BOSE (R) AM16-WH - Acoustimass 16 Speaker System ? White

by Bose

Product Details

Product Manual [368kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 75.2 pounds
• ASIN: B00007AJ8E
• Item model number: Acoustimass 15
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,792 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

BOSE AM16 - Bose believers who've been waiting with fingers crossed for a 6.1 surround system, your ship has come in! Adding yet another dimensional layer to that renowned open, enveloping Bose sound, the Acoustimass 16 includes six satellite speakers, plus a powered bass module. Satellite Size - 6-1/4H x 3W x 4D Acoustimass Bass Module Size - 16-3/8H x 8-1/8W x 29-1/8D Warranty - 5 years drivers, 1 year electronics Color - White For maximum enjoyment of music and movies with minimum intrusion on your living space, Bose Acoustimass 16 is the answer!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Full sound without a full room, August 2, 2007

By 

John Biddle (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: BOSE (R) AM16-WH - Acoustimass 16 Speaker System ? White (Electronics)

I have a reasonably small "Home Entertainment Room" that houses a sofa, a few chairs and the entertainment center. After buying a 42" plasma TV (subsequently traded in for a 40" LCD), I began to realize the limitations of my former sound system. But I needed something compact with a small visual footprint. After extensive research and listening demos, I built my new system. I use the Bose AM16 (series 1) in a somewhat unconventional way, but the results are staggering. I power the system with an Onkyo TX-SR804 receiver, a 7.1 surround system. The AM16 provides the 2 front channels, 2 surround channels and the 2 rear channels. Bose requires in its sound engineering that the speakers are run through the AM module so that the impedance remains low. Therefore, all of the "surround" channels are indeed run through it. The idea came from a salesman at Circuit City to use the channels in this way. However, the AM16 is designed for 6.1 use (only 6 speaker channels). The output from the receiver is sent through the front channels and surround channels as labeled, but the 2 rear surrounds are sent through the center channel and rear center surround channel input /output on the AM module. But what about the all important center channel? When setting up a system like this, a 2 driver center speaker just seemed underwhelming. Because the impedance is compatible with that of the receiver, I use a Bose VCS-10 center channel run directly from the receiver. All of the surround sound decoding is occurring in the receiver, so it doesn't matter what the labels on the AM module say - they are used for book-keeping to connect from the receiver, to the AM module, to the surrounding speakers. The center doesn't need to run through the AM module because it doesn't need the impedance shift. Let me reiterate - the results are staggering. Sound quality is unbelievable after you take the time to "tune" the system to your listening position (some receivers can do this automatically for you, as the SR804 can, but do it yourself - you'll ultimately be the judge anyway). Using the dipole speakers to have one driver directed at the listening position and the other on "room filling duty", either directed away into the room or by wall reflection, you gain a sense of surround sound that is not limited to a "sweet spot" in the room. Listening to a classical station on XM (Classical Pops 110, an XMHD station) with the Dolby EX running the decoding, you honestly feel as though you are in the middle of the orchestra, hearing specific instruments around you. It is a different experience than using the All Channels Stereo feature, which basically splits 2 channels into 7.1. Nice, but not Dolby. A word about the AM module - it is huge. It's damn near 3 feet long. It has 3 drivers in it, which pack a punch that a single driver (most subwoofers) or 2 driver module (most Bose AM modules) can approach, but not duplicate. It is stashed behind a chair in the room, not completely out of sight, but sufficiently out of sight to not create an eye-sore. When setting up the system, I researched different configurations, and by trial, found that the AM module is best in the front of the room. Don't worry, you'll still feel it. Lastly, the room is painted white. The speakers, module, cables and speaker mounts (after-market, not Bose) are all white and really camouflage (I won't say disappear) nicely into the room. And by the way, after I bought the system and subsequently visited a Bose store, they were demonstrating their AM16 powered by an Onkyo SR804 - if that's not an endorsement by the speaker company, I'm not sure what is. Amazon had the best price at the time. Bose is impossible to find on sale more than 10%, but I found one through Amazon. Best of luck - try Bose, you'll like it.