Bose Acoustimass 16 Series II Home Entertainment Speaker System (Black)

by Bose

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 24 x 24 x 24 inches ; 73.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 74 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000GFV008
• Item model number: 40366
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,437 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

The Acoustimass 16 Series II home entertainment speaker system, our best home theater speaker system, provides the cinematic depth of six speaker surround sound for your home entertainment. It works with your 6.1-channel receiver and your home theater components to bring Bose® quality sound to movies, TV, sports and music. A horizontal center-channel speaker complements flat-panel TVs and blends nicely into your décor. The Acoustimass 16 surround sound speaker system increases the impact of home theater listening with a rear center speaker for even greater drama and realism. This heightened experience in music and motion picture listening is largely aided by a powered Acoustimass module for exceptional sound that appears to come only from the small speaker arrays. Imagine your favorite movie with Bose 6.1 surround sound. Footsteps on the sidewalk behind you. A flute playing to your left. Voices, front and center. The Direct/Reflecting® cube speaker arrays-barely over 6" high-deliver sound you'd expect from speakers many times their size. And the horizontal center-channel speaker keeps dialogue focused on the screen and complements flat-panel TVs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unbaised opinion, March 15, 2010

By 

J. Goodier - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bose Acoustimass 16 Series II Home Entertainment Speaker System (Black) (Electronics)

I consider myself an average audiophile. I have used a lot of equipment over the last 10 years and have spent countless hours reading reviews here and on other forums. This review is of the Acoustimass 16 (AM16) series II.

I'm using the AM16 as "surround speakers." With that, I'm only using 4 of the satellites and the "bass" module. I have Polk Monitor 60 fronts and a Polk CS2 center that I will not replace with these speakers. I have and love a (MFW) 15" sub made by a company I don't like. I highly recommend you get a "true subwoofer" if you are going to spend this kind of money on surround speakers.

I call them surround speakers because they are *not* full range speakers that can accurately produce the entire frequency range. The Polk Monitor 60 speakers are full range speakers that you should consider if you want a relatively small footprint in a good speaker. Yes, they are 1,000 times bigger than the Bose cubes, and there's a reason for the size (and it isn't to take up space).

So now that you know how I use them, here's what I think of the sound quality.

Bass modulator- this thing is a great "mid bass module." Plenty of mid-bass slam for music and to round out the sound from your real sub. The AM16 modulator has 3 5.25" drivers, the AM10 has 2. This was the reason I purchased the AM16 for a few hundred more than the AM10.

If you don't have a dedicated sub and are considering these speakers as your only speakers, take a look at the Polk RM705 on Amazon. Onko and Sony also make speaker sets for under $400 that more than compete with the sound quality of this system.

So when should you buy this package? For me, I bought it because I wanted wall mountable, swiveling, speakers that would serve the purpose of presence and surround speakers and get more displacement on the bass.

This is a lot to pay for a seemingly small benefit, but my wife did want something that looks nice. As you probably already know, the AM16 probably has the highest wife acceptance factor (WAF) around. My budget for speakers was such that the cost of these was not a deciding factor. The polk RM705 was another option for sure, but the mounting was not what I was looking for.

You'll read a lot of reviews of people essentially defending their purchases because they spend a good amount of hard earned money on these things and don't want to feel dumb. This is especially true for this company's products. My review is an attempt at an unbiased opinion, I hope this help you.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is a richness to the movie sounds that do make it worth its weight in money, May 19, 2008

By 

whatthe... "dogsandcats" (fl) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bose Acoustimass 16 Series II Home Entertainment Speaker System (Black) (Electronics)

