Bose VCS 30

When I originally purchased the system, I had "thrify" written all over my wallet! You see, I didn't want to spend to much on my center/rear speakers, but I did want quality sound. (Sounds like a serious problem doesn't it?)

So I seached the web, read the literature, went to the stores to find what I thought would be the system perfect for my "stingy taste." I listened to the VCS 30 system at the Bose Store and was quite impressed. The store was showing the movie "Gone in 60 Seconds" and I was blown away by the clarity of the three (3) speakers! I was under the impression that you had to invest top dollar for the quality sound to be maximized in a home setting. Not so with the VCS 30 system.( Bose generally play their cube speakers for demos, but the sales person on duty for whatever reason was utilizing the VCS 30)

When I took the set home to install and intergrate with my home unit, I immediately fell deeply in love with the unit.

I placed the center speaker on top of my 36 inch Proscan set. I placed the two rear speakers behind my sofa four (4) inches from either end of the sofa, on stands that sit 36" off the floor in height. My front speakers are Bose 901 VI.

My A/V receiver is the Harman Kardon 510, which produces about 70 watts per channel. My DVD player is the Tosihba SD-4205 (please read the excellent reviews done on both products). I put the movie "The Perfect Storm" in the player, and sat back and started my critic.

Not only was I blown away by the sound clarity, I was surprised by what I had been missing when watching movies on standard VHS. The rain drops, the shuffling of the feet, the closing of the hatches on the boat, all came alive when playing the movie utilizing the VCS 30. I mean, I heard EVERYTHING!

I was even startled a few times by certain sound effects that radiated from the rear 100 speakers. I have 301's, but I wanted to use the VCS 30 as it was intended for. I figured...why replace the 100's if the audio quality is excellent?

So in a nut shell, if you are thinking of going to the surround sound system, and don't think you can afford alot of the speakers out there on the current market, you might want to stop and listen to the VCS 30 set up. For about 300.00 (US dollars) you get a gem of a unit!

Oh before I forget...the specifications are above average, the center speakers can handle 100 watts, and the rears 80 watts. Not bad for a system that doesn't get to much write up in audio publications.