Review of Bose Lifestyle V20 Home Theater System Face it - the Bose V20 is a pricey system. I imagine that for $2000 you can assemble a better-sounding system that allows the enthusiast to twiddle and adjust. But that is not what I was looking for. For many years I was invested in the audiophile approach, but as I and my ears have aged, and my interests have migrated away from extreme tech, I was looking for good sound quality, convenient integration with my LCD screen, a feature laden system with adequate inputs, compact good looks that would not overpower my living room, and fine human engineering. I wanted a well-designed remote controller that would run all my equipment including my Comcast DVR, so that my coffee table was uncluttered and I could concentrate on enjoyment. I didn't want to have to shop for components; I wanted a one-stop solution, found that in the V20 and am quite pleased with my selection. My selected observations follow. The system provides so many features that a full review would be quite extensive, but I will instead focus on key points that I found of interest.

The system consists of a Display (8-1/2" x 3" x 1.5") that allows control of the system via push buttons on its top or via the remote control, and provides visual feedback of function, a Media Center that houses all the connectors and the heart of the system, four Jewel Cube speakers (each consisting of two 4" x 3" x 3" cubes affixed atop one another that can be aimed together or independently), a Center Channel speaker (4" x 6" x 3"), and the Acoustimass Module (8" x 13" x 21"). The Acoustimass module can be located under or behind certain furniture, so the key visible components are the cube speakers, center speaker, and the display. The system is available with white or black speakers and speaker stands.

One of the difficulties in buying the Bose system is that they do not make it easy to comparison shop. Even in audio salons that sell both Bose and the competition, the Bose system is set up separately. I found this annoying, but then again, I wanted to make this easy, didn't I? I did most of my listening in a Bose store and of course under those conditions you can only compare Bose systems to Bose systems. Even then, you can't easily provide your own source material but are instead limited to their samples that are provided. I was able, with the assistance of a competent and helpful store manger, who spent nearly 3 hours with me, to compare the $2000 V20 to the $3000 V30 system. To his credit he did not push the higher-priced system, whose only added feature is smaller and sleeker looking jewel cube speakers; all else is the same. The smaller speakers feature stronger magnets and supposedly better sound quality in smaller more stylish modules. My ears could not confirm the auditory benefits, but they did look cool and very small. However, I preferred the midrange on the V20 system and thus chose it in spite of the eye appeal of its expensive sibling.

Bose does offer a 30-day money-back return policy so that you can do in-home evaluation, but of course that still does not facilitate direct so-called A vs. B comparisons. If that is your shtick, Bose probably is not for you.

Setting the system up is reasonably straightforward, but if you are not tech savvy, and you have a full compliment of gear (Flat panel TV, cable box/dvr, dvd, and iPod or other audio source), it will take some time to get it all together. The manual is one of the low points of the system - redundant, poorly organized, and not as helpful as one would like. The accompanying DVD that should be a video version is also poorly organized and plodding in its presentation.

The audio setup is nifty, but as with many Bose products, intends to simplify your life at the expense of allowing the owner to meddle/tweak and otherwise adjust. For many of us this may be the best option if your goal is to listen and enjoy instead of play gadget freak. However, this of course means, some of the adjustments may be close, but not exactly to your liking. Fortunately for me, I found the Bose did a fine job using it ADAPTiQ system - you wear a set of microphones on your head using a lightweight headband, and then sit in your 5 preferred listening locations as the Bose system presents chirps that are measured and analyzed to determine the ideal system adjustment. This is intended to account for speaker response and room reverberation. You still have an option afterwards for adjustments via bass and treble controls built into the system. I found that with those mild tweaks I could get a pleasing sound quality that worked well for me. I cannot speak for the system's ability to play at high levels - I listen at only modest levels, nothing over 90 dBA and usually closer to 85 or less, so if you are into "loud," over 95 to 100 dBA, you will have to check for yourself the system or subwoofer's ability to adequately cover that range.

One of the highlights of the system is the remote control. Other than the fact that it lacks backlighting, it is a well-engineered unit that allows control not only the Bose, but all of your audio equipment. A great feature is that it is a radio-frequency (RF) and not infrared (IR) system, so that you need not point the controller at the Bose Display and in fact, the Display can be blocked from view or in another room. The Display controls the Media Center and also emits an IR signal that can control your other remotely controlled a/v equipment, which likely is looking for IR signals.

However, I found that the Display's IR signals were not easily picked up by my other equipment so I took advantage of the Bose IR emitter/extender units - these are thin cables with a plug at one end that fits into the Media Center and an IR emitter at the other end that affixes to the units you are trying to control, at the location of their IR receivers on their front panels. This worked especially well for me since I have housed all my equipment in a stylish cabinet, behind doors so it does not clutter my listening room, but also causes its IR receiver points to be hidden from any IR signals in the room.

Once everything was coordinated, the Bose controller programs well and other than video adjustments on my flat panel TV, easily controls my entire system, including the Comcast cable/DVR unit. Quite nifty.

The Media Center has limited inputs - besides the Cable/Satellite input it provides for DVD, Aux, and VCR, so if you have a bunch of gear this may not be for you. I use the Aux for my iPod input and do indeed still have a VCR that is rarely used. If you wanted to hookup a turntable you would need a separate preamp and could then use the Aux input.

Other minor annoyances are that the headphone jack automatically mutes the speakers (it seems like that would be an easy set-up choice to allow mute or no-mute) and there is no balance control. The balance is of course not need for the speakers because of the ADAPTiQ, but when listening with headphones, this could be useful for certain program sources or if you have perhaps less sensitive hearing in one ear than the other.

All in all, I have been quite pleased with my purchase and would gladly do it again if purchasing a new system today.