Polk/KEF combo vs Bose lifestyle

So I am in the market looking for a sub and center speakers, and went to the Pro FX store and then the Bose showroom (generally) over the weekend

I auditioned the Polk Audio Pro 600 sub and the Polk Audio Csi A4

The test setup comprised of a pair of KEF iQ9 speakers in addition to the above and no surrounds (the surrounds were mounted abovethe fronts as they were making some mods to the audition room)

The test tracks were Money for nothing , Sultans of Swing (Dire straits) and Allah ke Bande (Kailas Kher) played back in plain 2 channel mode first w/o the sub and then with the sub on

Subsequently, we watched the House of Blue Leaves fight sequence from Kill Bill (the one with GoGo Yubari) with both the sub and center enabled

First a word on The KEF iQ9s
Amazing!!

The soundstaging was so impeccable that I had to actually go touch the center to make sure it was indeed off..the mid range was amazing and Kailash Kher's vocals just seemed to envelop you

Even though I really love my Phase Tech Velocity V12 speakers, I had to grudgingly admit the KEFs are better in staging;)

Having said that, the punch was missing a bit, and switching the Pro 600 sub (at low levels) on in Money for Nothing, and even in Sultans of Swing made a tremendous difference to the overall presence of the music...

Next we switched to the 5.1 (rather 3.1 since the surrounds werent really surrounds) mode

The Kill Bill sequence made me firmly decide that a center is indeed necessary for movies however good your fronts' soundstaging maybe...

The vocals reproduction content & quality improved quite a bit when switched to 5 channel mode (3 channel actually as the surrounds were mounted above the fronts)
The impact of the sub was again awesome...the sub makes you feel the impact of GoGo Yubari's meteor hammer everytime she uses it

No way a 2 channel setup (ecen with massive floorstanders) can reproduce that....


Anyway, on to Bose.....
When we walked in, the Bose guys insisted we sit through their demo room

Since they play only their demo DVD (or whatever) in the demo room, we just sat through it for the first 3-4 minutes
Despite the heavily studio bolstered track (lot of Left - right/ Front back
panning, silence, the vocals just thru the center...you get the general idea...), the demo lifestyle system was terribly unimpressive in comparison (though to give Bose the credit, it was a lot cheaper too)

Anyway, deciding not to waste more time, I asked them to pause the demo and I described my needs (center, sub and surrounds only) to them, and they offered me a couple of options

A pair of bookshelves (Bose 301) for 17.5K which he said should work perfect as surrounds...
the drivers were 8" IIRC (or maybe 6") and 2 tweeters

I played back Money for nothing in 2 channel setup on the 301 and the fist thought in my mind was they are not bad at all

decently well controlled bass, though a tad treblish....quite decent staging/imaging too....
Not bad at all

However, I would personally still pick say a Wharfedale 9.1s over these given that they cost close to 30-40% less.

The SQ in comparison to the wharfedales, actually quite comparable..slighter louder yet equally tight bass though a little extra bright

For someone who is willing to pay a slight premium for the Bose brandname to showoff to layman friends can certainly take a look at these...


They also showed me the VCS 10 center speakers for 11K

decent SQ though certainly not close to the Polk Csi A4 which costs just a tad more

So what's the general idea behind this long thread...nothing really ....but perhaps just to let everyone know my experience and also bring across the point that IMHO, Bose actually lies somewhere between the diametrically opposite perception different people have of Bose...

Even though the Bose Lifestyle system may be a POS (yes, indeed it is), the price for the setup isnt really sky high

More importantly, the non HTiB speakers from Bose aren't too bad at all...Better or equal options are certainly available at somewhat lower prices and you can certainly get better quality audio at the same cost but that doesnt make those speakers totally sh$$ty either....

Given the fact that we end up buying nike/reebok sneakers or Tommy H apparel knowing fully well that equally good (or better) options are available at lower price tags, I think it is unfair of me to criticize someone buying a Bose setup

PS : I am certainly not picking those Boses up