Bose System

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Sent my Bose surround sound back to Bose for repair.  Front plastic cover over led readout was broken.

For $15 they repaired and went through the whole unit and shipped back.

What customer service!  

Nice to have a positive comment for one of the suppliers.

[Joel Weiss]

On the other hand if you actually have something wrong with the system their repair prices make it hard to justify repairing an item that is technologically obsolete.   I recall they wanted $150 plus shipping to repair my power amp.  I considered that for all of 5 seconds; now I have a digital sound system with integrated HDMI switching and even gained a cabinet where the power amp once was.

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Well, it was a deal to me to replace the complete system would have been over $600 so $15 is a bargain.

[Jeremy Parrett]

I agree. I rewired my Bose to give me   full stereo sound on the DVD as well as the Radio/CD . Brilliant.
Here in Baja California Sur I use Sirius/XM Radio and   both Bose radios give great sound.

[Joel Weiss]

I agree that less $$ is usually better but I didn't really have the choice since the amp was dead.

If you ever are forced to replace the Bose, I was able to do a relatively low cost complete replacement by using a Sony sound bar system.  Our TV had already been replaced by a flat-screen so that left me with an unused "empty box" which was perfectly sized for the Sound Bar's subwoofer/control console.  The "bar" itself hangs under the front cabinets without interfering with their use.  A DirecTV DVR fits into the center cabinet; I found a Blu-ray player small enough to fit into the left one.  Everything is controlled by a Logitech universal remote designed to work with components in enclosed cabinets.  

Essentially, I was able to do a complete audio system replacement for the cost of just the sound bar system which was ~$400 which was less than a Bose repair would have cost (including shipping).  The sound bar provides "real" 3.1 sound and a simulated 5.1 which we find very acceptable in the small space.

[Glenn Perkins]

I'm curious what Logitec remote you are using.  I tried to configure one, and found that the "behind the cabinet" components did not +see_ the remote.  I ended up going with a more basic Uniden URC20 unit that does just fine.

[Joel Weiss]

I have a Logitech Harmony 880 remote that has a small receiver that gets RF signals from the handheld remote and transmits them to the audio/visual components using fiber optics.  I don't think this particular model is currently sold but I believe the current model with the same capability is called the Harmony 900.  The Logitech remotes are programmed using your PC; once you have programmed in the types and models of devices the remote is controlling it operates pretty flawlessly.  The fiber optic emitters stick to the components and emit signals that are identical to those the handheld would have transmitted if the component was sitting out in the open.

[Jeremy Parrett]

I found a big black very heavy box behind the icemaker yesterday while fixing a leak on the icemaker water supply.  It was just sitting on the floor next to the wall.   It has two wires going to 'speaker like' terminals on the back.  It could be relocated behind the kitchen area drawer unit and be much more accessible.  

[Joel Weiss]

I found a big black very heavy box behind the icemaker yesterday while fixing a leak on the icemaker water supply.  It was just sitting on the floor next to the wall.   It has two wires going to 'speaker like' terminals on the back.  It could be relocated behind the kitchen area drawer unit and be much more accessible.  

That sounds like it might be the Bose power amp.  Ours was in an overhead cabinet.

[Jeremy Parrett]

It has no power supply.

[Edward Buker]

Bose systems have a bass module, not unlike a powered subwoofer, but Bose splits the frequencies differently and uses a wider range of low frequencies that emerges from that unit. That design allows Bose to handle the higher frequency audio with very small speakers. The black box handles the low frequencies from both channels and the low frequencies are omni directional, long wave, and not easily absorbed so the box can be placed most anywhere and it would seem that Beaver has found some good hiding places over the years.. That box also contains a power amp for that unit on most systems with a bass control knob to set the level. My unit is in a compartment under the couch. There is a second system in my coach and that same module is under a shelf in the rear closet for the bedroom system.

Later Ed