A Great Sounding System for your Average Family

I bought this system from the online military exchange (store) for $799. If you are active duty military or reserve/guard you should try there first. I got it for $100 cheaper than other commercial establishments. Let me first say that I am not a huge audiophile or tech wizard but I love my electronic toys. The physical setup of this system is so easy its amazing. I hate running cable and drilling holes which is why I found this system interesting. 2 speakers, the acoustimass module, and the console itself, brilliantly simple. I was a little disappointed that Bose didn't supply an S-video cable, especially for the price of this system. For us non-techies that is a cable that delivers better picture quality than the standard video cables that are included. If you have a newer model TV that has a S-video jack I would recommend going out to your local store and picking up the cable since this BOSE does have a S-video jack and the whole reason for watching DVD's is better video and sound right? After setting up this incredibly easy system I turned it on and was extremely disappointed with the sound at first. I thought, did I just waste 799 on a top of the line piece of junk? Luckily, with some reading and tinkering, I figured it out. First, my system is located in a very large family room with cathedral ceilings. Using the quality remote and simple menus, I adjusted the system to match my rooms accoustics. But it was still missing something. Then I read the manual closer (which I should have done in the first place). It said to turn off the TV's internal sound. I didn't even know I could do that with my TV!! Once I figured out how to turn off my TV's internal speakers using the TV's own on-screen menu, WOW!! what a difference. You will definitely have to tinker with speaker placement because that seems to make an even greater difference. Don't be afraid to try different speaker and module placements. Overall this is a QUALITY system. I did have one moment where I accidentally pulled an RCA Jack off the back of the module with a cable that was tight fitting but it popped right back on. This system plays DVD's, CDR's with MP3's flawlessly. It's nice being able to load hours worth of music in MP3 format. Unless you have a remote that covers Bose you will have to juggle two remotes. My universal remote doesn't. If you have small children this system is relatively easy to keep out of reach of their prying little hands, except for the accoustimass mod which you can hide behind something. I would recommend using this system with a newer model TV (built within the last few years, I use a Sony 32" Trinitron? that I bought in '96) to take advantage of the newer technology. In review: quality system, great sound, simple setup, HIGHLY Recommended. If you don't mind running wires and cables, I'm sure there are better and pricier models available but for me, I want simple quality!!!