Bose 3.2.1 GS DVD Home Entertainment System
Bose's new home theatre system promises serious performance from a compact package.
Upside
In typical Bose fashion, the two Gemstone speakers are quite compact (and are screaming to be wall mounted), measuring in at only 64 x 140 x 105mm, and weighing less than half a kilogram. The Acoustimass is slightly smaller than typical subwoofer size at 367 x 222 x 485mm. Unfortunately, Bose don't give out any other specs (such as power ratings for the speakers) so it's difficult to tell how they'll stack up against other systems. Our experience in the past though is that despite their petiteness, the tiny Bose speakers can pump out a lot of volume. Bose claims this 2.1 speaker set-up can also recreate a full 5.1 system, but we'll have to wait for our full review before we can vouch for it.
The Media Centre incorporates a progressive scan DVD/CD player and an AM/FM tuner. Once again hard specs are pretty difficult to come by, but it does feature a composite, S-Video and component output, as well as three audio inputs (three analog, three coaxial digital, one optical digital) and two video pass-through inputs (composite and S-video). This main unit is 83 x 349 x 254mm and weighs in at three kilos. The entire system comes in a graphite grey finish.
Bose is also crowing that the 3.2.1 GS is a cinch to install and operate. All it needs is three wires to plug in (and the power cord), and you're away. A set-up DVD is also included to make the whole process easier. This GS system also features the company's proprietary Bose link circuitry, which means it can be plugged in as part of a whole house music and video system using the Bose Lifestyle 38 or 48 systems.
Downside
Overall