hi everyone, first my setup is a panny 58inch plasma 720p...my bose acoustimass 16 series 2 is the second bose product i have owned. My first introduction to Bose products with their Lifestyle system with just 5 speakers and the Acoustimass module that had 2 woofers...i forget the Lifestyle model number...this was back in 2000. Again, this setup only had 2 woofers. The new Acoustimass module found only in their flagship speaker setup (Acoustimass 16 Series II)has a total of 3 woofers downward firing. My second foray into home theatre "excitement" was switching to the Infinity TSS750, years ago, when it first came out. Now, when comparing the two...the TSS750 did have a clear sounding treble...like when the glass shattered in the matrix movies...you could hear that "KEEEEEESSHH" sound...the emphasize being more on the "eeee" rather than the "ssshhh". The movie sounds could be described as sounding "brighter". However, the Bose had a warm, richer sound...not as "tinny" as some have described speakers to be. Look, i am just an average techno girl that loves a good hd-surround sound setup. My very first interests in Home Theatre was when DVD first came out and Dolby Prologic II was the ticket. I had the Sony "Twin Tower" speakers that had the circuitry built into the towers. This was 1996 i remember. Today, I have the Onkyo TXSR705, now paired with the Bose Acoustimass 16 series 2...it sounds TREMENDOUS...yeah it is a more powerful reciever...but also i think that extra woofer gives it a bit more OOMPH... WHEN i scurry through different reviews, i read such negative points but many are reviews off of older systems. Lets have the merits of the Acoustimass 16 Series II be the product that we critque and not lump Bose surround sound speakers. I believe that if you get the best of the bunch...meaning the 16 series 2 that have the 3 woofers in the bass module and pair it with an outstanding av reciever it will ROCK...now for me...its all about movies...not so much music...and maybe crazy audiophiles have a problem with music...its possbile...but the craze now is movies...also...its important that when you hook it up and set your speaker size preferences in the av reicever...that you set it to...LARGE SPEAKERS..THATS RIGHT LARGE SPEAKERS..ITS IN THE MANUAL...i am not some audio crazed expert but I read up on the products I do own. I have owned 4 different speakers now to know the difference but let me try to stay on point also...Consumer Reports Magazine states that...dont let marketing dictate the quality of your speakers...all the fancy metal, choromium, diaphrams or whatever your speakers are made of doesnt guarantee the audio translated out to what you hear...let your ears decide. Besides technically your ears are very unlikely to pick up all the frequency variances marketing touts. For me it boiled down to brand quality, great sleek modern looks, and a comparative review of the sound i have come to learn. Forgive my grammar as best you can and pick apart what you can from the review to benefit you. I am a real product owner and the Bose bashing i believe is not based on actual ownership of the Acoustimass 16
Series 2 which has the 3 bass woofer speakers on the modual vs the older Bose products. You can only get the more powerful Bass module with the Acoustimass 16 Series II, which we are reviewing now. Ok...ciao everyone

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tried & True, November 14, 2008

By 

D. Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bose Acoustimass 16 Series II Home Entertainment Speaker System (Black) (Electronics)

I was looking to replace a hodge-podge 7.1 collection of speakers, so I shopped and read reviews. I decided to try the Acoustimass 16 Series II in a listening/viewing space which has quite a few positioning "challenges". The set up was easy (color coding, diagrams, descriptions); the supplied cabling was more than adequate, and while the Acoustimass itself is rather large, it fit neatly behind a chair in a corner, visually out of sight, but NOT audibly! The third downfiring woofer in the 16 can vibrate your floor and still have plenty left with no distortion! I also wanted the 16 for its included 6th (rear) cube. My Sony 898 AVR has more than enough to drive it, and shows the 6th cube simply plugs into the rear left channel - works great. With "bashing" criticisms of Bose in mind, I tried a variety of inputs and types of sound. Clapton's "Unplugged" demonstrated the 16's ability to handle acoustic, soft sound. The guitars, piano, and voices were clear, and sharp with an overall warmth. Something more "electric"? Wow. From Queen to ELO to Blood, Sweat, and Tears, the sound was rich, clear and fully surround. BS&T's horns were clear and sharp. Next the increased sharp sound of SACD. From Dylan to Elton, the enhanced sound was clear and distinct. Classical pipe organ (there's no better test of a system's range and clarity) in both CD and SACD - unbelievable clarity, richness, range, depth and warmth. TV in SD or HD, or DVD produced clear, full soundstages with distinct, audible dialogue. The technology here is amazing; at times you'ld swear the deep sounds are coming from those tiny, adjustable cubes! A little time spent with positioning and balance yields a wonderful blend of direct and reflected sound. So I tried and it's true; the Acoustimass 16 has clarity, richness and warmth as it wraps you in sound. Finally, trust your ear; it sure passed my tests of physical adaptability and sound performance - from rattle your windows to quiet clarity.