I confess I am not one that buys into hyperbole and hype when it comes to marketing. I'm a "has to be seen to be believed", or in this case heard, type person and don't pay attention to grossly inflated claims of product performance. To that end, Bose has touted its small size and remarkable sound for years. Though I had never really paid attention to that claim, when I was given an opportunity to purchase the Lifestyle 12 Series II system at a significantly reduced price AND get a free Wave Radio, I was sold on the idea. I was already in the market for an audio system at the time and thought I'd try the Bose system on the basis of its name recognition. My philosophy was to buy it, try it, and if I didn't like it sell it for a quick profit on eBay (they were selling for more than what I paid). So on to the review.

The Lifestyle 12 system comes with five of the Bose satellite style speakers, an "acoustimass" subwoofer, the "music center", and an RF remote. Out of the box, Bose provides one of those colorful posters for setting the system up and a test CD to properly configure the system. In all, it took about forty minutes to get everything situated and to configure the system for ideal sound.

The "brain" of the Lifestyle 12 system is the music center and is comprised of a single disc CD player, AM/FM radio, and several auxiliary inputs. The included remote allows you to easily balance the sound for optimal listening as well as control the volume, track playing, etc. The fact that it's a radio frequency remote allows you to control the system from almost anywhere in your house, a very nice feature.

The six primary speakers are of the satellite variety, but are quite hefty--I had expected them to be much lighter. The compactness of the speakers is particularly nice for those who reside in an apartment and are short on floor space. They really ARE small, and the sound produced, pound for pound, is quite extraordinary. The speakers easily fill a midsized room with a full and rich sound. Highs and midrange notes are faithfully reproduced, and there is little if any background noise. That old adage "good things come in small packages" seems particularly apropos here. The acoustimass module does a nice job registering sounds on the low end of the sound spectrum, but I've been told the bass sounds a bit weak. My judgment is that is more than adequately performs its job.

For videophiles, the system includes an attachment for Dolby 5.1 sound for home theatre use. As I understand it, you're really being "tricked" into thinking it's surround, but I'm no expert on that subject so I can only report what I've heard. I'm more of a music listener than a film viewer, but my experience with the Lifestyle system connected to DVD player has been satisfactory. Of course for a true theatre experience, a widescreen ratio television is needed (which I don't have), but that notwithstanding the Bose system manages to capture the explosions and properly direct sounds--even if it is high tech trickery at its best--enough so to give the impression of being in a minitheater. I do think I'd want a receiver if I were to build a home theatre system, but for a small system, the Bose does remarkably well.

All that said, after more than a year of testing, I still have the Bose and have no intentions of getting rid of it. I don't know that I would purchase it at full retail, but it is certainly worth considering--particularly if you are short on floor space and want high quality sound. Detractors will say you can get the same sound for less--and I'm certain they are correct--but that begs the question can you get the same sound from something so small? The answer to that, I think, is no. I would definitely recommend comparison shopping as the Bose price range prohibits most from buying on a whim. All said and done, the Lifestyle 12 Series II has a quality sound and compactness that is enough to win this reviewer's vote.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 999