Bose Virtually Invisible 191 speakers (Pair)

Don't live up to marketing hype.
Below is my initial review of these speakers. It's still basically true, but as the frustration with the initial install has faded, my estimation of the speakers has risen (a little). What seemed a thin and limited sound at the time now seems very clean. Just with very little bass compared to some other speakers. When things break on install, you do have to wonder, "who's fault was it, really...". I'll just say that the other speakers I bought at the same time had a much heavier set of clips...
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I am extremely disappointed with these speakers. If you read the product description carefully, you are basically getting a pair of smallish 2.5 in drivers / speakers which are only capable of a thin, limited sound. All the rest ("Virtually Invisible", "Articulated Array configuration", "Stereo Everywhere", "proprietary ported enclosure" etc.) is great marketing, but it does little to improve the sound of the speakers and a lot to increase the cost. There is no Bose...

For those considering using these in home theater, READ
I waited almost two years to write a review on these speakers. During that time I've been telling myself I could EQ the speakers better, or they have somehow not been set up right. Well, I've tried all sorts of different things with these speakers, and my experience with them hasn't been what I had hoped it would be.

History:
As a hobby I do whole-house audio/video installs. I’m not an expert, but I’ve messed with different sounds, different budgets, and I’m always trying to improve what I’ve done in the past. Bear with my review and understand that I am limited to what I can buy… I don’t have stuff that’s the best, I have stuff I can afford. Only in a few cases have I been given the opportunity to do installs with JBL Studio series type equipment.

When I installed these in January 2012, I was setting up my own second home theater. My budget in both situations wasn't great, but I was able to make a good sound in my...

Great for home theater, poor for whole-house audio

I've had these speakers for 3 years in a whole-house audio setup as in-ceiling speakers. The clarity as you'd expect from Bose is great, however if you want good bass response nothing compares to a large woofer. I'm actually in the process of replacing 2 out of 3 pairs with typical in-ceiling 8" woofers to get more bass in my living room and bedroom with high ceilings.

I highly recommend these for in-wall home theater speakers with a separate subwoofer.

I do not recommend these for in-ceiling stereo speakers.

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