Bose® - LIFESTYLE® T20 Home Theater System

I just set this system up in my living room, and the Bose T20 has exceeded my expectations thanks to Bose’s Unify software. Unify is the game changer that no one else is doing yet, and they all should. Bose has made the tedious and long process of getting your peripherals hooked up and the remote programmed simple and painless. With some of my older systems I have spent a week just programming the universal remote to properly control my TV, Cable Box, Blu-Ray, Apple TV and Xbox, but with Unify your devices are plugged in and the remote is automatically programmed in a few idiot proof steps. I have never had an easier time setting up a home theater system in my life. Pros: 1.The Bose Unify system is brilliant. It has revolutionized the way home theaters are hooked up and how the universal remote is programmed. It takes all the hard work of programming the remote and makes it simple. 2. Form factor of the speakers is ideal for my needs. I was looking for small inconspicuous speakers I could mount in the corners of my room. My wife hated my old home theater set up since it consisted of large speakers and I was the only one who knew how to work the master remote since I programmed it manually to work for my needs. Bose has made the system compact and elegant. 3.The universal remote that comes with the T20 is an RF remote. The advantage to having an RF remote is that I can hide my components and control them without the direct line of sight required by an IR remote. Also, the universal remote that comes with the T20 is well balanced in the hand and easy to use. It has a back light so it can be easily read in a darkened room. 4. AdaptIQ is the software used by Bose to optimize the sound in the room. AdaptIQ took only 10 minutes to set my speaker levels properly. It did an amazing job of balancing out the sound for my living room. 5. Sound quality is great. People sometimes criticize Bose speakers for being too small and underpowered, but these little speakers deliver the goods. Great sound from a super compact system. Cons: 1. The T20 is expensive. $2000 is really expensive for a tiny receiver and 6 small speakers. However, I was doing the math and it is not that bad. If you were to purchase an equivalent 5.1 speaker set up, a receiver, Universal RF remote, SPF level monitor to balance the sound you might be able to get away with spending a little less. However, the Unify software really is the game changer and you can’t get this with anyone else. It depends on what you are willing to pay to make the set up easy and work well. The extra money is worth it to me. 2. I could not figure out a way to shut down all my components with a single button push. There may be a way to program a macro on the remote to do this, but I have not figured it out. Right now I have to push 3 buttons to shut everything down which is kind of annoying. 3. No radio tuner. I would like to have the AM/FM tuner built into this system, but you have to pay $500 more to get the Bose V25 for a radio tuner. The V25 has the radio tuner and the ipod control dock, as well as multi room controls. Otherwise the T20 and V25 are identical. I could not justify the additional money for a few features I would not use. I have Apple TV and stream my iTunes to my system through that and do not need an iPod dock. Multiroom controls would be nice, but I was not doing a multi room set up and it wasn’t needed. A radio tuner is not expensive and I could attach an old receiver and add the tuner, but it is a little bulky and not worth it to me with the esthetics of my set up. Overall, the T20 is the best system I have ever had. I do not say this lightly. I have been delighted with this system so far and highly recommend it to the person who wants great sound in a compact form that is easy to set-up and use.

As usual from Bose the sound is great. Integrated well with my pre-wired great room.

Placed in a relatively smaller room. Absolutely awesome sound!

Placed in living room and the sound quality is superb!

very good, but i prefer don't spend to much money, and get one better