Bose 321 GS or Denon S301 and supplementary questions

[admin_exported]

Some novice questions, I'm afraid.

I am looking for advice on which of these two systems offers the best sound and picture performance. I have seen a demo of the Bose and it sounded impressive to me but have read a number of negative reviews and have been struck by the almost universally positive comments on the denon. For those who have experienced both, what are the differences? The ipod connection on the denon would be nice but is not essential to me.

Some supplementary questions. I don't want to wall mount the speakers. I see the Denon ones come on small stands, but I assume for placing on furniture or shelves. And I assume performance would suffer if these were placed on the floor. Can anyone recommend suitable stands?

I am also planning on buying a new TV. I have narrowed the choice down to a Samsung 40 inch R87 or M87. Is the latter worth the approx £300 difference in price? The system would mainly be used for TV and DVDs rather than games.

I also have a sky box and a sony dvd/hd recorder. Can anyone recommend a suitable stand for all of the above?

And finally, should I upgrade the cable between the DVD system and the TV and if so, to what? And should I do the same between the other components?

Many thanks for any help and advice you can offer.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="Grant S"]
I am looking for advice on which of these two systems offers the best sound and picture performance. I have seen a demo of the Bose and it sounded impressive to me but have read a number of negative reviews and have been struck by the almost universally positive comments on the denon. For those who have experienced both, what are the differences? The ipod connection on the denon would be nice but is not essential to me.

[/quote]

Sound quality differences aside - you can hear those for yourself - the main difference between the two is that the Denon offers video upscaling and an HDMI output, whereas the Bose has component video out as its top-quality feed. So the Denon should produce better picture quality from your DVDs.

That said, we did review the 3.2.1 some time ago in Gramophone, and both the reviewer and I were very impressed with the sound and picture quality it produced.

[quote user="Grant S"]Some supplementary questions. I don't want to wall mount the
speakers. I see the Denon ones come on small stands, but I assume for
placing on furniture or shelves. And I assume performance would suffer
if these were placed on the floor. Can anyone recommend suitable stands?[/quote]

The Denon can be used with the accessory ASF-S01 stands, which turn the speakers into floorstanders. See here for more on those. The Bose speakers can be used on the UFS-20 stands, seen here.

[quote user="Grant S"]I am also planning on buying a new TV. I have narrowed the choice down to
a Samsung 40 inch R87 or M87. Is the latter worth the approx £300
difference in price? The system would mainly be used for TV and DVDs
rather than games.[/quote]

Pass on that one - not an area in which I know much. Anyone else?

[quote user="Grant S"]I also have a sky box and a sony dvd/hd recorder. Can anyone recommend a suitable stand for all of the above?[/quote]

The Atacama Equinox. Not just because it's a multiple Award-winner, but because I've just bought one and am dead chuffed with it.

[quote user="Grant S"]And
finally, should I upgrade the cable between the DVD system and the TV
and if so, to what? And should I do the same between the other
components?[/quote]

Yes, it's worth spending a little extra on some decent interconnects, but more to the point connect the components - Sky and DVD recorder - straight to the TV for the best picture quality, with additional audio cables to the system you choose. Both the Bose and the Denon have sufficient digital audio inputs to do this, and while it does mean you'll have to change the picture input on the TV when you change sources, you'll get the best results this way.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew, that's really helpful. Just one question - I haven't yet been able to find a local dealer to let me hear and see the denon. I'm inferring from your reply that although you've been impressed by the bose, you think the denon offers superior sound quality. Is that correct? I watch a fair number of music dvds as well as movies so sound quality is important to me.

Many thanks again for your help.

 

[Andrew Everard]

No I think the Denon would potentially offer better picture quality, but IMHO there's not much in it when it comes to sound quality.

Assuming you're in the UK, Denon's website has a retailer finder which may help.

 

[Anonymous]

I've heard the Denon and was very impressed. Very musical for a small box with fashionable speakers. Hope you can find a demo.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks again Andrew and thanks for your thoughts too Will.