buy a perfectly good Marantz remote for under $500 that has an LCD and will take care of my entire system.

Durability:

I’ll just take it from the people. Bose speakers have lasted them for many years. I’m sure the Bose Lifestyle 50 is no exception. But any speaker that you treat nicely and that comes from a respectable brand should last for a long time. If it lasts for a year, it should already last for many more. I also found the encasings on the ‘jewel cubes’ to be cheap. Cambridge Soundworks and Mirage micro-speakers have much better designs, and are much high quality.

Sound:

The Bose Lifestyle 50 is the stupidest and funniest joke that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. They use the same speakers from the cheapest Bose systems. In reality, when you pay so much for a system, you usually would expect to get better speakers, plus more features. well, the CD player does not play DVDs or anything. All it has is Dolby Digital 5.1 and Bose’s very own Videostage5 decoding which gives you quasi surround sound on any type of program. Dolby Pro Logic II will give you the same, and for much less money. With the Bose Lifestyle 50, you do not get DTS, 6.1 or higher outputs, and again…only 4 I/Os. So, what the hell are you getting for $3,499? Pretty much nothing, all you get is the control deck which looks cool, but you can also buy a Marantz control deck for less then $500. You are getting nada. Why is Bose afraid to post specifications? Because they know the truth, that they are inferior. When I auditioned the Bose Lifestyle 50 at the Bose Store, I was able to watch a DVD on it by using an external player. Anyway, the Bose Lifestyle 50 seemed to lack the true meaning of surround sound. When I watched an action seen in The Matrix (I brought it from home), I was expecting the sound to alternate from the left to right, and it did not. On my home theaters, even the ones with the Yamaha RX-V995s, the sound did alternate through the same movie. Well, the ‘jewel cube’ speakers aren’t 3-way speakers. So, they don’t hit every range of the spectrum. Well, they have one built on top of the other, and you can make the top one swivel. This will make the sound reflect off objects in the room giving a more spacious yet unrealistic sound. Without multiple speakers, the Bose Lifestyle 50 wasn’t able to provide the kind of sound that I was expecting at this price range. I’ve also heard a pack of identicle Canton micro-speakers going for $750 (Powered by a Sony ES reciever) at the Sony store, and they were by far superior to the Bose Lifestyle 50. The sound on the Bose Lifestyle 50 sounded muddy, and there was no improvement over any other systems. The Bose Lifestyle 50 also comes with a passive subwoofer, the Acoustimass module. For such a high price, I would already expect a powered subwoofer, but unfortunately you’re stuck with the Acoustimass. Passive subwoofers are clearly inferior to powered ones. The sound also sounded exaggerated on the Bose Lifestyle 50. These speakers are too small, and they just can’t handle what Bose says they can. Bose is a cheat, and a joke. Don’t buy their BS advertising, the Bose Lifestyle 50 is inferior, and incredibly expensive.

Bass:

THe bass is moreover poor, and definitly not $3,500 bass. Usually, when you pay so much for a system, you would usually include a kickin’ subwoofer, but not one here. The bass is somewhat lacking compared to any other system in the same price range. A passive subwoofer was a big mistake for Bose, hahahahahahahahaha.

Ease of Use:

The Bose Lifestyle 50 was easy to use. The control deck was also very easy to operate. But, so is just about any other system. It doesn’t take a proffessional to operate a home theater system, so just buy one, and then eventually you’ll get the hang of it.

The Verdict:

The Bose Lifestyle 50 is the stupidest system that I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t have any features…just about. The sound that comes from these speakers is unrealistic, muddy, and poor. Micro-speakers from brands like Mirage, Canton, and Cambridge Sounworks are clearly superior to the ‘jewel cubes’ on the Bose Lifestyle 50 and any other Bose Lifestyle system. Now, put it this way. Do you get DTS with the Bose Lifestyle 50? No. 6.1 DTS ES? No. 7.1 THX? No. THX Certification at all? No. Anything that a $3,500 system will offer? NOT IN YOUR DREAMS. I couldn’t stop laughing, this is just the stupidest thing ever. You pay so much, and get nada. The speakers consist of 2.5″ cheap paper drivers. They can barely hit the ranges that I expected. Everything ends up sounding muddy, and relatively poor. The Acoustimass module does nothing but ’stink’, it’s a passive subwoofer. At this price, I would expect a powered one. So, they say that the Acoustimass module is superior to any cone subwoofer? What the hell is that? Superior my…you know what. As you can see, the Bose Lifestyle 50 is nothing more than a rip-off. All your paying for is the name, and that control deck? Nah… Marantz can come up with better stuff than that. The best sounding speakers in the world? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Take a listen to the B%26W Nautilus 801s, and then you’ll go completely crazy, or at least you were when you though Bose was the best. What has Bose done to us?! Their advertising is incredible! They nearly manipulated me? So next time they tell you that they are the ‘Best”, tell them, “take a listen to Marantz you morons!”

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