Bose® - Lifestyle® 535 Series III Home Entertainment System - Black

First of all, I want to say that in general, I am a big Bose fan. I have owned 4 Bose noise cancelling headphones (still have 2 pair), a Bose noise cancelling earbud, a Bose sound dock for iPod, and the Bose Bluetooth earset. I think in general, although their product is pricey, you are generally happy with the quality you receive. I bought the Bose 535 to put in our basement, which we were finishing. I have a great component system on the main floor of the house, and my wife has disliked the big floor-mounted speakers, but I have told her this is one thing that is not negotiable--I am not getting rid of them. This system has a Klipsch (sp?) 15 inch subwoofer along with other very good componenets. I mention this because this is the basis of comparison. When I was in the Bose store and listened to the 535 and the 525, there was such a difference that I opt'd for the 535. My wife was in agreement. I mainly was looking for Bose because of the compactness of the system. I have to credit the Bose peope--they gave me white rear speakers to match the ceiling and black front speakers to better match the TV and mantle on which the speakers sit. So what's the bottom line? I like the sound from the Bose and the speakers are all but invisibile in my arrangement. The sound is good, but it is not as good as the component system upstairs. For one thing, the bass from the Bose is anemic--you can boost it, but it doesn't do much. I am comparing this to the Klipsch, which can blow you right out of the room, but even so, I think the Bose could be much better. Bose will not publish their power ratings, but the system has plenty of power for the area. Basement area in question is about 700 square feet--it does take more power to fill a larger area, but the Bose does okay with respect to volume. My uses for the system are music listening, gaming, movie watching and TV watching. Most of the time, the TV watching is not a challenge for a music system. But I do notice differences, especially in listening to music, compared to the main system upstairs on the main floor. The reason I mention all this is that for $3500, you could put together a very good component system, better in sound than the Bose. The disadvantage may be that the system would be more noticable. As I stated earlier, I bought the low-profile Bose system to placate my wife. She is oblivious to sound quality--not intended to be a slam, just the nature of the person--and doesn't care that one sounds better. But she does like the low profile. So the summary of my review is that the sound quality is good, but not as good as a good component system, which could be purchased for a lower price. However, if you are not that much of an audiophile, and a small system is important to you, you would likely be happy with the Bose. There are many other features in a good component system that are absent in the Bose: Bluetooth, direct connection of an iPod, internet, etc. I hope this is helpful to you. Yes, I would probably get the same system over again, but the reason would not be for the sound quality, but for the combination of sound quality and low profile.

After looking at many other similarly priced systems this is the best.Remote easily controls and cycles through Apple TV, Cable Box, Blu ray, and TV and the programing and setup is flawless and simple. Updates via USB stick (included) are easy and wireless SoundTouch nicely connects to home WiFi network. Fills a room about 15x20 with excellent audio. Finally, the cust support at Bose is hands down the best anywhere on any product. They always go above and beyond to ensure 100% satisfaction. HIGHLY recommended!

Excellent system. Crisp sound. Easy installation. The others are good at friend prices, but this one is a mad-man. Once you turn it on, you will know where the extra money went.

I like the sound quality this surround system produces..Really good! I wish the rear speakers had an Extender to make it wireless! and the sound touch wireless Wifi music streaming was much more simpler than it is now..Very clustered UI and not user friendly..I wish I could play my phone's music library directly to the console like other streaming devices which just needs to connect to network instead setting up/updating bunch of softwares... MY 5 star's are just for the sound quality..

The system, and speakers are phenomenal, and produce a sound that are second to none

We just love our Bose Entertainment. It really feels like you in the movies.

I love my lifestyle 535 system. Bose did a great job with it.

Easy to install And it gaves you the best sound of the market