[18 of 18 customers found this review helpful]

Bose 321 GS Series III 3123351110 Black DVD Home Theater System Review

This system is GREAT

"I've been using an Onkyo 7.1 surround sound system in my condo which was easy to wire up because the place was small and I could run the wires under the carpet next to the walls. Anyway, I moved into a house with an open kitchen that looks out into the living room. I couldn't figure out a good way to run the rear speakers without having wires everywhere so I've been using the fronts and sub for the last few months. I decided that I wanted a much simpler system so I started doing research on the Bose 321. I found nothing but mixed reviews. It seems like everyone either loves or hates the thing, but I figured I would give it a shot so I went out and got one. I'm amazed. I've been a pretty big stereo system guy since high school and have always tried to get the top of the line newest stuff out. It was hard for me to settle for a 2.1 system when there are so many bigger, more powerful options out there. This system allowed me to considerably clean up the wiring behind my entertainment system by subtracting a DVD player and all that speaker wire. It was cake to set up. Once I hooked it up and turned everything on everything worked the first time. i went into the menu, turned up the bass and treble a little bit, and was good to go. Some people have said that it doesn't have enough bass (and it's not as powerful as a lot of the bigger systems) but it IS a good amount of bass and blends very well with music and movies. It does NOT accurately replicate rear speakers, but it is a very full, rich, and theater like sound. It actually sounds much better than my 7,1 system did in a few ways. 1.) I don't have to adjust volume for voice versus louder scenes. I've continually had problems hearing quieter scenes with the clarity of louder ones. People will be talking then something big will happen and the volume blows you away. This system takes care of that problem. I haven't had to adjust volume yet. 2.) The clarity of special effects like breaking glass is MUCH more clear and crisp. 3.) The overall feel is much more theater like. You really do get that "out to the movies" experience as opposed to just really loud. I was worried that the volume levels might be a problem due to the small speakers, but it's not a problem at all. I haven't turned the system up all the way yet and it more than fills the room. In fact I can clearly hear everything throughout the house and into the garage! I've used the system to watch digital cable, movies, and play my Xbox. I have no complaints with anything I've tried to far. One unexpected aspect that I noticed was the fact that it seemed like my tv and movies looked better. It made no sense because I didn't change any settings and there's no video going through the unit (minus the built in DVD player, but my old one upconverted as well.) I really think that it seemed this way because the auditory experience is so much better that everything else seemed better as well. My girlfriend even asked what I did to make the picture better and I had to say "nothing." The price is a little steep, but I don't regret spending the money. Having such a small, clean, and efficient system without wires running all over the room made it well worth it. I've had a lot of people tell me that Bose is just too overpriced and not worth the extra cash, but after buying this system, I'll have to disagree. It's small, loud, clear, easy to use, and sounds awesome. I highly recommend it!"