With our gutting of the soon-to-be-new house, we decided to get a nice stereo system. Something good, with serious power, crystal clear sound and the ability to interface with multiple sources. Also, it has to be able to handle multiple rooms.
So I checked out what Crutchfield has. I went to Harvey Electronics. Harvey is an interesting place. I'm surprised they let me park my Ford Explorer in their parking lot. Clearly, they're aiming for the Rolls Royce crowd. I really didn't like their attitude much.
I had looked around a fair amount before and after my Harvey visit, checking out various makes of equipment. Then, last night, while running my paws through the pages of Smithsonian, I saw an ad for the Bose Lifestyle 48 Home Entertainment System.
Since there's a Bose store not too far away (in Roosevelt Field Mall--the store being mere feet from where Lindbergh's plane lifted off, for the history/trivia buffs among you), Marc and I decided to pay them a visit this evening.
We checked out the Lifestyle 48 system. We also listened to various speaker choices. I brought several CDs with me, and we wound up popping Rufus Wainwright into the L48 and listened to him through the Jewel Cube speakers (after having watched a DVD and marveled at that).
Okay, that got me pretty excited. Then we listened to Tears for Fears' "Sowing the Seeds of Love" through the Bose Acoustimass speakers. It was all I could do to keep from coming in my pants. Unbelievable! We backed down the store, so we could see how clear and rich they were from 20-25 feet away (the rough depth of our future living room). Still, unbelievable.
Unfortunately, the price isn't exactly small for all of this. Doing multiple rooms, with installation costs, will run several thousand dollars. Even so, this may just be worth it. After all, we're trying to have everything "just so" in our new home. So what if we can't afford to eat when we're done, as long as we can starve to beautiful music? :)
4 comments:
Bang & Olufsen also have great systems, if you don't mind the higher price. But sitting in one of their testing rooms with the surround sound is almost like an Epiphany.
My advice: Spend the money. Jay and I keep putting off the installation of a new house-wide sound system, and everytime we have people over I wish we had done it before we moved in.
Obl.: apparently, I can't resist! :)
Greg: oh, yes, we went to Bang & Olufsen, too. They have a store in the same mall with Bose.
Matt: I agree. We're trying to get everything done exactly as we want it in the house before we move in. So we're spending a fortune, but it will be like having a brand-new custom-built house. Since we'll enjoy it for many years, I think it's worth it.
Jess, if you guys can afford it at all, go for the system that will give you the very best. Bose is an MIT boy, so his product would be my choice just for loyalty's sake except that I also know how wonderful the sound is. Anyway, all the best with the new place--may you be very happy there.
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