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Bose Lifestyle 48: Review

Posted to Lifestyle/ Mini Systems 2009-05-22

The Bose Lifestyle 48 home entertainment system is a surround sound system designed for larger rooms (compared to other Bose systems). It can store up to 340 hours of music (from your CD collection), includes an AM/FM tuner, as well as a DVD/CD player with HDMI connectivity. With on screen control, you are enabled to customize the sound you want for your room.

Using the Bose Direct/ Reflecting speaker system (really two cubes hinged together) and the Acoustimass module (woofer coupled with amplifier for entire system), the system appears clean in design when paired with the attractive head unit. The Bose premium home theater speaker system provides the illusion of flooding your room with their Videostage surround (their version of 5.1 channel surround) performance. The sound is automatically customized for the acoustics and size of your room using the ADAPTiQ system which is included. Whether you are viewing movies, using the progressive scan DVD player or using the CD player to enjoy your favorite music, the sound is typical Bose (lots of high frequencies and low frequencies but less mid-range). The playback/music storage system allows you to customize your music library to play it the way you want it to be played.

Rating:

2.8 out of 5

Features

The problem is that when you review Bose products for features, you usually don't find them… at least from an industry perspective. Bose has geared their products to be simple and clean. It's pretty much as easy as, plug and play! You do need to read the manual to ensure that the sound gets customized for the room. Using the ADAPTiQ system, this is a straightforward Bose system designed for a person who doesn't want features or complication. With an easy to navigate remote, the music system is a breeze to use. Bose offers excellent tech support, should you need it.

Performance

The sound quality of this unit gives a positive initial impression as you would expect if you don't compare it to other options. Expect that the system will have limitations, however. The sizes of the speakers are very small and can only perform as designed. You can't get giant sound from small speakers so don't expect it. In small spaces, this sounds great (if listening to some music such as classical music). As the size of the room expands, the sound starts to sound less impressive. The music storage system is strong, but the playback plays each track distinctly, separated by a sound gap and a click. This can be very annoying when listening to music, especially if it's opera. Bose doesn't offer HD or Blu-Ray technology with this system. You also cannot upload music from an iPod or a computer. Each CD must be loaded manually.

Summary

For Bose fanatics, this lifestyle system is a slam dunk but. People understand that when they pay for a Bose system, they are paying for Bose sound. Many people in the industry that are not trying to sell a Bose product will advise that there are better options available for less money. The sound is clean and crisp but doesn't seem as full when watching a movie or listening to rock or pop music. The set up is easy and straight forward due to the ADAPTiQ system and simple menus. The system is stylish and can blend unobtrusively into any room. I recall once opening a Bose jewel cube only to find paper speaker drivers, a piece of foam rubber for baffling and cheap plastic housing. I think my jaw dropped.

Pros

Bose sound and design
ADAPTiQ system customizes sound
340 hours of music storage

Cons

High price for limited features
Lots of highs and lows, less mid-range