Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

While I see there are quite a few other reviews for this product line, it would appear that almost all of them are for the CineMate 130 or the CineMate 120. While I do not frequently write reviews, I have personally used both the 130 and the 520 and wanted to give a true, honest, and worthwhile review. I know there will be a barrage of Bose haters out there, many of whom will not even give this a chance simply because of the name or because of the high price tag. This is certainly an example of "you get what you pay for." I'll keep this as short and succinct as possible, but I also want people to have a fair and balanced review to help them make a quite costly purchase. Here goes... Having been a Bose addict for many years, I am quite familiar with their lineup. I am, however, the go-to guy in the family for home audio and the Mac platform. Not everyone is interested in the best of the best, so I have to keep myself abreast to the competition as well. In this day and age, the sound produced by a majority of the Home Theater products on the market are on par with or even a smidgen better than what the average consumer is interested in. These two products (CineMate 520 and 130) are exceptionally refined premium home audio setups meant for everyone from elite audiophiles, to every day individuals who are looking to experience their music and movies unlike they ever have before. The sheer simplicity of these systems is quite deceptive! What I mean here, is traditionally when you bought a home theater setup, it meant large clunky head units, bulky obtrusive speakers and wires, wires, and more wires. Depending on the manufacturer, you were looking at proprietary color coding and connectivity for each of the various manufactures. Then came the bloody manual. Egads! The Lifestyle Series V20 that I was upgrading from certainly was no exception. It worked well, and the sound was fantastic... but for a greater than $2,000 product, it sure should! Being an addict though, haha, when I saw the announcement for the new CineMate line... it piqued my interest. On the surface it looked like Bose had finally struck a compromise in price, while delivering a feature-rich end product. This is the time where I decided to cave and go visit the Bose Store in Denver. Knowing that the stores are designed with optimum acoustics, and that all of the products are perfectly calibrated... I went in a bit skeptical. Have they actually created the Goldilocks product that most "real" people are interested in? True to form, the staff was fantastic (courteous, polite, and very knowledgeable) and the store stunning in every way. One would never forget that they are in a premium product store, the Mercedes Benz of audio. Just another facet of the "Bose Experience." Anyhow, I ignored the call of each of the other Sirens calling out and went straight to the CineMate systems. In appearance, even after seeing photos online, I was surprised at just how small the head unit and the speakers were! In three words: Sleek, Sophisticated, yet also Subdued. But you are asking "How does it sound?!" As the kids these days would say: "OMG!!" The sound output is phenomenally, almost absurdly, exceptional!!! You know you are working with among the best systems when you are taken aback by the quality!! The finesse, the power, the feeling that you are experiencing music for the first time! Astounding! Bose might have shot themselves in the foot with these two products. Why pay >$2,000 for a system, when you can save $500 and, at least in my opinion, get a product that is equally or even possibly more competent?? I mulled it over for a few days and decided to get the Bose CineMate 520 for myself, and my parents purchased the Bose CineMate 130 for themselves. Each arrived the next business day thanks to Amazon Prime. Needless to say, this is where the true fun begins. The packaging is frustration free and is intelligently packaged as to not waste and space or materials than is needed. Setup was a breeze! I mean the manuals/instructions are easy to follow and the systems are setup in a flash. Running the Bose-proprietary audio calibration called ADAPTiQ is necessary, simple, and only takes maybe 5 minutes. The difference it makes is crazy. It adjusts the sound to dynamically optimize itself to the acoustics of the room. Given the fact that the audio from both is exquisite, and they cost the same, my recommendation would be straight forward. If you have a large room, and don’t mind running a few simple wires, go with the CineMate 520. If you are in a small to medium sized room, or do not want to have to deal with but one wire, choose the CineMate 130. I won’t get into the specifications too much, as those are already listed. Keep in mind though that Bose does not list many of the industry-standard specifications used to compare products across manufactures and product lines. (i.e. watts, speaker dimensions, etc.) It really isn’t needed though. They use a system that is infinitely better attuned, your ears. Now for many online, you may not have an opportunity to listen and experience one of these systems before you make the plunge… but rest assured… IT IS WORTH EVERY LAST RED CENT!!! As stated in the beginning, I do not frequently write reviews, but this is one product that outshines the competition so brilliantly that a review was imperative. Whether you are a seasoned Audio Snob ;) or are just getting your feet wet for the first time in ultra-premium audio equipment, go with either of these products!! I can wholeheartedly guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Get ready to “hear” and “feel” your music and movies again for the very first time. Absolute Night and Day. I hope this was helpful to you and that it helped make your decision easier. Thank you for your time! -Kyle UPDATE 28 April 2015 - While I still absolutely love the system, I do have a few critiques. * Bass is a little on the weak side. Has to be turned all the way up. It is well balanced though... just not poundingly powerful. * Cables are all connected into a harness. Seems tedious trying to route cables when they are all joined at the head unit. And one HUGE gripe! * Bose included NO (and I mean none at all) way to mount these on the wall. Not even a screw hole! You actually have to buy a ridiculous proprietary wall mount! Wouldn't be too bad in and of itself if they didn't cost THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS APIECE!! That, to me, is nickel and dining the customer... the customer that just spent $1,500 on a premium audio system. My solution was simple, however. I just used 2-ton epoxy and glued a picture frame hook to the back. :) While none of these are deal-breakers by any stretch, I just wanted people to have the full picture when making their decision. Thanks again, -Kyle