Replacing Bose Lifestye 50

[Dick Simonis]

Has anyone replaced their Bose system with a more modern sound system.

I have the Bose Lifestye 50 with an accustamass sub-woofer/amplifier under the coach, several sets of cube speakers,and self powered speakers in the bay.  All are controlled by a single remote including the ability to select between the two "rooms".

Ideally, the speakers could still be used.

The existing system works like a champ except I am unable to use a single remote to control the entire AV system which is really my prime motivator.  I did look at using a universal remote but the Bose system doesn't seem compatible with any I'v found.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Jerry Carr]

Dick I changed my old sound system with a Sony home theater, I used my old speakers works better
 

[Joel Weiss]

My Bose system failed shortly after we purchased the MH.  Rather than deal with electronics that out of date I installed a new Sony system with soundbar and a subwoofer that sits in the old TV cabinet.  Mine dates from 7 years ago which was a pre-Bluetooth era.  So I had to worry about running wires between components.  These days there are lots more soundbars available and most of them don't require wires. 

I didn't like the placement of the existing Bose speakers in the coach relative to how you sit to watch TV and I wanted to have the ability to utilize HDMI and optical fiber inputs.  Furthermore, this allowed me to get rid of the subwoofer under the sofa since our new sofa wouldn't have been able to accommodate it.

[Mike Groves]

My install is much like Joel's but I used a Vizio soundbar across the front of the coach and it wirelessly connects to the subwoofer in the TV cabinet (along with my Directv equipment).  The subwoofer is hooked up to the speakers in the kitchen/dining room, and I hooked up the front speakers to a new radio with navigation.  My dash is different being a '99 so that's not related except to say that the sound bar replaces the 3 up front speakers so for the 5.1 Surround only the rear speakers are reused.  My coach was missing its subwoofer so I didn't have to remove it but did remove the amp.

Mike

[Dick Simonis]

Thanks for the replies and they do give me something to consider.

The problem with a soundbar is that I would lose input to the bay speaker and I have no easy way to install a sub woofer but may not need one.  In the S@B I have an 85" Samsung with a Samsung Soundbar and sub.  Ended up unplugging the sub as neither of us like that much bass with TV dialog.

Also my front cabinets are a bit different than stock so I have to measure carefully to ensure a sound bar wouldn't look weird.  It may be I can use a sound bar but still leave the Bose in place as a secondary system for the time when might I use the sat music for a hoedown on the patio.  Need to check with Fred on that point.

Yesterday I sent an email to Ken at BCS asking what they have been doing on this model coach and he replied that he would get Danny to comment.  I suspect I'll hear back shortly on this option.

[Joel Ashley]

So you're sure one of the Logitech Harmony remotes wouldn't cover all the bases?

Joel

[KC Snellgrove]

GOOD DAY! I took the easy way. I took my Olivia Jean to Beaver Coach and Danny installed a new home theater system, 4 K television and a Dish satellite system. Dan is fabulous at this and the 42 inch TV fit right in the same place. We were thrilled with the work and the entire system.

[Edward Buker]

Dick,

There are solutions and in the end they may be less expensive then trying to convert. The basic question is if the system is working well and if you are happy with it? I had a 2002 Marquis with the Bose Lifestyle system and the LCD remote. I did not venture into trying to get a single remote but that certainly is desirable. My improvements were to get the back light in the LCD remote repaired and adding an IR (out of the TV) to a Coaxial RF converter that I installed behind the Tv to allow for Dolby digital audio to be sent to the bose input box so the 5.1 surround sound could be enabled. There is a lot to like about this system regarding the sound quality and the speaker placement and size. If your only issue is the multiple remotes then this may be a good option. You can check the manual and focus sheet links on this page.

https://www.audioauthority.com/product_details/C-1024A

A link to Amazon who has the unit in stock.

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Authority-C-1024A-Serial-Converter/dp/B009S4RCE6

One person who reviewed the unit had an issue and one did not. I can see no reason why this type unit should not work being designed specifically for the purpose you intended. You may want to contact Audio Authority and discuss what options they have. They are in Kentucky and have been in business for 40 years.

Regards, Ed

[Dick Simonis]

Thanks guys, still haven't heard back from BCS but I'm sure Danny will reply when he has an opportunity...we all know how swamped he can be.

Meanwhile, I'm going to look into the gadget Ed suggested.  Might even pair my Dish remote to it I switch it to IR instead of VHF....need to look into that as well.  Thanks for the tip on repairing the back-light...didn't even know it was supposed to have one.  Found a seller on EBAY that does the repair.

[Edward Buker]

Dick,

I did not know about the back light being an option either given mine never did not work since I had bought the motorhome....I was cussing the at thing in the dark (my usual) trying to find my way and I was thinking that Bose might have been better than that.

With a little investigating I sorted out that it should have been lit and that most of these remotes had failed over the years. The remote has been great ever since I had the repair done. Hopefully the newer panel back lights should last much better than the original.

It still would be nice to have one remote get the job done for everything, if programming it did not become like a quest for the Holy Grail...

Later Ed

[Dick Simonis]

Ed,

I found this guy on EBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/REPAIR-Bose-Lifestyle-40-50-P1-remote-BACK-LIGHT-not-working-faded-other-issue-/201492446527

Sent the remote on Friday so I should have it back next week.  Having the backlight working will be a tremendous boon in and of itself.

I also contacted the firm you suggested and was told they developed the "box" at the request of Bose to help solve this exact problem.  I asked if my existing Dish remote would work since it is both IR and Rf capable and was told it was unlikely but to just check and see if it support the Bose lifestyle 50 in the setup mode.....it did not.  Therefore if I wish to go this direction I need a Harmony universal remote.  Now i have to find which one to use.

[Edward Buker]

Dick,

Good luck on your quest.

I have a Logitech Harmony Remote at home and it runs everything well using a Denon Receiver, Dish Sat Receiver, and a Samsung TV among other things. It may take some debugging of a program with Logitech but once it works, they run flawlessly at least for my units. Once in awhile some component will miss a code if I was aiming carelessly, you just hit help and it goes through a question and answer routine and it fixes the issue with you. Very good solution in my opinion if the RF to IR interface works well.

Later Ed

[Michael Hannan]

I replaced my Sony TV with a 43" one.  It doesn't completely fill the drop down bracket but anything larger is too big.  I replaced the Bose amplifier with a modest surround sound amp that has 4 HDMI in ports and 1 HDMI out.  The cable box, SAT TV (for when I don't have cable), Apple TV & DVD player plug into the 4 HDMI in ports and the HDMI out goes directly to the TV.  I had to use a small hole saw to make a hole in the end of the audio cabinet and on the side of the Inverter control panel.  Then just fished the HDMI cable behind the Inverter panel and TV antenna panel. I use a Logitech Harmony multi device remote to run everything.  I used the existing Bose speakers and hook them up to the new amp.  I forgot to tag the speaker leads before I did it so I had to use a 9 volt battery on each and listen to hear which speaker the static came from for each pair of speaker wires.

MJ