true it doesnt have to be a Bose, but in my opinioin they sound great you of course can have what you want

 

Update your AR. Get a decent brand, Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon, Panasonic, Kenwood.

You don't have to spend a lot. Most AR's these days are feature packed and have good sound.

 

Ok you were being serious.. for the cost of a Bose 3-2-1, you can piece together a much better sounding system. I think the only reason the 3-2-1 sounds good to you is because you don't have anything better to compare to. Obviously it's better than the TV's speakers.. and obviously it sounds pretty good, but Bose does not charge appropriate prices.

For under $1000, you'd be best served by a 2.1 setup.. A Quality receiver, two quality bookshelf speakers, and a nice sub. This will sound better than any <$1000 surround setup.. crappy sound coming from behind you is still crappy sound.

 

Bose...shudder. Whatever you do, don't buy Bose. You can get a great system for half the price of a Bose system.

Bose might sound ok if you've never heard a good sound system, but that's about it.

Check out www.audiogon.com and www.avsforum.com for both advice and equipment for sale.

 

The TV has that orange terminal, I'll try and find a converter ala SheDrivesIt.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone, but i wasn't planning on getting a new stereo simply because I'm living in an apartment by my lonesome and I'm not trying to impress any audio-babes with my super mega-watt Hi-Fi up/low/all-around sound system. My problem is the TV dynamics reach a level where the even the A/C overpowers it, and I can't hear Michael Scott tell me what she said....

 

[QUOTE=vtec9,Jul 1 2008, 08:50 AM] Ok you were being serious.. for the cost of a Bose 3-2-1, you can piece together a much better sounding system.

 

The orange terminal is most likely a digigal output. Not compatible with your receiver. I take it the volume control on your receiver is all the way up.

 

You don't need to go mega buck. If you can swing $200 you can get a decent HTIB that'll accomplish your objectives.

 

Angry? I'm just stating the facts. I know exactly why people buy bose.. I could have told you why you bought bose. Small, compact, stylish, easy to set up.. That doesn't change that you spent more than other small, compact, stylish setups that are able to produce better sound. I just want to educate others so they don't fall into the same trap. If you want something that sounds pretty good (small speakers will NEVER sound great.. it's impossible with today's technology), and is small, with out a million wires everywhere, you don't need to spend extra money on a bose setup.

And I don't know what objective a $200 HTIB will accomplish.. unless that objective is simply "to have speakers that make noise." You'd be better off buying a decent entry level HT receiver from Onkyo for $150-200 and use your current speakers. If they are even half way decent, the setup will sound much better than any $200 HTIB.

 

The objective the OP had expressed. Not wanting a blazing system but something that has digital inputs and allows him to hear audio over the A/C. Sure you can go out there and get component crazy. However, if you're looking for a simple, clean, high value solution, an HTIB is the way to go for most non-audiophiles.

Oh BTW, you can get an Onkyo HTIB (s3100) for anywhere between $200 and $250.