3 2 1 GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System Graphite
The Bose?3???GS Series III DVD home entertainment system puts you at the center of exciting home theater with greater simplicity. Just two visible Gemstone speaker arraysour smallest, most powerful 3?? speakersand a hideaway Acoustimass module deliver enhanced sound performance from almost anything you watch. Setup is simple: No center or rear speakers means no wiring to the back of your room. An elegant media center features a progressive scan DVD/CD player with FM/AM tuner, and an HDMI output that makes it even easier to connect to your HDTV. Plus, an easy-to-use universal remote control is programmable to run most of your home entertainment devices together with your system.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars AWESOME SYSTEM
I recently purchased this system and must admit after reading the reviews I honestly was not sure whether I would be satisfied with the bass sound. Well, let me tell you, I found a way to increase the base to what pleases your ear and WOW, what an impact, especially during movies. It had me jumping to unexpected sounds throughout the movie and kept me in suspense. The music and sound is so crystal clear. Costly system, but worth every penny. I am one happy camper!
5 Stars Worth Every Penny (All 100,000 of them)
Being skeptical of such an expensive purchase, I really worked this thing over once I got it to make sure I was going to keep it. It did not take long to find out that it can’t be beat. For such a simple system I was amazed at the performance. Let’s start with the good: Very stylish, compact, and super easy to set up. The set-up I did was not your standard set-up either. I took advantage of running optical audio from my cable box (good idea) and I use the HDMI output to a 37inch LCD. I did not want all of my sound to always have to go through the unit so I had to use a few more wires. The sound is absolutely unbeatable for the size of system. If you are a sound junkie like myself you will appreciate the clarity and reality of the reproduction. Music is concert-like, DVD’s play like you are in a mini-theater. People that do not like the sound of Bose generally like a lot of unnatural bass and Bose refuses to give in to that fake noise. I replaced a high end Sony 5.1 system with this for aesthetics and am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. The sound is now simply way better at all volume levels. Even 2.0 sound sounds better through these tiny speakers than they did with my old system. Now for the not so good: You need a fairly recent and not so cheap universal remote if you want to control this thing. Unless you don’t mind the remote it comes with which claims to be universal but I found otherwise. The aqua display of text on the front of the unit can detour your focus when watching the TV screen. There is no equalizer if you wanted to create a different sound other than the Bose standard. Sometimes I want that cheesy bass although it pumps out plenty. Lastly, you almost need to use the optical audio connection to ensure full volume control. Without it you have to turn up the volume for different applications. I use the optical so I have no complaints. Before I go, I just want to let you know that if you want a small system that can fill your room with rich authentic sound then you are on the right track with this system. You can put a pretty nice system together for the price of this thing but what for??? 3 wires and you are done and have the best sound money can buy.
5 Stars Great Sound !! Expensive but worth the $$!!
I just purchased the Bose 3.2.1 GS Series III last week. Looked at several other systems but realize you always “get what you pay for”. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! You must cut TV speakers volume up(although you will not need them) and VERY,VERY IMPORTANT you must use either the optical or coaxial connection from Cable Box to the 3.2.1. I was ready to return the unit because of not enough sound volume. In fact, I had it backed up to return the next day. Then I thought, Bose is to good of a product to have this problem, so I unpacked and set up with the OPTICAL digital cable and BINGO!! What a product!! Sounds better than my old true surrond sound unit a(Sony) I purchased eight years ago. I would recommend this unit HIGHLY. Never owned Bose but their reputation out did itself. The small system looks “nifty” and MY what a sound!!! Spend the extra BUCKS and Get ONE!! fkwalter
1 Star Bose 321 not worth it
I bought this unit because I didn’t want or have room for the rear speakers and because of the Bose reputation. Well, now that I have it, it sounds OK but I barely even get the effect of rear speakers. I also have to turn it up to 50 (half) to even hear it. Then the volume on the DVD’s has to be much higher than on the cable box. What a pain going back to the cable box. When their adds say it sounds so much better than the TV, they are right but not much better. I would find something else with wireless speakers in the rear. I have an Onkyo downstairs (5.1) and it rocks. Also the DVD’s get stuck in there and you have to power the unit off to get them out. I do like the remote.
5 Stars Great Sound, Small Footprint, Huge Upgrade from Series II
I bought this late August ‘08 from a Bose store (prices fixed at $1k at all stores right now). First off, it is 2 speakers that fit in the palm of your hand, and a somewhat large woofer that can be put out of sight (e.g., behind TV cabinet). Sound is amazing given it’s only 2.1 speakers. System does an okay job at filling the room with sound (I don’t think it’s fair to say it seems like there really are rear speakers, but the sound is for sure big and full), but it does deliver all 5.1 channels of sound through the 2.1 speakers when listening to those sources – awesome. Big + for me is that music sounds really good – not always true on home theater systems. Unit is easy to use and set-up – onscreen menus straight forward, and universal remote really is universal (including my cable box). Upconverting of DVD picture looks great. Sound from TV and DVDs is amazing (especially digital 5.1 sound from HD channels).
Now, for the cons: I wish it served as a video receiver as well – it does not. Example, this means when I watch cable I need to turn the TV on to cable video input and set the Bose to cable audio output – not a big deal but a bit annoying. There is only 1 optical audio input (which you can assign to any available source), but digital coax inputs are there for all sources (sound and signal for optical vs. coax digital audio is the same, differences heard are people playing vodoo). There is a bit of a sound delay when switching sound sources or when changing cable channels (~0.5-1 second) before the sound starts again.
Lots of people knock Bose because they are expensive. Well, Bose really does have superior speaker (always have) and now digital processing technology – look into it yourself, don’t just trust reviews online from random people (such as myself). But, you should take a trip down to a Bose store or Best Buy and listen for yourself. And bring a full band audio CD to listen to of your own (the Dave Matthews acoustic demo they always play is stupid – acoustic guitar sounds good even on crappy speakers).
If you have the $$ and don’t want to hassle with 5.1 speakers, at least give this some serious consideration.
Another note: I shelled out another $100 for the overpriced speaker stands (floor stands), and did notice a slight increase in quality as the speakers can spread out their sound a little better (as opposed to my previous set-up where they were on the edge of a shelf).
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